Posted on 09/22/2006 3:24:44 PM PDT by SmithL
Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger on Friday vetoed seven bills that could have charged Californians more on vehicle and port shipping fees, saying that such fees should be approved by local voters, not the Legislature.
"Many of these proposals have been well-intentioned, with proposed fees related to the impact motorists have on roads and the environment," Schwarzenegger wrote in his veto message of Assembly Bill 2681, which would have allowed counties to increase the annual registration surcharge from $1 to $2 to fund abandoned vehicle abatement programs.
"However, I consistently held that fees such as these should be approved by the voters."
Schwarzenegger also vetoed a nearly identical bill, Senate Bill 1225, by Sen. Wes Chesbro, D-Arcata.
The governor vetoed Senate Bill 927 by Sen. Alan Lowenthal, D-Long Beach, which would have imposed a $30 fee per 20-foot container moving through the ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach to mitigate air pollution around those ports, fund rail improvements and enhance port security.
In his veto message, Schwarzenegger said the container fee may hurt trade.
"It is very important that any measure that increases fees that impact exporters not have the unintended consequence of negatively impacting the sale and delivery of goods grown and manufactured in California," he wrote.
The governor noted voters will decide on Proposition 1B on the November ballot that would provide $1 billion in new funding to improve air quality in California. The transpiration bond, if approved, would provide $1 billion to address port issues, $2.1 billion for trade infrastructure and $100 million in port security funding.
The governor's office is expected to put out a strategic report on goods movement by the end of the year.
Larry McCarthy, president of the California Taxpayers Association, applauded Schwarzenegger's move to protect the state's economy.
(Excerpt) Read more at sacbee.com ...
Of course, in California, Republican-authored bills almost never see the light of day.
California needs a part-time legislature. Also, the pay for legislators should be lowered drastically. Texas pays its legislators $7,200 per year. Needless to say, if you can't hold a real job in the real world, you can't afford to have a seat in the Texas legislature.
09/22/2006 GAAS:657:06 FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
In Weekly Radio Address, Gov. Schwarzenegger Announces Veto of $700 Million in Fees, Billions in Government Mandates
Reaffirming his belief that Californians are best served by holding the line on taxes and fees in order to stimulate economic growth, Gov. Schwarzenegger vetoed legislation that would have cost the people of California $700 million in fees and a universal health care measure that would have made health care less affordable and cost billions in government mandates.
“I vetoed a series of bills that would have imposed more than $700 million in new fees and taxes on Californians,” said Gov. Schwarzenegger in his weekly radio address. “The people in our state are best served by actions that stimulate economic growth. That means putting more money back into the people’s pockets and improving our state’s business climate so we can create more jobs and make the right investments in our infrastructure.”’
Within the first hour of taking his oath of office, the Governor reversed the car tax increase and returned $4 billion to the people. Since then, he has fought every effort to raise taxes including efforts to gut California’s landmark Prop. 13 which protects homeowners from losing their homes to skyrocketing property taxes and opposed efforts to make it easier for the legislature to raise taxes.
Gov. Schwarzenegger vetoed the following seven bills with fees totaling more than $700 million:
SB 927 by Senator Alan Lowenthal (D-Long Beach) imposes a fee on containers that are discharged at the Ports of Long Beach and Los Angeles. ($414 million) Click here for veto message.
SB 1225 by Senator Wes Chesbro (D-Arcata) allows counties with abandoned vehicle abatement service authorities to impose additional surcharges. ($18 million) Click here for veto message.
AB 770 by Assemblymember Gene Mullin (D-South San Francisco) would impose a biennial association fee on common interest development associations to fund the Office of the Common Interest Development Ombudsperson. ($24 million) Click here for veto message.
AB 799 by Assemblymember Mark Leno (D-San Francisco) authorizes the Board of Supervisors of the City and County of San Francisco to place a measure on the ballot to impose a vehicle license fee (VLF) on vehicles registered in San Francisco. ($75 million) Click here for veto message.
AB 2444 by Assemblymember Johan Klehs (D-San Leandro) authorizes a Bay Area county transportation agency to levy a fee on vehicles. The fee may be levied at an amount of up to $5 per vehicle. ($55 million) Click here for veto message.
AB 2681 by Assemblymember Fran Pavley (D-Agoura Hills) allows counties to increase the annual registration surcharges that fund abandoned vehicle abatement programs, and increases the fine imposed for "fix-it" tickets. Click here for veto message.
AB 2838 by Assemblymember Fran Pavley (D-Agoura Hills) allows the Coastal Environmental Motor Vehicle Mitigation Account (Account) established under the State Coastal Conservancy Fund of 1984 to request that DMV collect a fee of up to six dollars upon a vehicle's new or renewed registration for vehicles registered in participating counties after at least five coastal counties elect to participate in the Coastal Environmental Motor Vehicle Mitigation Program. ($115 million) Click here for veto message.
This has to be said far and wide and often!
Transpiration? Watch your taxpayer dollars evaporate into thin air?
I agree with you. As Mark Twain said, "When the (California) legislature is in session, no man's life, liberty, or property is safe". A part-time legislature would make us safer from power-hungry politicians and the nanny-staters.
In Texas we have a 140 day time limit for the regular biennial session, but the governor can call an unlimited number of special sessions that can last up to 30 days each. This puts pressure on legislators to concentrate on important issues rather than playing political games. Also, since the regular session ends in May of the year after an election, there is no incentive to pass political gothcha legislation, because the next election is 18 months away. In between sessions, the legislators actually have to live back in their districts not in the capitol city. They actually have to live under the laws they enact and hear from their constituents in their home districts.
An excellent point and one lost on many in California.
Many Californians assume that the governor has the unilateral authority to kill proposed legislation through his veto power. He doesn't. That power rest with the Republican minority in the legislature.
As badly as Schwarzenegger has obstructed and mistreated legislative Republicans I'm surprised they haven't returned the favor by quickly overturning one of his election year vetoes.
One of the few ways that these faithful hand maidens have to get their master's attention is to bite the hand that abuses them. Their press conference should begin with:
"You know Governor, you kick us around all year and then you expect us to come to your rescue during your campaign without even so much as a mention of the power behind your veto authority, let alone a "Thank you.". We've had it. Start vetoing the annual budget submissions or face our deserved wrath!
Give Tom my best wishes! :-)
It's not my money. It's your money. Spend it as you choose.
But if it were my decision, I'd show up at the McClintock event with a check in hand for $1250.
As Lieutenant Governor, Senator McClintock can have little effect of executive policy or booked legislation but his official presence in Sacramento can serve as a reminder that their is an evil empire lurking on the first and third floors of the capital building.
He did veto one Republican bill back in July--AB 2423 by Mark Wyland having to do with Science Instruction.
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