Governor Schwarzenegger issues veto of e-discovery reform bill, AB 926

Last week, California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger issued a veto of the much anticipated e-discovery reform bill, AB 926, despite the passage of the bill without a single "no" vote (I didn't check, but maybe somebody voted "present").  After the Governor issued similar vetoes for over 300 bills, it has been speculated that the vetoes are intended to encourage the legislature to pass a budget that deals with the deficit problem in California (as an aside, if we tied every legilator's ability to run for any state office or receive any pay or benefits to the passage of a [projected] balanced State budget, what are the odds that we'd have a balanced budget every year?).  (Cheryl Miller, Schwarzenegger's Veto: A Raw Deal for E-Discovery? (October 3, 2008) www.law.com.)  The new rules tracked the federal rules and would spell out how and when records from fax machines, computer databases, e-mails and cell phones should be exchanged in litigation. They also set up procedures for settling disputes over data that one party contends are trade secrets or privileged attorney work-product.  Legislators promise to reintroduce the bill when the Governor isn't as cranky.

[Via ElectronicDiscovery]