Beaches at Lake Natoma and Folsom Lake will go without lifeguards. Drivers could wait longer for licenses at the Department of Motor Vehicles.

But state officials said Thursday that they couldn't predict how much state services will suffer now that Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger has laid off an estimated 10,300 temporary workers.

Schwarzenegger on Thursday also banned overtime, froze state hiring and reduced pay for about 200,000 state workers to the federal minimum wage of $6.55 per hour to preserve cash in the midst of a prolonged budget impasse.

The Republican governor said the state will be less productive because of the layoffs in the executive order he signed.

"I think that whenever you have layoffs and you do that, it will have an impact," Schwarzenegger said. "… In the private sector, we read every day stories where companies have to lay off. That means there is less productivity there. So we have to tighten our belt, everyone has to tighten our belt."

The Republican governor intends to reverse those moves once lawmakers reach a budget compromise, rehiring many of the workers and giving employees their back pay. The governor's order exempts workers in crucial health and safety positions.

The state controller estimates that the state employs about 32,000 temporary workers, but Schwarzenegger's Department of Personnel Administration said only about a third of them will receive pink slips.

At the Broadway field office of the DMV, scores of people – some unaware of the furloughs – waited for their turn at the counter. In the coming days, as DMV lays off workers, delays could grow longer.

"They just told me I'll have to wait for 40 minutes," said Dinah Hammond, a Sacramento attorney who was attempting to get registration stickers.

"I'm concerned, but I'm not sure whether there's anything we can do about it," Hammond said.

The DMV has 169 field offices that serve as points of contact for the state's millions of taxpayers, who could find themselves inconvenienced because there will be fewer workers to staff the customer counter. As many as 2,077 DMV employees are eligible for the furlough, according to the State Controller's Office.

"It's too early to tell what the impact will be, and we're still measuring that potential impact," said DMV spokesman Mike Marando. "There will definitely be impacts in the days going forward."

"Everybody hates to go to the Department of Motor Vehicles and complains about the lines," said Assembly Speaker Karen Bass, D-Los Angeles. "How long do you think the lines will be if workers were laid off and they're not there?"

California's budget is now 32 days late as Democrats and Republicans remain divided over how to bridge a $15.2 billion shortfall in a $101 billion general fund budget. Democrats have proposed $8.2 billion in tax increases, while Republicans call for cuts in education and social programs in addition to long-term changes to reduce future state spending.

Schwarzenegger said Thursday the state's financial situation and the fact that no budget has been signed "leaves me with no easy choices, only choices with consequences."

He tried to fault the Legislature for his executive order, stating that "none of this had to happen" and that he had asked legislators to begin negotiating in January.

"I have a responsibility to ensure that our state has enough money to pay its bills," he said.

Schwarzenegger said he understands the action will affect families already struggling financially. "I want to apologize to all the state employees for having to do this," he said. "State employees are working very hard … But this is the only way out."

For those embarking on hundreds of professions the state regulates, from barbering to auto repair, the wait time to obtain licenses could stretch, said Luis Farias, a spokesman for the state Department of Consumer Affairs.

Most of those subject to layoffs work as license examiners and proctors, who monitor examinations, Farias said.

Call Kevin Yamamura, Bee Capitol Bureau, (916) 326-5548. Judy Lin of The Bee Capitol Bureau contributed to this report.