ALBANY - Gov. Eliot Spitzer has invited lawmakers to submit funding wish lists for projects in their districts and personally pushed his budget plan in private meetings with Senate Republicans on Wednesday.

It's all part of a standoff pitting Spitzer and his Democratic allies against Republican Senate Majority Leader Joseph Bruno. The budget process is now at least three days behind the schedule to adopt a spending plan by the April 1 start of the fiscal year.

“No governor has ever done this,” said Assembly Minority Leader James Tedisco of Schenectady, confirming that Spitzer invited his Republicans to submit funding requests to the governor's office. The offer was made three to four weeks ago, before the current tension between Bruno and Spitzer.

Tedisco, however, said no promises were made and he's unsure why Spitzer requested project proposals from his minority party members. Tedisco said he remains undecided on whether he supports Bruno or Spitzer on the budget.