Free Republic

SACRAMENTO - After signing more than 500 bills and vetoing 29, Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger is poised to finish the bill-signing season with a flurry: He has 619 bills to consider before Saturday's constitutional deadline. Among them is legislation that would give mothers 30 days -- rather than the current 72 hours -- to deliver their newborn babies to "safe surrender" locations without facing abandonment charges. Another bill before the governor would allow domestic partners to file joint tax returns. The governor rarely signals his intent on bills -- though, on some, like the global emissions bill he signed Wednesday, AB...

Children under the age of 8 must be restrained in a child seat while traveling in a vehicle, under a bill sent Thursday to Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger. The bill's author, Assemblywoman Noreen Evans, D-Santa Rosa, said her measure would bring California in compliance with recommendations of the National Transportation Safety Board. Vehicle-related accidents are the highest cause of deaths for 6- and 7-year-olds, she said. Existing state law requires that children younger than 6 years old or less than 60 pounds sit in a booster seat. Assemblyman Chuck DeVore, R-Irvine, described the measure as government "nannyism." The 6-foot-4 lawmaker said...