Governor signs bevy of bills into law, vetoes three dozen others

CALIFORNIA
Mercury News

By Jessica Calefati
jcalefati@bayareanewsgroup.com

SACRAMENTO — With a few hours to go until a midnight deadline to take action on pending legislation, Gov. Jerry Brown this afternoon signed a bevy of bills while vetoeing three dozen others, including several measures introduced in the wake of corruption scandals that would have changed the state’s Political Reform Act. …

The governor also vetoed a bill sponsored by Sen. Jim Beall, D-San Jose, that would have extended the statute of limitations for future victims of childhood sexual abuse from age 26 to age 40, noting in his veto message that he believes statutes of limitations exist as a matter of fairness. Last year, Brown wrote an unusually long, detailed veto message in response to a similar bill that would have made changes to the statute of limitations for past victims of childhood sexual abuse.

“There comes a time when an individual or organization should be secure in the reasonable expectation that past acts are indeed in the past and not subject to further lawsuits,” Brown wrote. “With the passage of time, evidence may be lost or disposed of, memories fade and witnesses move away or die.”

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