Stack of bills await Gov. Brown's signature

SACRAMENTO (KGO) -- The push is on at the California State Capitol to get Gov. Jerry Brown to take action on a stack of bills awaiting his signature. He has until Oct. 9 to decide.

With less than two weeks to act on the hundreds of bills still sitting on his desk, Brown is getting pressure everywhere. From letters to phone calls, he's swamped.

"I actually read them. I read the arguments, people calling me. The phone is off the hook," said Brown last week. "People say I want to talk about this, I want to talk about that."

Several groups supporting the controversial shark fin ban gave one final push, appealing to Brown's environmental and animal rights side. They're even using star power, led by actors Leonardo DiCaprio and Edward Norton, to make a written plea.

"Californians everywhere are rallying to end the decimation of sharks and protect the ocean we all depend on by asking the governor to sign AB 376," said Assm. Paul Fong, D-Mountain View:

With no celebrities to champion their cause, families rallied at the Capitol to urge Brown to force health insurance companies to cover more autism treatments. But, they do have irresistible kids to help.

"Our kids' lives matter," said Feda Almaliti, a mother of a son with autism. "My child might not be Leonardo DiCaprio, but guess what? He's just as important."

"I don't know how much he's influenced by those big names, or little names, or medium-sized names or whatever. He studies these issues," said St. Sen. Darrell Steinberg, D-Sacramento.

You don't have to have a rally to be able to give Brown your thoughts on a bill. His website makes it easy to do so. Whether that has any influence, Brown's aides say he was elected to make the best decision possible.

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sacramento, celebrity, bills, jerry brown, sharks, autism, politics, nannette miranda

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