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California Family Minute

October 10, 2011

Final Sprint to Midnight Bill Deadline

by Rebecca Burgoyne, 
CFC Research Analyst

Gov. Jerry Brown apparently worked throughout the weekend, as he dispersed the last bills of the nearly 600 that had landed on his desk during the final days of the legislative session. Yet his promise to deliver “veto blues” to legislators never materialized, as a rough estimate shows he signed 466 and vetoed 97 – a veto percentage of about 14 percent. 

Showing his partisan stripes, the governor signed SB 202, a major power grab by Democrats and their union supporters. Crafted during the final hours of session, SB 202 moves all initiatives to the November ballot, specifically postponing several initiatives aimed at the June 2012 ballot that would temper the political influence of unions. Booting these measures to the November 2012 election assures a greater Democratic turnout. A second provision in SB 202 postpones another initiative already scheduled for the 2012 ballot until 2014. That measure (ACA 4) was passed by the Legislature last year, as part of negotiations to settle the prolonged budget stalemate. Democrats have never liked the budget rainy day fund/spending limit contained in ACA 4 and moving it to 2014 could spell its doom if Democrats are able to reach the coveted two-thirds majority in next year’s elections. 

Despite Governor Brown’s prior veto message lamenting the “continuing and seemingly inexorable transfer of authority from parents to the state," he signed AB 499, which allows children as young as 12 to circumvent parental authority in obtaining medical care preventing a sexually transmitted disease (STD). The focus of AB 499 is to allow teens to receive the hepatitis-B and the controversial human papilloma virus (HPV) vaccines without parental knowledge. 

“For Governor Brown and the majority of legislators, representing the people is absent from their minds,” said Ron Prentice, CEO of California Family Council. “Parents rights and responsibilities are being overtaken by government. The ‘Nanny State’ is expanding at the peril of families and CFC recognizes the urgency of growing an informed constituency to bring about systemic change.”

Unfortunately, the governor signed the majority of bills that expand special rights for GLBT (gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender) citizens. However, in his veto messages for two measures – SB 416 and SB 747, which would have mandated sexual orientation training and gender orientation information in public health surveys – he claimed such matters were better left to current processes and licensing boards, instead of the Legislature and the governor. It’s tragic he didn’t use that same logic in protecting the rights of parents with AB 499. 

To see all of the governor’s final actions on legislation tracked by CFC, visit our online legislative action center. 
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