There are 876 new laws poised to take effect today, or shortly thereafter, passed by the Legislature and signed by Governor Jerry Brown during the past year. Another 120 bills were vetoed by the governor, and the absence of some could prove as meaningful as those that survived.

Brown vetoed 12% of the bills that reached his desk from a Legislature dominated by his own party, the Democrats, according to “How Often Do Governors Say No?”―an annual report from the Senate Committee on Governance and Finance. That’s the lowest veto rate since 2003, when Gray Davis limited his vetoes to 6.0% while unsuccessfully trying to fend off a recall campaign. Brown’s veto rate was 14% last year.

Brown holds the record for fewest vetoes in a year, 30 in 1982 during his first go-round as governor. George Deukmejian vetoed the most bills, 436, in 1990. Arnold Schwarzenegger was right behind him with 414 in 2008.

Of the 120 bills vetoed, these are considered among the most important:

• AB 1081, the Trust Act, would have made California the “anti-Arizona” on immigration enforcement by limiting state law enforcement interactions with federal immigration enforcement efforts. It would have restricted the state’s cooperation in the Secure Communities program, which relies on local police to hold undocumented immigrants detected upon arrest until U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) can pick them up. Immigration
• AB 889, the Domestic Workers Bill of Rights, sought to improve the status of in-home workers caring for the elderly, ill and disabled. The law would have required overtime pay, adequate sleeping conditions for live-in workers, and meal and rest breaks. Brown called it a “noble endeavor” but feared expensive unintended consequences from too many unanswered questions. Workers rights
• AB 2346 and AB 2676, the Humane Treatment of Farm Workers Act, would have made it a crime for farmers not to provide adequate shade and water to their field workers. Workers rights
• SB 961 would have created state-mandated meal breaks, sleep periods and rest breaks for domestic employees such as nannies and home health aides. Workers rights
• SB 1434 would have required law enforcement agents to get a search warrant before obtaining location-tracking information from electronic devices, like laptops and cellphones. Vetoed because Brown wasn’t convinced it had struck “the right balance between the operational needs of law enforcement and individual expectation of privacy.” Privacy
• SB 1160 would have prohibited government agencies from suspending cellphone service without a court order. It was inspired by the Bay Area Rapid Transit District’s cutting off of mobile service in train stations during a protest. Brown asked for a legislative rewrite to balance “protection of speech with the ability of law enforcement to utilize this tool in the protection of public health and safety.” Privacy
• AB 1594 would have required charter schools to provide low-income students with no-cost or reduced-price meals. Brown said, “I am reluctant to erode the independence and flexibility that have well served the families and teachers who choose charter schools.” Education
• AB 1885 would have given county workers who have been laid off an additional six months to be rehired to maintain their pension benefits. Workers rights
• SB 1476 would have allowed a child to have a parent/child relationship with more than two parents, empowering judges to intervene in determining what best serves the child’s interest. Some perceived the change as a threat to traditional parental roles. Brown cited a fear of “unintended consequences.” Family law

–Ken Broder

To Learn More:

Gov. Jerry Brown's Veto Rate Is Now 13%, Gov. Schwarzenegger's Was Twice That (Associated Press)

As 2013 Dawns, Timing Will Roil California Regulatory Landscape (by Greg Lucas, Capitol Weekly)

New California Laws―Lots of Them (KQED)

How Often Do Governors Say No? (Senate Committee on Governance and Finance) (pdf)