CALIFORNIA ? Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger has ended a yearlong fight with California nurses over hospital staffing levels after a bitter feud that escalated when he boasted, “I’m kicking their butts.”

Acting on behalf of the governor, Attorney General Bill Lockyer dropped a legal battle over a new state rule requiring one nurse for every five patients. For the past year, Schwarzenegger had been trying to block the rule in favor of a 1-to-6 ratio.

Schwarzenegger’s office referred calls on the matter to the state Department of Health and Human Services, where spokeswoman Sabrina Demayo Lockhart said that in the 10 months the 1-to-5 rule has been in place, hospitals have been able to adapt, “so we’re going to move forward.”

The governor’s action came two days after California voters rejected all of his proposed government-overhaul initiatives and on the same day he took “full responsibility” for the election debacle.