The Senate late Tuesday approved a $20.5 billion budget deal that raises Metro-North commuter fares, increases overall state education spending for municipalities by $100 million, blocks bus fare hikes, and creates a new state office to promote affordable housing.

The measure now goes to Gov.Dannel P. Malloy, who helped negotiate the agreement.

The bill delays the implementation of generally accepted accounting principles - a goal of Malloy's since he was running for governor. Switching the state's accounting methods to a different system would cost $75 million, and state officials said that was impossible to accomplish in tight fiscal times without a budget surplus.

The budget also closes a projected $200 million deficit in the current year, provides seed funding for a "Connecticut-made'' program to highlight items from the Nutmeg State, increases reimbursements for independent pharmacies, and does not raise taxes beyond those that were raised last year in the largest tax increase in state history.