SACRAMENTO — Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger finished evaluating the year's crop of legislation Saturday by requiring landlords to give 60 days' eviction notice, banning people from riding in the trunks of cars and stopping vintners from associating their wine with Sonoma County except under certain conditions.
Acting on the last of 1,172 bills sent to him this year by the Democratic-led Legislature, Schwarzenegger vetoed measures that would have allowed illegal immigrants to obtain financial aid for college, would have granted journalists broad access to interview inmates in the state's troubled prison system, would have allowed farmers to grow industrial hemp and would have prevented untrained individuals from buying ultrasound machines for personal use.
All told, Schwarzenegger approved 910 measures. He rejected 262, or 22% of the legislation he considered, a veto rate 2 percentage points lower than that of his first two years. But that statistic does not capture the degree of collaboration that marked the election-year lawmaking session.
The Republican governor and the Democrats agreed to increase the minimum wage, expand regulation of pharmaceutical companies and greenhouse gas polluters, and allow phone companies to compete with cable companies in providing pay television service.
"There has been a tangible difference in the way the administration has done business, and for the most part it's been a change for the better," said state Sen. Joe Simitian (D-Palo Alto).
Saturday was the last day under law that Schwarzenegger could act on bills sent to him by lawmakers before their adjournment in August. On the final day, the governor:
* Ordered a reduction in the amount of lead permissible in pipes and other plumbing that carry water for people to drink. Lead can damage the developing brains and organs of young children. AB 1953 by Assemblywoman Wilma Chan (D-Alameda) will reduce the current 8% limit to 0.25%.
* Extended a law requiring landlords to give tenants 60 days' notice for evictions if the tenants have occupied their residence for at least a year. AB 1169 by Assemblyman Alberto Torrico (D-Newark) expires in 2010.
"As a landlord for many years, I am acutely aware of the burdens faced by property owners and managers," Schwarzenegger wrote in a message that accompanied his signing of the measure. "That said, California faces significant challenges in its housing market, and I believe that [the bill] strikes a reasonable balance between the needs of tenants and those of property owners."
