Indiana Lawmakers, Governor Hurry Two-Year Budget into Place

Indiana Gov. Mitch Daniels has quickly signed into law a new two-year state budget that lawmakers approved just hours before the current spending plan was to expire.

Daniels signed the bill Tuesday night in his Statehouse office about an hour after the Senate adjourned. The Republican governor says the budget has some flaws but does limit spending to preserve Indiana's reserves. The Republican-controlled Senate voted 34-16 in favor of the plan, which the Democrat-led House had passed on a 62-37 vote amid impassioned debate earlier in the day.

Lawmakers had faced a midnight deadline to pass a new budget or stopgap funding measure to prevent most of state government from shutting down.