A NO FOR HEMP, YES FOR PARTNERS

Sacramento -- Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger vetoed
bills on Saturday that would have allowed the industrial production of
hemp, increased media access to prisons and expanded the state's law
allowing women to safely surrender their newborn babies.

Among the bills signed was a measure that allows registered domestic
partners to file joint tax returns and have their earned income
treated as community property for state tax purposes.

Schwarzenegger took action on nearly 200 bills Saturday, the final day
he could make decisions on bills sent to him by lawmakers this year.
In 2006, Schwarzenegger signed 910 bills and vetoed 261.

AB1147 was a bipartisan effort that would have allowed California's
farmers to produce hemp oil, seed and fiber -- the raw materials that
are used in hemp products. Industrial hemp, marijuana's
nonhallucinogenic cousin, is used to produce personal care products,
food, paper, clothing, car parts and building materials.

State law does not differentiate between hemp and marijuana crops, so
farmers have been reluctant to grow hemp, fearful that their crops
could be confiscated. Currently raw hemp is imported from about 30
countries that allow the farming of hemp.

The bill was co-authored by Assemblymen Mark Leno, D-San Francisco,
and Chuck DeVore, R-Irvine.

Schwarzenegger said he wants to encourage new agricultural production
in the state but said there is no distinction in federal law between
marijuana and industrial hemp.

"Unfortunately, I am very concerned that this bill would give
legitimate growers a false sense of security and a belief that
production of 'industrial hemp' is somehow a legal activity under
federal law," he said in his veto message.

The bill would have required farmers to undergo crop testing to ensure
that their variety of the cannabis plant is nonhallucinogenic in
return for assurances that their crops wouldn't be confiscated by
law-enforcement officials.

Leno said farmers were willing to go to court and have the bill put on
hold until a federal judge ruled whether it violated federal law.

"This is a case of politics sadly trumping science and sound public
policy," Leno said. "There was no downside to taking this step
forward. It denies California family farmers a great cash crop."

Schwarzenegger said he wants to increase media access to prisons, but
for the third time vetoed a bill that would have allowed the press the
ability to interview specific inmates.

Victims' groups opposed SB1521 by Sen. Gloria Romero, D-Los Angeles,
because they believe it would have allowed the media to glamorize prisoners.

"It is tremendously hurtful for victims to turn on their TV set and
see the person who perpetrated a crime against them or a loved one,"
said Susan Fisher, the governor's crime victim advocate. "It makes
celebrities out of people like Charlie Manson."

The Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation will issue clarifying
regulations emphasizing that journalists have the ability to go into
the prisons with their equipment and conduct interviews with random
inmates.

However, members of the media still will not be able to request
interviews with a specific inmate, a key tenet of the Romero bill.

The state's prisons have come under increased scrutiny because they
are overcrowded and their health care system is under control of a
federal judge.

Leno noted that Assembly Republicans overwhelmingly supported the bill
this year because of the problems in the state's prisons.

"What is the administration so afraid of?" he said. "They are trying
to hide what they are doing while we are in the midst of a prison crisis."

One of the bills Schwarzenegger signed Saturday enables registered
domestic partners to file state income taxes jointly and have their
earned income treated as community property for state tax purposes.

SB1827 was sponsored by Equality California and authored by Sen.
Carole Migden, D-San Francisco.

"This is a historic day for equality," Migden said in a statement.
"The governor's signature on my tax equity bill gives lesbian, gay,
bisexual and transgender families, who share the same costs and
responsibilities that go with parenthood or being a spouse, the same
tax benefits afforded to married couples."

An average family of four with one stay-at-home parent could save as
much as $2,000 a year by filing jointly.

"This bill provides important tax relief to domestic partners on the
same terms as married couples," said Geoff Kors, Equality California's
executive director.

But the governor vetoed other bills that had garnered attention this
year. He declined to expand the state's safe surrender law. Currently,
a woman has 72 hours to safely and anonymously surrender her newborn
at emergency rooms and designated fire stations.

AB1873 by Assemblyman Alberto Torrico, D-Fremont, would have given
women 30 days to make that decision.

Schwarzenegger said he shared concerns of some that the newborns would
be at greater risk if they are kept in an unsafe environment for 30
days.