Posted on 09/30/2006 5:54:23 PM PDT by calcowgirl
SACRAMENTO - California's electoral votes for president should not be awarded based on the national popular vote, Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger said Saturday as he vetoed a bill that would have changed the way the state's electoral votes are awarded.
Rushing to beat a midnight bill-signing deadline, the Republican governor signed 110 bills including a bill to require labeling of Sonoma wine and another that boosts Internet security.
He vetoed 73 bills, including a mandate for alternate fuels.
Schwarzenegger said a national popular vote bill by Assemblyman Tom Umberg, D-Santa Ana, disregards the will of a majority of Californians. The bill would have changed the way California's 55 electoral votes are awarded during presidential elections, giving them to the winner of the national popular vote rather than the candidate who captured the state.
"This is counter to the tradition of our great nation which honors states rights and the unique pride and identity of each state," Schwarzenegger said.
Supporters argued that presidential candidates don't compete for California's votes, coming to the state only to raise campaign cash and spending most of their time in battleground states such as Ohio, Michigan, Pennsylvania and Florida.
"I think that the governor is misguided," Umberg said. "The only way to make California relevant is to have it re-engage in the presidential election and not have it be thought of as an afterthought."
Umberg said supporters would seek to get the measure, which would have added California to a multistate agreement that is part of a national campaign started in February, on the ballot if necessary. The Los Altos-based nonprofit National Popular Vote is seeking to change the way the country picks the president.
Schwarzenegger also vetoed legislation that would have required half the cars sold in the state to run on cleaner alternative fuels such as natural gas, fuel cells or biofuels by 2020.
The Republican governor, who earlier this week signed sweeping legislation that would cap the state's greenhouse gas emissions, called the bill's mandate "counterproductive."
"I strongly support the goal to increase California's use of alternative transportation fuels, however this bill is counterproductive to several major initiatives already underway and will cost California more than $1.2 billion in transportation funding," Schwarzenegger said.
The bill by Assemblyman Joe Nation, D-San Rafael, would have required the Air Resources Board to adopt alternative fuel regulations in an effort to reduce California's dependence on oil.
The Department of Finance estimated the measure would have cost the state at least $1.2 billion per year in transportation funds through lost gasoline taxes.
Schwarzenegger signed more than 100 bills, including:
_ AB 2415 by Assembly Speaker Fabian Nunez, D-Los Angeles, requires wireless home networking equipment manufacturers to begin providing consumers information to help protect their personal information. Most computer users do not know they can secure their wireless networks, which can be tapped by neighbors looking for a free Internet connection.
_ AB 1953 by Assemblywoman Wilma Chan, D-Alameda, reduced the amount of lead allowed in pipes or plumbing parts that carry drinking water. Schwarzenegger said the measure will help ensure Californians get safe drinking water. The law reduces the amount of lead from 8 percent to 0.25 percent.
_ SB 1380 by state Sen. Wesley Chesbro, D-Arcata, prohibiting the sale of wine that advertises a Sonoma County label unless at least 75 percent of the grapes used to make the wine are from the county. Schwarzenegger said the bill would ensure wine drinkers aren't mislead by labeling, saying Sonoma is "a premier appellation known around the world and consumers expect that the wine they purchase with that storied name on the label actually comes from Sonoma."
In other action, he vetoed 73 bills, including:
_ SB 1818 by Sen. Richard Alarcon, D- Van Nuys, would have required "big box" retailers to pay communities' legal fees if local governments prevail in lawsuits that challenge zoning ordinances or regulations aimed at restricting the stores. In a veto message, Schwarzenegger said the bill would discourage large retailers from opening stores in California. He also said it was not necessary to protect local governments from baseless or frivolous lawsuits.
Good news!
Thanks Arnold!
Good, hopefully this Cockamani idea will die now.
Excellent!
"Show me just what Mohammed brought that was new, and there you will find things only evil and inhuman, such as his command to spread by the sword the faith he preached." -Manuel II Paleologus
They're still trying to work it in other states:
http://www.nationalpopularvote.com/npv/
"Show me just what Mohammed brought that was new, and there you will find things only evil and inhuman, such as his command to spread by the sword the faith he preached." -Manuel II Paleologus
Alert....alert....Arnold acted like a Conservative today.
We now return you to your regularly scheduled programming.
His liberal alter ego will return tomorrow
Maybe it didn't mandate his preference? He didn't veto all of the alternative fuel legislation. Today he signed SB 1505; Senator Lowenthal, Alan (D-Long Beach)Fuel: hydrogen alternative fuel.
Credit where credit is due. Kudos to Arnold.
It won't die. It will hide for awhile and pop it's ugly head out from under the rock it was hiding under. The democrats populate most cities. Cities are centers of dense population. The dems can't win given rules that are more than 200 years old so they want to change them. Just like spoiled children.
I'll bet the dems would change their toon about getting rid of the EC if the GOP wanted elections based on congressional district vote. Just remember the red/blue map after the the 2004 election.
The alternative explanation (that my cynical side came up with) is that he's hoping they'll work for a constitutional amendment to do away with the Electoral College instead--and do away with the "born a citizen" requirement while they're at it.
"...hopefully this Cockamani idea will die now."
It won't. The democrats know this is the key to permanent occupancy of the White House. If we ever go to a popular vote system, the President will always be elected by a handful of large metropolitan areas, full of low income, non-property owning, entitlement mentality liberals, many of whom will not even be citizens. We'll be a third world craphole in one generation.
The key to stopping this movement is in educating people about why an electoral system was chosen by the founders. There's a good reason why the word "united" was not capitalized in the early use of the "united States of America". It wasn't meant to be a name of a country but a description of a confederation of states, each with the power to cast their vote for President. These things are just not taught in public schools anymore. And who runs the schools? Let me think.........
"Show me just what Mohammed brought that was new, and there you will find things only evil and inhuman, such as his command to spread by the sword the faith he preached." -Manuel II Paleologus
I'm just looking through some of today's signings/vetoes.
He vetoed Chuck Devore's (R) Hemp bill.
"Show me just what Mohammed brought that was new, and there you will find things only evil and inhuman, such as his command to spread by the sword the faith he preached." -Manuel II Paleologus
The level of evil in DC is being ratcheted up to an all time, frenetic, high
>Its still legal to market hemp in California, eh?
It's legal for California manufacturers to buy it from foreign countries, but not for farmers to grow it, even though industrial hemp is used in many products and can be distinguished from marijuana. Go figure.
DeVore joined with lefty Assemblyman Mark Leno to sponsor the bill and McClintock supported it in the Senate. Here's a link to the law. The Senate and Assembly analysis, as well as the text of the enrolled bill go into more details.
http://www.leginfo.ca.gov/pub/bill/asm/ab_1101-1150/ab_1147_bill_20060824_enrolled.html
WE MUST get this passed - without the dead, alien, and multi-vote voters, I think the public will be surprised at how many LESS democrat votes there will be. (The dimRAts know it - and are panicked.)
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