Mercury News: Green technology and education reform get boost from Schwarzenegger

With a long-awaited state water deal in sight, Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger finally took action on hundreds of bills that had been sitting on his desk for almost a month — a frenzied burst of signatures and vetoes that stretched into the wee hours of Monday morning.

In all, the governor, who had threatened mass vetoes unless legislators committed to forging a water reform package, signed 478 bills and rejected 229. He reliably favored the state’s business interests but also boosted two of his favored causes: education reform and green technology.

Among the most sweeping is a bill by Sen. Joe Simitian, D-Palo Alto, meant to help California better compete for billions in new federal education money. The bill, SB19, will allow data on students’ performance to be linked to teacher evaluations — a key criteria to help the state qualify for so-called “Race to the Top” stimulus money but has been bitterly opposed in concept by teachers unions.

Read the full story on the Mercury News website

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