AUGUSTA, Maine - Lawmakers reached an early morning deal Wednesday on an alternative budget proposal for the Department of Health and Human Services - a move that likely will send the budget to the House and Senate for votes next week.

Members of the Legislature's Appropriations Committee came to an agreement on two controversial items that had stalled the process in recent days.

As part of a bipartisan compromise, the budget proposal caps MaineCare funding for childless adults, or non-categoricals, at $40 million by freezing enrollment and through natural attrition.

Additionally, the committee agreed to reduce the eligibility threshold for parents of children on MaineCare from 200 percent of poverty level to 133 percent of poverty level. That change will not take affect until October 2012, however, and will bring Maine in line with the threshold spelled out in the federal Affordable Care Act.

The deal received unanimous support from Republicans and Democrats on the Appropriations Committee. Party leaders from both sides helped negotiate the compromise.

It's not yet clear how Gov. Paul LePage will react to the alternative budget. He has criticized lawmakers sharply in recent days and on Tuesday said he would veto any budget bill that did not eliminate non-categoricals.