Steinberg said he has preliminary information about state business with Arizona but wants to compile more. He said the state sends prisoners to be housed in Arizona and has energy contracts. He compared using the the threat of a boycott against Arizona with the civil-rights movement's boycotts of businesses to end segregation.

Schwarzenegger, speaking to reporters today, said he hadn't seen Steinberg's letter yet and couldn't comment on the idea of ending contracts. But he said he didn't want any prisoners back in California who were housed in Arizona more cheaply because he wants to save money on incarceration costs. "I want to keep our prisoners where they are," he said.

Schwarzenegger called the Arizona law "an outgrowth" of a "lack of leadership" in Congress on immigration policy. He has said he supports changes in immigration law that address the workplace needs of U.S. businesses.

"I urge the federal government to get their act together," Schwarzenegger said. "How much longer should we wait?"

He said politicians often say it's not the right time to address immigration because it's an election year. "Well, it's always an election year," Schwarzenegger said.

California's new lieutenant governor, Abel Maldonado, sworn in today, said he too preferred federal immigration changes rather than a "quilt" of state laws. On Monday, Maldonado criticized the Arizona law as "over the top" and suggested U.S. citizens who are dark-skinned might have to carry passports with them in that state.

Assembly Speaker John A. Pérez said in a statement he was "deeply troubled by the Arizona law because it will ultimately erode the trust between law enforcement and the community that is essential for public safety." But, he said, "I don't think an official boycott by the state of California is the right answer."

Pérez supports boycotts as a tool for change, he said, but in this case wants to be sure "the poorest Arizonans are not hurt." Arizona's immigration law, he said, is "squarely rooted" in anxiety over the economy. He said California should work to create jobs and press for a an immigration reform package at the federal level.

"Any Californian," he added, who wants to protest "this debasing and extra-constitutional law should absolutely do so."

Steinberg touched on ways California residents could pressure Arizona to reverse the law. California baseball teams, he said, conduct spring training in Arizona.

"My next letter may be to major league baseball asking them to pull out of Arizona as unless and until this law is reversed," Steinberg said. "People of conscience can't just stand idly by and say, well, that's the way it is. Life as usual. No, I reject that."

PHOTO CREDIT: State Senate President Pro Tem Darrell Steinberg holds a news conference on Tuesday to urge a boycott of Arizona. Hector Amezcua/hamezcua@sacbee.com