(From the latimes.com) More than 150,000 California state workers will again face unpaid furloughs, beginning in August, after Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger on Wednesday declared a financial state of emergency and ordered them to take three days off per month.

Starting the second Friday in August, much of California’s government, including Department of Motor Vehicles offices, will be shuttered three times a month at least until a state budget is in place.

The governor’s critics called the order politically motivated, intended to ramp up pressure on the Legislature to pass a budget and on unions to make concessions on their pension plans. Schwarzenegger pitched the move as a necessity to avert a looming cash crunch.

“Our cash situation leaves me no choice but to once again furlough state workers until the Legislature produces a budget I can sign,” Schwarzenegger said in a statement.

The order says the furloughs will end when there’s a budget and the governor’s finance department determines that California has enough cash to meet its obligations.

Read more here: Schwarzenegger orders a new round of unpaid furloughs