Governor Vetoes 2,299 Bills in His Two Terms

Gov. George Deukmejian vetoed 2,299 bills during his eight-year Administration, more than the combined total of his two predecessors, according to final figures supplied by his staff Monday.

The vetoes represent a rejection rate of 15.1% of the bills submitted to the Republican governor by the Democratic-controlled Legislature during his Administration.

The governor acted on the last bills of his term late Sunday.

Deukmejian’s immediate predecessor, Edmund G. Brown Jr., vetoed 736 bills during eight years in office for a rejection rate of 6.34%. Brown’s predecessor, Ronald Reagan, vetoed 981 bills, a 7.29% rejection rate, during his eight years.

This year, Deukmejian also established a record for a single year by vetoing 436 bills out of 2,143 measures sent to him.

“Here was a governor who for eight years was more fond of saying no than yes,” said Robert Forsyth, press secretary to Senate Leader David A. Roberti (D-Los Angeles). “With notable exceptions, he’s been a governor who has not worked well with legislators. . . . Unless it’s his vision that’s being advanced, he has real problems accepting other people’s visions.”

The governor’s spokesman, Robert Gore, explained the high veto rate by saying that Deukmejian’s legislative experience made him adept at spotting ill-conceived legislation.

“The governor spent 28 years in public life. He served 16 in the state Legislature,” said Gore. “He’s an expert at recognizing bills that are badly written or are bad legislation. Obviously, the voters agree with his philosophy since he was reelected by a margin of 1.7 million votes.”

Gore said about 70% of the bills that crossed Deukmejian’s desk this year were passed in the Assembly and Senate in the final two weeks of the legislative session and often contained last-minute changes that were not thought through.

In 1988, the figure was about 60%, he said.

For his total of eight years in office, Deukmejian signed into law 12,526 out of 14,825 bills sent to him. Brown signed 10,878 out of 11,614, and Reagan, 12,468 out of 13,449.