Assemblyman Bill Monning (D-Carmel) hoped his Fort Ord re-use bill would have spurred housing and job development at the former Fort Ord military base by making an exception to a law that provides for redevelopment assistance only  in urban areas. But the governor vetoed the bill, saying  redevelopment funds should only be used to "eliminate blight in urban neighborhoods."

A statement released by Monning quotes Seaside Mayor Ralph Rubio who chairs the Fort Ord Reuse Authority,  "“We are all very concerned that this bill, which would have generated hundreds of new jobs and aided the economic recovery of the Monterey Bay Region, was not signed by the governor."

Environmentalists with Monterey County's LandWatch opposed the bill because they believed it would encourage new development, rather than the rehabilitation of old infrastructure that they favored.