Sacramento -- In a dramatic gesture to gays and lesbians before leaving office, Gov. Gray Davis signed a measure Sunday making California the first state in the nation to require state contractors to offer their employees in domestic partnerships the same benefits as married couples.
Dealing with nearly 300 bills left on his desk after Tuesday's dramatic recall election, the Democratic governor on Sunday night also vetoed two controversial bills: one that would have allowed illegal immigrants to apply for a tuition waiver at California Community Colleges and another that would have allowed pharmacists to sell up to 30 clean syringes to customers each year without a prescription.
The new state contracting law on domestic partners mirrors ordinances in San Francisco, Los Angeles, Oakland, Berkeley and San Mateo County, and would effectively require that most businesses with state contracts over...