Flawed Bill on Lottery Contracts Gets a Veto

On the eve of the official opening of the California State Lottery, Gov. George Deukmejian on Wednesday announced the veto of a bill designed to increase competition among bidders for a lottery contract worth $200 million.

Deukmejian said he agreed with the measure’s intent but refused to sign it because a drafting error cast doubt on whether the Lottery Commission could continue to require bidders to disclose detailed information about their taxes and financial dealings.

The measure was among more than 200 bills the governor was acting on Wednesday as he raced to meet a midnight deadline. When he has finished, he will have acted on a total of 1,833 bills this year.

School Bus Bill Vetoed

One day after Deukmejian signed a major auto safety bill requiring motorists to wear seat belts, he vetoed a measure to improve the safety of school buses by 1991. Deukmejian argued that it would have cost as much as $175 million to upgrade all unsafe buses, estimated by the California Highway Patrol to be 66% of those on the road.

The governor also vetoed a package of bills designed to provide money for building schools in overcrowded districts. Among other things, it would have allowed school districts to create assessment districts without a vote of the residents and authorizes the state to reimburse developers who agree to construct schools in conjunction with residential developments.

Deukmejian objected that the package would take “scarce” state funds and would provide “disincentives to local participation.”

In another action related to children, the governor vetoed all but $2.4 million of a $30-million program that would have provided child care on school campuses, in the camps of migrant farm workers and for abused children.

Deukmejian signed two bills that would devote $108 million for the cleanup of hazardous waste sites, including $22.5 million solely for the Stringfellow acid pits in Riverside County. But he vetoed a measure to eliminate the use of landfills for disposal of hazardous liquid waste by 1987 and all other toxic waste by 1989. Deukmejian said alternative methods of disposal might not be available by that time.

The lottery bill was designed to make it easier for companies to compete for state contracts with Scientific Games, a nationwide firm that sponsored last year’s ballot initiative setting up the lottery in California.

The measure by Sen. Ralph C. Dills (D-Gardena) would have relaxed the initiative’s requirement that lottery bidders provide detailed financial reports and income tax statements.

The measure was flawed by a hastily drawn amendment that made it unclear whether companies would be required to disclose any information at all, making it difficult to protect the games from companies with shaky finances or organized crime connections.

“Since these disclosure provisions were designed to ensure the integrity of the lottery, I cannot sign a bill which does not, without question, authorize the commission to carry out the intent of the voters,” Deukmejian said in his veto message.

Lotto Delay Feared

The governor also said legal questions arising from the flawed measure could have delayed the start of next year’s games, which include computerized Lotto.

After the veto, at least five lottery firms said they still intend to bid for the $200-million contract.

GTECH, the largest computer lottery firm in the world, had heavily lobbied the governor to sign the bill, saying the initiative’s disclosure requirements would make it impossible for the firm to enter a bid because four large shareholders refuse to provide the required information.

After the governor’s veto, however, GTECH spokesman John Jervis said the firm would attempt to persuade its four shareholders--all members of the billionaire Bass family of Dallas--to either comply with the requirement or reduce their holdings to less than 5% each, the threshold for the reporting requirement.

Some legislators had hoped that in the next round of bidding, GTECH would be among the strong bidders, along with Scientific Games--operator of the scratch-off games that begin today.

Deukmejian’s veto of the school bus safety bill brought immediate criticism from Assemblyman Richard Robinson (D-Garden Grove), the author of the measure who said many buses on the road are “rolling coffins.”

Estimate Called Too High

He said his measure would have provided for the replacement of 700 buses a year at an eventual cost of far less than the $175 million estimated by the governor. The bill would also have required school districts to post a warning sign on buses that do not meet 1977 federal safety standards.

“The bill was strongly supported by the Highway Patrol, and I’m shocked and dismayed that the governor vetoed it,” Robinson said.

The governor’s reduction of child-care funds in a measure by Assembly Speaker Willie Brown (D-San Francisco) struck a cost-of-living raise for existing state programs as well as prevented the start of new programs.

However, last week, as part of a workfare compromise, the governor signed legislation that will eventually provide $134 million a year to care for the children of welfare parents and, for the first time, working parents.

Here is a summary of other bills the governor signed or vetoed:

- Spending: Deukmejian signed a bill by Assemblyman Jack O’Connell (D-Carpinteria) that will provide $118 million from offshore oil revenues for such “pork-barrel” projects as studying pollution in Santa Monica Bay and building freeway sound walls in parts of Los Angeles. He also signed a second bill by Sen. Gary Hart (D-Santa Barbara) to allocate $38 million in offshore oil funds to lessen the effects of coastal drilling on cities for such projects as cleaning up oil spills.

- Towing: The governor signed a measure by Assemblyman Robinson that gives motorists some protection from unscrupulous towing companies. Tow truck operators who charge excessive fees can be required to pay the vehicle owner four times the amount of the towing fee.

- Rent Control: Overturning a portion of Santa Monica’s rent control law, Deukmejian signed a bill that would prevent public agencies from forcing landlords to stay in business. The measure by Sen. Jim Ellis (R-San Diego) reverses a state Supreme Court decision upholding the part of Santa Monica’s law that requires landlords to obtain a permit before taking their property off the market. But the bill also provides new tenant protections that give renters the chance to collect damages from landlords who evict them under the pretense of going out of business.

- Criminals: Deukmejian signed two bills intended to extend the sentences of dangerous inmates who are found to be mentally ill. The measures will allow their repeated confinement in state mental hospitals for yearlong periods as long as they remain dangerous to others.