Wilson’s Bill Veto Political, Umberg Says

Assemblyman Tom Umberg charged that Gov. Pete Wilson played politics Friday when he vetoed the Orange County lawmaker’s bill to toughen penalties for murders committed by drive-by shooting.

The governor said in a one-page veto message explaining his action that Umberg’s bill was less comprehensive than a similar measure Wilson himself had championed--and already signed.

Umberg (D-Garden Grove), however, argued that the governor was twisting the facts and attempting to steal a potent campaign issue just days after the assemblyman announced plans to run for state attorney general.

“It’s partisan politics,” an angry Umberg said. “I don’t think it’s merely a coincidence that my bill should be vetoed two days after I’ve announced an exploratory committee” for the attorney general’s race.

But a Wilson spokesman said Umberg was off track, maintaining that the Republican governor had simply signed the superior bill. “There were no politics involved,” spokesman Dan Schnur said.

Umberg’s bill is nearly identical to a drive-by measure authored by Sen. Ruben S. Ayala (D-Chino) and signed by Wilson. Both bills would boost the penalty for a drive-by shooting by automatically classifying as first-degree murder any killing committed deliberately by shooting a firearm from inside a motor vehicle, with the crime punishable by a term of 25 years to life in prison.

The one key difference, Umberg contends, is that his bill would have gone into effect Jan. 1, while the increased penalties contained in Ayala’s bill would not become law until after a statewide vote by the people in June.

“What he has done is give drive-by shooters a six-month grace period,” Umberg said. “I’m bewildered that the governor would take this action if he’s really as tough on crime as he says.”

Schnur, however, said that Umberg had misread the situation. He maintained that another bill signed by the governor--a carjacking measure authored by Sen. Robert Presley (D-Riverside)--contained provisions to ensure Ayala’s measure will go into effect Jan. 1.

In addition, Schnur argued that Umberg’s bill was weaker than the one favored by Wilson, who made headlines by signing the Ayala measure with a package of other crime-fighting legislation.