Published: June 29, 2009 11:17 am      

Indiana budget talks resume with 2 days to go

INDIANAPOLIS — Indiana legislative leaders are back at the Statehouse as they seek a budget agreement before the current budget expires at the end of Tuesday.

House Speaker Patrick Bauer says he and fellow Democrats may be willing to accept a two-year budget instead of the one-year spending plan they previously proposed. But Bauer said Monday that Senate Republicans and House Democrats remained at odds over school funding.

Without a budget or a backup plan to continue spending, most of state government would shut down on Wednesday.

The Republican-controlled state Board of Finance said Monday it was prepared to meet Wednesday to transfer hundreds of millions of dollars to keep essential services such as prison and state police running.