It hasn’t happened in decades. But next week, Connecticut lawmakers might only pass a one-year state budget – because of a stalemate with Gov. Ned Lamont.

House Speaker Matt Ritter (D-Hartford) said negotiators have been unable to reach an agreement on how to pay for raises for nursing home and group home workers in the second year of the budget. The $180 million deal reached by Lamont last week prevented a statewide strike.

Ritter said both sides are about $200 million apart on spending for the second year of the budget. He said uncertainty around funding cuts from Washington is also complicating the budget picture.

“The worst thing and most dangerous thing you can do is leave without a budget of some kind,” he told reporters.

But Lamont said that he’s confident both sides can make a deal before next Wednesday’s deadline. The governor said he’s “inclined” to veto a one-year budget.

“I think that’s a mistake. Mayors and superintendents and everybody wants a little bit of predictability. That’s why 35 years ago, we went to a two-year biennial budget,” he said. “We’re not talking about cuts. We’re talking about how much we increase."

If Lamont vetoes the budget, Democrats would need almost all of their members to override him.

Lawmakers opted not to adjust the last biennial budget, leading to a $300 million Medicaid shortfall this year.

Republicans said that lawmakers need to pass a full, two-year budget – even if that means difficult funding decisions.

“The Democrats spent all of the winter and spring blaming President Trump and setting up the state of Connecticut for massive federal cuts. And those cuts didn’t come through,” said House GOP leader Vin Candelora (R-North Branford). “And now they’re left with actually having to do their job.”

The last time Connecticut failed to pass a budget at all was 2017, which led to months of funding freezes when then-Gov. Dannel Malloy took over state finances. The standoff ended with a package of spending limits known as the “fiscal guardrails” that have led to billions of dollars in surpluses.