California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger has until Tuesday night to take action on a bill that has small brewers and anti-alcohol advocates up in arms, the San Jose Mercury News reported Sept. 27.

Measure AB 1245, which has cleared the state legislature, would allow beer makers to give away promotional material worth up to $3. Currently, the state bars brewers from giveaways worth more than 25 cents per item. Distilled-spirits companies can spend up to $5 each on giveaways.

The bill would change California's Alcoholic Beverage Control Act and open the door for companies like Anheuser-Busch to distribute freebies like t-shirts and hats, rather than just bottle openers and keychains.

Assemblyman Alberto Torrico (D-Fremont) said the aim of the bill is to "equal the playing field" between beer brewers and spirits firms  and to "modernize an arcane provision of the law."

However, Tom McCormick, president of the California Small Brewers Association, said his group opposes the legislation because it would give an unfair advantage to big brewers like Anheuser-Busch, which unlike smaller firms can afford to give away higher-ticket promotional items.

Officials at the Marin Institute, an alcohol industry watchdog, also oppose the legislation, saying that industry giveaways are especially appealing to adolescents. "It's designed to burn beer and alcohol brand names permanently into the developing brains of youth," said Michael Scippa, Marin's advocacy director.