Governor Schwarzenegger has warned the state faces a cash shortage this Summer… It’s part of the reason he called a fiscal emergency to address a potential three-point-three billion dollar deficit this year.

Democrat Denise Ducheny chairs the Senate Budget Committee. She says hearings next week will focus largely on finding unspent money in state programs—something difficult to do late in the fiscal year.

 “So most people have spent this year’s allocation. Anything we can do to reduce that right now we need to do …”

Ducheny says the committee will also look to new programs that began January 1st for cutbacks.  To deal with the potential cash crunch, Governor Schwarzenegger has proposed a few options: Selling some already approved bonds and delaying payments—including some to schools and local governments.