The state budget is supposed to be passed in less than a month, and  I'm starting to wonder what the budget talks between the legislature and the governor will look like this year.

If legislators are really refusing to negotiate with Governor David Paterson, that throws the whole process out of whack. Not that it was all that great to begin with. There are plenty of reports that legislators - quite a few of them Democrats - are in a quarrel over whether Paterson or Lieutenant Governor Richard Ravitch should lead the talks. Then there's Democratic Senator Carl Kruger, who, according to the New York City-based publication City Hall, has suggested that if things get worse with Paterson, impeachment isn't out of the question. But Kruger also told City Hall that having Ravitch handle budget negotiations is "out of the question." That's Paterson's job, Kruger said, and if he can't do it, he shouldn't be governor.

Paterson, meanwhile, is reminding the folks he's still governor for the rest of 2010. And as governor, he could override any additions that legislators make to his budget, notes an AP article. They could only make cuts.

Where will all this lead? Probably the same place it always does: a few men in a room trying to work it all out. This time, however, the governor might not be one of those dealmakers.