California legislators tried and failed for a second day Sunday to close a $40 billion hole in the state’s budget, still one Republican vote short of approving a package that contains $14.3 billion in tax increases.

State Sen. Abel Maldonado, a moderate Republican from Santa Maria, indicated in an interview with The Bee that he was willing to consider casting the decisive vote if he was satisfied with the final version of the tax proposal.

“I’m very concerned with the tax package,” said Maldonado, who early Sunday had been quoted as saying he was adamantly opposed to the tax hikes. “We’re still working on that. Everything’s fluid. I don’t like tax increases let me just work on the tax issue. I’m working on that. I don’t want my state to go off the cliff, OK? I don’t want that.”

Legislative leaders and Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger sought to find a way to persuade Maldonado to vote for the tax bill.

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