GOV. ACTS ON LAST OF NEW BILLS

Schwarzenegger Bans Riding in Car Trunks and Backs 60 Days' Eviction
Notice. He Rejects Hemp Farming and College Aid for Illegal Immigrants.

SACRAMENTO -- Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger finished evaluating the
year's crop of legislation Saturday by requiring landlords to give 60
days' eviction notice, banning people from riding in the trunks of
cars and stopping vintners from associating their wine with Sonoma
County except under certain conditions.

Acting on the last of 1,172 bills sent to him this year by the
Democratic-led Legislature, Schwarzenegger vetoed measures that would
have allowed illegal immigrants to obtain financial aid for college,
would have granted journalists broad access to interview inmates in
the state's troubled prison system, would have allowed farmers to
grow industrial hemp and would have prevented untrained individuals
from buying ultrasound machines for personal use.

All told, Schwarzenegger approved 910 measures. He rejected 262, or
22% of the legislation he considered, a veto rate 2 percentage points
lower than that of his first two years. But that statistic does not
capture the degree of collaboration that marked the election-year
lawmaking session.

The Republican governor and the Democrats agreed to increase the
minimum wage, expand regulation of pharmaceutical companies and
greenhouse gas polluters, and allow phone companies to compete with
cable companies in providing pay television service.

"There has been a tangible difference in the way the administration
has done business, and for the most part it's been a change for the
better," said state Sen. Joe Simitian (D-Palo Alto).

Saturday was the last day under law that Schwarzenegger could act on
bills sent to him by lawmakers before their adjournment in August. On
the final day, the governor:

Ordered a reduction in the amount of lead permissible in pipes and
other plumbing that carry water for people to drink. Lead can damage
the developing brains and organs of young children. AB 1953 by
Assemblywoman Wilma Chan (D-Alameda) will reduce the current 8% limit to 0.25%.

Extended a law requiring landlords to give tenants 60 days' notice
for evictions if the tenants have occupied their residence for at
least a year. AB 1169 by Assemblyman Alberto Torrico (D-Newark)
expires in 2010.

"As a landlord for many years, I am acutely aware of the burdens
faced by property owners and managers," Schwarzenegger wrote in a
message that accompanied his signing of the measure. "That said,
California faces significant challenges in its housing market, and I
believe that [the bill] strikes a reasonable balance between the
needs of tenants and those of property owners."

Prohibited the sale of wine carrying a name or label suggesting that
the product is made in Sonoma County unless 75% of the grapes used
come from there. SB 1280 was sponsored by Sen. Wesley Chesbro (D-Arcata).

Required wireless computer networking equipment to include warnings
explaining how consumers can protect their personal information over
the airwaves. AB2415 was sponsored by Assembly Speaker Fabian Nunez
(D-Los Angeles).

Banned people from riding in the trunks of cars. Law enforcement
officials say teenagers have engaged in the practice, known as
"trunking," in efforts to evade provisional-license restrictions on
carrying passengers younger than 20.

Last year two teenagers riding in a trunk in Glendora were thrown
onto the highway when the car hit a divider; they were run over and
killed. AB 1850 by Assemblyman Dennis Mountjoy (R-Monrovia) adds a
point on the motorist's driver's license and carries fines from $370
for a first offense to $900 for a third violation.

Allowed oral surgeons to perform plastic surgery such as face lifts
and lip augmentation. Schwarzenegger vetoed a version of the measure
two years ago. The issue had sparked a major turf battle between
physicians and the oral surgeons, who are dentists with operating
room expertise. The bill is SB 438 by Sen. Carole Migden (D-San Francisco).

Required large supermarkets to set up a system for customers to
recycle plastic bags. AB 2449 was sponsored by Assemblyman Lloyd
Levine (D-Van Nuys).

For the second year in a row, Schwarzenegger vetoed legislation that
would have allowed journalists to be granted individual interviews
with specific prisoners. SB 1521 by Sen. Gloria Romero (D-Los
Angeles) had won the backing of not only Democrats but also nearly
every Republican in the Assembly. Many said that although they did
not want to give criminals a public platform, the problems with
California's prisons were so substantial that wider access was justified.

Schwarzenegger wrote in his veto message. "I do not believe violent
criminals should be able to traumatize their victims a second time by
having unfettered access to the media."

On Saturday, his administration announced new regulations permitting
journalists to interview nonviolent offenders in some cases.

The governor rejected legislation to have California join a campaign
by states to elect presidents by a national popular vote instead of
by the Electoral College. AB 2948 by Assemblyman Tom Umberg
(D-Anaheim) was intended to compel contenders to campaign everywhere
and not just primarily in swing states.

Schwarzenegger also rejected a measure that would have allowed
illegal immigrants to obtain financial aid for college.

"While I do not believe that undocumented children should be
penalized for the acts of their parents, this bill would penalize
students here legally by reducing the financial aid they rely on to
allow them to go to college and pursue their dreams," the governor
wrote in his veto message for SB 160 by Sen. Gil Cedillo (D-Los Angeles.)

Schwarzenegger declined to sign a measure requiring that half of all
cars and trucks sold in California be powered by alternative fuels by
2020. He said AB 1012 by Assemblyman Joe Nation (D-San Rafael) would
have cost the state more than $1.2 billion in federal transportation funding.

In addition, the governor refused to allow California farmers to grow
industrial hemp.

Although AB 1147 by Assemblyman Mark Leno (D-San Francisco) would
have permitted only hemp that was free of the chemical that is found
in marijuana, Schwarzenegger said in his veto message that the
measure conflicted with federal law and would have made it harder for
law enforcement to keep track of illegal drug crops.

Schwarzenegger declined to give his blessing to the 2004 sale by the
Coast Community College District in Orange County of public
television station KOCE to a foundation for $8 million in cash,
rather than to a Christian network that had offered $25 million in
cash. The bill, AB 523 by Umberg, would have sanctioned the sale, but
Schwarzenegger said in his veto message that enacting the measure
would have been inappropriate because litigation over the sale is pending.

He also refused to ban the purchase of ultrasound machines by people
not trained in their use. AB 2360 by Assemblyman Ted Lieu
(D-Torrance) had argued that it was improper and potentially
dangerous for fetuses to be repeatedly subjected to the machines.
Exhibit A for the bill was actor Tom Cruise, who told Barbara Walters
in a television interview last year that he had purchased one of the
machines to view the baby he was having with Katie Holmes.