Nineteen days away from a deadline to reach an agreement with the Legislature on a state budget, Governor Jerry Brown said Friday that such a deal is within “striking distance.”

His pronouncement comes as Democratic legislators struck down millions of dollars in proposed cuts to health care and welfare services this week and Republican legislators maintain their vow to block voters from extending $12 billion in taxes until the Democrats get more serious about making cuts. Brown's $85 billion budget proposal relies half on cuts and half on those tax extensions to close a $26 billion deficit.

Democrats on the Assembly and Senate budget committees also agreed to squash redevelopment agencies, enterprise zones and shift more control over criminal justice and health care programs to counties.

Select state assemblymembers and senators will join together next week to work out a single budget bill to present to Brown.

Next week:

• Democrats have to plug holes they created by washing away cuts Brown had proposed.

• Republicans are likely to share a list of reforms they want to see enacted—or at least have an assurance that Brown will deal with them sooner rather than later. Reforms could include making state employees contribute more to their pension and health care accounts, shedding away regulations that raise the cost of doing business in California and imposing a hard discretionary spending cap. Brown and Democrats hav left open the idea of agreeing to reforms to the pension system, but wants to see the Republican's proposal first.

• Democrats will have to consolidate differences in budget bills passed by each chamber's budget committee on Friday. For example, the Assembly's version calls for a $300 million reserve fund. Following Brown's original proposal, senators still want a $1 billion reserve.

Every Democrat and four Republicans must sign off on Brown's plan to maintain the current levies on vehicles, and . Nearly two in three voters struck down a similar plan two years ago.

But Brown plans to make it clear, should the ballot measure be approved, that voters who vote against the tax extensions would be voting in support of doubling the amount of cuts the state has to make.

“A check-in by the voters, either a yes or no, will clear the air and send a very clear mandate to the Legislature and myself,” Brown said.

Senate President Pro Tem Darrell Steinberg said it's only fair to give the people a voice.

"Look at the big picture," he said, "the public is telling us loud and clear 'do all that you can to put this fiscal crisis behind us."

Using a hypothetical proposal by the nonpartisan Legislative Analyst's Office as a starting point, Brown said he may soon release his own version of a budget cutting $26 billion.

Republicans are optimistically predicting voters won't support keeping taxes high.

“Taxes don't fix the problem because it doesn't address any of the structural problems in the state,” a spokesman for Senate Republican leader Bob Dutton said Friday.

The Wall Street Journal repors lobbyists on both sides of the public employees pension debate have been very active in Sacramento during the past month.

Assembly Republicans showed a greater willingness to cooperate, but wanted to see more specifics from the Democrats.

"This budget proposal is long on taxes and short of long-term changes that will ensure enduring budget stability," Assemblyman Jim Nielsen (R-Gerber) said in a statement. "It is critical that the Budget Conference Committee put meat on the bones of these all too vague budget proposals and concepts, such as realignment."

For his part, Brown made yet another populist cut on Friday. He announced in a press release that state agencies would no longer be allowed to spend $2 million a year buying swag such as keychains, pens and mugholders to give away for free.

Reach executive producer Paresh Dave here. Follow him on Twitter: @peard33.