Schwarzenegger plays chicken with bill honoring Harvey Milk

9/10/09-by Paula Brooks
Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger has threatened to veto all bills on his desk unless state lawmakers address his top priorities before the legislative session ends this week and he began yesterday by vetoing a Republican sponsored measure that would honor Vietnam veterans.

In addition to the Vietnam Veterans bill, in the stack awaiting Schwarzenegger’s signature is one that would honor gay politician Harvey Milk.

There were about 70 bills on Schwarzenegger’s desk that the governor had to act on by this week, but Schwarzenegger’s top legislative aide notified the Assembly and Senate on Tuesday that they should pull back the bills and resend them later.

Schwarzenegger is annoyed with Democrats over a prison package that was significantly watered down in the California Assembly and inaction on Schwarzenegger’s proposal for a multibillion-dollar bond to help build dams in the Golden State.

Also a bill supported by the governor that would require utilities to get a third of their power from renewable sources by 2020 has yet to get a final vote in the Senate

“The governor believes that we must address major issues facing this state such as water, prison and renewable portfolio standard before we consider anything else,” Matt David, Schwarzenegger’s communications director, said Tuesday.

The Harvey Milk Day bill was already in trouble before this current round of statehouse political brinkmanship between Schwarzenegger and Democratic lawmakers began and the governor’s office said Tuesday it had received more than 100,000 constituent phone calls about the bill. While it was not immediately clear if most were in favor or opposed, conservative opposition has been strong.

Randy Thomasson, the president of SaveCalifornia.com, said the bill was vague and could allow for a number of things at schools, including gay pride parades or “mock gay weddings” amongst school students. Last week Thomasson launched a drive from his website, appealing to conservative Californians to urge Schwarzenegger to veto the bill.

Schwarzenegger vetoed a similar bill last year, saying he believed Milk “should be continued to be recognized at the local level by those who were most impacted by his contributions.”

The state Senate responded by pulling back all of the bill including the Milk Day bill for safekeeping.

Related articles by Zemanta

• Harvey Milk Day Will Force California’s Kids to Love Homos (And Hitler, Too!) (queerty.com)
• California inmate-release plan hits snag (cnn.com)
• It’s On: Harvey Milk Day Bill Under Attack (sfist.com)