Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger vetoed legislation Saturday that would have banned motorists from holding a live animal in their laps or arms.
The Republican governor gave no specific explanation other than to blame his veto of Assembly Bill 2233 on the recent budget dispute.
As he has with six dozen other bills this signing period, Schwarzenegger attached a uniform four-sentence message explaining he is signing bills only of the "highest priority" during the condensed signing period caused by the 85-day budget delay.
Talk show host Rush Limbaugh and other conservatives ridiculed the lap-dog measure as excessive government and dubbed it the "Paris Hilton Bill" in honor of the celebrity dog lover. Violators would have faced a base fine of $35, which could have risen to $150 with state and county fees.
Assemblyman Bill Maze, the bill's author, said he proposed AB 2233 after seeing a Tulare County woman driving with three dogs on her lap.
"One had its feet on the steering wheel and the other two were leaning over her left arm," said Maze, R-Visalia.
A traffic collision at 40 mph can hurtle a 25-pound dog through a vehicle with the force of a 1,000-pound object, according to a legislative analysis of the bill.
"You've got a live animal that has a mind of its own," Maze said. "It can get tangled in the steering wheel or pinned between your knees. It can create a real hazard for yourself and everyone else."
But Sacramentan Kurt Reiswig, 70, opposed the measure as a "nanny government" attempt to regulate personal behavior that should be left to common sense. Lawmakers simply can't ban every driver distraction – from eating to changing a radio station – that can divert attention from the road, he said.
"Next thing, they'll say we've got to have seat belts for the dog," Reiswig said.
Schwarzenegger signed 114 bills and vetoed 95 on Saturday. Among the bills he signed was Assembly Bill 2168 by Assemblyman Dave Jones, D-Sacramento, which allows chefs to buy produce from farmers markets to cook restaurant meals as long as they obtain a memo detailing the food's origin. The governor has 557 bills left to consider by Tuesday, according to spokeswoman Rachel Cameron.
The governor vetoed the lap-dog bill despite signing other restrictions in the past two years that ban drivers from text messaging and using phones without a hands-free device. State law currently allows drivers to be cited if their vision is obstructed or a distraction causes them to violate a rule of the road – but not simply for holding an animal.
Pets must be secured in the back of a pickup but can roam freely inside a vehicle.
California Highway Patrol statistics show that four people were killed and 346 others injured in collisions from 2001 to 2007 due to driver inattention caused by an animal. No breakdown exists of how many were in their owner's lap.
Critics contend that government should not dictate who sits in their lap – period.
Quieting a whining or scared pet on your lap, while driving, can be safer than to be distracted by an animal's barking, fidgeting or misbehavior in a back seat, opponents said.
Several Sacramento-area residents interviewed near a local dog park said AB 2233 would have been a positive step.
Darrin Richards, 41, said his mixed-breed dog rides in the back seat.
"If we can't drive with our cell phone, we shouldn't be able to drive with a dog in our lap, either," Richards said.
Nationwide Mutual Insurance found in a 2006 survey that 8 percent of drivers had held a pet while behind the wheel.
Call Jim Sanders, Bee Capitol Bureau, (916) 326-5538.
