Some bills have link to governor

They won't change California's economic or environmental landscape, but a handful of bills lawmakers hope to pass in the final days of the legislative session could weigh just as heavily on Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger as he decides what to sign or veto.
Their common denominator - Schwarzenegger himself - colors an otherwise typical tug of war between consumer advocates and free-market proponents.
A measure by Assemblyman Leland Yee, D-San Francisco, looks to curb sales of violent video games to children, requiring stores to post signs and offer brochures about the industry's game-rating system.
Three by state Sen. Jackie Speier, D-Hillsborough, try to stop high school athletes from using illegal steroids and unregulated performance enhancers.

Supplement makers would be required to forward to the state reports of adverse health reactions from their products.

Minors no longer could buy some products. Coaches would be required to take a course to learn about performance enhancers, and schools couldn't accept sponsorships from supplement makers.

Both lawmakers sought more - Speier wanted steroid testing for high school athletes, and Yee tried to ban sales of the most violent games to minors and segregate the games' locations on sales racks - but fellow lawmakers killed those provisions.

One measure likely to pass is a bill by state Sen. Ross Johnson, R-Irvine, clarifying that candidates can't lend their campaigns more than $100,000. Schwarzenegger had to eat $4.5 million he lent two of his recall committees last year, after a judge said he could not collect money from donors to repay his loans.

Schwarzenegger, a 57-year-old father of four, long has supported children's programs and said this year he opposes doping in sports. But the former Mr. Olympia admits he used steroids that are now illegal during his bodybuilding career of the 1970s.

He also said this year that he thinks many of today's nutritional supplements are safe and that the federal government should not regulate the industry.

He is executive editor of Muscle & Fitness and Flex magazines, whose pages are filled with ads for various powders and pills.

"It would specifically affect the companies that underwrite the magazines he's now executive editor of," Speier said. "They don't want to disclose adverse effects."

And after Schwarzenegger's starring roles in violent action-film blockbusters such as his "Terminator" movies made him a household name, some of the movies were spun off into video games that bear the governor's likeness - although they are not among the most violent under the industry's ratings system.

Schwarzenegger has not said how he'll vote on the measures in question. "They'll be evaluated like any other bill that arrives at his desk - on the merits of the public policy," said his communications director, Rob Stutzman.

Speier and Yee say their bills' connection to the governor is coincidental. But Yee said Schwarzenegger aides approached him early in the process with concerns about his intentions and the potential of casting the governor in a poor light.

Yee said he thinks lawmakers' desires to protect Schwarzenegger or fears of retribution contributed to the downfall of the harsher provisions.

"I think it was a combination of the industry opposing that," Yee said, "and some residual feeling that it might embarrass the governor."

Hybrid cars, outsourcing, solar panels . . .
Some bills that could come before Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger:

Car dealers
AB 1839 (Montanez) Cooling-off period for used-car buyers.
Driver's licenses
SB 1160 (Cedillo) Driver's licenses for undocumented workers.
Energy
AB 2006 (Núnez) Gives utilities rights in recovering construction costs from ratepayers; does not include so-called direct-access provisions allowing businesses to buy cheaper power on the wholesale market.
Foie gras
SB 1520 (Burton) Phases out production and sale in California.
Hybrid vehicles
AB 2628 (Pavley) Owners of most fuel-efficient hybrids could drive without passengers in high-occupancy vehicle lanes.
Minimum wage
AB 2832 (Lieber) Raises to $7.75 per hour by 2006.
Outsourcing
AB 1829 (Liu) Prohibits state and local governments from hiring offshore contractors for call centers, software development and data processing.
Prescription drugs - Canada
SB 1144 (Burton) Allows the state to contract with Canadian sources for lower-priced prescription drugs.
Solar panels
SB 199 (Murray) Requires new home builders to offer solar panels as an option by 2008.
Steroids, dietary supplements
SB 779 (Speier) Requires supplement manufacturers to report adverse health effects to the state Department of Health Services. See also: SBs 1630 and 1444.