There are 876 new laws poised to take effect today, or shortly thereafter, passed by the Legislature and signed by Governor Jerry Brown during the past year. Another 120 bills were vetoed by the governor, and the absence of some could prove as meaningful as those that survived.
Brown vetoed 12% of the bills that reached his desk from a Legislature dominated by his own party, the Democrats, according to “How Often Do Governors Say No?”―an annual report from the Senate Committee on Governance and Finance. That’s the lowest veto rate since 2003, when Gray Davis limited his vetoes to 6.0% while unsuccessfully trying to fend off a recall campaign. Brown’s veto rate was 14% last year.
Brown holds the record for fewest vetoes in a year, 30 in 1982 during his first go-round as governor. George Deukmejian vetoed the most bills, 436, in 1990. Arnold Schwarzenegger was right behind him with 414 in 2008.
Of the 120 bills vetoed, these are considered among the most important:
–Ken Broder
To Learn More:
Gov. Jerry Brown's Veto Rate Is Now 13%, Gov. Schwarzenegger's Was Twice That (Associated Press)
As 2013 Dawns, Timing Will Roil California Regulatory Landscape (by Greg Lucas, Capitol Weekly)
New California Laws―Lots of Them (KQED)
How Often Do Governors Say No? (Senate Committee on Governance and Finance) (pdf)