Gov. Patrick vs. the state legislature.

Local legislators said Monday they will give final approval to an ethics reform bill this week and accused Gov. Deval Patrick of grandstanding on the issue.

The lawmakers said the governor should know that they have been working toward passage of the bill and his recent threats over it are unnecessary.

Patrick criticized the Legislature last week for passing tax increases before approving ethics reform. He said he will veto the budget if an ethics bill does not make it to his desk.

"The fact that we have not been able to pass a strong ethics reform bill - despite the clear need to restore the public's trust - threatens all the progress we have made," Patrick said last week.

"For the Legislature to enact a 25 percent increase in the sales tax without first passing a strong ethics bill goes against the pledge that the legislative leaders and I made," the governor said.

State Rep. Bill Bowles, D-Attleboro, said the governor's statement was political posturing.

He said both the House and Senate have passed their versions of ethics reform. A conference committee is working out a compromise bill because the two original versions differ.

"One of the frustrating things is the governor knows both the House and Senate have passed a bill and they are just working out the details," Bowles said.

There has been speculation the governor has adopted a re-election strategy of distancing himself from the Democratic Legislature.

UPDATE: From Michael Graham, Mary Connaughton, the Globe and Herald.

SECOND UPDATE: From Massachusetts Matters, Scot Lehigh, the AP, Boston Globe and Herald.