AUGUSTA -- Gov. John Baldacci today will detail his order to curtail state spending for the remainder of the fiscal year.

The curtailment comes as state government expects revenue to drop $110 million to $150 million below previous projections.

The state is taking a revenue hit from numerous sources: less income tax as unemployment rises, less sales tax as consumers spend less, and less property tax as property values slump.

Baldacci's office had requested that the heads of all state agencies submit proposals for spending cuts for the remainder of the current fiscal year, which ends June 30, 2009.

Maine's Revenue Forecasting Committee next meets Friday, and state officials have warned revenue projections could fall below the previous estimates.

The size of the curtailment order will not change, however, if committee members revise the expectations, Baldacci spokesman David Farmer said.

"It will give us better information moving forward," he wrote in an e-mail.

Joy Leach, a spokeswoman for the governor, was unable to detail the size of the curtailment order on Tuesday. Officials were in budget meetings most of the day, she said.

Education Commissioner Susan Gendron told superintendents last week the Department of Education's share of the curtailment would amount to nearly $55 million.

Education spending -- most of which flows down to local districts -- accounts for approximately 40 percent of state expenditures, according to Gendron. Thus, school districts across the state have been bracing for the potential effects of a curtailment order.

Locally, Augusta's public schools have instituted a spending freeze for the remainder of the school year, curbing new spending on travel and professional development and preventing new purchases. The system is hoping to save $600,000 with the spending freeze.

The University of Maine at Augusta expects to cut $1 million from its $32 million budget this year. The University of Maine System, which includes UMA and six other campuses, anticipates at least $8 million in cuts to its budget this year.

At the University of Maine at Farmington, a spokeswoman said a budget advisory task force has begun meeting to determine where the college can make cuts, restructure and generate new revenues.

The curtailment order is separate from planning for the next biennial budget, for which Baldacci has asked state agency heads to reduce requests 10 percent to account for diminished revenue projections.

Matthew Stone -- 623-3811, Ext. 435

mstone@centralmaine.com