San Francisco  - California governor Arnold Schwarzenegger is planning a ruthless pay cut for over 200,000 state employees in a bid to solve the state budget crisis, according to reports Thursday.

The former action movie star wants to slash workers' pay to the federal minimum wage level of just 6.55 dollars an hour until lawmakers resolve a budget impasse that is threatening to leave the state without the basic funds it needs to keep operating. The workers would be entitled to recover the difference between their salaries and the minimum wage once the state enacts a budget.

The budget should have been passed by July 1, but lawmakers have been unable to agree on ways to close the state's 15.2 billion dollar deficit.

"Because this Legislature has failed to pass a budget, and we don't have a rainy-day fund, this is one of a number of options we are considering to make sure we don't run out of cash," Aaron McLear, a spokesman for the governor, told The San Jose Mercury News.

Schwarzenegger was elected governor is a snap recall election in 2003 as the state underwent a budget crisis in the aftermath of the dot-com bust. Now he is widely blamed for the current crisis and his approval rating among voters is 40 per cent, according to a Field Poll released this week, down from 60 per cent in December. (dpa)