Lawmakers in Dover have restored crucial state funding for legal aid services in the state's budget, avoiding what some had feared would have been devastating cuts to three organizations that provide representation for Delaware's poor.

Late Sunday, Democrats and Republicans in the General Assembly agreed on a deal to balance the state's budget and eliminate a more than $350 million revenue shortfall that had pitted lawmakers against each other and caused them to miss their June 30 deadline.

The leadership from both parties finally announced the budget accord after midnight on Monday. The deal restored the bulk of a $600,000 line item for legal aid, which had been removed in earlier negotiations by the General Assembly's Joint Finance Committee.