Schwarzenegger issues mass veto threat

SACRAMENTO, Oct. 7 (UPI) -- California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger is threatening mass vetoes if the Legislature doesn't agree on upgrading the state's water system, lawmakers say.

Among the 700 measures that could wind up in the trash bin under Schwarzenegger's threatened mass veto include bills to increase war veterans' benefits, extra funding to low-performing schools and protections against predatory mortgage lending, the Los Angeles Times reported Wednesday.

Assembly Democrats told the newspaper they have been informed by legislative leaders that the governor had threatened to veto all the bills if no water deal was reached. The governor faces a Sunday deadline to either sign or veto the pending measures.

Analysts said Schwarzenegger, with a bit more than a year left in office, is playing a game of "chicken" in a move to establish a legacy.

"He's a guy who swings for the fences on everything," Thad Kousser, a University of California-San Diego political scientist told the Times. "But when there's no money, he has little personal popularity and his relationships with the Legislature are poor, it's hard to find a legacy."