Mississippi’s legislative leaders on Friday remained so far apart on crafting the state’s multi-billion dollar budget that at least some of the individual bills to fund state agencies will die on a legislative deadline. 

Lawmakers technically have until Saturday evening to reach an initial agreement on all spending and tax bills that make up the $7 billion state budget. But the House adjourned for the week on Friday morning and will return on Monday afternoon, while the Senate will convene on Saturday. 

Since the House will not be present on Saturday, House and Senate leaders would have to sign off on the 100-plus individual budget bills by Friday afternoon to meet the deadline, something Senate Appropriations Chairman Briggs Hopson said earlier Friday would not happen. 

“I think that’s almost impossible,” said Hopson, a Republican from Vicksburg, earlier Friday. “For conference reports to be signed today, we would have had to start meeting at least by Monday, and I couldn’t get the House to meet with me until yesterday.” 

House Speaker Jason White, a Republican from West, told reporters that House leaders have signed off on their proposed budget bills and sent them to the Senate, though Hopson said he had not received those bills as of Friday morning. 

For the last two years, White has said he wants lawmakers to start negotiating on the budget earlier in the legislative session and try to avoid crunching numbers on the Saturday night deadline, referred to as “conference weekend,”  which happens late in the session. 

For years, rank-and-file lawmakers have complained that they often don’t have time to read the lengthy budget bills because of the rushed nature of Saturday night budget negotiations, which has also caused lawmakers and staff attorneys in previous years to make mistakes in legislation.

Last session, lawmakers ironed out most of the budget during conference weekend, but White said he told Republican Lt. Gov. Delbert Hosemann that would not be the case this year. 

“We’re just not going to be up here in the middle of the night doing a hurried budget,” White said. “We’re through doing that from here and all years forward.” 

Hopson, though, said that in the nearly two decades he’s served in the Legislature, the two chambers have always tried to work on the budget on Saturday, the deadline.

Lawmakers can pass a resolution to revive budget bills that die on deadlines. This could force them to extend the legislative session, which was expected to end early next week.

Republican Gov. Tate Reeves could also force them back into a special session if they leave the Capitol without passing a budget. 

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