BILL NUMBER:  AB 164
  VETOED	DATE: 09/29/2002




SEP 29 2002

To Members of the California State Assembly:

I am returning Assembly Bill 164 without my signature.

This bill would require the State Department of Education (SDE) to
establish and administer a statewide program of grant funding to
establish alternative dispute resolution (ADR) programs for special
education.

Although I support establishing ways to resolve disputes, current law
already allows for the non-adversarial resolution of special
education issues through mediation prior to filing for due process.
This bill appropriates $300,000 to the SDE for administration of the
ADR program and could result in local assistance costs between $17.8
and $13.1 million for three years and ongoing costs of between $3.3
million and $4.4 million annually.  Since the proposed 2002-03 budget
appropriates $8.9 milli on for dispute resolution services including
mediation and fair hearing services, and this bill would redirect
federal funds, which are necessary to provide essential services to
students with disabilities, I am unable to support this measure.

Sincerely,



GRAY DAVIS