Thread: Schwarzenegger vetoes illegal immigrant license bill

www.signonsandiego.com

Governor vetoes bill to grant licenses to illegal immigrants


By Tom Chorneau
ASSOCIATED PRESS

3:45 p.m. October 7, 2005

SACRAMENTO – Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger on Friday vetoed legislation that would have granted driver's licenses to illegal immigrants, saying that approving the measure into law could have undermined national security efforts.
The veto was expected and marked the second time Schwarzenegger has rejected such a bill.

"Enacting this bill will result in billions of dollars being spent on a process that ultimately could conflict with federal regulations," he said in his veto message.

The bill's author, Los Angeles Democrat Gil Cedillo, said the veto broke Schwarzenegger's promise to sign a driver's license bill. He also said the rejection jeopardizes the state's preparation for increased federal security requirements for all driver's licenses.

"He broke his promise to work out a resolution," Cedillo said. "We're committed to keeping America secure and our highways safe, and we're committed to that regardless of what the political climate is."

He said he would reintroduce the bill next year.

The action came as the governor faces a weekend deadline to sign or veto hundreds of bills sent to him by the Legislature. He also vetoed two bills related to easing the state's requirement that high school students pass an exit exam to receive a diploma.

In a case watched closely by his critics, Schwarzenegger signed a bill that bans the use of certain nutritional supplements among high school athletes. He vetoed a similar bill last year and found himself in the midst of controversy this summer after it was revealed he was being paid millions of dollars from magazines that profit from the supplements industry.

Other bills the governor signed Friday ban the sale or rental of extremely violent video games to minors, require cigarettes sold in California to meet fire-safety standards designed to make them go out when not being puffed and allow local governments to require the spay and neutering of certain breeds of dogs to protect the public.

Administration officials announced earlier that Schwarzenegger would veto the driver's license bill, saying California should wait until federal officials completed work on regulations spelling out requirements for such licenses nationwide.

Schwarzenegger vetoed a similar bill last year, saying the licenses should have a different look than standard driver's licenses.

The latest version was designed to satisfied those concerns and to give the Department of Motor Vehicles eight months after the federal regulations were enacted to begin issuing the licenses. Schwarzenegger said that wasn't enough.

His veto was the latest setback for Cedillo, who has tried five times in the past seven years to get such a bill into state law.

Former Gov. Gray Davis signed a bill granting driver's licenses for illegal immigrants in 2003, an action that inflamed many voters and became part of the effort to recall him from office. Schwarzenegger persuaded the Legislature to overturn the law shortly after voters removed Davis and elected him the same year.

Cedillo had cast his latest bill as necessary for improving homeland security by ensuring that illegal immigrants are documented. He also said the bill would improve safety on the state's roads by forcing undocumented workers to take driver's tests.

Earlier in the day, he signed a bill banning high school athletes from using some nutritional supplements, a year after vetoing similar legislation.


The governor's signature on the supplements bill comes after he was criticized for having a multimillion-dollar contract with muscle magazines that derive most of their profits from supplement companies. Critics said the arrangement posed a conflict of interest.

The bill, SB37 by state Sen. Jackie Speier, D-Hillsborough, prohibits high school athletes from using certain performance-enhancing supplements and requires students and parents to signed a pledge not use them. It also prohibits supplement manufacturers from sponsoring school events.

"I'm delighted that the governor has recognized the pivotal role he can play in teaching teen athletes to avoid steroids and dangerous performance-enhancing dietary supplements," Speier said in a statement. "This bill is an outstanding model for other states grappling with the growing problem of steroids and performance-enhancing supplement abuse by teen athletes."

The law prohibits high school athletes from taking three nutritional supplements – synephrine, ephedra and DHEA. The list does not include protein and creatine products.

The governor's signature came after a summer of controversy surrounding his veto of a similar Speier bill last year. Schwarzenegger was accused of having a conflict of interest after a federal securities filing in July disclosed that he would earn at least $1 million a year for five years serving as a consultant to a publisher of fitness magazines.

Much of the advertising in the magazines comes from nutritional supplement companies. Schwarzenegger gave up the contract but continues to write an advice column.

The governor made little comment about the steroids bill during a signing ceremony for a separate piece of legislation and did not take questions about it. His press aides, however, said the latest Speier bill addressed issues the governor objected to a year ago.

"This is a different bill," said Margita Thompson, Schwarzenegger's spokeswoman.

She said the banned substances were not clearly defined last year, an issue she said was corrected in the bill Schwarzenegger signed Friday.

In his veto message last year, Schwarzenegger said Speier's previous bill was focused too much on dietary supplements rather than steroids, which Schwarzenegger has acknowledged using during his bodybuilding career.

The governor said in a July interview with The Associated Press that he was concerned the first Speier bill would have restricted types of supplements he considers beneficial. He said he believes strongly in the use of nutritional supplements as part of a daily diet and pledged not to sign any bill that attempts to regulate them too strictly.

Speier insisted that her bill last year did not regulate normal vitamins or protein powders.

The governor's potential conflict of interest prompted a complaint this summer to the state's political watchdog agency, the Fair Political Practices Commission. The commission has since closed the case but will not comment about the conclusion, said Whitney Barazoto, a spokeswoman for the commission.

At issue was Schwarzenegger's agreement with American Media Inc., publisher of several muscle and fitness magazines. The agreement, signed just before Schwarzenegger became governor, called for him to be paid at least $1 million a year for five years for acting as a consultant and writing columns for the magazines, which included Flex and Muscle & Fitness.

"Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger on Friday vetoed legislation that would have granted driver's licenses to illegal immigrants, saying that approving the measure into law could have undermined national security efforts."


Good boy rrnole

Ahnald!!!

added to homepage

http://www.alipac.us/article788.html

Im not sure that Arnold canned this bill for the right reasons tho...

W

http://www.sfgate.com

NEW LEGISLATION
VETO ROUNDUP: Licenses for illegal immigrants, high school exam exemptions among axed bills
- Christian Berthelsen, Chronicle Staff Writer
Saturday, October 8, 2005


Sacramento -- Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger vetoed a bill Friday that would have allowed illegal immigrants to obtain driver's licenses amid a crush of last-minute decisions on pending legislation.

The bill, SB60 by Sen. Gil Cedillo, was the fifth attempt at licensing immigrant drivers without regard to their legal residency status. Cedillo said it would ensure that drivers here understood motor vehicle law and passed a competency exam.

The bill had already become law once under former Gov. Gray Davis, but Cedillo agreed to have the Legislature repeal it at Schwarzenegger's request and put forward a more modest version. Schwarzenegger has vetoed two subsequent versions, including this year's, which framed the issue in national security terms concerning identity cards.

In his veto message, Schwarzenegger said: "Enacting this bill will result in millions of dollars being spent on a process that ultimately could conflict with federal regulations."

In response, Assembly Speaker Fabian Núñez issued a prepared statement, saying: "By vetoing SB60, the governor is ensuring that those who are on the road will never learn our rules of the road. I am deeply disappointed that after making the many changes that were requested in the governor's veto message last year that this important bill lost out again."

Among other bills vetoed by the governor:

SB586, by Sen. Gloria Romero, D-Los Angeles, which would have provided exemptions from the state high school exit exam for students with disabilities. Schwarzenegger said the bill, which was intended as a legislative vehicle to codify a legal settlement with the state school system, changed the terms of the settlement to extend the exemption from one year to two and shifted the power for granting exemptions from the state school board to local school districts.

AB417, by Assemblyman Greg Aghazarian, R-Stockton, an industry-backed bill that would have defined flavored malt beverages such as Smirnoff Ice and Bacardi Silver as beer under the law, rather than as spirits, which face greater restrictions on distribution. The state attorney general, asserting the drinks are marketed to minors and act as a "gateway" to other alcohol use, sought to have them treated as spirits.

AB772, by Assemblywoman Wilma Chan, D-Alameda, which would have expanded the current health insurance programs for children of working poor and uninsured families. The bill would have made it easier for families to enroll in the programs and would have raised the income eligibility levels to allow more children to qualify.

SB239, by Romero, and AB698, by Assemblyman Ray Haynes, R-Murrietta (Riverside County), which would have allowed the media to conduct one-on-one interviews with specific inmates in California prisons. Schwarzenegger said the media already had enough access to prisons and added: "It is important to avoid treating inmates as celebrities."

Schwarzenegger also signed dozens of bills, including SB670, by Sen. Joe Dunn, D-Garden Grove (Orange County), which formally apologizes to roughly 400,000 American citizens and legal residents of Mexican descent who were forcibly repatriated to Mexico during the 1920s and 1930s. The bill requires that a plaque be placed in a public place commemorating the victims of the repatriation program.

He also signed legislation that bans the sale of cigarettes that extinguish themselves when they're not being puffed. The author of the bill, AB178, Assemblyman Paul Koretz, D-West Hollywood, said the measure would reduce the number of children who were killed by fires caused by negligent smokers.