Mo. lawmakers must finalize budget this week

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. -- Missouri lawmakers have until Friday to finalize the state's roughly $25 billion operating budget.

The House and Senate each has passed its own budget and now must hammer out an agreement on the spending plan that will take effect July 1. Budget negotiators were scheduled to begin formal talks Monday, but delayed that until today.

The House and Senate must reconcile differences on higher education funding and whether to keep intact cuts made to state agencies over concerns about new drivers' license procedures.

One item not up for debate this week is Gov. Jay Nixon's plan to draw down nearly $1 billion from the federal government to expand Medicaid coverage for about 260,000 adults. Neither the House nor Senate included the federal money in its budget proposals.