Schwarzenegger vetoes Logue's water bill

Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger vetoed a bill by Assemblyman Dan Logue, R-Linda, on penalties for water violations by small governments, and signed a handful of others by state Sen. Sam Aanestad and Assemblyman Jim Nielsen, R-Gerber.

Logue's bill, AB 914, would have allowed small governments who were fined for water violations from the State Water Resources Control Board to use the money to bring their systems into compliance with whatever originally caused the fine.

In a veto message, Schwarzenegger said the board already has the authority to make such a move.

"Furthermore, the bill's language for determining 'financial hardship' is unclear, provides little to no guidance for the Board, and would only further confuse an already complex financial hardship determination process," Schwarzenegger wrote in his message. "The unintended consequence of AB 914 will be costly lawsuits and competing interpretations of the bill's vague and confusing language."

Logue said the governor's assessment ignores the difficulty small governments have in getting into compliance.

"I'm disappointed because the governor believes one size fits all in California, and it doesn't," Logue said. "The small district continues to feed the monster without any chance to do some mitigation."

The bill's language might be tweaked to reintroduce it in the next legislative session, Logue said. He'll also look to introduce bills addressed at lessening regulations crimping job development, and "sunsetting" regulations that are no longer relevant, he said.

"He vetoed a lot of bills, and I'm one who believes we're being legislated to death, so a lot of vetoes isn't necessarily a bad thing," Logue said.

Other bills by Mid-Valley legislators fared better on the governor's desk over the weekend, with Schwarzenegger signing Aanestad's SB 256, SB 286, SB 175. SB 469 and SB 178.

SB 286 would allow the state Department of Fish and Game to issue "scientific permits" for scientists or employees of appropriate small businesses to allow them to take or study plant and animal life, while SB 178 allows the state Department of Forestry to sell a portion of its headquarters in Shasta-Trinity National Forest, and SB 175 will more easily allow firearms transfers between an owner and a gunsmith and allow more gun purchases by such entities as law enforcement trainers.

SB 256 allows the California Highway Patrol to dispose of extra property at its Chico office, and SB 469 allows veterans' cemeteries to waive burial fees for spouses and children of veterans whose surviving families can't afford the fees.

Aanestad spokesman Bill Bird said Aanestad, R-Penn Valley, was happy to have all five bills signed over the weekend, and seven in all over the completed legislative session.

"We knew there was a possibility that all the hard work would be undone with what was going on with water," Bird said, referring to a threat Schwarzenegger made earlier this month to veto bills unless a new water bond was finished. "The senator did well."

Schwarzenegger also signed Nielsen's AB 1166, which would require, in the event of a tie vote by a panel of parole board members, an additional "en banc" hearing based solely on the record of the person up for parole and without members of the tied panel participating.

Other bills the governor signed got a less-enthusiastic reception in the Yuba-Sutter region.

AB 962, which requires gun store owners and gun dealers to track every ammunition purchase, will result in higher costs, according to a local merchant.

"There's going to be a lot more paperwork for us," said Greg Rudstrom Jr. of Sutter Orchard Supply in Yuba City. "Obviously, there's a cost to us to do business because that's more time our employees will have to take when there's an ammunition sale."

Rudstrom said he doubted the bill would prevent much crime. "I don't think it'll help anything because the bad guys don't buy ammunition from me anyhow," he said.

The end of the session immediately led the governor to call a special session on the water issue, and Bird said a deal for a new bond could be in the offing.

Legislators in both parties have found agreement on the contentious water storage issue, Bird said, which could mean creation of the Sites Reservoir near Colusa would go before voters as part of a new bond next year.

"There are some sticking points where the senator has some concerns," Bird said of Aanestad, who is a member of the legislative conference committee discussing the bond. "They're close, I do know that much."

A vote to approve the bond could come as soon as this week, or more likely next week, Bird said.

Contact Appeal reporter Ben van der Meer at 749-4709 or bvandermeer@appealdemocrat.com. For more Yuba County news, read Ben's blog, "Yuba County Insider," at appealdemocrat.com.