Aides Concede More Mock News Videos

SACRAMENTO — A week after Democratic legislators faulted Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger for using taxpayer money to produce "propaganda" in the form of a mock news video, the administration on Wednesday acknowledged making several others to advance its policies.

A state senator intends to question officials today about the funding and distribution of the videos.

Initially, legislators focused on one tape extolling an administration proposal to end mandatory lunch breaks for hourly workers. But additional videos have surfaced in which the administration is promoting a cut in the number of nurses required on duty in hospitals, pay for teachers based on merit rather than seniority and a more stringent tenure track.

A video was also produced on Schwarzenegger's plan to lower prescription drug prices, but it has not been released. Officials said it was a draft.

The other tapes, formatted as television news stories, were sent to stations statewide starting in December. Some news outlets aired portions of the video about lunch breaks, which state officials, who monitored usage of the tape, characterized as a news release.

Officials did not track which television stations used the merit pay and tenure video, and it is unclear if they monitored use of the tapes on nurses. They described both tapes as news releases.

Schwarzenegger is backing bills related to teacher tenure and merit pay -- ideas opposed by teachers unions and many Democratic legislators. A Schwarzenegger-supported campaign committee simultaneously is pushing a possible ballot initiative to alter tenure. A petition drive for an initiative on merit pay is also being contemplated.

Democratic legislators accuse the governor of using tax money to finance his ballot measure campaign.

"This truly is a blending of all the lines: it's propaganda; it's campaigns. It is all meshed into one," state Sen. Gloria Romero (D-Los Angeles) said Wednesday. She is scheduled to convene a hearing today and intends to question officials from the Labor and Workforce Development Agency, which produced the tape on lunch breaks.

The governor's aides dismissed charges that the administration is producing propaganda or campaign material with taxpayer money.

"It is just a press release in video form," said Schwarzenegger press secretary Margita Thompson.

Unlike the other tapes that have been released, the video focusing on merit pay and tenure features images of the governor.