Senate Majority Leader Russ Decker's plan is for the Senate to take up the state budget in the third week of June. The Assembly, which will get the bill first, is tentatively looking at going to the floor a week from today.

"Sooner is better, but we'll see how things work out," Decker, D-Weston, said today. "The Assembly has to go through their process and then the Senate will take it up and go through our process, and see where we end up."

Decker said he expects his members to have amendments to the bill, saying there are a few items that "may be lightning rods" that the Senate Dems will want to address.

"Every member has an equal share in this," Decker said.

Decker said a conference committee to reconcile the Senate and Assembly versions is "a very distinct possibility," but he hasn't spoken with Assembly Speaker Mike Sheridan about that yet. He said he's shooting for finishing up the budget by the end of this month.

Decker said the oil franchise fee proposal, which many Assembly Dems have concerns about, "is good the way it is. The Senate's voted on a very similar proposal twice."

But he added he is not drawing a line in the sand.

"If somebody comes up with a better mousetrap, I'm willing to look at it."

-- By Greg Bump