Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger's decision to call a special legislative session over the state's rocky economy won't necessarily lead lawmakers to curtail their overseas travel plans.

Numerous legislators were planning to pack their bags for India, China or Hawaii when the governor announced plans Monday to reconvene the Legislature. Lawmakers would typically begin work again in January.

Now many of the officeholders are adopting a wait-and-see attitude, noncommittal about their travel plans until decisions are made on when the gavel will bang and whether they will be needed while legislative leaders try to strike a deal.

"Regular members have no role until there is an agreement – and I don't think this trip is going to interfere with that at all," said Sen. Sheila Kuehl, D-Santa Monica, who plans to attend a Senate-sponsored trip to India.

Aaron McLear, Schwarzenegger's spokesman, said the governor wants quick action on budget and economic matters when he declares a special session Nov. 5, but it's not his role to determine whether lawmakers should tear up plane tickets.

"That's a fair question for the Legislature," McLear said.

Senate President Pro Tem Don Perata and Assembly Speaker Karen Bass have not ordered legislators to remain in California, but they expect everyone to vote on any deal struck, aides said Tuesday.

"When it's time for a vote, they need to return to the state," said Alicia Trost, Perata's spokeswoman.

By law, legislators are allowed to use campaign donations – or personal funds – to attend trips related to their duties. Officials said no state funds will be spent on trips next month. They include:

• An annual Maui conference, Nov. 9-14, at which lawmakers, lobbyists and policy experts will discuss issues ranging from budgeting to homeland security. Last year, an estimated 15 to 20 legislators attended. This year's guest list was unavailable Tuesday. The event is sponsored by a nonprofit group, Pacific Policy Research Foundation, led largely by former or current legislators, or their spouses.

• A Senate-sponsored trip to India, Nov. 12-26, to promote economic, educational, political and cultural relations. Eight senators are scheduled to attend, though some may be reconsidering: Democrats Kuehl, Denise Ducheny of San Diego, Ellen Corbett of San Leandro, and Gil Cedillo and Gloria Romero of Los Angeles; and Republicans Dave Cox of Fair Oaks, Dick Ackerman of Irvine and Bob Margett of Arcadia.

• A China trip, Nov. 8-20, coordinated in part by Assemblywoman Fiona Ma, D-San Francisco, who said she expects legislators not to travel if they are needed at the Capitol. Plans call for participants, including six legislators – whose names she did not release – to examine the rebuilding efforts of quake-hit Chinese areas.

Ted Costa, leader of People's Advocate, a political watchdog group, said he sees no reason for officeholders to fly overseas while the state's economy is hurting.

"There's enough business to be minded right here in California without going and poking their nose in other people's business," he said.

Legislators countered that trips overseas can pay cultural and economic dividends to California for decades to come.

"We focus on meeting people at the highest levels," said Kuehl, adding that the India trip had been planned for more than a year.

Cox said he has missed only two days of voting in a four-year Senate career – once due to serious injury, once to his mother's death – and that he won't let travel plans interfere with duty.

"I've been invited to attend the India trip, and it's my intention to go on that trip, provided it doesn't conflict with my responsibilities as a member of the Senate," he said.

Sen. Alan Lowenthal, a Long Beach Democrat who does not plan to travel, defended colleagues by saying it makes no sense to hang around Sacramento, collecting $173 per diem, while legislative leaders negotiate behind closed doors.

Overseas travel is not likely to alter public opinion, Lowenthal said. "The public already has no faith in us," he said. "It's not going to change anybody's mind."

Call Jim Sanders, Bee Capitol Bureau, (916) 326-5538.