AUGUSTA — The Legislature is in the process of reviewing some tough cuts proposed by Governor John Baldacci to fill a $190 million hole in the budget.

The temptation to raise taxes, however, appears to be a non-starter in the Senate, where several Democrats are joining with their Republican colleagues and saying “no.”

“No. Period,” said Sen. Bill Diamond (D-Cumberland County), when asked if he would vote for a tax increase to help balance the budget.

Sen. John Nutting (D-Androscoggin County) had a similar response, adding he might support a few fee increases, but no serious tax hikes.

“I can’t vote for new taxes when there’s fat in the budget,” Nutting said, using the opportunity to take another shot at Governor John Baldacci for not cutting what he calls “political appointees.”

“What are the Governor’s priorities?” Nutting asked. “He’s protecting political appointees at the expense of the most vulnerable.”

What Diamond and Nutting have to say matters because they tip the balance in the Senate, where there are 18 Democrats to 17 Republicans. Republicans already have pledged not to raise taxes.

Minority Leader Sen. Carol Weston (R-Waldo County) has repeatedly said raising taxes to fill the budget hole just makes a bad economic situation worse for the state’s residents.

Baldacci has said he doesn’t support raising taxes either, much for the same reason.

“Now is not the time to add to their burdens,” the Governor said last week in announcing his budget cuts.

But the pressure is on, particularly from advocates for the poor and providers of health and human services, which are being cut $92 million. Cities and towns also are expected to weigh in once they see the result on their bottom lines from a $34 million cut in state aid to education on top of a $36 million cut made last year.

Protesters, organized by the group Maine Can Do Better, were scheduled to hit the Statehouse full-force Wednesday, during a daylong hearing on the health and human service budget cuts.

Those being cited as the most egregious include cuts in homemaker services for the elderly that allow them to stay out of nursing homes; eliminating the pharmacy benefit for the poorest adults on Medicaid, who often suffer from mental health or substance abuse problems and need their medications to function; and, reductions in mental health care that could push more people into hospital emergency rooms or county jails.

House Speaker Glenn Cummings said the hearings would help determine the severity of the cuts.

“It’s a good indicator of just how much tragedy there is in this budget,” he said.

Democrats in the House, who hold 90 out of 151 seats, appear more willing to support a tax hike, but know they don’t have the support in the Senate.

Cummings said he has no plans to ask for one, and right now is looking for other ways to fill the hole.

“I think it’s an opportunity to look at efficiencies and cuts,” he said, and then assess the damage.

One idea is to spread the impact “across the board” instead of hitting health and human services and education so hard, Cummings said.

The problem is that 80 percent of the state budget is spent in those two areas.

Another is to dip into the state’s reserve accounts, which total close to $160 million, but the Governor says he’s worried things could get worse in April, if income tax returns come in below already lowered projections. That’s when the rainy-day account would be needed, he said.

“The temptation is to rush forward, use our reserves now and avoid the toughest choices,” Baldacci said last week. “We can’t do that. We don’t know how long the current economic trends will continue, and we won’t know until April just how bad circumstances are. Things could get worse.”