No Licenses for Illegal Immigrants

Gov. Gray Davis vetoed hard-fought legislation Monday that would have allowed illegal immigrants who are longtime residents to receive driver’s licenses.

Davis had promised last year to sign such a measure and had worked on a compromise for months, but said in his veto message that “the tragedy of Sept. 11 made it abundantly clear that the driver’s license is more than just a license to drive; it is one of the primary documents we use to identify ourselves.”

The action prompted a sharp rebuke from a lawmaker who had been among his closest legislative allies. Assemblyman Gil Cedillo (D-Los Angeles) called Davis’ veto “another example of failed leadership” and of “putting politics ahead of public safety.”

Facing a midnight deadline to decide the fate of the final batch of bills for his first term, Davis also:

* Vetoed a measure that sought to prevent companies from shipping possibly radioactive waste to local dumps.

* Vetoed a second measure opposed by Silicon Valley manufacturers that would have added $10 to the cost of television sets and computer monitors to pay for their disposal.

* Signed a bill aimed at lightening the load of students’ backpacks.

Also falling to his veto pen were bills that could have raised auto insurance rates for some drivers and given Indian tribes the power to block development on land they deem sacred.

Tribes, whose casino revenue makes them the biggest contributors to politicians, claimed the bill would merely ensure long overdue respect and protection to sites and objects sacred to American Indians. Davis called the bill too broad, but went out of his way to express reverence for Indian sites and directed his aides to work with advocates on a compromise.

Opponents of the bill, SB 1828 by Senate leader John Burton (D-San Francisco), included builders, local government, and business groups. They asserted the bill was so broad it would give tribes the power to kill highway, school, housing and other necessary projects.

In perhaps his most surprising action, Davis vetoed the driver’s license bills, measures that stirred such emotion that some advocates went on hunger strikes demanding that he sign them. Davis’ aides spent long hours negotiating a compromise with Cedillo.

The Legislature approved Cedillo’s original bill, AB 60, last year. Not wanting to veto it outright at the time, Davis, who has courted Latino voters, urged that the Legislature take the bill back, and come up with a compromise.

“It is just nothing but politics and not public policy,” Cedillo said. “Here is a man who calls me and gives me his word that we would get it done.... What we see is that the governor only responds to powerful interests, and he may believe that the Latino community isn’t powerful enough.”

For a time, it appeared as if a deal had been reached when law enforcement officials, including Los Angeles Sheriff Lee Baca, embraced Cedillo’s original bill and its companion, SB 804 by Sen. Richard Polanco (D-Los Angeles). The bills would have allowed illegal immigrants to obtain licenses if they passed all driving tests, underwent criminal background checks, were applying for legal residency and could prove they were employed and had lived in California for at least 15 months in the last three years.

Cedillo’s efforts were complicated by fears about security. Before Sept. 11, 2001, 15 states were considering ways to grant driver’s licenses to illegal immigrants. Progress stalled after the terrorist attacks, as it became clear that some of the terrorists had obtained phony licenses.

” Cedillo had been trying to win approval of the legislation since he was first elected in 1998. People had told him of having their cars impounded because they were caught driving without licenses. The lawmaker contends that by making it impossible for nearly 1 million illegal immigrants to obtain driver’s licenses, state law creates a class of uninsured and untrained drivers.

Another action that stirred criticism was Davis’ veto of the radioactive dumping bill. The bill, SB 1970 by Sen. Gloria Romero (D-Los Angeles), would have barred business from recycling low-grade radioactive waste into consumer products or disposing of it in public dumps and industrial landfills.

“The governor’s folks are intent on deregulating these businesses,” Romero said. “This was a big victory for corporate America. But the big losers are men, women and children of California.”

In his veto message, Davis said Romero rejected his suggestions and sent him a bill that lacks “sound scientific basis.” Davis said the bill would have forced businesses, universities and medical facilities to ship dirt and concrete that pose no health risk to out-of-state disposal facilities at a cost of hundreds of millions of dollars.

As Davis vetoed the bill, administration officials announced a moratorium on radioactive waste dumping in local landfills, even though they said they doubt such dumping takes place. They also vowed to begin work immediately on regulations governing such dumping at more secure industrial landfills.

Administration officials said their actions Monday would help protect public health while ensuring that important sectors of state commerce, particularly the biotech and health care industries, could continue to operate.

With election day five weeks away, the issue took on a political tone. Davis’ Republican challenger, Bill Simon Jr., rebuked Davis for battling a proposal to create a radioactive waste dump at Ward Valley--”a dry, secure and distant location.”

Without Ward Valley, businesses have little recourse but to dispose of such material in other landfills. Simon alleged that the administration has been “caught allowing this waste to be dumped right next to residential homes and schools.”

In other action, Davis signed legislation that could reduce the weight of school children’s backpacks. The bill, AB 2532 by Assemblyman Rod Pacheco (R-Riverside), directs that the state Board of Education establish maximum weight standards for school textbooks by July 1, 2004.

Given that school lockers are scarce at many public schools, children must lug their books in packs that weigh up to 40 pounds. Parents, students and some health experts have complained that the weight is damaging their backs.

“This will lighten their loads,” Pacheco said. “Kids suffer back and spine-related problems.”

The governor also signed a bill eliminating a 19-year-old exemption from conflict of interest laws for information technology contracts. The loophole was intended to give the state flexibility when dealing with what was then a fledgling computer software industry.

Davis also signed legislation related to:

* Banking, prohibiting Wal-Mart from acquiring a small industrial bank in Orange County to process customer credit and debit card payments. Several other retailers, labor unions and others opposed Wal-Mart’s attempt at getting into banking in California. AB 551 by Assemblyman Lou Papan (D-Millbrae).

* Abandoned babies, requiring that students in sex education classes be informed that state law permits parents to surrender custody of a newborn at a hospital emergency room without facing criminal penalties. AB 2817 by Assemblyman Ken Maddox (R-Garden Grove).

* Rampart, allowing people who already have served their sentences appeal to have their convictions overturned if they were convicted with the use of false evidence. It applies to about two dozen people convicted by testimony provided by officers enmeshed in Rampart scandal. SB 1391 by Burton.

* Malpractice, requiring that the state Medical Board disclose on its Web site instances in which physicians settled at least three medical malpractice lawsuits of more than $30,000 within the last 10 years. The law is aimed at providing patients with the same lawsuit settlement information available to medical groups, hospitals and HMOs. SB 1950 by Sen. Liz Figueroa (D-Fremont).

* Conflict, imposing criminal penalties against consultants who disclose inside information gained as they work for the state or the California Independent System Operator, a quasi-state agency that manages much of California’s electrical transmission grid. The bill came about because of allegations that Perot Systems Corp., which helped create the Independent System Operator, tried to sell to energy companies information about how to manipulate California’s electricity market. AB 2578 by Assemblyman Kevin Shelley (D-San Francisco).

* Tenants, allows people to request inspections before they vacate, have an opportunity to clean or make repairs to avoid having money deducted from their deposit. The law also increases the penalties for landlords who illegally withhold deposits. AB 2330 by Assemblywoman Carole Migden (D-San Francisco).

The governor vetoed several bills related to:

* E-waste. Davis rejected legislation to create a fund to pay for the disposal of televisions and computer monitors. More than 10,000 televisions and computer monitors are discarded daily in California. Each contains as much as five pounds of lead, a highly toxic substance. Last year the state banned landfills from accepting computer monitors and televisions, but there is no alternative for disposal. SB 1523 by Sen. Byron Sher (D-Stanford).

* Insurance. At the request of Insurance Commissioner Harry Low, Davis killed legislation that would have allowed automobile insurers to offer discounts to customers who have continuously purchased coverage. The measure, sponsored by Mercury Insurance Co., would have required those ineligible for the discount to pay higher rates. SB 689 by Sen. Don Perata (D-Alameda).

“Gov. Davis protected motorists against surcharges that would have particularly penalized the poor and armed forces personnel now [in] service overseas,” said Harvey Rosenfield, a consumer activist.

Times staff writers Carl Ingram, Virginia Ellis and Gary Polakovic contributed to this report.