Arnie vetoes 'Paris Hilton lap-animal driving bill'

London, Sep 29 121: Actor-turned-California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger has vetoed the so called 'Paris Hilton' bill, which aimed at banning motorists from driving with pets in their laps.

Republican assemblyman Bill Maze had proposed the bill after he spotted a woman driving with three dogs on her lap.

The bill called for imposing a fine of at least 35 dollars motorists caught sharing the driver's seat with an animal.

"If you've got a live animal, which you're not able to control, and that thing gets between you and the steering wheel or underneath your brake pedal, you've got a problem," the Telegraph quoted Maze as saying.

Celebs like Paris Hilton and Jessica Simpson have often been spotted driving with pets in their laps.

The driving-with-animals bill was backed by the 'Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals' in L.A., but ridiculed as the "Paris Hilton bill" by critics who described it as unwarranted interference by the Government.

The bill was one of scores of measures vetoed by Schwarzenegger last week, after a state budget was finally approved after a record 85-day impasse.

The Governor had over 800 bills to review in a matter of days.

He said that he was only approving bills of the "highest priority for California" due to the curtailed signing period.

ANI