The governor's bill disposition deadline struck at midnight last night, and the governor perfectly paddled on the left and the right for a straight path down the center.
"Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger
has signed the nation's first law requiring semiautomatic pistols sold in the state to leave a unique imprint on bullets that are fired, giving police another way to try to link shootings to the criminals who carry them out," reports Demian Bulwa in the Chron.
"The bill was among dozens that Schwarzenegger signed this weekend, banning toxic plastic softeners in toys for toddlers, blessing the sale of kangaroo-skin soccer shoes and purses, and whacking artery-clogging trans fats in school cafeterias and vending machines.
"The governor also signed a bill to create the San Francisco Bay Area Water Emergency Transportation Authority. The action will turn over control of most of the ferry service on San Francisco Bay to the new state authority, a consolidation that is expected to better serve the region in the event of a large earthquake or other disaster. The Golden Gate Bridge, Highway and Transportation District ferries are not included in the consolidation.
"The Crime Gun Identification Act, by Assemblyman
Mike Feuer, D-Los Angeles, forces gun sellers by 2010 to use so-called microstamping technology to imprint characters that reveal a gun's make, model and serial number on bullet casings. It applies only to semiautomatic pistols sold in California.
"'This is a really positive first step, and hopefully other states will follow California's lead,' Richmond police Chief
Chris Magnus said Sunday. 'This is not the total answer for the challenge of solving some of these crimes. But each of these technologies can be a piece of a solution.'"
"Acting on the last batch of bills from what experts called a disappointing regular legislative year, Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger on Sunday
signed into law a controversial increase in motorists' fees that is intended to raise millions to develop alternative fuel and clean-air technology," reports Patrick McGreevy in the Times.
"Consumer advocates condemned the bill for putting the costs on the backs of motorists rather than oil companies.
"Schwarzenegger also
signed what became known as the "toxic toys" bill, which makes California the first state to prohibit the use of chemical compounds called phthalates in products designed for children under 3 years old.
"Making his way through the final 153 bills, the governor
vetoed legislation proposed by state Senate President Pro Tem Don Perata (D-Oakland) that would have allocated $611 million to work on solving the state's water problems.
"Schwarzenegger also
vetoed a bill allowing the distribution of condoms to inmates in all state prisons, but said he would allow a pilot program at one lockup to see if it helps reduce the spread of HIV.
"He also
signed a widely criticized measure allowing the owners of Staples Center in Los Angeles to access millions of state dollars earmarked for affordable housing-related programs in order to improve streets near the sports facility."
The governor also went down the middle on the debate over compensation at UC and CSU.
"The UC Board of Regents
will now be required to discuss and vote on executives’ compensation packages in open session as mandated by a law signed by the governor Friday," reports Stephanie Ludwig in the Daily Cal.
"The new law requires that the regents approve the compensation packages of the UC president, vice presidents, chancellors, treasurer, assistant treasurer, general counsel and the regents’ secretary in open session and provide a rationale for the package.
"The law, introduced by State Senator
Leland Yee (D-San Francisco/San Mateo), was enacted following outcry over compensation policy violations that were uncovered in 2006. According to a report approved by the regents at their May meeting, UC President
Robert Dynes committed 22 such violations during his term as president."
Meanwhile, the guv
vetoed AB 1413, the California Faculty Association's bill.
The Bee's Dan Smith
continues the legislative roundup. "Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, who has used his governorship to raise environmental awareness and push healthy eating, on Sunday
vetoed bills that would have forced chain restaurants to post nutritional information and encouraged "green" construction of buildings.
"And he
made good on a promise to approve a bill that forbids the state's massive public employment retirement funds to invest in companies with business in Iran. But the governor delivered a victory to business interests who lobbied hard against Senate Bill 120, which would have required chain restaurants with at least 14 outlets to post nutritional information about menu items."
"With pension and contract fights on the horizon, California's
largest state workers union first must fight off a rear-guard action that threatens to reduce its total revenue by more than 25 percent," writes the Bee's Andy Furillo.
"The internal dispute within Service Employees International Union Local 1000 stems from the labor organization's decision last year to raise its dues 50 percent. As a result of the increase, a retired information systems analyst has forced an election that could exclude "fair-share" fee payers in SEIU 1000's largest bargaining unit from forking over any money to the union at all.
"
Lyle Hintz, 60, is the retired SEIU 1000 member who started the campaign to abolish the fee last year. He described his campaign as a protest against union leadership and said he is seizing on the fair-share issue as the best way to express it.
"The [Public Employment Relations] board has verified that 30 percent -- or about 13,000 employees -- in the union's Bargaining Unit 1, the so-called administrative division, have signed petitions calling for the election. A date for the balloting is expected to be set this week, according to PERB general counsel division chief
Les Chisholm."
The Bee's Steve Wiegand
runs down potential bidders in the governor's proposal to lease the lottery. "The buzz around the gambling industry's water coolers is that Gov. Schwarzenegger's bid to lease the state lottery has attracted interest from a couple of places. One is the Rhode Island-based lottery giant GTech Corp., which in turn is a subsidiary of Rome-based Lottomatica, which has its hand in lotteries in 45 countries.
"The other is a consortium of California Indian tribes that operate casinos. The six-member California Tribal Business Alliance was interested enough to commission a poll last summer to see how the citizenry felt about privatizing the lottery, and the results weren't encouraging.
"Only 29 percent supported the idea, while 51 percent were opposed and the rest didn't know. And a whopping 74 percent opposed allowing the lottery to set up "VLT parlors," where bettors would play video lottery terminals that look like slot machines and feature instant payouts.
"Without VLTs, it could be tough for any lottery operator to significantly expand its base. And casino tribes would vociferously oppose anyone horning in on their slot machine monopoly. Unless, of course, they were the ones doing the horning in."
"Despite declining public school enrollment, Los Angeles
will be able to count on more than $600 million in state school construction funds because of a bill signed Sunday by Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, local officials said," reports the LAT's Howard Blume.
"Mayor
Antonio Villaraigosa, area legislators and top officials of the Los Angeles Unified School District staged a last-minute lobbying blitz to urge Schwarzenegger to sign the measure.
"The money is needed to close part of an estimated $2-billion deficit in the district's $20-billion construction and modernization program, the nation's largest school building effort.
"L.A. Unified had long expected to claim these funds, but the money was at risk because of declining enrollment in the country's second-largest school system. State rules, school officials said, magnify the effect of declining enrollment on eligibility, a flaw the bill aimed to address."
Meanwhile, also down south, "[t]ransportation officials
reopened Interstate 5 early Monday after a fiery tunnel crash closed the freeway over the weekend," report Bettina Boxall and Mitchell Landsberg in the Times.
"California Highway Patrol spokesman
John Lutz said all main lanes on both sides of the freeway were open, while the truck tunnel where Friday's deadly crash occurred remained closed.
"Lutz, who was speaking from near the scene of the crash, said congestion in the area was light and traffic was moving smoothly.
"'Traffic is moving wonderfully,' Lutz said. 'It's smooth and light.'"
From our
Methods to Solve the Health Care Reform Fight Files: "The long-standing rivalry between Coke and Pepsi took a physical turn Friday
when a Pepsi deliveryman allegedly punched his Coke counterpart in the face at a western Pennsylvania Wal-Mart, state police said."
"The two deliverymen were 'apparently bickering back and forth' while unloading their wares at the Indiana County store, police said. When the Coke deliveryman left the store, his counterpart allegedly punched him in the face three times, breaking his nose and giving him a black eye, police said.
"No charges have been filed, but police characterized the incident as a misdemeanor simple assault."
