Five Bills the Governor Should Sign

Gov. Pete Wilson is busy these days working his way through the 650 bills still on his desk. Recently he generated headlines--more of them than he wanted--by signing the state’s first family leave measure into law and by vetoing a gay job-discrimination bill.

Here are five lower-profile but meritorious bills he should approve:

1. SB 341, among other things, should halt the proliferation of multi-million-dollar lawsuits filed simply to dissuade people from speaking out at public hearings or writing letters to the editor on public issues.

Known as SLAPPs--strategic lawsuits against public participation--these suits are typically brought by developers or other businesses accusing people of defamation or conspiracy just for lawfully expressing their opposition to building projects.

SB 341 would prevent plaintiffs from proceeding with such suits unless a judge determines that “there is a substantial probability that the plaintiff will prevail on the claim.” The bill’s aim is to deter frivolous suits designed to intimidate.

2. AB 2038 expands the state’s efforts to detect and prevent lead poisoning in children, a grave and widespread environmental problem. It directs the Department of Health Services to set guidelines for the blood lead screening of all children by their regular doctor.

Existing screening and prevention programs focus largely on inner-city children.

AB 2038 also requires that all children with high lead blood levels receive health care and education to reduce their continued lead exposure.

3. AB 546 would expand state efforts to mend troubled families and, where appropriate, keep those families together as an alternative to removing children to foster care.

The bill will allow counties to use state foster care funds for more intensive and different kinds of social and financial aid services to intact families or to work more closely with children and parents who must be separated.

4. AB 48 would establish a much-needed annual review of the state’s bond picture.

It directs the California Debt Advisory Commission to advise the governor and Legislature on the level of bond debt that can be prudently incurred and authorized each year and on ways to issue bonds to meet the state’s capital needs and still protect its credit rating.

5. SB 112 would protect English-language instruction and citizenship programs for at least 100,000 amnesty applicants.

The bill could raise spending for these programs by reallocating federal dollars appropriated for a variety of immigrant services.