Schwarzenegger backs away from veto threat, vows to weigh bills on merits
The governor, saying lawmakers had made progress in water talks, signed hundreds of measures ahead of the midnight deadline.
Eric Bailey and Evan Halper
Los Angeles Times
10/12/2009
Yee responded in an angry statement that the veto "protects the UC and CSU administration's egregious executive compensation practices and allows them to continue to act more like [insurance giant] AIG than a public trust."
The governor vetoed a so-called Octomom bill, derived by the controversy surrounding the octuplets born to Southern California resident Nadya Suleman.
The measure, SB 647 by Sen. Gloria Negrete McLeod (D-Chino), would have created new oversight for clinics that provide in vitro fertilization. Schwarzenegger said the bill did not go far enough, and he hoped to work with medical practitioners to develop even tougher licensing requirements.
In addition, the governor:
* Vetoed a bill that animal welfare advocates believed would stem the scourge of puppy mills in the state by capping at 50 the number of unsterilized dogs and cats for breeding or selling by one owner.
Schwarzenegger said he supports measures to prevent animal cruelty but felt "an arbitrary cap" had "the potential to criminalize the lawful activities of reputable breeders, pet stores, kennels and charitable organizations engaged in raising service and assistance dogs."
The bill, AB 241, was sponsored by Assemblyman Pedro Nava (D-Santa Barbara).
* Rejected an extension of a moratorium on new card clubs in the state until 2020. In the veto message he attached to SB 213, by Sen. Dean Florez (D-Shafter), Schwarzenegger noted that there is already a moratorium until 2015.
* Said no to a measure that would have required police to receive training in how to deal with members of the Sikh faith, who carry a small, curved sword called a kirpan.
Civil rights activists pushed for the bill, AB 504 by Assemblyman by Warren Furutani (D-Long Beach), saying Sikhs who carry the blade, which they consider sacred, are being unnecessarily arrested and prosecuted. Schwarzenegger said the state Commission on Peace Officer Standards and Training should set such guidelines, not the Legislature.
* Signed into law a bill intended to allow California to compete for billions of dollars in new "Race to the Top" education grants from the federal government. The bill, SB 19 by Sen. Joe Simitian (D-Palo Alto), erases some restrictions in state law that may have limited the extent to which student data could be used to judge the quality of instruction, possibly disqualifying California from the federal program.
* Approved higher penalties on dogfight spectators. AB 242 by Nava subjects those who attend the fights to as much as a year in county jail and a $5,000 fine.
