Gov. Haley Barbour has called a special session so Mississippi lawmakers can finish budgets for state utility regulators. The session will begin at 10 a.m. Friday.

It's unclear how long it will take the House and Senate to agree on funding for the Public Service Commission and the related Public Utilities Staff. The state fiscal year started July 1.

Funding for the two agencies died during a special session last week in a dispute over staffing.

The three elected commissioners wanted to hire more employees to help them evaluate utility companies' requests for rate changes.

House Democrats supported the request, while Barbour and Senate Republicans opposed it.