CALIFORNIA BRIEFING / SACRAMENTO

Avoiding the embarrassment of what could have been the first successful veto override in California since 1979, Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger signed legislation Friday that establishes an annual “Welcome Home Vietnam Veterans Day” on March 30.

Schwarzenegger vetoed an identical bill earlier this month, saying that it did not address high-priority needs including “comprehensive changes in our policies on water, energy and Corrections” and that he might reconsider the measure once legislators acted on those issues.

In response to the Sept. 8 veto, furious Assembly members, including Paul Cook (R-Yucca Valley), the bill’s author, threatened to override the governor and said they had the votes to do it.

Cook, a decorated Vietnam veteran, later met with Schwarzenegger, and they agreed that Cook would introduce a new bill with the same language and the governor would approve it, even though the Legislature failed to adopt a comprehensive plan to improve the state’s water supply.

-- Patrick McGreevy