BILL NUMBER: SB 888 VETOED DATE: 09/29/2004 To the Members of the California State Senate: I am returning Senate Bill 888 without my signature. I believe there are few things as important as working to ensure the safety and protection of our great state. This bill seeks to protect the states infrastructure by prohibiting work that is essential to homeland security from being performed outside the United States. However, this bill may be unconstitutional under the commerce clause. The language is overly broad and may inadvertently create issues concerning international commerce. There is no guarantee that work performed within a specific locality will somehow be inherently safer than worked performed in another country. The types and levels of security measures taken to protect such information whether here or abroad is a better indicator of how safe that information will remain. Without taking the necessary security measures, information essential to homeland security could be compromised even if it was performed within the United States. This bill wi ll add an additional restriction on contractors that do business with the state and restrict competition which will, ultimately, result in higher prices for services without increasing homeland security. For these reasons I am returning SB 888 without my signature. Sincerely, Arnold Schwarzenegger