Topeka ? The House finished its work Thursday on a bill to adjust the current state budget by $306 million to eliminate a deficit.

On a vote of 74-48, the bill went back to the Senate, which approved its own version last week. Senators later voted to start negotiations with the House on a final compromise.

The House version is similar in reductions to the Senate plan, both revising the state’s fiscal year 2009 budget, which runs through June 30.

In both chambers’ versions of the bill, less than half the changes are spending cuts, with the rest coming from accounting changes and refinancing state bonds.

Legislative researchers are projecting a deficit of $199 million, based on revenue collections through January. But many legislators expect revenues to continue falling short of expectations, causing the gap to grow.

House Appropriations Committee Chairman Kevin Yoder said the measure approved Thursday goes a long ways toward solving budget problems that continue into the next fiscal year, which begins July 1.

Sen. Jay Emler, chairman of the Ways and Means Committee, said there are a few policy decisions the House made that will be an issue during negotiations, including cuts to education and increases for some social services programs. Still, the McPherson Republican said the two chambers weren’t far apart and should be able to agree quickly.