State lawmakers went home Wednesday night after voting in each chamber took a bizarre twist.

The Assembly voted out a downsized infrastructure plan that would provide $19 billion for education and $4 billion for flood control, which meant no money for Highway 99.

Meanwhile, the state Senate recessed for the day after voting on a completely different plan -- to spend $1 billion from the general fund on levee repairs.

Senate President Pro Tem Don Perata, D-Oakland, said afterward: "You start breaking this apart, it starts looking to [voters] in California like you don't know what you're doing."

He said that lawmakers now have an opportunity to do a better job with this for the November ballot.

"I'm very confident we will have something we'll all be proud of," Perata said.

When both chambers went to the floor about 8 p.m. Wednesday, they were expected to consider a scaled-down infrastructure plan that would provide about $4 billion in flood-control money, and potentially funds for school and university construction, according to Valley lawmakers and Schwarzenegger administration officials.

Carol Whiteside, president of the Modesto-based Great Valley Center, said flood-control and education issues "are terribly important, but they are not the only issues in the state." Improving Highway 99 is "something that can't be ignored, and we'll be back," said Whiteside, whose group lobbied hard for the highway.

Said Assembly Member Juan Arambula, D-Fresno: "I am very disappointed, but maybe that's all we can salvage this go around."

Sen. Jeff Denham, R-Merced, said if a vote were held simply on flood control, "I think the votes are there."

The downsized bond would have been a far cry from earlier proposals that included billions of dollars for everything from schools and roads to bridges and ports. Gov. Schwarzenegger wanted a bond package in excess of $70 billion. Democratic leaders sought plans closer to $40 to $50 billion.

But votes to approve anything were hard to find. Republicans held out for money for water storage and criticized the bond proposals for including programs outside of so-called "bricks and mortar" projects.

The original deadline was March 10, but lawmakers continued to set additional deadlines, including one of midnight Wednesday.

As of Wednesday morning, only one vote had been taken. A nearly $49 billion bond package that came before the Senate early Saturday came up three votes short of the required two-thirds approval. Republicans voted no, rejecting the proposal as not having enough money for water storage.

Assembly Member Bill Maze, R-Visalia, said only a handful of lawmakers have been involved in the talks.

He called the process "one of the three or four worst displays" he's seen in his time at the Capitol.

"Everybody else is kept in the dark," he said, comparing the treatment to how you would take care of a mushroom factory: "Feed 'em a little moisture, feed 'em a little manure and everybody should be happy."

As negotiations dragged on, lobbying grew more fierce as officials from across the state angled for a piece of whatever plan emerged.

On Wednesday, Fresno Mayor Alan Autry visited Sacramento and said he spent about an hour and a half with the governor. Autry also met with Valley lawmakers, including Denham, urging them to hold firm in their support for Temperance Flat.

The Friant Water Users Authority and other Valley water officials have lobbied for at least $500 million for a dam and reservoir at Temperance Flat. The approximately $1 billion project would have the capacity for 1.3 million acre-feet of water, more than double the capacity of Millerton Lake, officials have said.

The capacity, they say, will be needed to help replenish water supplies that could be lost if the San Joaquin River is restored. A settlement under negotiation would refill dried sections of the river by increasing flows from Friant Dam. Water from behind the dam is used by several Valley cities, including Fresno, and many farmers on the San Joaquin Valley's east side.

Without money for Highway 99 or the proposed dam, Autry said, "the Valley gets really nothing."

The reporter can be reached at eschultz@fresnobee.com or (916) 326-5541.