Schwarzenegger to refuse to sign bills

SACRAMENTO – Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger will announce this afternoon that he is refusing to sign any bills into law until legislators pass a budget, according to administration officials.

The governor, growing increasingly frustrated with the Legislature’s failure to put a spending plan on his desk more than a month into the new fiscal year, is set to make the announcement at a 2:45 p.m. press conference. The move could affect 13 bills now on the governor’s desk and any legislation approved between now and when the budget is passed.

Bills that are not signed within 12 days of reaching the governor’s desk automatically die. Administration officials say the governor has not decided whether he will allow lawmakers to pull back the bills now on his desk.

The move follows Schwarzenegger’s order last week to drop the salaries of the bulk of the state’s workforce of 235,000 employees down to minimum wage until a budget is passed. Under that order, the lost wages would be repaid after he signs a spending plan. The governor also laid off more than 10,000 part-time and seasonal workers that he says the state can not afford to keep on the payroll without a budget in place.

evan halper@latimes.com