MONTGOMERY -- Gov. Robert Bentley on Wednesday said he will not try to shift money from the Education Trust Fund to the General Fund next year, will not propose tax increases and expects to propose a "tough" operating budget for non-education agencies.

He said spending from the General Fund, a part of the state operating budget and a major source of money for Medicaid, prisons, courts and other non-education functions, could drop by roughly 25 percent, more than $400 million, from this year to next year.

Lots of windfalls supporting the General Fund in this fiscal year will be gone in fiscal 2013, which starts Oct. 1.

"It's going to be a tough budget," Bentley said in an interview. Bentley by Feb. 9 likely will unveil his proposed state budgets for fiscal 2013, an education budget and an operating budget for other state functions. This year's regular session of the Legislature starts Feb. 7.

Bentley said Education Trust Fund spending next year would be chopped slightly, but nothing like the looming General Fund cuts.

Top-ranking lawmakers said an operating budget with a General Fund chopped from roughly $1.8 billion this year to an amount that likely will be between $1.3 billion and $1.4 billion next year could lead to closed programs, some merged agencies and substantial layoffs.