In the latest sign that Texas' budget woes could prove even tougher than expected, a new study warned Tuesday that the state could face a shortage of as many as 12,000 prison beds within two years if it whacks corrections programs as planned.

Cuts of up to $600 million over the next two years would hobble rehabilitation, probation and treatment programs that have saved taxpayers almost that much in the past four years, the report said, and the resulting flood of Texans that would be sent to prison would quickly overwhelm the current capacity of state-run lockups.

"The new costs, the big costs, that Texas is looking at will be for new prisons, more capacity," said Tony Fabelo , a national criminal justice consultant who authored an updated projection of Texas' prison needs that was presented to the Senate Criminal Justice Committee on Tuesday.

Details.