Windshield GPS bill stalled

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A bill that would make it legal in California to mount a GPS device on your windshield has gotten lost in the budget maze in Sacramento.

The bill, which adds portable GPS devices to the state’s list of permitted windshield obstructions, easily passed both houses of the Legislature. (Read more about SB 1567 in a related story.)

But with Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger threatening to veto any bills that reach his desk until the impasse over the state budget is resolved, backers decided to snatch the GPS bill back and wait for the smoke to clear before sending it back to the governor.

Supporters remain hopeful but acknowledge that navigating the state’s current fiscal crisis is akin to driving the Ortega Highway in a bad fog.

“We’re going to hold it back as long as possible,” said Ray Sotero, spokesman for bill author Sen. Jenny Oropeza (D-Long Beach). “But from here on out, it gets kind of fuzzy.”

— Martin Zimmerman