California IOUs worrying business owners

SACRAMENTO, July 12 (UPI) -- Business officials in California say they are growing concerned about the state government's budgetary problems and use of IOUs for payments.

Staff USA owner Gloria Freeman said the state is behind on its medical staffing payments to her business in Rocklin, Calif., CNN reported Sunday.

"We've already been delayed by six months in payment from the state -- and now we're expecting one of those IOUs," said Freeman, who counts on the government contract for 80 percent of her firm's annual revenue. "The real problem is not knowing how long it will take them to resolve this issue."

Gary Button said his Redwood Debris Box Service firm in Burlingame, Calif., is also concerned about the government's troubles paying for the company's garbage and recycling containers.

"We've never seen this before -- never had anything happen where we didn't get money from the state," he told CNN.

CNN said the California government has sent out $354 million in IOUs to state businesses and residents, so far, and the total could reach $3 billion by month's end.