Friday Legislative Update

October 9, 2009 |
Valor

The Legislature passed many of CALCASA’s priority support bills before the end-of-session deadline.
CALCASA Public Policy is advocating for the Governor to sign a number of bills that have been passed by the legislature and are awaiting his signature. The Governor must sign any new laws by Sunday.
The Governor will not take “action on more than 700 other pending bills, and legislators fear he may veto many of those if the water package doesn’t come through.”
Below is a round-up of recent stories relating to the water deal and pending bills:

  • Governor: Give me Delta deal first, then I’ll sign bills — With a midnight Sunday deadline looming, Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger is refusing to act on hundreds of bills awaiting his signature — a bid to spur legislative leaders into finally overhauling the environmentally fragile Sacramento-San Joaquin River Delta. Denis C. Theriault in the San Francisco Chronicle — 10/9/09
  • Schwarzenegger goes public with blanket veto threat — Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger threatened publicly Thursday what he has hinted privately for days: He will veto many of the 700-plus bills on his desk unless a water deal is struck this week. Jim Sanders in the Sacramento Bee — 10/9/09
  • Big Five tries to close on elusive statewide water deal: Legislative leaders and senior staff met with the governor for more than two hours Wednesday, after a similar meeting the day before ended amid a heated exchange between Senate leader Darrell Steinberg, D-Sacramento, and Senate Republican leader Dennis Hollingsworth, R-Murrieta. Anthony York in Capitol Weekly — 10/7/09
  • Skelton: Schwarzenegger’s heavy-handed threat is justified: The governor vows to kill hundreds of bills unless lawmakers deliver a measure on water. The issue justifies the tough stance. George Skelton in the Los Angeles Times — 10/7/09
  • Delta’s future hinges on money as Sacramento legislators debate water-policy bills: The first effort in a generation to fix California’s all-important water policy appears to be stalled by the only commodity that seems more valuable: money. Matt Weiser in the Sacramento Bee — 10/8/09