[update 3:15pm- Well, not so fast. Aides now say the governor is delaying the signing of the bill, apparently because Sen. Perata wasn't able to make it to today's signing ceremonies. However, they say Schwarzenegger still intends to sign it into law. Meantime, the folks at the Independent Energy Producers say they support Perata's bill and believe its goals are attainable.]

You're going to hear an awful lot today about Assembly Bill 32. But in my mind, the real story is elsewhere.

We've known for weeks that Governor Schwarzenegger was going to sign AB 32, the landmark global warming bill authored by Assembly Speaker Fabian Nunez (D-LA) and Assemblymember Fran Pavley (D-LA) which was crafted largely through a series of intense negotiations at the end of the legislative session.

The legislation, designed to reduce carbon emissions, has been in the center of an international media spotlight for months. And it will get the star treatment today, too... with not one, but two bill signing events... one on San Francisco's Treasure Island, and one in Malibu. (One wonders how the governor will sign the bill twice; might he sign his first name in SF and his last name in SoCal?)

But yesterday afternoon, it became known that Schwarzenegger will also sign into law SB 1368 by Senate President Don Perata (D-Oakland). This legislation will require that all electricity provided to California must be generated from plants that meet the state's greenhouse gas standards-- even if the power is generated outside of California and is imported.

Because some 20% of the energy used here is generated from coal-fired power plants outside the state lines, and is purchased by utility companies in the state under long-term contracts, critics say SB 1368 will end up raising power prices. They also argue it could limit supplies, given that some non-California plants might not be able to continue to sell their power to utilities in the state.

In a letter to legislators this month, a consortium of business groups argued that Perata's bill will "result in higher costs and electricity prices across the board, eventually reaching the pocketbooks of all Californians. This increase in energy costs will make California less attractive to business, having an adverse effect on the state's economy."

Environmentalists disagree with the business community, as they do on many issues. But these business organizations have long been the foundation of Schwarzenegger's political base. And they have openly wondered how the governor will square his often stated interest in protecting the state's economy with this new law.

All of this makes makes SB 1368 the more interesting story of the day, in my mind. Environmentalists love it, businesses largely hate it... and the governor is taking what some might think the more politically risky road by signing it.