LOS ANGELES, Dec. 1 - Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, with California facing an $11.2 billion deficit, called Monday for another special legislative session to deal with the crisis.

"Without immediate action, our state is headed for a fiscal disaster," Schwarzenegger said while declaring a fiscal emergency at a news conference in Los Angeles. He said the state could run out of cash to pay its bills by late February, the San Francisco Chronicle reported.

With the budget shortfall possibly reaching $28 billion by 2010, the governor criticized the Legislature for failing to agree to a solution at a special session that ended Nov. 25.

"Unfortunately for California, the legislators did not seem to appreciate the severity of our crisis," Schwarzenegger said. "In an emergency like this, we have to take quick action to avoid even worse problems, even if they include decisions we don't like."

With the declaration of a financial emergency, lawmakers have 45 days to pass legislation dealing with the deficit and send it to the governor. If that Jan. 15 deadline is missed, then the Legislature has to stay in session, without considering any other bills, until an agreement is reached. (UPI)