INDIANAPOLIS - With two weeks remaining in this year's session of the Indiana General Assembly, state lawmakers say they're closer than usual at this point in the legislative calendar to negotiating an agreement on the state's next budget.
As they attempt to draft a spending plan, legislators are working under the constraints of declining state tax collections. A new forecast this week predicted Indiana would take in $690 million less over the next two years than an already downgraded forecast had projected in December.
Nonetheless, legislators appear to be near a consensus for ideas such as cutting state agencies' budgets by about 8 percent and using $2 billion in federal stimulus funding to slightly boost education spending.
Those were two key components of the budget plan that won passage last week in the Republican-led Senate.
The sticking points appear to be the formula for funding education - Democrats say the GOP budget would hurt schools in low-income districts - and for capital building projects. Democrats want to spend more to create jobs; Republicans want to tighten the purse strings.
Democrats, who have majority control in the House, also say they want a one-year budget rather than the usual two years.
However, Republican leaders in the Senate say that's a deal breaker.
Wednesday was the deadline for the House and Senate to pass bills.
Here's a look at some of the other legislation that cleared the chambers ahead of the deadline:
Abortion doctors: After an intense and passionate debate, the House on a 73-20 vote passed Senate Bill 89, which could restrict access to abortions by requiring that doctors who provide them have admitting privileges at nearby hospitals.
The House amended it to include doctors who perform any surgical procedures.
Another amendment requires that women seeking abortions be told the fetus could feel pain.
House Speaker Patrick Bauer, D-South Bend, said he hopes the bill won't survive House-Senate negotiations.
He said the only way he sees it becoming law is for the Senate to concur with the House's changes.
Stadium bailout: The state Senate ditched a proposed doubling of the state alcohol tax and instead passed a bill to give Indianapolis the option of raising some local taxes under a plan to bail out the struggling organization that runs the city's professional sports stadiums from a $47 million deficit.
Also included in the bill is a provision that would allow Vanderburgh County to use its food and beverage tax revenue to help pay for a Downtown arena.
Teen drivers: Senate Bill 16, which would raise the minimum age for teens to become eligible for their driver's licenses by five months, to 16 years and six months, passed the House.
The bill also requires that teens log 50 hours of supervised driving practice before receiving their licenses - 10 of which must come at night - and prohibits those under 18 from talking or texting on cell phones while behind the wheel.
Child services oversight: The Senate resurrected legislation that would create an ombudsman bureau to oversee the Department of Child Services.
Passenger rail: The Indiana Department of Transportation would get $300,000 to study the feasibility of a Chicago-to-Evansville passenger rail route under an amendment Rep. Dennis Avery, D-Evansville, had added to Senate Bill 374.