A new forecast will be issued in late February.

Minnesota's constitution requires a balanced budget by the end of each two-year budget cycle.

Lawmakers have few fallback options after nearly draining the state's reserves earlier this year.

They're already talking about unconventional approaches including starting the budgeting process from scratch and privatizing the Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport.

Gov. Tim Pawlenty is due to release his budget plan in late January. He has said it's time for "quantum change."

There's a chance lawmakers and Pawlenty could fix the short-term problem this month, allowing them to focus entirely on the bigger gap when they convene their 2009 session.

One option for Pawlenty is to empty the state's nearly depleted rainy day fund and use his executive authority to cut spending enough to wipe out the rest of the near-term deficit.