GOV. DAVIS STILL HAS A LOT OF WORK TO DO

SACRAMENTO -- Before he hands over his office keys to Arnold Schwarzenegger,
Gov. Gray Davis has more than a little business to finish.

Despite the demands of the recall campaign, the Democratic governor already
has signed or vetoed some 750 pieces of legislation this year. That leaves
282 bills still waiting to be acted on before a midnight Sunday deadline.

The remaining measures would eliminate the death penalty for the mentally
retarded, ban the sale of ephedra-based pills used for weight loss, waive
community college fees for poor illegal immigrants and provide special
identification cards for medical marijuana patients.

"We are a little ahead of the curve," Davis Press Secretary Steve Maviglio
said. "If this was a normal year, we'd have even more."

The governor already has signed a raft of significant legislation, including
measures that require larger companies to provide health-care coverage for
employees, restore the rights of illegal immigrants to obtain driver
licenses, establish broad new personal privacy protections and expand the
rights of gay partners.

"A lot of the bills that meant a lot to us, he already signed," Assembly
Speaker Herb Wesson, D-Culver City, said Wednesday, citing the health care
measure, SB 2 by Senate President Pro Tempore John Burton, D-San Francisco.

Davis' critics accused him of rushing to sign a stream of liberal
legislation to curry favor with Democratic voters in advance of Tuesday's
vote. Neither Wesson nor Burton would speculate on how Tuesday's results
might affect the prospects of legislation still sitting on his desk.

"We'll have to see what's there," Wesson said. "I think a lot of the tough
ones have already been dealt with."

Measures awaiting final action would:

Set up a new process to screen defendants in capital cases for mental
retardation. The bill, SB 3 by Burton, would bar use of the death penalty
against those found to be mentally retarded.

Remove from store shelves ephedra-based pills that accelerate the body's
metabolism. The largely unregulated herbal-based supplements have been
blamed for deaths of some users, including Baltimore Orioles pitcher Steve
Bechler. The legislation would wipe out a California market once worth
millions to firms such as San Diego-based Metabolife International. The bill
is SB 582 by Sen. Jackie Speier, D-Daly City. Davis vetoed a similar measure
three years ago. He had received a $100,000 contribution from Metabolife.

Allow poor illegal immigrants to attend California community colleges for
free, waiving fees of about $284 a year for full-time students. The bill is
SB 328 by Sen. Martha Escutia, D-Norwalk.

Create an identification card system to help law enforcement determine
legitimate users of medical marijuana. The bill, SB 420 by Sen. John
Vasconcellos, D-Santa Clara, is similar to a program approved by the city of
San Diego. The measure also has been endorsed by Los Angeles County Sheriff
Lee Baca.

Allow pharmacists to sell up to 30 clean syringes at a time to customers
without a prescription. The bill, SB 774 by Vasconcellos, is similar to a
measure that Davis vetoed last year. It is designed to curb the spread of
AIDS and hepatitis through the use of dirty needles.