Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger had until September 30th to either sign or veto all of the bills that had reached his desk this legislative session. Included in the many bills that he had to review, was CCDAA’s sponsored bill AB 2881.

Unfortunately, the Governor vetoed AB 2881 on September 29, 2006.

AB 2881(Mullin) would have defined preschool services as part- or full-day educational programs for pre-kindergarten-aged children; established a family fee schedule; required state full-day preschool programs to include center-based programs; provided requirements for state full-day preschool programs; and required family child care home education networks to terminate payment to child day care facilities with revoked or temporarily suspended licenses.

In the next few weeks, CCDAA plans to meet with the Governor’s Office to see how we can jointly advance the issues of our Bill.

Please stay tuned for more information!

Governor's Veto Message on AB 2881:
To the Members of the California State Assembly:

I am returning Assembly Bill 2881 without my signature.

As is evidenced by my targeted preschool initiative that was enacted through AB 172 this year, I am an advocate for providing working families the opportunity for a preschool program that takes into account the need for full day accommodation. However, last year

I vetoed a nearly identical bill as this one, AB 927 (Mullin). Changing the name of the preschool program and codifying existing practice already outlined in contractual agreements with the California Department of Education is not the most effective way to accomplish the goals of this bill. My Administration is committed to working with early childhood development, pre-K professionals, and other stakeholders to continue to advance the goals of this bill.

For this reason, I am unable to sign this bill.

Sincerely,

Arnold Schwarzenegger
GOVERNOR