Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger called for another multibillion-dollar wave of borrowing Tuesday for new reservoirs, courthouses, classrooms and prison beds — core public resources that, he said, are strained by California's growing population.

In his annual State of the State speech, the governor laid out a plan for $43.3 billion in bonds over the next three years to pay for a round of public construction that would surpass what voters approved in the November election.

If Schwarzenegger can persuade lawmakers to bring his proposal to the ballot — no easy feat, given widespread worries about state finances — voters would be asked to approve the new borrowing in the 2008 and 2010 elections.