But he added he wasn't too worried yet. "For it to happen, a lot of things will have to transpire."
He's right. For starters, State Controller John Chiang has said he would not implement such an order, asserting the state has enough money on hand. Also, the governor's plan, if carried out, probably would be challenged in court by public employee unions. "Anything's possible the way things are going with the economy," said Gary Balekjian, a deputy attorney general, as he crossed the street in front of the Reagan building. "The sun could supernova too."
Balekjian, who defends the state against employees' lawsuits -- and emphasized he was speaking only for himself, not his office -- said such a move would not save the state in the long run. Balekjian said he is ethically obligated to continue his legal work whether he is paid or not. But if he were to quit because of a drastic salary cut, he added, the state would have to scramble for new lawyers, possibly delaying court cases that would leave the state vulnerable to costly damage payments to plaintiffs. "It's like cutting off your nose to spite your face," he said.
As drafted, the order also calls for the state to immediately lay off 21,855 part-time workers, stop overtime payments for almost all employees and cease all hiring until a budget is enacted.
"I'm kind of worried that one of them might be me," said Jason Kwan, a part-time student assistant in litigation support.
Kwan, 24, is worried that without his job, he won't be able to pay off his student loans at Cal State L.A. or afford law school.
The response from unions to Schwarzenegger's plan was immediate and angry.
"The governor is turning a budget crisis into a catastrophe," said Yvonne Walker, president of Service Employees International Union Local 1000, which represents 95,000 state workers. "How can you tell people, 'We will just pay you this amount and you can catch up later?'
"We are in the middle of a housing crisis, and people are losing their mortgages," she said. "Are they going to issue a notice to mortgage companies that employees will just catch up later?"
Walker said she believed the governor's plan was illegal, and union attorneys are drafting a lawsuit to file if the order is signed.
In the meantime, some state workers had their own suggestions for Schwarzenegger.
"I think the governor should fund the budget with his own resources until he and the Legislature can get together," said Paul Ablon, a state attorney for nearly nine years. "And maybe he'll appreciate how it is to worry about paying your expenses."
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carla.hall@latimes.com
joanna.lin@latimes.com
Times staff writer Evan Halper contributed to this report.
