Such a step would put $48 million toward the approximately $400 million hole the state faces this budget year because of faltering revenue projections, according to an internal document given to several newspapers yesterday and today, including The Capital. The Board of Public Works is set to consider the cuts Wednesday.

The list - which also posits reducing local education subsidies by almost $38 million and eliminating more than 700 positions, most of which are vacant - is a compilation of "ugly options," Mr. O'Malley said during a tour of Annapolis yesterday.

Previous rounds of spending decreases have left the state with little choice but to hit the largest areas of state government, including education, public safety and health care.

"We are down to things I think all of us agree are priorities," Mr. O'Malley said.

The list of approximately $396.6 million in possible cuts was sent by T. Eloise Foster, the secretary of the Department of Budget and Management, to Mr. O'Malley on Oct. 1.

"At this point, most of the non-contentious items have been taken and we are left with difficult choices that will certainly impact services and programs," Ms. Foster said in a memo to the governor.

Other big-ticket items in the list include a $26.3 million cut in health care spending, $16.3 million from level-funding community colleges and $4.5 million from a hiring freeze on Maryland State Police troopers.

Because of reserves, Mr. O'Malley would only need about $250 million out of Ms. Foster's list. But the fiscal picture is even bleaker for next year, when the state could face a $1 billion deficit.

"I wish there were a way that I could spare all of us the pain of having to cut into public safety or public health or public education. On this round of cuts that is just not going to be possible," Mr. O'Malley said. "We hope to weather the downturn and come back even stronger."

Before any furloughs are finalized, the governor said, he would discuss the proposal with members of the state government and the heads of labor unions.

Although it is a difficult time in Maryland, employees providing important services still are needed, said Patrick Moran, the director of the state branch of the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees.

"In times like this, people don't ask for less services, people are going to ask for more services," he said.

AFSCME has not had any discussions with the governor about furloughs, Mr. Moran said, and other options need to be considered first, such as payments to contractors.

Furloughs aren't good for anyone, he said, and the administration needs to sit down with workers on the front lines to find out the consequences.

"What's a foster kid going to do (during a furlough)?" Mr. Moran said. "There is too much at jeopardy, too much at stake."

Context is important, said Shaun Adamec, a spokesman for the Governor's Office. While the potential savings from furloughs is substantial, there are hundreds of millions in other options, he said.

"It is part of a list. Nothing is final," he said. "The governor is just going to consider his options."

Mr. O'Malley hopes any decreases will be offset by better times ahead.

"It doesn't mean we won't recoup this lost ground in the future," he said. "But right now some of these cuts are going to appear as if we're moving backward rather than moving forward."