Governor vetoes protections for pregnant women

On October 7, 2005, Governor Schwarzenegger vetoed SB 1067, authored by Senator Christine Kehoe and sponsored by Clean Water Action. SB 1067 would have required water agencies to disclose to their customers when dangerous spikes of disinfection by-products occur in their drinking water, and would have directed the Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment to develop public health goals to safeguard the health of pregnant women and their fetuses.

A growing body of research since the early 1990s has linked these by-products to increases in miscarriages and birth defects.

"SB1067 was intended to provide important information for pregnant women, information that can impact the health and well-being of their unborn children," said Jennifer Clary, legislative analyst for Clean Water Action. "By vetoing this bill, the governor has demonstrated a callous disregard for California's families."

The Governor also vetoed SB 455, the Pesticide Safety Enforcement Act. SB 455, authored by Senator Martha Escutia and sponsored by the United Farm Workers and the California Rural Legal Assistance Foundation, would have required the investigation and enforcement of existing pesticide regulations. Currently in some agricultural counties, pesticide violations can take up to a year to investigate, and seldom result in any fines or other enforcement actions. For example, Kern County, the 3rd largest agricultural county in the state, recorded over 150 pesticide violations in 2004, but assessed fines for only 3. This denies health care and other needed services to victims of these incidents.

Governor Schwarzenegger did sign AB 405 into law. This bill, authored by Assembly member Cindy Montanez and sponsored by California Safe Schools, bans the use of experimental or unregistered chemicals in schools, and will take effect in January, 2006.