SACRAMENTO — After lawmakers last week approved more than a dozen measures he opposed, Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger returned the favor Monday by vetoing 10 of their bills, including a highly contested proposal that would have allowed some dentists to perform cosmetic surgery.
Since January, Schwarzenegger had signed 348 bills and vetoed 20. Although none of the measures he nixed Monday included the most controversial from the 2004 session that ended Saturday -- allowing prescription drug imports from Canada or allowing illegal immigrants to obtain driver's licenses, for example -- the administration sent a clear signal it would be using the veto pen liberally in coming weeks.
The governor Monday also signed 37 bills, including ones designed to better protect guide dogs, control how schools teach about sexually transmitted diseases and resolve through mediation insurance disputes over damage from Southern California fires.
The veto of SB1336, which would have allowed dentists trained in surgery to perform face-lifts and other elective cosmetic procedures, was notable for several reasons. Its sponsor was John Burton (D-San Francisco), the retiring Senate leader, with whom the governor had forged a good working relationship. And the bill had pitted two of Sacramento's most influential groups -- dentists and medical doctors -- against each other in a battle over some of the most lucrative operations.
In his veto message, Schwarzenegger agreed with plastic surgeons who had strenuously argued that oral surgeons were not prepared to do these types of operations, even though some worked in hospital emergency rooms repairing car accident victims and other patients with serious facial damage.
"I believe this practice needs to be more carefully reviewed and evaluated to fully ensure the safety of California's consumers," Schwarzenegger wrote. "Therefore, I am directing the Department of Consumer Affairs to conduct an occupational analysis of the Oral and Maxillofacial Surgeon profession."
Dr. Harvey Zarem, a Santa Monica physician who is president of the California Society of Plastic Surgeons, praised Schwarzenegger for "having the courage to stand up for the people of California despite the special-interest pressure."
"There's no doubt in my mind that when somebody looks at this, they'll see that the dentists have been misinforming the public" by suggesting that they are as capable as plastic surgeons, he said.
