Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger delivered the antidote to a "poison pill" Tuesday, signing legislation to restore as much as $160 million in state funding for county-run health programs for the poor.

Schwarzenegger approved the measure worth up to $80 million to Los Angeles County just hours after returning from a whirlwind trip to the Middle East and Germany, where he cheered troops wounded in Iraq.

In true showmanship style befitting the actor turned governor, Schwarzenegger also made a surprise appearance before nearly 2,000 business executives Tuesday morning.

Schwarzenegger had arranged to appear on videotape and sent actor and good friend Tom Arnold to fill in. But a no-show would have made him the first governor since Jerry Brown to not address the state Chamber of Commerce's traditional host breakfast.

But as Schwarzenegger signed off with "see you soon" on tape, the real thing made a grand entrance to a thunderous standing ovation.

Offering a sneak preview of his revised budget to be released next week, Schwarzenegger promised "cuts, cuts, cuts."

"We will make the cuts and we will not increase the taxes, that is for sure," he declared.

Shortly beforehand, the governor signed legislation to clear the way for the state to restart payments to counties for medical and social service programs for the poor.

San Diego County supervisors prompted the crisis by winning a 13-year court battle over $3.5 million they were seeking from the state.

In doing so, the county triggered a so-called "poison pill" that had been inserted in later legislation to discourage such lawsuits. The provision required the state to stop making certain payments that threatened to reach $160 million to all 58 counties if a funding challenge succeeded.

"We certainly could have pulled the plug" on the lawsuit, said Greg Cox, a San Diego County supervisor. "But it deals with a valid legal issue. If the state comes up with a program and tells us to run it, then they have an obligation to fund it."

"If it had not been resolved, the next legal action would have been against the poison pill," Cox said.

"Who knows how long that would have dragged on? A lot of citizens would not have received the services they need and deserve," he said.

The emergency bill, AB 1457, applies only to current year payments. A permanent fix must still be worked out.