State to Shut Down Offices Every Other Friday

Budget crisis leaves leaders no choice

State officials say they will close most California state offices on the first and third Fridays of each month starting Feb. 6 as a cost-saving measure.

The closures are part of Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger's plan to force state employees to take unpaid furloughs, or days off, twice a month.

Department of Personnel Administration spokeswoman Lynelle Jolley says exceptions will be made for prisons, hospitals, parks and some other agencies, mostly those that generate money for the state.

Employees at those agencies will be furloughed on a rotating schedule.

Schwarzenegger says the furloughs will save the state about $1.3 billion in the next 18 months as California grapples with a deficit projected at $42 billion.

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