State legislators will begin debating how to fill a $190 million hole in the state budget today when the House of Representatives takes up competing Democratic and Republican plans to solve the problem.

Both proposals rely largely on spending cuts in such areas as education and social services, although there are key differences between the two. They include a Democratic plan, opposed by Republicans, to shut down the Legislature's watchdog agency and transfer its duties and two of its seven staffers to another legislative office.

Odds are the House will first accept the Democratic plan before taking up floor amendments from individual lawmakers.

The budget debate is expected to continue through the week, and possibly into the weekend, as the issue bounces back and forth between the House and the Senate during preliminary voting, before final votes are taken.