BILL NUMBER: AB 444 VETOED DATE: 09/29/2005 To the Members of the California State Assembly: I am returning Assembly Bill 444 without my signature. This bill will have little direct impact on the nutritional value of foods made available to students, since it merely requires the California Department of Education to consider revising its nutritional guidelines. Simply revising state level guidelines without any implementation or enforcement mechanism does not address the proliferation of unhealthy foods in any effective or timely manner. I support a more direct approach in impacting student health and nutrition issues in our schools. This is why I have recently signed into law SB 12, SB 965, and SB 281 to eliminate junk food and soda from campuses, and increase the amount of fresh fruits and vegetables available to students. Those important measures will make a more significant impact on improving the quality of food choices available to California students. For these reasons, I am unable to sign this bill at this time. Sincerely, Arnold Schwarzenegger