And Los Angeles County officials said they would cover welfare payments to more than 500,000 local recipients — for now.
But California is projected to be $346 million short of the funds it needs to pay all its bills in February. By March, the state would be so far in the red that even continuing to suspend payments would not cover the shortfall. California would be insolvent, making the issuance of IOUs likely.
From later on in the article….
The state has also halted payments of bond money for more than 5,300 public-works projects.
On Friday, the state Department of Finance temporarily exempted 276 of the projects from the freeze, reasoning that because they are nearly complete, it could cost the state more to shut them down than to finish them.