A watered-down version of the bill was offered in the Senate and subsequently passed by the House. It allowed law enforcement officers to impound a vehicle of a person who does not have a valid driver’s license.

"Because I believe that officers should have discretion to determine when a vehicle should be impounded, and because I am concerned about how this legislation will impact new residents to Georgia, I cannot sign House Bill 978," Perdue said in a statement announcing his veto.

Mills said Wednesday that he had been told of Perdue’s decision prior to the public announcement.

"I’m disappointed, but there were some things the Senate added to that bill that I don’t think helped it," Mills said. "That was the only way I could get it through the Senate at that time."

He said he was not giving up. "We’ll go back to the drawing board and keep working on it," Mills said, adding that he had a commitment from Perdue’s office to find common ground on the matter.

Also on Wednesday, Perdue vetoed a bill that would have taken Banks County out of the Lanier Technical College service area and placed it in the North Georgia Technical College area.

In announcing his veto, the governor said the legislation circumvented the process of the Technical College System administration.