BILLS FLY OFF WILSON'S DESK; GOVERNOR WORKS AGAINST CLOCK TO SIGN, VETO SLEW OF LEGISLATION.

Byline: Jennifer Kerr Associated Press 

Gov. Pete Wilson said no Monday to bills boosting rice straw products, AIDS patients returning to work, parenting education for juvenile offenders and casket buyers.

He said yes to remorseful tattooed gang members, parents with out-of-control teens and swimming pool safety advocates.

The actions came as the Republican governor labored toward a midnight deadline for acting on the hundreds of bills sent him one month ago by the Legislature before it adjourned for the year.

Wilson was planning to leave today for a trade mission to London and a vacation in Ireland.

The rice straw bill by Assemblyman Tom Woods Jr., R-Redding, would have given a state purchasing preference of 10 percent to products made with rice straw. It is part of an effort to find uses for the straw, which otherwise is burned, causing air pollution.

Wilson said the bill was premature, since the state Waste Board is working on a study on uses of agricultural wastes, including rice straw.

``In addition, there appears to be no basis to elevate rice straw products to a higher status for price preferences, as past price preferences claims programs have not been successful,'' he wrote.

The AIDS bill by Assemblywoman Carole Migden, D-San Francisco, would have let people with HIV or AIDS or disabilities return to work without losing Medi-Cal benefits to pay for their expensive medicines or equipment.

Wilson said the federal government would not pay any of the costs. He also said the bill ``contains significant ambiguities that would make it difficult to implement and subject to litigation.''

He also vetoed a bill by Sen. John Vasconcellos, D-San Jose, that would have required the California Youth Authority and juvenile court schools to offer parenting education to teen offenders.

The governor commended the attempt to respond ``to the flawed parenting responsible for so much of today's social pathology, with all its tragic costs and consequences.'' But he said the bill needs parental consent, rather than mere notification. He said he would consider a future bill meeting his concerns.

The casket bill by Sen. Jack O'Connell, D-Santa Barbara, would have required stores selling caskets, other than those run by funeral directors, to provide buyers with a list of disclosures. The disclosures would include a notice that consumers can contact the Department of Consumer Affairs or the county district attorney with complaints.

Wilson said he agreed that buyers should be informed about pricing and construction of caskets. But he said referring buyers to the DCA ``would raise false expectations among consumers that the department has the statutory authority to regulate retail sellers of caskets.'' Only the district attorney has that responsibility, Wilson said.

The governor signed a bill by Sen. Tom Hayden, D-Los Angeles, that will spend $250,000 for two laser tattoo removal machines. The Youth Authority will use the machines in Los Angeles and San Francisco to remove gang tattoos from teens who want to get jobs.

``Dede'' Alpert, D-San Diego, will spend $2 million for a pilot program in San Diego County to provide early intervention for teens who are on the wrong path.

Another new law requires new and remodeled swimming pools to be retrofitted with ground fault circuit interrupters. The bill by Vasconcellos does not apply to private pools or those owned by the state or local government, but does apply to pools in apartment complexes.