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Posted on 10/12/2003 2:51:52 AM PDT by sarcasm
SAN FRANCISCO -- Gov.-elect Arnold Schwarzenegger said it would be a top priority during his first 100 days in office: repealing a new law that allows illegal immigrants to get driver's licenses.
Easier said than done, politicians and activists said Friday.
While exit polls showed about 70 percent of voters in California's recall election disapproved of the law, it may be tough to wipe off the books. Gov. Gray Davis signed the measure last month amid accusations that he was pandering to Hispanic voters.
Republican Schwarzenegger plans to ask the Democrat-controlled state Legislature, now in recess, to convene a special session at which a bill would be introduced to repeal the law, said Rob Stutzman, a spokesman for his transition team.
''This is a central issue to the governor-elect's campaign,'' Stutzman said. ''We believe he's been elected with a pretty clear mandate. It will be up to Democratic legislators to determine what they'll do with this issue.''
This isn't the only campaign pledge Schwarzenegger may have trouble keeping. He also seems likely to clash with Democratic lawmakers on his pledge to roll back the tripling of California's car tax despite the state's financial woes.
Schwarzenegger has raised concerns about security problems with the driver's license law, noting that it does not require a background check. The governor-elect, who came to California from Austria, said he supports immigrants ''but we should not invite fraud or undermine law enforcement.''
Supporters, meanwhile, contend it's a public safety measure that will make the streets safer for everyone by ensuring that all drivers know the rules of the road and can buy insurance.
There's ''no chance'' an effort to repeal the law would pass, said state Sen. Gil Cedillo, the Los Angeles Democrat who authored the driver's license bill. The measure cleared the Senate 23-15 after winning Assembly approval 44-30.
On Friday, immigration rights advocates held a news conference pledging to fight to ensure the law goes into effect Jan. 1.
Schwarzenegger ''has probably more in common with the immigrant community than some of the Republicans that he surrounds himself with,'' said Edward Headington, spokesman for Hermandad Mexicana Latinoamericana, a Santa Ana-based advocacy group. ''We're hoping that he'll meet with members of the Latino community to talk about this.''
Stutzman acknowledged ''it's difficult to tell how the Democratic Legislature will respond,'' but he said Schwarzenegger will ''first give the Legislature a chance to repeal it.''
''If they do not, he intends to go to the ballot,'' letting voters decide whether to get rid of the law, Stutzman said.
Other options for reversing the law include filing a lawsuit or issuing an executive order ordering the Department of Motor Vehicles not to carry it out, but observers say both are unlikely and would be open to challenges.
Dan Savage, Cedillo's chief of staff, said voter opposition to the driver's license measure may be a result of the state's economic hard times. People are afraid the law will attract more immigrants to California when the job market is tight.
''Immigrants are the first ones who people look at and say, 'Well it's kind of their fault, and they're coming, and they're taking our jobs,'" Savage said. ''In good times ... people are more willing to say they contribute to the economy."
Simply amazing! Can't you see how idiotic that statement is, when posted to a thread that is about Arnold trying to reverse something Davis just signed?
Can we say duh?
''Immigrants are the first ones who people look at and say, 'Well it's kind of their fault, and they're coming, and they're taking our jobs,'" Savage said. ''In good times ... people are more willing to say they contribute to the economy."
Just in case there's someone left in California who doesn't realize why the tone-deaf Democrats got hammered last week, an arrogant, condescending aid reminds them. Sure, repealing driver's licences for illegals has 70% support. But don't pay attention to that. It's only because the poor, confused electorate is "blaming" illegals now for bad times. They'll get over it when the economy picks up again. Don't mind them.
If Arnold is serious about being a successful politician, now is the time he can draw blood from that entrenched Democrat machine.
Why wait? There's already a referendum in the works. Get your petitions at www.saveourlicense.com
Arnold doesn't support the referendum but he will need to use one if the legislature refuses to repeal SB60. There is, I believe, a 90-day limit to get the referendum qualified. After that, it's too late.
No, he can't. SB60 was passed by the legislature, signed by the governor and will go into effect on 1/1/04. Unless I've missed one, there are only three possible ways to stop it: 1) legislative repeal, 2) court ruling (state or possibly federal) or 3) a referendum.
Executive orders can't be used to repeal laws once they've been signed. That's what a veto is for and it's subject to an override.
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