LOS ANGELES – Gov. Jerry Brown signed legislation Monday extending scholarship opportunities to undocumented immigrant students, part of landmark "Dream Act" legislation vetoed by Brown's predecessor.

"Our future is uncertain if we neglect those children," Brown told supporters at Los Angeles City College. "But it's absolutely abundant if we invest in their education, their child care, their future, their neighborhoods."

Assembly Bill 130 allows students who are in the country illegally but qualify for in-state tuition to apply for private financial aid. The Democratic governor is likely this year to sign a broader companion bill, Assembly Bill 131, allowing illegal immigrants to seek public aid, including Cal Grants.

"I plan to look very favorably upon it," Brown told reporters after signing the first bill. "But I don't want to say what I'm going to do yet, because I don't like to jump ahead of myself."

His predecessor, Republican Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, vetoed similar legislation.

About 200 people crowded into a library at the college, cheering Brown and Assemblyman Gil Cedillo, the bill's author. The Los Angeles Democrat has pushed for the legislation for years.

"It has been a long journey," Cedillo said.

The legislation's opponents argue that giving aid to undocumented immigrants would reduce the amount of money available for people who are in the country legally, while also providing an incentive for people to cross the border illegally.

Assembly Bill 130 was approved by the Senate with only one Republican "aye" vote, from Sen. Anthony Cannella, R-Ceres. The full Senate has not yet take up the broader Assembly Bill 131.

In an invocation before the bill signing, the Rev. Richard Estrada of Our Lady Queen of the Angels Catholic Church called it "a day of joy, of hope." Brown spoke favorably about the Dream Act during last year's gubernatorial campaign and was widely expected to sign it.

The bill was one of more than 30 that Brown announced signing Monday. He vetoed two others.

Earlier in the day, Brown bristled at criticism that he does not have a public legislative agenda. He said signing or vetoing several dozen bills is "quite a legislative agenda" and that he has "probably 900 more to go over the next 30 days."

"I'm an executive, not a legislator," Brown told reporters. "There are hundreds of departments and sub-departments that are under my authority, and so I've got plenty to do."

He will advocate on behalf of some bills, he said, but "my general sense is we have too damn many laws."

He recently acted on 72 bills, and he said, "I can tell you a good number of them are not necessary, but I just don't have the heart to veto everything that I think is not necessary."

He said a spokesman was being "ironic" when he said last week that Brown had a legislative agenda but would not say what it was, preferring not to "reveal our strategy in advance." Brown said Monday, "There are no secrets in my administration."

© Copyright The Sacramento Bee. All rights reserved.

Call David Siders, Bee Capitol Bureau, (916) 321-1215. Follow him on Twitter @davidsiders.

• Read more articles by David Siders