Flurry of 78 Schwarzenegger Vetoes in Last Two Days: Major Legislation Vetoed Includes Health Care Reform, California Dream Act,

[courtesy of California Progress Report]

By Frank D. Russo

Governor Schwarzenegger has vetoed Friday and Saturday than he had for the entire rest of the year. The rate of vetoes to bills signed has increased markedly as we approach tonight's deadline for him to act. These vetoes include a number of major items of legislation.

So far this year, Governor Schwarzenegger has signed 670 bills and vetoed 142 bills. The Governor has 153 bills remaining on his desk.

On Friday, he signed 32 bills and vetoed 16. Saturday, he signed 101 and vetoed 62. For this two day period, he vetoed 37% of the measures he acted upon versus an 11% rate he had before then this year when he signed 537 bills and vetoed only 64. So far, he has vetoed 17.5% of the bills to reach his desk this year.

Here is a selection of some of the important bills he has vetoed in just the last two days that have caught our attention:

SB 1 by Senator Gilbert Cedillo (D-Los Angeles) - Student financial aid: eligibility: California Dream Act. This bill would have made California high school graduates who are undocumented children and who meet the non-resident in-state tuition requirements eligible for a fee waiver at community colleges and able to participate in the Cal Grant program.

SB 8 by Senator Sheila Kuehl (D-Santa Monica) - California Bay-Delta Authority Act. Amends the California Bay Delta Authority Act to include an environmental justice element in the CALFED Bay-Delta Program.

SB 171 by Senator Don Perata (D-Oakland) - Hospitals: lift teams. Requires general acute care hospitals to establish a patient protection and health care worker back injury prevention plan that includes identifying patients needing lift teams, and lift, repositioning, or transfer devices.