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A bill to block a tax credit scheme that is costing the state tens of millions of dollars was signed out of a joint House-Senate committee late Wednesday.

The bill now heads for a vote in the Senate.

It will go to the governor if passed by both houses before the legislative session ends, which has been plagued by differences over tax cuts and spending issues that has set up a special session in June.

Under two tax credit programs passed a few years ago, venture capital investors are supposed to get a 20 percent tax credit for investing in startup businesses in urban areas and a 30 percent credit in rural areas.

Oklahoma Tax Commission officials say the programs cost the state about $2 million a year for the past three years, but that soared to an estimated $66 million for 2005.