Gov. Schwarzenegger’s ties with the performance-enhancing supplement industry may be affecting his voting record.

In late September—in what appears to be a conflict of interest—Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger vetoed a bill that could have affected his personal finances. The legislation proposed that public high school athletes agree not to use performance-enhancing dietary supplements (PEDS) listed as dangerous by the Department of Health. Authored by Sen. Jackie Speier, D-San Mateo, Senate Bill 1630 prohibited public schools from accepting sponsorships from supplement manufacturers. It forbade school officials to promote or sell PEDS to students.

Speier targeted the use of pain-numbing concoctions designed to build muscle mass and improve athletic performance by exciting the cardiovascular and central nervous systems. Popular dietary supplements, such as ephedrine and androstenedione, have been linked to the deaths of young athletes.

In his veto message, Schwarzenegger claimed that most dietary supplements are safe. He said that state regulation of PEDS is not needed because the FDA already regulates these substances.

“What most people do not understand is that PEDS are not regulated by the FDA,” says Roger Blake, an official with the California Interscholastic Federation, a state-funded organization of high school sports officials that advocated for Speier’s bill.

Blake notes that about 3 percent of California’s 700,000 student athletes take steroids. Last month, Congress passed the Anabolic Steroid Control Act of 2004, adding many chemical compounds that are often marketed as PEDS to a list of controlled substances. The PEDS industry is reported to gross more than $4 billion a year.

<>According to Schwarzenegger’s Statement of Economic Interests, he had extensive financial ties to the PEDS industry when he assumed office in November 2003. California’s Political Reform Act states that an elected official must disqualify himself from taking any governmental action on a matter which could significantly impact his</> economic interests.

According to his disclosure statement, Schwarzenegger earned “more than $100,000” last year from Classic Productions Inc., based in Worthington, Ohio. Using the trade name Schwarzenegger-Lorimer Productions, Classic Productions is producing a fitness expo this coming March in Columbus known as the Arnold Classic.  

Jim Lorimer, current owner of Classic Productions, says that when Schwarzenegger became governor, he divested his stock in the company and he is no longer a corporate officer.

The exact arrangements are confidential,” Lorimer says, “but [Schwarzenegger] receives no income [from participating].”

Classic Productions’ advertising campaign for the Arnold Classic focuses on Schwarzenegger’s active participation in it. The event’s primary sponsors are PEDS sellers, such as Twinlab, MuscleTech and Bodytronics-Pinnacle. Last year, according to the disclosure, Schwarzenegger received income from 18 manufacturers and distributors of PEDS. Lorimer says that these companies are all paid sponsors of the Arnold Classic.

This world-class event is also sponsored by Weider Publications, which owns Muscle & Fitness and FLEX magazines: Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, executive editor. Both of the governor’s muscle mags are packed with advertisements for PEDS.

When Schwarzenegger vetoed Speier’s bill, he surely knew that he had grossed more than $100,000 in the preceding year from the supplement companies.

Robert Stern, president of the nonpartisan Center for Governmental Studies in Los Angeles, says, “The question is, how much material financial effect did Schwarzenegger’s veto have upon [his holdings]?”

According to a spokesperson for the FPPC, violation of the conflict of interests provisions by a public official is a misdemeanor, punishable by criminal prosecution, civil actions and a $10,000 fine—unless you are the governor. In that case, the penalty is a $5,000 fine and an order to fix the violation.

A month’s worth of muscle-building pills or gel tabs costs, on average, $40. By any standard, that is a significant market.

<>Peter Byrne writes for the North Bay Bohemian.</>