STATE LEADERS DISAGREE ON SUICIDE LAWMAKING.

Byline: Steve Geissinger Sacramento Bureau

SACRAMENTO - Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger said Tuesday that voters should decide whether to adopt physician-assisted suicide in California, while the Van Nuys Democrat who authored the bill says it's up to lawmakers.

``This is a decision that should be made by the people,'' Schwarzenegger said during an appearance at the Sacramento Press Club.

The governor, a Catholic, refused to disclose his personal view on doctor-assisted suicide of the terminally ill - a practice in Oregon upheld last week by the U.S. Supreme Court.

But Assemblyman Lloyd Levine, who has co-sponsored a bill to legalize assisted suicide in California, said the issue should be worked out at the Capitol.

``The public said the Legislature and governor should work together,'' said Levine, whose bill would allow terminally ill people to receive a lethal prescription to hasten their deaths.