(AP) -- A panel of House and Senate members is trying to work out differences in their chambers' budget plans before legislators return to Columbia for a special session.
A six-member conference committee is set to meet Monday in an attempt to compromise on a spending plan for the fiscal year that starts July 1.
A special session starts Tuesday. The purpose is to wrap up work on bills passed by both chambers but not completed when the regular session ended June 7.
The top three remaining issues are the budget, pension reform and government restructuring.
Items that need to be worked out in the budget include pay raises for state employees, tax breaks for small businesses and assistance to local governments.
The conference committee met last week but made little progress.
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