Competing budget plans backed by Democrats and Republicans on the Legislature's Appropriations Committee will go to the full Legislature this week, possibly as soon as Wednesday.

Both proposals are designed to fill a $190 million hole in the state's $6.3 billion two-year budget for the period ending June 30, 2009. The budget debate will begin in the House of Representatives before moving on to the Senate.

Although the Democratic and Republican plans share many similarities - for example, neither would raise taxes or dip into the state's savings accounts - they differ on some key points.

Democratic Gov. John Baldacci supports the Democratic plan that emerged from the Appropriations Committee late last week. Democrats control both branches of the Legislature, although their majority in the Senate is razor-thin.

In addition to trimming $34 million from state aid to local schools, the Democratic plan cuts funding for higher education and social services, but not as dramatically as Baldacci had proposed in the supplemental budget he submitted to the Legislature.