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SACRAMENTO Gov. Jerry Brown has both Democrats and Republicans on board with the broad outlines of his plan for stockpiling some cash and paying off debt.

But as the special legislative session Brown called on the issue opened Thursday, it was clear that, as lawmakers like to say, the devil could be in the details.

Republicans, whose votes the Democratic governor needs to place his measure on the fall ballot, want tighter controls on the reserve fund than the governor has proposed. One senator said there might be a loophole in the plan that could help Brown fund the state's troubled bullet train network a project most Republicans oppose.

On the other side of the aisle, Senate leader Darrell Steinberg (D-Sacramento) has publicly balked at Brown's insistence that lawmakers act on his proposal now rather than later this year. Democrats also could hold out for the restoration of more healthcare and social service funds cut during the recession.

Assembly Speaker John A. Prez (D-Los Angeles), an early proponent of a rainy-day fund, said there was plenty of room for compromise. Although lawmakers took no action on the governor's plan Thursday, Prez scheduled an initial hearing on the topic for Monday.

"We'll figure out what it is we need to address to make this solid concept something people can come together on," he said in an interview.

By calling the special session, which runs concurrently with the Legislature's regular session, Brown has put Republicans on the spot in this election year.

They can withhold the two votes he needs in the Senate, now that the Democrats have lost their supermajority there, and torpedo the measure. Or they can help pass Brown's plan, hoping voters who have the power to restore Democrats' complete control of the Capitol will see them as collaborators on a proposal that could have broad popular appeal.

Brown failed to win Republican support for a tax-hike ballot measure in 2011, the last time he needed their help with a high-profile financial issue. But this time, the governor is engaging Republicans on an issue they generally favor.

"It's a fiscally conservative goal Republicans have been seeking for years," said Assemblyman Jeff Gorell (R-Camarillo), vice chairman of the Assembly budget committee.

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Republicans back Brown's concept of a fund for debt and rainy days