Nearly 300 Bills Await Decisions by Gov. Davis

Of the 971 bills sent to Gov. Gray Davis before the Legislature adjourned last month, he has 282 left to sign, veto or ignore -- meaning they would automatically become law -- before a midnight Sunday deadline.

Among those awaiting action are bills that would allow people to buy up to 30 hypodermic needles from pharmacists without a prescription, ban the sale of the dietary supplement ephedra and require local governments to accept identification cards from Mexican consulates as a valid form of ID.

Also pending is a bill that would give regional water quality regulators the power to block logging on private land if it would pollute streams and rivers.

On Thursday, Gov.-elect Arnold Schwarzenegger said he would prefer that Davis not sign any more bills.

Davis spokesman Russ Lopez dismissed that remark.

“This is another example of Arnold Schwarzenegger needing to read up on all the details of being a governor,” Lopez said. “I’m sure Gov.-elect Schwarzenegger doesn’t mean that he would like the governor to take no action on bills.”

Schwarzenegger spokesman Rob Stutzman later explained that the governor-elect hopes Davis will veto any legislation that “radically departs, or takes us onto a different course in a policy area.”

“We’re in the process of looking at what’s left on the governor’s desk and seeing if there’s anything that concerns” Schwarzenegger, he added.

Asked if there were any specific bills that Schwarzenegger wants vetoed, Stutzman said: “Not at this point.”

Stutzman added that the governor-elect would also prefer that Davis not hasten to make judicial appointments before leaving office.

“Any type of mad rush upon exit probably does not respect the mandate of the vote the other night,” he said.