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Calif. Votes to License Illegal Immigrants




By STEVE LAWRENCE
Associated Press Writer

September 9, 2005, 3:29 AM EDT

SACRAMENTO, Calif. -- California lawmakers voted Thursday to offer illegal immigrants special driver's licenses, a measure Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger is expected to veto.

Supporters said the licenses would make the roads safer because illegal immigrants, many of whom already are driving, would be required to pass driving tests to get them.


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But Republican Sen. Tom McClintock argued the measure "sends a powerful message that it is the official policy of this state not to recognize or respect this nation's immigration laws."

Schwarzenegger rejected a similar bill last year. Thursday night, the governor's legislative liaison, Richard Costigan, said Schwarzenegger would veto this legislation as well.

The state Senate also sent the governor legislation aimed at curbing high school athletes' use of nutritional supplements. The bill would prohibit student athletes from using ephedra, synephrine and DHEA.

Schwarzenegger vetoed similar legislation last year while on the payroll of a magazine publisher that receives advertising revenue from the supplement industry. The governor has since ended his financial arrangement with the magazines, but the former business relationship is the subject of a state ethics probe.

Another bill approved Thursday by the Senate and Assembly would bar the sale or rental of extremely violent video games to minors. It now goes to the governor.

California lawmakers adjourned for the year late Thursday.