DEMOCRATS GIVING CPR TO BILLS ARNOLD FLATTENED.

Byline: David M. Drucker Sacramento Bureau

SACRAMENTO - Undeterred by Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger's veto pen, Democrats plan to reopen a number of this year's lost battles when the new legislative session convenes next month.

Once again, Democrats plan to introduce legislation to grant driver's licenses to illegal immigrants even though the Republican governor, in his first year in office, got one such bill rescinded and vetoed another.

Democrats also plan to push through new proposals to increase the minimum wage, regulate automobile sales and force companies to provide health care to their employees.

``The governor vetoed the Car Buyer's Bill of Rights, but that does not change the fact that consumers need protection against unscrupulous auto dealers,'' said Assemblywoman Cindy Montanez, D-Mission Hills. ``I will reintroduce this legislation to give the governor a second chance to show that he is truly for the people.''

Legislation to increase the minimum wage and Montanez's bill to further regulate automobile sales were vetoed by Schwarzenegger in September.

This month, voters defeated Proposition 72, which would have required employers to provide health insurance to their workers. Schwarzenegger campaigned against that measure.

A spokeswoman for the Schwarzenegger administration said the governor's philosophy has not changed since he weighed in on bills earlier this year. In other words, Democrats shouldn't expect him to be more accommodating in 2005.

``People have faith in the governor, and he's going to continue to maintain his course,'' Press Secretary Margita Thompson said. ``And that, of course, means improving the jobs climate, improving the economy and continuing to get the state's fiscal house in order.''

Democrats are unchastened and seem eager to challenge Schwarzenegger in advance of the 2006 elections. Among the defeated proposals they plan to reintroduce in the 2005-06 legislative session:

--Montanez is reintroducing a package of bills that she calls the Car Buyer's Bill of Rights. According to her aides, private polling showed extremely high support for this legislation, even among Republican males.

--Assembly Majority Leader Dario Frommer, D-Glendale, will again propose legislation to control prescription drug costs and make it easier to buy prescribed drugs from Canada.

--Assemblywoman Sally J. Lieber, D-Mountain View, is bringing back a bill to increase the minimum wage.

--Assembly Speaker Fabian Nunez, D-Los Angeles, is considering a reintroduction of legislation, vetoed by Schwarzenegger in September, that would seek to re-regulate the electricity industry.

--State Sen. Gilbert Cedillo, D-Los Angeles, is reintroducing a bill to grant driver's licenses to illegal immigrants. One Democratic aide said Cedillo probably has the proposal in his desk drawer, ready to go.

Democrats look forward to forcing Schwarzenegger's hand on these and other issues.

According to political analysts, it is standard procedure for legislators to reintroduce vetoed legislation, even in the face of opposition from a popular governor.

It may be done for political considerations - to satisfy constituents and to repeatedly force the governor to go on the record against a policy that legislators believe has widespread support. For instance, Democrats say they benefit from Schwarzenegger's opposition to increasing the minimum wage.

``If one party controls the Legislature and the executive branch is of another party, the legislative majority will be tempted to put things out to force the governor to veto something that will be an unpopular veto,'' said Tim Hodson, executive director of the Center for California Studies at California State University, Sacramento.

But bills are often rewritten to make them more likely to be signed, and their reintroduction becomes part of the regular process toward eventually getting them signed into law.

Cedillo has been working for about a decade to allow illegal immigrants to obtain driver's licenses, and he actually succeeded last year with a bill Gov. Gray Davis signed before he was recalled by voters. Schwarzenegger got it rescinded after he took office.

David M. Drucker, [phone]

david.drucker(at)dailybulletin.com