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Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger- A $2.1 billion drop in California tax collection, Vetoes Energy Bills, signs hundreds of bills

By Thomas Frommherz for CEOWORLD Magazine Updated:October 12, 2009

A $2.1 billion drop in California tax collection is opening a hole in Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger’s budget only three months after lawmakers in the most-populous state slashed spending for the second time in a year.

General fund revenue in the state accounting for 13 percent of the U.S. gross domestic product dropped to $19.4 billion during the fiscal year’s first three months, according to figures Democratic Controller John Chiang released Oct. 9. The total for the period ended Sept. 30 trailed by $1.1 billion, or 5.3 percent, forecasts in the annual budget the Republican governor signed July 28, Bloomberg reported.

California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger vetoed a pair of renewable-energy bills late Sunday, saying that an alternative plan he is pursuing to boost the state’s percentage of renewable power sold to 33% is preferable.

The bills, passed in September by the Democratic-controlled California legislature, would require the state’s utilities to use renewable energy, like solar and wind power, for a third of the power they sell by 2020, wsj reported.

Working late into the night Sunday through a pile of about 700 bills, Schwarzenegger signed at least 230, sfgate reported.

Measures signed into law include:

– Senate Bill 43 by Sen. Elaine Alquist, D-San Jose, allowing Santa Clara to award a contract to design and build a proposed 49ers stadium to a firm of the team’s choice – rather than to the lowest bidder as normally required under city law.

– SB792 by Sen. Mark Leno, D-San Francisco, which allows the state to pursue the sale of up to 23 acres of the Candlestick Point Recreation Area to Lennar Corp. and dedicate the money from the sale to park improvements.

– SB481 by Sen. Dave Cox, R-Fair Oaks (Sacramento County), which allows for the killing of birds at airports to protect public safety. The measure was inspired by US Airways Flight 1549, which made an emergency landing in the Hudson River in New York in January after striking birds during takeoff.

– Assembly Bill 42 by Assemblyman Pedro Nava, D-Santa Barbara, increasing the penalty for being a spectator at a dogfight – another response to the dogfighting conviction of professional football star Michael Vick.

– AB91 by Assemblyman Mike Feuer, D-Los Angeles, creating a five-year pilot program in Alameda, Los Angeles, Sacramento and Tulare counties in which an ignition interlock device would be installed on vehicles owned or operated by first-time drunken driving offenders. The devices prevent vehicles from being started if the driver is intoxicated.

While announcing his approval of the program, which goes into effect in January, Schwarzenegger said state leaders “must do everything we can to ensure the public’s safety on the road.”

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