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RICHMOND -- Gov. Tim Kaine has vetoed legislation that would have curbed local government authority to control firearms along highways, a move that drew criticism from the bill's sponsor.

Kaine on Friday announced vetoes of eight bills passed during the regular General Assembly session earlier this year. Kaine initially tried to amend the measures, but lawmakers rejected his changes during a one-day session in April. Kaine's subsequent vetoes killed the Republican-sponsored bills.

The legislation on the Democratic governor's hit list included House Bill 370, a measure designed to amend a state law governing the possession of loaded guns along state highways.

The bill's sponsor, Del. Bill Carrico, R-Grayson County, said he wanted to clean up a law that was intended to restrict hunting along highways. Carrico said the broad language of the law also could prohibit legitimate possession of firearms for purposes other than hunting, even though the law already contains exceptions for people in moving cars and for people "acting at the time in defense of persons or property."

Carrico's bill would have allowed localities to restrict loaded guns along highways for hunting and would have added another exception "for purposes other than hunting."

"That's basically what the law intended," Carrico said.

The bill passed the House unanimously and received broad, bipartisan support in the Senate. The House rejected Kaine's amendment, which would have required lawmakers to pass the measure again next year before it becomes law. Kaine said the delay would have allowed time to study the bill's effects.

"I am reluctant to take away local authority, without a substantial reason, and there has been no demonstrable problem with the existing law," Kaine said in his veto message.

Carrico criticized Kaine's decision, saying: "This shows the governor as an anti-gun, anti-Second Amendment rights individual."

Carrico's bill was the second firearms-related measure that Kaine has vetoed. Last month, the governor vetoed legislation (HB 1006) that would have allowed people without concealed carry permits to store firearms in locked compartments or containers in their vehicles. The House sustained the veto.

Kaine also announced Friday that he vetoed bills that would have reduced the time frame under which machinery and tools could be considered "idle" to exempt them from local taxes. The bill would have changed the requirement from 12 months to three months.

Kaine also announced vetoed measures that would have stripped the governor's office of the power to appoint the secretary of the state Board of Elections and reduced the number of gubernatorial appointments to the Virginia Workforce Council. Kaine last month rejected other bills aimed at curbing executive branch appointment powers, and lawmakers sustained those vetoes.

As expected, Kaine signed a complex and heavily revised bill (SB 262) requiring state government to develop a comprehensive energy policy that emphasizes efficiency and independence. Among other things, the legislation signals support for federal efforts to determine how much natural gas exists 50 or more miles off the Atlantic coast. Lawmakers last month stripped away a provision proposed by Kaine to expand the use of ethanol in gasoline.