09/19/2008
The massage certification bill was "enrolled" in the past 24 hours, meaning it was sent from the legislature to the Governor's desk. Along with SB 731 went several hundred other bills, so the Governor and his staff will be busy. The transmission of these bills was made after legislative leaders struck a revised budget agreement yesterday with the Governor. Voting on the revised budget bill by the California Senate and Assembly is slated for later this afternoon. A positive vote is anticipated in both chambers.
Though there remains some uncertainty as to timing (because getting a budget bill dealt with in late September is uncharted territory), the consensus view is that the Governor has until September 30 to decide on SB 731. He can veto it, in which case proponents of a statewide massage certification alternative would need to start over in a future legislative session. Alternatively, Govertnor Schwarzenegger can sign the bill into law or simply allow it to become law after September 30 without his signature.