ARNOLD SET TO VETO LICENSE BILL SCHWARZENEGGER SET TO REJECT RAFT OF DEMOCRATIC MEASURES.

Byline: Harrison Sheppard Sacramento Bureau

SACRAMENTO - Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger will veto a bill allowing illegal immigrants to obtain driver's licenses in California, his aides said Thursday, one of several controversial Democratic measures he plans to shoot down.

The state Senate approved the bill Thursday, one of several politically divisive proposals served up by Democrats in the waning hours of the session as Schwarzenegger heads into a tough special-election battle in November.

The governor is also being sent measures to legalize gay marriage and hike the minimum wage - both of which he also intends to veto, his legislative affairs secretary Richard Costigan said. Democrats also added amendments to a solar-energy bill that the governor originally backed but now is also likely to veto.

The decisions have forced the governor to choose between rallying his Republican base and alienating key constituencies such as Latinos and gays two months before the election as his poll numbers continue to droop.

``Just when he needs to practice the politics of addition, the Legislature is forcing him to play the politics of subtraction,'' said Jack Pitney, a government professor at Claremont McKenna College. ``Obviously the Democrats in the Legislature want to make him look bad.''

Schwarzenegger is expected to declare his intent to run for re-election next week, according to Roll Call, which cited unidentified GOP sources.

But his personal popularity and the ratings of his special-election reform measures have declined recently as Democrats have launched multipronged attacks against his agenda.

Some Democrats said the governor should have worked more collaboratively with the Legislature earlier in the session. The special election, they said, heightened political conflicts, and the governor became too confrontational.

``Left to his own devices and left to his own leadership skills, I think he would've been much more to the center and not painted into the corner that he is right now,'' said Senate president pro tem Don Perata, D- Oakland. ``He's antagonized and divided where he didn't need to.''

The governor's press secretary, Margita Thompson, said the public should see the governor was willing to negotiate on the minimum wage bill and supported the solar roof bill prior to the amendments.

``I would say the governor's in a good position going to the people because the people are going to see he tried to do what he could on the minimum-wage bill,'' Thompson said. ``The governor is going to be in a good place because he fought for a million solar roofs.''

Costigan said the governor plans to veto the license bill because the state needs to see how the federal government is going to implement the new Real ID Act, which creates a national system of driver's licenses.

The Senate vote to approve the license bill followed fireworks on the floor of the Assembly the previous night.

Assembly members waited until about 10:30 p.m. before launching into a heated hourlong debate filled with accusations of racism leveled at opponents.

``I feel that the hate and bigotry in this room is palpable,'' said Assemblywoman Jenny Oropeza, D-Carson, a supporter of the bill. ``And I find it terribly disturbing and disappointing.''

Opponents said they were not driven by anti-Latino sentiment, but by a desire to uphold the nation's immigration laws.

``Is it racist to want your borders to be secure?'' said Assemblyman Jay La Suer, R-La Mesa. ``Is it racist to want people to obey the law? I don't think so.''

The bill's author, Sen. Gil Cedillo, D-Los Angeles, said he amended his proposal in response to the governor's concerns about national security, expressed when he vetoed a similar measure last year.

Schwarzenegger also wanted a license for undocumented immigrants that was visually different from the standard license, a provision now in Cedillo's bill.

``I don't see why he would veto it,'' Cedillo said. ``We've given him everything he's asked for.''

Harrison Sheppard, [phone]

harrison.sheppard(at)dailynews.com