SACRAMENTO, July 15 (UPI) -- Legislative leaders said they were meeting with California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger Wednesday on a deal to end the state budget stalemate.
Details of the breakthrough were not immediately available but some lawmakers told the Los Angeles Times it could mean a final budget deal is imminent.
"I don't think there is anything that would make negotiations shut down at this point," said Assembly Speaker Karen Bass.
California has been wrestling with a combination of a $26.3 billion deficit and partisan opposition to either massive spending cuts or a tax increase. The state requires a two-thirds majority vote in the Legislature to pass a budget.
The Times said legislative staffers said the breakthrough came after a series of Tuesday night meetings with the leaderships and Schwarzenegger that resolved a deadlock over cuts in education spending.
Despite fierce opposition from, among others, the powerful California Teachers Association, education aid has been seen as a major issue in the budget debate.
