Gov. vetoes 22 bills, including those on marijuana

PROVIDENCE, R.I. (AP) - Governor Carcieri has vetoed 36 bills, setting up a possible showdown with the General Assembly on issues including the release of public records, distributing medical marijuana and expunging criminal records.

The Republican Carcieri sent the bills back to the General Assembly, where Democrats hold a veto-proof majority. Larry Berman, a spokesman for House Speaker William Murphy, says House and Senate leaders will meet in the next few weeks to decide what to do. They have until the beginning of the next session in January to try to override any vetoes.

Several of the three dozen bills Carcieri vetoed Wednesday were duplicate versions from the House and Senate.

Among them was a bill to make the first major changes to the state's open records law.

The proposed law would decrease the time that public agencies have to respond to requests for public records, from 10 days to seven.

Another bill he vetoed would have made it easier for people to get their criminal records destroyed.

(Copyright 2008 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)