House and Senate budget negotiators must determine how much money they have before deciding how to spend it.
The tasks are at the heart of efforts, outlined in competing versions of the Virginia budget, to erase a $4.2 billion shortfall without raising taxes.
"The big difference [between the House and Senate plans] is how much money is available," said Sen. Janet D. Howell, D-Fairfax, among seven Senate conferees.
Del. M. Kirkland Cox, R-Colonial Heights, vice chairman of the House Appropriations Committee, said the Senate draft assumes about $200 million more in revenue than the House bill.
About $150 million comes from fee increases rejected by the House, including $51 million a year in fattened court costs to prevent layoffs of sheriff's deputies.
Del. R. Steven Landes, R-Augusta, newly appointed as one of six House negotiators, said the Republican-controlled House may retreat from its opposition to some of the fee increases.
But fees remain an obstacle to compromise, potentially threatening financing for priorities pushed by the Democrat-dominated Senate.
"We're going to have to resolve whether they'll accept fees," Howell said of the House.
However, Gov. Bob McDonnell's endorsement of higher fees that have a direct link to the services that they support may provide cover for fellow Republicans, Landes said.
The House and Senate budgets include deep reductions for public education and human services, programs largely spared since the recession forced the state to begin pruning spending nearly three years ago.
So far, Virginia has trimmed its budget by $7 billion.
Both bills rely on a lowering of state contributions to the public employment pension fund to generate about $508 million.
That ultimately freed the Senate to steer dollars to K-12, and the House to expanded mental-health care.
Still, said Sen. R. Edward Houck of Spotsylvania, the No. 2 Democrat on the Senate Finance Committee, "I don't see a great deal that should inhibit finishing the budget on time."
Approving a budget is among the last chores facing the legislature before its scheduled adjournment March 13.
A compromise is supposed to be on lawmakers' desks by March 9, but such deadlines often are ignored.
Del. Lacey E. Putney, I-Bedford, chairman of the Appropriations Committee, said he thought the budget could be adopted on time, although some legislators are talking about overtime.
Neither budget includes a pay raise for public employees -- they will have gone without an increase nearly four years -- but both provide a one-time bonus in 2011.
And the House and Senate set aside $950 million a year to compensate localities for reductions in the car tax.
House negotiators believe another possible sticking point -- differences over economic development incentives -- can be resolved.
The House, siding with McDonnell, favors about $50 million for corporate inducements. The Senate set aside only $10 million. House negotiators suggest the Senate may have scrimped to wrest concessions from delegates on other issues.
Another area for possible compromise: unpaid days off for state workers. The House authorized no furlough days, the Senate six over the next two years.
McDonnell, hoping to hasten an on-time deal on the budget, meets tomorrow with conferees for breakfast at the Executive Mansion.
The chambers also disagree on funding education programs.
The House proposes sending bundles of money to localities, allowing them to decide what to spend on reading or preschool classes and others.
The Senate's is a more complicated approach. While the Senate tries to give local schools more flexibility -- for example, encouraging temporary increases in class sizes -- it also includes provisions to steer dollars to schools for new technology.
Contact Tyler Whitley at (804) 649-6780 or twhitley@timesdispatch.com.
Contact Jeff E. Schapiro at (804) 649-6814 or jschapiro@timesdispatch.com.
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