By Liz Sidoti
The Associated Press

COLUMBUS - House Republicans convened Saturday in rare weekend meetings to try to reach consensus on how to balance their two-year budget proposal.

Among the unresolved issues: Whether to fold the House's tax reform package into the budget bill.

"The likelihood now is that the whole thing will not be a part of the budget bill," Rep. Jon Peterson, R-Delaware, said Saturday.

However, he said, proposals to include a temporary 1-cent sales tax increase and broaden the sales tax still could be rolled into the bill.

Gov. Bob Taft's $49 billion proposal for the two-year budget includes an overhaul to the tax system that would raise $2.3 billion in new revenue over the biennium.