BILL NUMBER:  SB 289
  VETOED	DATE: 09/30/2010




To the Members of the California State Senate:

I am returning Senate Bill 289 without my signature.

While I appreciate the efforts by the author and sponsors to address
several important elements of seismic compliance, this bill fails to
provide a balanced and comprehensive approach to the problem.  For
years, hospitals have been granted one extension after another.  Any
additional requests for extensions to seismic safety standards must
also include tough penalties as well as moving to a "building safety
model" whereby non-compliant hospital buildings are closed rather
than an entire hospital campus.

While this bill has several good elements, it still continues the
policy of extending seismic compliance deadlines without strong
enforcement provisions.  For hospitals that have been responsible and
met the seismic deadlines, these types of extensions reward the
exact type of behavior that should not be allowed to continue.  For
the specific hospitals that have encountered local planning delays
beyond the hospital's control, I am signing Senate Bill 608.

Lastly, their hospital seismic reports are due on November 1, 2010 to
the Office of Statewide Health Planning and Development.  The data
provided by these hospitals may better inform the Legislature on how
to craft a more targeted seismic compliance bill next year.

Sincerely,


Arnold Schwarzenegger