SACRAMENTO — California could become the first state to formally call for immediate withdrawal of U.S. troops from Iraq under a ballot proposal the state Senate approved Wednesday.
The Senate vote came the day after lawmakers weighed in on another Middle East country by passing legislation that would require the state's public pension funds to shed certain investments in Iran.
That measure, which could affect about $20 billion invested in 10 companies, is meant to protest Iran's reputed pursuit of nuclear weapons and support of terrorism.
One controversial bill introduced this year, which would require dog and cat owners to spay or neuter their pets, cleared the Assembly without a vote to spare.
People who hadn't spayed or neutered their dogs and cats by four months, when the animals reached sexual maturity, would face a $500 fine under the bill by Assemblyman Lloyd Levine (D-Van Nuys). He said dealing with unwanted animals costs state and local governments $300 million a year, but he also made a humanitarian appeal.
"We have nearly a million dogs and cats a year going into shelters, and over 50% of those, nearly 500,000, are euthanized every year," said Levine.
During the debate, one lawmaker held up photos of his three dogs and another put a bag of kitty litter on Levine's desk. The bill, AB 1634, passed 41-38.
Lawmakers also approved measures to protect consumers from lethal bacteria in leafy vegetables; create a state-run health insurance system; make prison sentences more consistent, and keep track of bullets.
A 50-minute debate over the Iraq bill broke along party lines and was one of the most passionate moments Wednesday.
"That war is costing California dearly," said Senate President Pro Tem Don Perata (D-Oakland), who sponsored the measure and noted that 340 soldiers from the state had died so far.
The resolution is an advisory measure that voters would consider on the presidential primary ballot next February. The proposal is expected to be approved by the Assembly, but Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger has not said publicly whether he will sign it.
Democrats depicted Perata's nonbinding measure -- a rarity in California's century of direct democracy -- as a way to prod President Bush to give up on the increasingly unpopular war. They decried the conflict as a waste of money that could have been better spent on domestic concerns.
