Lawmakers close on budget deal in last day

INDIANAPOLIS -- Fiscal leaders in the General Assembly moved closer to a compromise on a two-year state budget Wednesday, but there was little hope they would meet a self-imposed deadline of adjourning by midnight Thursday.\n"We are a lot closer," said Sen. Robert Meeks, a top budget negotiator for Republicans who control the Senate. That included progress on how money would be divided among schools and other big-ticket items such as funding for Medicaid and prisons, he said.\nHouse Speaker Patrick Bauer, D-South Bend, planned to talk with reporters about the negotiations later Wednesday.\nLawmakers have until midnight Tuesday to adjourn the regular session, but legislative leaders set a goal of passing a budget and going home by Thursday night.\nSen. Vi Simpson, an Ellettsville Democrat and veteran budget negotiator, said it was possible lawmakers could finish business -- including passage of an economic development plan -- this weekend. But she said many details remained unresolved.