BATON ROUGE - Louisiana lawmakers could end their special session early, as the Senate tries to speed passage of a nearly $29 billion operating budget without changes that would force extra votes.

The Senate Finance Committee on Thursday voted 8-3 to send the proposal, exactly as it passed the House, to the full Senate for consideration in a Friday debate.

If senators don't rewrite or tweak the spending plan, that will be the last stop before heading to the governor.

The budget proposal, which keeps most agencies free of cuts, narrowly passed the House after several Republicans joined Democrats in voting against the chamber's GOP leadership.

Senate leaders are concerned that changing the bill and forcing a second vote in the House could risk the shaky budget deal.

The session must end Monday.