Schwarzenegger to Veto Milk Again

The fate of California's Harvey Milk Day will be determined this week, but lawmakers are concerned that Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger will blindly veto the bill.

Seven hundred bills on issues including education, hospital funding, ammunition restrictions, and a day dedicated to Harvey Milk currently sit on the governor's desk. The deadline for Schwarzenegger to sign or veto the myriad measures is Sunday at midnight.

Members of the California legislature are concerned that the governor will issue a mass veto on the bills unless the lawmakers reach an agreement on reorganizing the state's water system, according to the San Francisco Chronicle.

Assembly Majority Leader Alberto Torrico, a Democrat from Fremont, called on Atty. Gen. Jerry Brown on Tuesday to investigate the governor, saying his veto threat amounted to extortion.

"These threats are akin to extortion or vote trading, which is illegal," said Torrico, reportsthe Los Angeles Times. "The governor should be very, very careful."

This would not be the first time the governor vetoed a bill that would establish a special day of significance in honor of the slain civil rights leader.

The Harvey Milk Day bill was originally introduced in 2008, but Schwarzenegger vetoed the measure, claiming at the time that Milk was not well known beyond San Francisco.

After the success of the film Milk, the bill was reintroduced in 2009, and in September the legislation passed in both the California senate and assembly.