Schwarzenegger 's vetoes rile Hispanic activists

Last year, as he ran for governor criticizing the passage of a law that would allow illegal immigrants, most of them Hispanic, to get driver's licenses, Arnold Schwarzenegger was criticized for not being sensitive enough to Hispanic issues. Now, after his round of bill signings and vetoes as governor, that criticism has emerged again. Bills championing causes important to many Hispanics - such as a revived driver's license bill to replace the law repealed early in Schwarzenegger's administration or reparations for Americans illegally deported to Mexico in the 1930s - were vetoed by Schwarzenegger last month. That's why some observers and legislators said the governor missed a chance to win favor with the state's largest ethnic group, a move that could cost him politically. In addition to vetoing the driver's license bill, which Schwarzenegger said would weaken national security, he vetoed bills to allow survivors of the forced repatriation to Mexico the chance to file claims against the state. Other vetoes nixed creation of an advisory commission on Latino affairs; a ban on grape growers requiring farm workers to taste unwashed grapes in the field; and required minimum rest periods for hotel maids in temperature-controlled break rooms. [more ] and [more ]