In New Jersey, with a $3.5 billion shortfall and a crushing $32 billion debt, Gov. Jon S. Corzine, a Democrat, has proposed drastically increasing the toll fees on the state's three toll roads and issuing up to $38 billion in bonds against future toll revenues. The money would be used to pay down the debt and make needed infrastructure improvements.

In Massachusetts, facing a $1.5 billion shortfall, Democratic Gov. Deval L. Patrick is reportedly considering presenting a budget to the Legislature this month that would count as revenue up to $900 million from license fees from three new casinos. Patrick needs cash to support his plans to improve education in the state. But the idea of using the casino license fees has drawn criticism because Patrick's casino plan has not yet been approved by the Legislature, where there is strong opposition.

"It's completely irresponsible," said Michael J. Widmer, president of the Massachusetts Taxpayers Foundation, a research group. "What are we doing using one-time revenue to close a fiscal gap?"

State governments went through a similar period of slow growth and belt-tightening during the slowdown that began with the bursting of the technology stock bubble and the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon. That slowdown lasted until 2004, but states were able to weather it because property taxes remained high, lining the coffers of local governments.

This time, economists and analysts fear, the bursting of the property bubble will soon start to cause financial problems for localities dependent on property taxes, and they will have to turn to the state governments for aid.

The problem is exacerbated in New York and Northern New Jersey because of the two state's heavy reliance on Wall Street's good fortunes to keep their own tax revenues high.

Some say the problem is overspending by state governments. New governors, in particular Patrick and Spitzer, came into office with a list of plans to implement and promises they want to keep — in Spitzer's case, expanding health insurance for children, increasing the stock of middle-income housing, and investing a billion dollars in an Upstate economic development fund. Patrick wants to revive the cabinet-level post of education secretary and is exploring whether to offer in-state college tuition to the children of illegal immigrants who attend public schools.

Critics say the governors' one-time gimmicks to raise money mask deeper budgetary problems. "They try to get more and more creative financially, but all of this can't replace budgetary responsibility," said Nicole Gelinas, a senior fellow with the Manhattan Institute, a New York think tank. "At some point, the checkbook has to balance. At some point, they'll run out of things to securitize or sell off."