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Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger has signed two gay rights bills, one honoring late activist Harvey Milk and another recognizing same-sex marriages performed in other states.In the last of hundreds of bill actions taken before midnight Sunday, Schwarzenegger approved the two bills by Sen. Mark Leno, D-San Francisco.The governor last year vetoed the measure declaring May 22 a state day of recognition for Milk, suggesting that the former San Francisco supervisor be honored locally. But he subsequently named him to the California Hall of Fame. Leno's SB 54, meanwhile, requires California to recognize marriages performed in other states where same sex marriage...

Sacramento, CA – Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger signed into law legislation that will help law enforcement officials track down and apprehend armed criminals and other prohibited persons. AB 962 by Assembly Member Kevin DeLeon (D-Los Angeles) had the support of law enforcement officials from across the state and was modeled after successful city ordinances, including the cities of Sacramento and Los Angeles. AB 962 was the Brady Campaign´s top priority bill in this year´s legislature. The law requires maintenance of purchaser records by handgun ammunition vendors. Local law enforcement can use these records to find illegal guns. "The purchase records will...

Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger has signed two gay rights bills, one honoring late activist Harvey Milk and another recognizing same-sex marriages performed in other states.

WASHINGTON -- California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger has issued a statement saying he supports President Barack Obama's goals of overhauling the country's health care system to hold down costs and improve quality. The statement doesn't endorse any specific piece of legislation. But Schwarzenegger says he appreciates Obama's partnership with the states and thinks lawmakers from both parties should "move forward and accomplish these vital goals for the American people." Schwarzenegger's comments come as the White House and Senate Democrats are touting other statements of support from Republicans _ though most have been accompanied by various caveats. Former Health and Human Services...

Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger has signed two gay rights bills, one honoring late activist Harvey Milk and another recognizing same-sex marriages performed in other states. In the last of hundreds of bill actions taken before midnight Sunday, Schwarzenegger approved the two bills by Sen. Mark Leno, D-San Francisco. The governor last year vetoed the measure declaring May 22 a state day of recognition for Milk, suggesting that the former San Francisco supervisor be honored locally. But he subsequently named him to the California Hall of Fame. Leno's SB 54, meanwhile, requires California to recognize marriages performed in other states where same...

Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger stopped by The Bee on Friday and made many interesting comments – and one amazing one: "(We) ignore (the) contributions undocumented immigrants make," Schwarzenegger said. "Everything we eat today is picked and created by undocumented immigrants, to a large extent." Some people grow angry at such talk, but so what? If only the governor would repeat this strong message more often. States such as California rely on the cheap labor of undocumented immigrants. But when these immigrants go to the hospital, when their kids go to school, or when some go to jail, they become key players...

Schwarzenegger Caves on Spending Limit Written By: Michael New Published In: Budget & Tax News Publication Date: February 1, 2004 Publisher: The Heartland Institute Michael New is an adjunct scholar with the Cato Institute. California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger abandoned a core campaign promise in mid-December when he signed a fiscal-reform package that did not include a constitutional spending limit. The plan includes a bond to cover the state’s current budget deficit, but replaces the spending limit with a provision that merely strengthens California’s existing balanced budget amendment. The governor’s package cleared both chambers of the state legislature by wide margins...

Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger considers himself a glass-half-full guy, and he ended his California Small Business Day speech in Sacramento with a dose of optimism. But it seemed clear the governor has just about had it with California's governance system, especially after last week's special election was a colossal failure. Though he blamed many of the state's budget problems on the current economic collapse, he said part of our woes are "self-inflicted." "California hasn't had a responsible fiscal system since Earl Warren in the late '40s and early '50s," he said. The governor ticked off a number of complaints about the...

The subject of Arnold Schwarzenegger bores me. I wrote ceaseless columns on this site warning Republicans and conservatives that he would govern as a liberal and operate as a Trojan Horse for the Dems. During an appearance on the now-defunct CNN show Inside Politics, I said that he could become "the Jim Jeffords of the West Coast." For my troubles, I was dismissed as an out-of-touch, maniacal, abortion-obsessed pinhead. Now to hear the same country-club Republican jackasses who sabotaged Tom McClintock and parachuted Arnie into office whine about his liberal legacy is just boring. You made this slipshod bed; lie...

Californians said "no" loud and clear; "no" to new taxes, "no" to the Terminator, and "no" to Gen. Colin Powell, who said that Americans simply lust after paying new taxes to finance their pet government programs. "The hell we do," the majority of tax-weary Californians replied at the ballot box. Last night, Californians who voted blue last November voted red. The referendum gave Californians a chance to let lawmakers know what they thought of their performance and to decide a course of action for the state that would have prevailed far into the future. They told them in no uncertain...

Defeat is sharp rebuke to governor, Legislature Matthew Yi,Wyatt Buchanan, Chronicle Sacramento Bureau Tuesday, May 19, 2009 As expected, California voters were rejecting a package of ballot measures in Tuesday's special election that would have reduced the state's projected budget deficit of $21.3 billion to something slightly less overwhelming: $15.4 billion, early returns showed. The defeat of the measures means that Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger and the state Legislature will have to consider deeper cuts to education, public safety, and health and human services, officials have said. Propositions 1A through 1E were being defeated in early returns. Those measures seek to...

In a last-minute twist, Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger will miss his own special election. The governor instead will appear Tuesday in Washington, D.C., with President Barack Obama and other leaders to announce a change in automobile emissions rules, said Schwarzenegger press secretary Aaron McLear. The governor will remain in Washington, D.C., this week to meet with congressional members and Obama officials "regarding the drastic cuts proposed in his May budget revision," McLear said. Schwarzenegger needs a federal waiver and congressional action to cut as much as $750 million in Medi-Cal.

WOODLAND HILLS - As he launched a radio ad campaign Tuesday for his budget measures on the May 19 ballot, Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger said failure to approve the package would worsen the state's already-dire fiscal crisis. "If they don't pass, we will be facing a $50 billion problem," Schwarzenegger said at a meeting with Daily News editors and reporters. "It will mean massive cuts in education, hospitals, prisons. These are things people don't want to see cut." Schwarzenegger's campaign committee, Budget Reform Now, began its advertising campaign Tuesday for the six ballot measures - Propositions 1A, 1B, 1C, 1D, 1E...

California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger stopped by The Chronicle this week and made it clear his future is wide open. Asked if he has taken a position to ''never again'' run for political office, the Republican governor told us that if he can finish the job by delivering on tough issues like the state budget, the water supply and then environment, then ''I think I can do anything I want.'' But one thing he won't do -- even in light of his current friendly relationship with Democratic President Obama and harsh criticism the state GOP is leveling his way -- is...

California's Republican Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger has generally declined to discuss his future after term limits end his tensure in the state Capitoln January, 2011. ... Schwarzenegger, a Republican who's been discussed as a potential opponent next year for Democrat U.S. Sen. Barbara Boxer said he's “not running for anything.” ... “Now I raised taxes, but I’m not running for anything,” Schwarzenegger said. “So I’m more comfortable with it because I’m not running for anything, because I know it’s the right thing. Even though I promised the people of California I’m not going to raise taxes, at the same time I...

What a difference an election victory makes. Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, at an Ohio campaign rally in October for Sen. John McCain, said then-candidate Barack Obama "needs to do something about those skinny legs. We're going to make him do some squats. And then we're going to go and give him some biceps curls to beef up those scrawny little arms." But the governor had nothing but love for President Obama on Thursday in Los Angeles, according to Politico. "But I think he's so smart," he said. "He's so clear with his thinking and he's so well informed and has been...

A wise investor puts her money in investments that offer the highest returns at the lowest cost. A poor investor puts his money in investments that offer low returns at a higher cost. I don't know what you'd call an investor who puts lots of money into "investments" that offer no benefits, but "Schwarzenegger" might be a good label. The Governor's pledge to lower greenhouse gas emissions in California to 80 percent below 1990 levels by 2050 will bring Californians little or no environmental benefit, while costing the citizenry a substantial amount of money. The Governor has long pandered to...

Arnold Schwarzenegger's dream of becoming the first "post-partisan" governor has finally come true - he's equally disliked by Republicans and Democrats. "He's reached his goal. Both sides view him the same way," said Mark DiCamillo of the Field Poll. "Negatively."Overall, the action-star-turned-budget-bedraggled-compromiser scored a 38 percent approval rating in a statewide Field Poll of 761 voters taken after the recent budget deal was reached.Schwarzenegger's abandonment of the Republican mantra of no new taxes cost him dearly among his own party. The number of Republicans who approve of his job performance is down to 39 percent, versus 56 percent who disapprove,...

In his current incarnation, Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger never tires of asserting that Republicans are too rigidly ideological. On ABC's “This Week with George Stephanopoulos,” he called state GOP lawmakers out of touch for refusing to go along with his budget deal, which included $12.8 billion in higher taxes and (honestly calculated) about $7 billion in spending cuts. Schwarzenegger in the next breath went on to reveal that he planned to renew his push for state health care “reform,” even if it requires another round of big tax hikes, “because that's what the people want you to do.” This is mind-boggling....