And Now The Budget Agreement Is Said To Be Complete

Just moments after I posted that the education spending bill was holding up the state budget comes word that the budget agreement is now set:

ALBANY — Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo and legislative leaders have reached a deal on the next state budget that provides $300 million to expand prekindergarten in New York City, officials said on Saturday.

The agreement, which followed exhausting but relatively peaceful negotiations, does not include a tax increase on high-earning city residents that Mayor Bill de Blasio sought to pay for preschool classes and after-school programs — and that he had made a focus of his bid for office last year.

But the mayor appears likely to receive much of the money he had sought to raise through the tax, which his advisers said had been their primary goal. The mayor had wanted about $340 million for the prekindergarten expansion.

In the last few days of negotiations, Mr. Cuomo and legislative leaders discussed a number of other issues, including proposals to provide additional state funding and other protections for charter schools, and a measure to enact what would amount to a temporary freeze on increases in property taxes.

The spending plan was largely negotiated in secret by the governor and top lawmakers, and details about the agreement were not immediately released on Saturday. Budget legislation was printed overnight, and lawmakers, lobbyists and reporters were combing through the bills in an effort to determine the terms of the deal. A spokeswoman for Mr. Cuomo did not respond to a request for comment on Saturday.

Devil is in the details here.

We await those details.