TRENTON - The budget deal is in place, Senate Budget Chairman Paul Sarlo announced this afternoon as he kicked off his committee against the backdrop of ongoing statehouse drama.

"There is a deal in place [for the $60.7 billion budget]," said Sarlo. "There will be no government shutdown.

"I do not have a time frame," he added, ahead of the June 30th state constitutional deadline.

Committee Room 4 in the Statehouse Annex buzzed with insider budget talk. Republicans fumed about the lack of details. Nothing in print. "There is no budget deal," said a GOP member of the committee on his way to his chair.

Sarlo seemed to be reacting to that skepticism when he gaveled in the hearing.

Sources in the room described the crux of the StayNJ portion of the deal, which lowers the income threshold to $200K from $500K but modifies qualifications so more people can benefit from the program - a win for Governor Mikie Sherrill.

Late questions also revolved around the Make Polluters Pay Act, prepped for a legislative vote. The bill (S2338) would require the world's largest fossil fuel companies to pay $50 billion over 20 years for the climate damages they caused, saving New Jersey families and small businesses billions. Last week, 25 Assembly members signed a public letter urging Speaker Coughlin to post the bill for a floor vote before the budget is finalized. The bill advanced out of the Appropriations Committee on Tuesday and awaits a hearing in the Senate Budget Committee.

Watch Senators Linda Greenstein, Patrick Diegnan and Andrew Zwicker advocate for the bill just ahead of the Budget Committee:

In addition, the precise amount of aid money for Jersey City and its taxpayer impact on the cash-strapped northern municipality caused late discussion and speculation.