Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger had a personal reason for vetoing Assembly Bill 1526 - more than a million personal reasons, in fact.
It was no surprise, perhaps, that he killed the measure Tuesday.
The legislation took aim at statewide after-school programs that Schwarzenegger championed in a successful 2002 ballot measure, Proposition 49, to which he personally donated $1 million and loaned $450,000.
Schwarzenegger's leadership in the Proposition 49 campaign helped set the stage for his successful gubernatorial bid one year later.
Assembly Bill 1526 would have placed an initiative on the ballot to eliminate a Proposition 49 requirement that $550 million per year be spent on after-school programs for elementary and middle schools. It would have given the Legislature discretion over funding levels.
Schwarzenegger said the legislation would "contradict the will of the voters," although it could not have taken effect unless voters themselves changed their minds in new balloting.
"As the primary architect of Proposition 49, I have seen firsthand the countless benefits of after-school programs," Schwarzenegger said in his veto message.
The governor's veto message touted Proposition 49 as providing a "stable resource for tutoring, homework assistance and educational enrichment activities, such as music, arts and physical fitness."
After-school programs also provide working parents with "peace of mind that their children are in a safe and nurturing environment," Schwarzenegger said.
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