ALBANY, N.Y. (AP) – Governor Spitzer, Democrat of New York, on Wednesday vetoed his first bill, one that would have left disciplining police offers up to union negotiations.

The bill, also vetoed last year by former Gov. George Pataki, would have required the process used to discipline police officers to be part of collective bargaining. The bill was pushed by Albany’s powerful public worker unions and was overwhelmingly approved by the Legislature.

“Police departments are `quasi-military’ institutions which require disciplined employees, and those instances where officers violate the public trust or otherwise run afoul of disciplinary provisions can have profound implications on public safety,” said Mr. Spitzer, the former two-term attorney general.

Currently, disciplinary procedures can’t be part of collective bargaining in New York City, Westchester and Rockland counties or for the state police. But for most other police agencies, disciplinary procedures must be negotiated with unions. That lack of uniformity was one of the reasons supporters said they sought the bill.

The measure passed 140-3 in the Assembly and 55-0 in the Senate.

Mr. Spitzer noted the state Court of Appeals last year unanimously ruled against what the bill sought to change.

Lawmakers had argued the bill would make police officers subject to the same rights as other public employees, a practice they said hasn’t hurt the delivery of public service.