The bill is a majority vote measure and would require the governor's signature. Specifically, the measure would ask voters to approve the following statement: The people of California, in support of the men and women serving in the Armed Forces of the United States, urge President Bush to end the U.S. occupation of Iraq and immediately begin the safe and orderly withdrawal of all United States forces; and further urge President Bush and the United States Congress to provide the necessary diplomatic and non-military assistance to promote peace and stability in Iraq and the Middle East.

The measure is not the first regarding Iraq to come before the Legislature, though going to the voters is new. Perata has also launched a Web page, voteusout.org, for the would-be initiative. Earlier this year, a resolution, authored by Sen. Carole Migden, D-San Francisco, passed out of the state Senate urging Congress and President Bush not to send more troops to Iraq. The bill passed on a party-line vote, with one Democrat, Sen. Lou Correa, D-Santa Ana, opposed. "George Bush hasn't learned from history - we've got the failed policy to prove it," Perata said in the statement. "If the biggest state in the nation says `end the war now,' maybe it will start to sink in." The proposed nonbinding, advisory measure -- similar to a number of anti-war resolutions passed by local governments -- will be formally introduced in the Democratic-controlled Legislature on Monday. Perata acknowledged that the measure's presence on the ballot could increase Democratic voter turnout, but he denied that it was intended to boost fortunes of another possible measure on the Feb. 5 ballot that would change term limits for state lawmakers and allow him, among other incumbents, to serve longer.Aaron McLear, Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger's press secretary, said the governor had not yet taken a position on the bill.