proclaim May 22 -- Milk 's birthday -- as a day of significance across the state . The bill was one of 704 signed Sunday -- most of them near the midnight deadline -- by Schwarzenegger , said spokesman Aaron McLear . The legislation passed the state Senate in May and the state Assembly last month . The legislation has been divisive , with the governor 's office receiving more than 100,000 phone calls and e-mails , most of them in opposition , spokeswoman Andrea McCarthy said last month . But she added that most of the Twitter posts the governor received were in favor of the bill . Schwarzenegger vetoed a similar bill last year , saying he believed Milk should be recognized at the local level . Milk was a `` unique '' historical figure who led a civil rights movement and then was `` assassinated in his public office for being who he was , '' State Sen. Mark Leno , a Democrat , told CNN last month . The day of significance would not close schools or state offices , according to its text . However , Randy Thomasson , the president of SaveCalifornia.com , said
-LRB- CNN -RRB- -- California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger has signed a bill commemorating Harvey Milk , the first openly gay politician elected to public office in the state , a spokesman for the governor said Monday . Stuart Milk , nephew of Harvey Milk , sits next to a photo of the gay rights activist in March . `` He really saw this signing as a way to honor the gay community in California , '' spokesman Aaron McLear told CNN in a telephone interview . Schwarzenegger vetoed a similar bill last year , saying he believed Milk should be recognized at the local level . But since then , `` Milk has become much more of a symbol of the gay community , '' McLear said , citing the eponymous movie starring Sean Penn , Milk 's posthumous receipt of the Presidential Medal of Freedom and his induction into the California Hall of Fame . Milk served briefly as San Francisco 's supervisor before he and Mayor George Moscone were assassinated in 1978 by Dan White , a city supervisor who had recently resigned but wanted his job back . Under the measure , the governor each year would