The Courant is reporting the a budget deal was struck late Monday night. From the sketchy details emerging, and I’ll have mroe later, it seems that the new budget is the same old budget with few tweaks. Details are still under wraps but some were leaked to the Courant:

The deal, which the House and Senate must still ratify, calls for keeping the popular property tax credit at the current maximum of $500, according to a person familiar with the negotiations.

If enacted, that would represent a blow to Democrats who have pushed for months to increase the credit to $1,000. The agreement also does not include any increase in the state income tax rates, which Democrats had sought.

The agreement includes “historic increases in health care spending” and “historic increases” in educational cost-sharing funds that are sent to cities and towns, according to the person familiar with the negotiations.

The increases involve millions of dollars, but precise totals were not available Monday night.

One setback for taxpayers would be a 33 percent increase in the state’s cigarette tax to $2 per pack, up from the current $1.51 per pack.

One aspect that remains unclear Monday night was a trade-off between creating an earned income tax credit for the working poor and phasing out the estate tax for those who die with more than $2 million.

source: The Courant, Budget Deal Set: Tentative Accord Increases Spending For Health Care And Education, But Keeps Property Tax Credit As Is, By CHRISTOPHER KEATING, June 19, 2007