Massachusetts faces $600M budget gap, Patrick weighs cuts

BOSTON - Gov. Deval Patrick is weighing a series of cuts and the possibility of laying off of up to 2,000 state workers to close a $600 million hole in the current fiscal year state budget.

The spending gap opened up after revenues during the first few months of the fiscal year that began on July 1 fell below original estimates. The state has been expecting $18.9 billion in taxes; now it's expecting $18.3 billion.

Patrick said he's ordering all executive branch managers to take nine unpaid furlough days to save money. He may also go to state lawmakers and ask for special authority to make cuts across other state agencies.

Without that authority, Patrick can only cut from the executive branch. He's also asking other constitutional officers to make similar cuts.