AUGUSTA, Maine (AP) - Gov. Paul LePage's administration is expected to issue an order cutting state spending by $35.5 million this week.
Lawmakers have been anticipating the curtailment order for several weeks, since lower state revenues were forecast in November.
The administration also is preparing a supplemental budget to close a projected shortfall in the two-year budget that ends June 30. That gap is because of a projected $100 million shortfall in Health and Human Services.
Michael Allen, the state's associate commissioner of tax policy, told lawmakers in November that the revenue shortfall comes from a convergence of events including the "fiscal cliff" negotiations in Congress and a Maine economy that is not growing as quickly as hoped.
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