Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger has signed into law Senate Bills 37, 619, 739 and 744, authored by state Sen. Tony Strickland, R-Thousand Oaks.

» Senate Bill 37 requires state agencies to provide electronic pay stubs to employees who participate in the direct deposit program. SB 37 can save the state as much as $3.7 million annually by cutting printing costs. The law will be contingent upon the funding of the state controller’s 21st century project.

» Senate Bill 619 authorizes California to provide subvention funds to Santa Barbara County for the Lower Mission Creek flood-control project. The flood-control project has been an ongoing project for 15 years and is a joint effort among the city of Santa Barbara, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and the Santa Barbara County Flood Control and Water Conservation District. This project will reduce flooding and the resulting property damage by widening the banks of the creek channel to increase water capacity. The law will take effect Jan. 1, 2010.

» Senate Bill 739, political-reform legislation, prohibits a spouse or domestic partner of an elected official or candidate from receiving compensation in connection with fundraising. The law will take effect Jan. 1, 2010.

» Senate Bill 744, clinical laboratories legislation, adjusts the rate schedule for clinical laboratories. The law takes effect immediately.

“This has been a difficult legislative session for the state of California. While I am proud to announce the governor recently signed four more of my bills into law, deep frustrations still exist because we have yet to accomplish a fundamental fix to our budget problem and cut additional wasteful government spending. As California’s unemployment rate tops 12.2 percent, job growth should be our No. 1 priority in California,” Strickland said.

“While I look forward to spending some much-needed time in my district with constituents over the next few months, I am eager to be called back to Sacramento for a special session so we can work on a water solution and restructuring our broken tax system to fix California’s ongoing budget problem.”

— Christina Englander is the communications director for Sen. Tony Strickland.