Topeka ? House and Senate negotiators finished a compromise budget Friday, closing a deal worth more than $4.3 billion after senators reluctantly accepted a provision designed to shorten the 2003 legislative session and save $120,000.

After hours of struggling, the three senators and three House members resolved differences between their chambers on education and social services spending. They also agreed to postpone a decision about transportation spending, leaving only small issues between them and a plan they could present to both chambers.

But they couldn’t agree late Thursday night on how much money to put in the budget for the 2003 session. Senators wanted enough to pay lawmakers and cover expenses for the traditional 90 days. The House approved money for an 80-day session, and its negotiators offered 85 days, then 88. Cutting a day’s expenses would save $60,000.

“We’ll sleep on it,” a weary Senate Ways and Means Committee Chairman Steve Morris said just before midnight.

On Friday morning, Morris, R-Hugoton, and the other senators conceded and accepted 88 days.

Legislators must eliminate a projected $700 million gap between expected revenues and spending required under Kansas and federal law.

The negotiators met even though the Legislature was in recess. It is scheduled to reconvene May 1.

Before recessing earlier this month, the House approved a budget plan that was $108 million out of balance. The Senate’s version was $306 million out of balance. Their final proposal is $222 million out of balance, and legislators would have to increase taxes to finance it. Even with the extra revenue, the budget would shrink 3 percent from its current $4.54 billion.

On Thursday, negotiations appeared to be going slowly as budget talks sometimes do before an agreement ultimately is reached because senators and House members traded long and complicated offers and counteroffers.

None were surprised that a small issue should prevent them from finishing just before midnight, because, after hours of haggling, an inconsequential item often assumes an exaggerated importance.

Morris said he didn’t want to agree to money for 88 days because the entire Legislature should decide whether it wants a shorter session. But House Appropriations Committee Chairman Kenny Wilk, R-Lansing, said lawmakers could work without pay if they wanted a longer session.

“The Capitol’s always open,” he said.

The two chambers were relatively close on aid to public schools, with the Senate keeping it at $3,870 per pupil and the House adding $10 per pupil at a cost of $5.8 million. The negotiators adopted the Senate position.

The differences were greater for higher education, where the House approved spending cuts of $39.1 million, or about 5.5 percent of the current $706 million. The Senate position was to keep spending at current levels.

House negotiators were willing to give the Senate its position on higher education spending to prevail on some social services items. Senators had some misgivings but eventually relented preventing both cuts in higher education spending and some social programs.

The House restored $12.4 million that Gov. Bill Graves proposed to cut from the Department of Social and Rehabilitation Services in mental health services, programs for the disabled, assistance to troubled families and day care subsidies. The Senate stuck with Graves on those items. The negotiators’ plan will restore some money but not as much as the House wanted.

On transportation, the House eliminated a $149 million transfer of sales tax revenues to highway projects, while senators kept $70 million in the budget. Most of the Department of Transportation’s operations are financed separately. Negotiators will let that decision be made after all lawmakers reconvene.