Another year, another budget battle brewing on the horizon.

As Alert readers know, California's looking at a shortfall of about $20 billion over the next year and a half.

Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger has called a special session for legislators to address about half of that gap, but as colleague Kevin Yamamura reported in yesterday's Bee, the prospect that lawmakers will agree on a full budget fix in the near future doesn't look bright.

(The) Legislature, divided as ever along partisan lines in an election year, doesn't inspire much confidence that it will solve the budget anytime soon.

For starters, California should have enough cash to pay its bills until July. That means lawmakers and Schwarzenegger can negotiate all spring without the immediate specter of embarrassing IOUs.

While lawmakers were able to reach a difficult compromise last February to impose tax hikes and spending cuts, the repercussions of that agreement have encouraged both parties to hold their ground this time.

So when will the Legislature pass a budget bill that gets signed into law by Schwarzenegger?

Your guess is as good as ours.

Grab your crystal ball and tea leaves, because it's time for Capitol Alert's annual Budget Pool.

We're giving our faithful readers the chance to bet on the exact time and date the final budget package clears both houses. And we're not talking about the current-year fix the Legislature could tackle in the coming weeks -- we want you to take a guess at when the whole shebang gets sent to the governor's desk.

The reader who submits the closest guess takes home a grand prize of a $25 gift card to a capital coffee shop (readers hailing from beyond the Sactosphere will have the option to snag a Starbucks gift card).

Ready to play? Here are the rules:

Send your prediction our way at contest@capitolalert.com. Entries must include an exact day and time the budget will have passed through both houses of the Legislature and your full name in order to be eligible. All entries must be sent in by 11:59 a.m. (that's just before noon) on Friday, Jan. 22. (Click here for the full legal rules.)

The constitutional deadline for the Legislature to approve a budget is midnight on June 15. To help readers make an educated guess (if such a thing is possible), here's when the last two budgets cleared the Legislature:

• 2009-2010 budget bill: About 7 a.m. on Feb. 19, 2009.
• 2008-2009 budget: Past midnight on Sept. 16, 2008.

With that range, good luck leaning on history to make your guess. We'll hold on to the bids until the big day arrives and let you know which reader has the best crystal ball in town.