SACRAMENTO -- The political issue surrounding the plans for the new eastern span of the Bay Bridge continues, and the decision on who gets the bill is at the heart of the debate.

State Senate President Don Perata says he wants to keep the single tower suspension design for the Bay Bridge.

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And to pay for it, he's proposing a statewide bond, plus a $1 toll increase, and refinancing the unpaid cost of the original bridge.

"All we're doing is pursuing what we think is a logical course of action to deal with, not only the Bay Bridge, but a myriad of other problems where we have failed to support seismically, or otherwise any transportation projects for the last four years," Perata said.

Meanwhile, Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger's office insists a cheaper design is a better way to go because drivers would pay as they go.

"The state has already provided a large share of taxpayer funds for this project and I doubt very much that Southern California legislators will be willing to provide additional state taxpayer dollars for something that they believe has been caused by years of delay by Bay Area officials," said Vince Sollitto, the governor's spokesperson.

However, Perata's plan would also cover other Bay Area transportation projects.

The governor's cheaper concrete causeway would also be paid for by adding $1 to the toll, and refinance existing old debt.

When asked which plan was a better deal, state legislative analyst Elizabeth Hill said it's a tough call.

"There's no clear choice from the engineering studies," Hill said. "It's really a risk versus reward tradeoff that has to be made on a policy basis by the legislature and the administration."

In other words, converting to a cheaper design may end up costing more since builders would virtually have to start from scratch, Trujillo said.

So the battle of the bridge could be end up being the battle of balance sheet.

Perata will introduce the bond Wednesday at the state capitol.

So far, there are no meetings scheduled between Perata and the governor to discuss this new proposal.