- Originally published in the Los Angeles Times September 23, 2004 Thursday
Copyright 2004 Los Angeles Times
By
: Jordan Rau and Nancy Vogel, Times Staff Writers
Gov.
Arnold Schwarzenegger on Wednesday vetoed legislation that would have
made California's 2 million illegal immigrants eligible for driver's
permits. But the veto did little to put to rest one of the state's most
emotional and enduring issues.
Democrats vowed to try again next year, while Republicans pushed for more restrictions on illegal immigrants.
The
California Republican Assembly, the state's oldest Republican volunteer
group, announced that it had won approval to begin collecting
signatures for an initiative that would prohibit illegal immigrants
from receiving not only driver's licenses but other state benefits such
as in-state college tuition.
"Not a bad day if you want to stop giving benefits to people here illegally," said Republican Assembly President Mike Spence.
Latinos
and Democratic lawmakers accused the governor of breaking his promise
last year to negotiate a "sensible solution" after the Legislature
repealed the driver's license law at his urging.
Schwarzenegger
said he feared terrorists would use the documents to infiltrate the
country and had repeatedly threatened a veto. But Democrats insisted
that changes they made from last year's measure should have satisfied
him.
"I am disappointed that the governor
vetoed this measure, despite the fact that this right currently exists
in 10 other states," said Assembly Speaker Fabian Nunez (D-Los
Angeles). "Considering that he gave his word that he would work with
the Legislature on an acceptable bill, we are now back to square one."
Nativo
V. Lopez, national president of both the Mexican American Political
Assn. and Hermandad Mexicana, said his groups are prepared to call for
national boycotts of convention centers in Los Angeles, San Diego and
San Francisco. That, he said, would "share the pain with all of
California."
"There's no reason in the
world that Schwarzenegger should accept us to work in his kitchens, to
landscape his yard and wash his Hummer and not allow us to have a
driver's license," Lopez said.
Sen. Gil
Cedillo (D-Los Angeles), the author of the measure, "went to the nth
degree to strike a compromise based on the governor's word, and we were
all duped," Lopez said. The governor, he said, "demonstrated that he's
not a person of his word."
Schwarzenegger
further angered Democrats on Wednesday by vetoing several of their most
aggressive efforts to give patients more leverage in dealing with
hospitals and insurers. One measure would have prevented hospitals from
charging uninsured patients more than they bill medical plans.
Another
would have required, with some exceptions, health insurers and
healthcare plans to include coverage for maternity services in health
insurance they sell in California.
"The
governor's veto gives a thumbs-up to discrimination against women and
allows insurers to drop maternity care from basic coverage, in order to
sell lucrative low-cost policies to target populations," said Sen.
Jackie Speier (D-Hillsborough), the bill's author.
In
one of his longest veto messages, Schwarzenegger said that the
maternity measure presented a "difficult choice," but he concluded that
the bill would increase the costs of health insurance and force people
to pay for maternity services they might not need.
By
contrast, Schwarzenegger's driver's license veto was notable for its
brevity, as he provided little explanation for how the bill fell short.
He
did not cite the reason his aides had given throughout the legislative
session: that it failed to include a special identifying mark to
distinguish holders as illegal immigrants. He also offered no
suggestions for how a better deal could be arranged, as he has in other
veto messages.
"One of the most important
duties of the governor of a state is to protect its citizens," he
wrote. "Determining the true identity and history of an individual is a
key component of that protection. This bill does not adequately address
the security concerns that my Department of Homeland Security and I
have, and I cannot support it."
That
contention had been debated throughout the year, with some law
enforcement officials, including Los Angeles Police Chief William J.
Bratton, arguing that it would help anti-terrorism efforts to have some
records of illegal immigrants. They also noted that other governors,
including Republican Jeb Bush of Florida, have allowed driver's
licenses for illegal immigrants.
Cedillo
had modified last year's bill to include fingerprint background checks
on all applicants, but some law enforcement officials said those were
unlikely to include criminal records in other countries.
Cedillo said he would try again next year to forge a compromise.
"I'm disappointed but not discouraged and we'll be back," he said.
In
order to place a stricter prohibition on illegal immigrants on the
ballot in 2006, advocates must gather 600,000 signatures by the end of
February, Spence said.
He said the GOP
group, which last year had been prepared to hold a referendum on the
old driver's license law before lawmakers rescinded it, plans to mail
100,000 petitions Monday.
Elizabeth Garrett, a law professor at USC, said she doubted the issue would be resolved or go away anytime soon.
She
said that no matter what "niceties" were included in the measure,
Schwarzenegger was unlikely to give in on an issue that aroused
passionate opposition during the recall campaign and helped win him
election.
"This license bill is going to
be part of our politics and part of out discourse," Garrett said, "but
I don't see any chance that in the near future it's going to be
enacted."
- Times staff writer Joe Mathews contributed to this report.