Gov. Martin O'Malley (D-Baltimore) said Maryland may need to make another $200 million in budget cuts next month for the current fiscal year, according to the Associated Press.
O'Malley made the statement Monday on the debut of his "Ask the Governor" television program, where he pointed to declining state revenues and a national economic downturn as the main reasons for the cuts.
O'Malley touched on the possibility of furloughs to avoid layoffs. O'Malley mentioned the possibility of a furlough program in the past, but went into more detail Monday.
The governor also said he met with state budget officials on Monday and that state revenues are expected to be less than previously estimated when the state's Board of Revenue Estimates meets in December, according to the AP.
Following the 2007 special session to deal with the state's deepening fiscal woes, O'Malley began calling for even steeper cuts over the summer when a report from the Board of Revenue Estimates showed the state's general fund revenues at roughly $14 billion - $432 million less than original estimates.
Vast cuts are continuing to be made on both the state and local levels. The O'Malley administration hopes that the passage of November's slots referendum will soften the economic blow and help close the budget deficit within several years.
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