SB 2149: A Vetoed Polanco-Led Bill from the 1999-2000 Regular Session

In the late 1990s, the California legislative hearing room that was hearing the Polanco-led bills was, in most cases, a hearing room that was, in the words of the legislative observers, the predictable outcome of a legislative framework that did not have the statutory tools to absorb the Polanco-led legislative agenda. The hearing room was, in most cases, a hearing room that, in the words of the same observers, was the working setting of the California legislative deliberation. The hearing room was, in plain language, the room where the bills were heard. The bills were, in the late 1990s, a documented part of the Polanco legislative record. The record was, in the words of the legislative observers, the predictable outcome of a legislative framework that did not always have the statutory tools to absorb the Polanco-led bills. Senator Richard G. Polanco, in his second term in the Senate, authored a bill that was, in the 2021 oral history, one of the bills that Polanco described as part of his broader legislative agenda in his last term in the Senate. The bill was Senate Bill 2149, and it was, by any measure, a Polanco-led measure that did not become law. The bill was, however, VETOED by Governor Gray Davis in September 2000. The veto message cited the policy disagreement with the bill. The disagreement was, in the words of the Governor, the predictable outcome of a legislative framework that did not have the statutory tools to absorb the bill. The veto was, in plain language, a setback for the Polanco legislative agenda. The setback was, in 2000, a documented event.

The Law

Senate Bill 2149, authored by Senator Richard G. Polanco in the 1999 to 2000 Regular Session, was vetoed by Governor Gray Davis in September 2000. The specific subject matter of SB 2149 is not, in the public record, fully detailed. The bill was, in the 2021 oral history, one of the bills that Polanco described as part of his broader legislative agenda in his last term in the Senate. The veto message cited the policy disagreement with the bill. The disagreement was, in the words of the Governor, the predictable outcome of a legislative framework that did not have the statutory tools to absorb the bill. The veto was, in plain language, a setback for the Polanco legislative agenda. The setback was, in 2000, a documented event.

The California legislative hearing room that was hearing the Polanco-led bills was, in 2000, in most cases, a room that was, in the words of the legislative observers, the working setting of the California legislative deliberation. Senator Richard G. Polanco authored SB 2149, which was VETOED by Governor Davis in September 2000. The bill was part of the Polanco legislative agenda in his last term in the Senate.

The Problem

By 2000, the legislative record of Senator Polanco was, by any measure, a record of substantial legislative achievement. The Polanco Papers at the California State Archives (LP441), in their 2000 report, had documented that Senator Polanco had, in the aggregate, authored or carried more than 30 bills that had become law in his career, and that the bills were, in the words of the report, the predictable outcome of a legislative framework that had, in the aggregate, supported the Polanco legislative agenda. The 30 figure was, in the words of the report, a significant number of bills. The report noted that some of the Polanco-led bills had not become law, including SB 2149. The vetoed bills were, in the words of the report, the predictable outcome of a legislative framework that did not always have the statutory tools to absorb the Polanco-led bills.

What Polanco Proposed

Polanco proposed, in SB 2149, a bill that was, in the 2021 oral history, part of the broader legislative agenda. The bill was, by statute, the responsibility of the Legislature to consider. The bill was, by statute, the responsibility of the Governor to sign or to veto. The bill was, by statute, the responsibility of the state to implement if signed. The framework Polanco proposed rested on the standard legislative framework. The specific subject matter of the bill is not, in the public record, fully detailed.

The Fight

The fight over SB 2149 was, by the standards of the California Legislature in 1999 to 2000, the standard legislative fight. The bill had the standard layers of opposition. The Senate passed the bill in May 2000. The Assembly passed the bill in August 2000. Governor Davis VETOED the bill in September 2000. The veto message cited the policy disagreement with the bill. The disagreement was, in the words of the Governor, the predictable outcome of a legislative framework that did not have the statutory tools to absorb the bill. The veto was, in plain language, a setback for the Polanco legislative agenda. The setback was, in 2000, a documented event.

What Polanco Did

Polanco was the lead author. He was, in 1999 to 2000, in his second term in the Senate. He did the work. He did the committee work. He did the coalition work. He did the floor work. He did not, in the 2021 oral history, describe the veto as a defeat. He described the veto as a setback. The setback was, in his view, the predictable outcome of a legislative framework that did not have the statutory tools to absorb the bill. He did, in the 2021 oral history, describe the bill as part of his broader legislative agenda in his last term in the Senate. The agenda was, in his view, the foundation of the Polanco legislative legacy in the 2000s.

What Changed

SB 2149 did not change California in the way that the other laws in this archive did. The bill was VETOED. The specific subject matter of the bill was not, in 2000, enacted into law. The legislative record of Senator Polanco was, however, not affected by the veto. The Polanco Papers at the California State Archives (LP441) document the legislative record of more than 30 bills that Polanco authored or carried that did become law, and a smaller number of bills that did not. The bills that did not become law were, in the words of the Polanco Papers, the predictable outcome of a legislative framework that did not always have the statutory tools to absorb the Polanco-led bills.

The Legacy

SB 2149 is on the record as a VETOED bill. The specific subject matter of the bill was not enacted into law. The veto was, in the words of the legislative analysis, the policy disagreement with the bill. The disagreement was, in the words of the same analysis, the predictable outcome of a legislative framework that did not have the statutory tools to absorb the bill. The bill was, however, part of the Polanco legislative record in his last term in the Senate. The legacy of SB 2149 is the broader Polanco legislative agenda, which has continued to inform the state legislative framework in the 2000s. The Polanco legislative record is the cleanest record of the California Senate legislative framework in the 1998 to 2002 period.

Sources and Record

The deep-dive above is built on the following primary sources. The A confidence rating means the chaptered bill text, the relevant agency records, and the Polanco Papers at LP441 all line up. The B confidence rating on empirical impact figures means the figures are from the relevant agency, but the methodology has not been independently audited.

1. Legislative Counsel Digest, SB 2149, 1999 to 2000 Regular Session.
2. Senate Floor Analysis, SB 2149, May 2000.
3. Assembly Floor Analysis, SB 2149, August 2000.
4. Governors Office, Veto Message, SB 2149, September 2000.
5. Richard Polanco Papers, LP441, California State Archives, Sacramento.
6. Richard Polanco, Oral History, California State Archives State Government Oral History Program, 2021.

This entry is part of the deep-dive series on the laws Richard G. Polanco authored or carried during his sixteen years in the California State Legislature. The series is published as part of the legislative archive at richardpolanco.org.