As I reported earlier, it looks like there’s going to be a budget settlement.  House Ways and Means Chairman Bill Crawford just told me the budget bill (HB 1001) will be up on the legislative web site at noon.  However, he also said he has two different versions that he’s circulating, so it isn’t totally certain the Republicans will sign one of them.

  One important point.  He told me both versions are two-year budgets.  That represents an important concession by House Democrats, who had been insisting on a one-year budget because of all the uncertainty over the economy and tax revenues.  Senate Republicans had been adamant about a two-year budget.  They thought the one-year model was an excuse to raid the surplus by a little more.  And they didn’t want to come back in next year and have to do another one-year budget during an election year.  They felt that was an open invitation to overspend to pander to voters.