Tuesday, 05 December 2006 02:26

California's New Legislature

California's newly sworn in Legislature is taking up where the old one left off, with bills addressing gay marriage and Central Valley flooding among the first to be introduced.

The session gets underway in earnest in January. But, according to the AP, already lawmakers are revisiting issues like whether gays and lesbians should be allowed to marry in the state of California. Governor Schwarzenegger vetoed a nearly identical bill in 2005. But Assemblyman Mark Leno says he hopes the Republican governor will reconsider. Currently, homosexual couples who register as domestic partners with the state are given many of the same rights as married couples. The new Legislature includes 34 rookies and five former legislators returning for new terms.