California may need an emergency loan of up to $7 billion from the federal government within weeks, the Los Angeles Times on Friday quoted Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger as saying in a letter to U.S. Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson.

In the letter dated October 2, Schwarzenegger called for the passage of the $700 billion financial industry bailout plan which the U.S. House of Representatives is expected to vote on Friday, the Times said.

“Absent a clear resolution to this financial crisis, California and other states may be unable to obtain the necessary level of financing to maintain government operations and may be forced to turn to the federal treasury for short-term financing,” Schwarzenegger wrote in the letter, according to the paper.

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A top Schwarzenegger aide followed up the letter with a call to the Treasury secretary on Thursday night, the paper said.

The California governor’s office and the U.S. Treasury department could not immediately be reached for comment.

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