"Government must continue to operate, that's of primary importance," Hynes said. "Our vendors, our employees, and the thousands of citizens reliant on state services must not be victimized by government's inability to get its business done on time."

Hynes plans to circulate a Memorandum of Agreement among the four legislative leaders and Constitutional office holders that commits them to passage of a budget and continued operations.

"The purpose of this agreement is to get those responsible for the operations and legislative arms of government on the same page," Hynes said. "While the deadline for the budget is August 8th, we must have certainty today that we will meet that deadline; otherwise we face a potential crisis each and every day."

"The fact that we’ve reached this point is bad enough, but we can't allow daily fear of a shut down to hold this state captive," Hynes said.

The Governor and Legislature have been unable to agree on a permanent budget for Fiscal Year 2008, leading to a record overtime session of the General Assembly. The state is operating under a temporary budget approved in late June, but that spending authority runs out at the end of the month leading to speculation that government services would cease.

State aid to hundreds of school districts will be late if a budget is not approved by Aug. 8 and the first wave of 4,900 state employees will not be paid on time. Hynes said the Comptroller's Office would remain open during the budget impasse.

"My staff will continue to work to ensure a smooth transition whenever a budget is finally approved by the Legislature and signed by the Governor," Hynes said.