CA SB 602

enacted

Veterinarians: veterinarian-client-patient relationship.

California · 2025-2026 Regular Session · upper

Description

Existing law, the Veterinary Medicine Practice Act, establishes the California Veterinary Medical Board within the Department of Consumer Affairs for the licensure and regulation of veterinarians and the practice of veterinary medicine and makes a violation of the act a crime. Existing law authorizes a veterinarian to allow a registered veterinary technician to act as an agent of the veterinarian for the purpose of establishing the veterinarian-client-patient relationship to administer preventive or prophylactic vaccines or medications for the control or eradication of apparent or anticipated internal or external parasites by satisfying specified conditions, including, among other things, imposing different requirements relating to the proximity of the veterinarian depending upon where the registered veterinarian technician is administering the vaccine or medication. Specifically, existing law requires either that the veterinarian is physically present at the premises when the registered veterinary technician is working at a registered veterinary premises, or, if working at a location other than a registered veterinary premises, that the veterinarian is in the general vicinity or available by telephone and is quickly and easily available. This bill would revise the above-described condition to authorize a registered veterinary technician to administer the vaccine or medication in a registered veterinary premises that is a public animal control agency or shelter, private animal shelter, humane society shelter, or society for the prevention of cruelty to animals shelter when the veterinarian is in the general vicinity or available by telephone and is quickly and easily available. Because a violation of the bill's provisions would be a crime under the Veterinary Medicine Practice Act, the bill would impose a state-mandated local program. The California Constitution requires the state to reimburse local agencies and school districts for certain costs mandated by the state. Statutory provisions establish procedures for making that reimbursement. This bill would provide that no reimbursement is required by this act for a specified reason.

Introduced: 2025-02-20
Status date: —
Latest action: 2025-10-10 — Chaptered by Secretary of State. Chapter 589, Statutes of 2025.
Bill type: bill
Last updated: —

Subjects

Committees

Not provided by source.

Action timeline

2025-02-20
Introduced. Read first time. To Com. on RLS. for assignment. To print.
introduction,reading-1,referral-committee
2025-02-21
From printer. May be acted upon on or after March 23.
2025-03-05
Referred to Com. on B. P. & E.D.
referral-committee
2025-03-18
Set for hearing April 21.
2025-04-21
From committee: Do pass and re-refer to Com. on APPR. with recommendation: To consent calendar. (Ayes 11. Noes 0. Page 809.) (April 21). Re-referred to Com. on APPR.
committee-passage,committee-passage-favorable,referral-committee
2025-04-25
Set for hearing May 5.
2025-05-05
From committee: Be ordered to second reading pursuant to Senate Rule 28.8 and ordered to consent calendar.
committee-passage,reading-1,reading-2
2025-05-06
Read second time. Ordered to consent calendar.
reading-1,reading-2
2025-05-08
Read third time. Passed. (Ayes 36. Noes 0. Page 1051.) Ordered to the Assembly.
passage,reading-1,reading-3
2025-05-08
In Assembly. Read first time. Held at Desk.
reading-1
2025-05-19
Referred to Com. on B. & P.
referral-committee
2025-06-18
From committee with author's amendments. Read second time and amended. Re-referred to Com. on B. & P.
amendment-passage,committee-passage,reading-1,reading-2,referral-committee
2025-06-24
From committee: Do pass and re-refer to Com. on APPR. with recommendation: To consent calendar. (Ayes 16. Noes 0.) (June 24). Re-referred to Com. on APPR.
committee-passage,committee-passage-favorable,referral-committee
2025-07-09
From committee: Do pass. Ordered to consent calendar. (Ayes 15. Noes 0.) (July 9).
committee-passage,committee-passage-favorable
2025-07-10
Read second time. Ordered to consent calendar.
reading-1,reading-2
2025-07-17
Read third time. Passed. (Ayes 75. Noes 0. Page 2595.) Ordered to the Senate.
passage,reading-1,reading-3
2025-07-17
In Senate. Concurrence in Assembly amendments pending.
2025-08-21
Ordered to special consent calendar.
2025-08-25
Assembly amendments concurred in. (Ayes 37. Noes 0. Page 2253.) Ordered to engrossing and enrolling.
amendment-passage,committee-passage,committee-passage-favorable
2025-09-02
Enrolled and presented to the Governor at 11 a.m.
executive-receipt
2025-10-10
Approved by the Governor.
executive-signature
2025-10-10
Chaptered by Secretary of State. Chapter 589, Statutes of 2025.
became-law

Versions

02/20/25 - Introduced — 2025-02-20Compare
06/18/25 - Amended Assembly — 2025-06-18Compare
08/27/25 - Enrolled — 2025-08-27Compare
10/10/25 - Chaptered — 2025-10-10Compare
SB602Compare
(document, no version)Compare

Documents

Votes

Do pass, but first be re-referred to the Committee on [Appropriations] with the recommendation: To Consent Calendar
2025-04-21 · pass · 11-0
Member-level votes (11)
- Arreguín: yes
- Archuleta: yes
- Weber Pierson: yes
- Grayson: yes
- Richardson: yes
- Choi: yes
- Ashby: yes
- Smallwood-Cuevas: yes
- Strickland: yes
- Umberg: yes
- Niello: yes
Consent Calendar 2nd
2025-05-08 · pass · 36-0
Member-level votes (40)
- Grove: yes
- Richardson: yes
- Strickland: yes
- Archuleta: yes
- Becker: yes
- Arreguín: yes
- Durazo: yes
- Wiener: yes
- McNerney: yes
- Grayson: yes
- Limón: yes
- Choi: yes
- Caballero: yes
- McGuire: yes
- Jones: yes
- Cortese: yes
- Alvarado-Gil: yes
- Allen: yes
- Ochoa Bogh: yes
- Ashby: yes
- Smallwood-Cuevas: yes
- Seyarto: yes
- Stern: yes
- Weber Pierson: yes
- Dahle: yes
- Niello: yes
- Pérez: yes
- Wahab: yes
- Gonzalez: yes
- Cervantes: yes
- Cabaldon: yes
- Laird: yes
- Blakespear: yes
- Umberg: yes
- Padilla: yes
- Menjivar: yes
- Rubio: other
- Valladares: other
- Reyes: other
- Hurtado: other
Do pass and be re-referred to the Committee on [Appropriations] with recommendation: To Consent Calendar
2025-06-24 · pass · 16-0
Member-level votes (18)
- Alanis: yes
- Berman: yes
- Pellerin: yes
- Irwin: yes
- Krell: yes
- Lowenthal: yes
- Caloza: yes
- Haney: yes
- Elhawary: yes
- Ellis: yes
- Ahrens: yes
- Flora: yes
- Chen: yes
- Jackson: yes
- Nguyen: yes
- Hadwick: yes
- Bauer-Kahan: other
- Bains: other
Do pass. To Consent Calendar.
2025-07-09 · pass · 15-0
Member-level votes (15)
- Dixon: yes
- Calderon: yes
- Solache: yes
- Caloza: yes
- Mark González: yes
- Elhawary: yes
- Pacheco: yes
- Pellerin: yes
- Fong: yes
- Hart: yes
- Tangipa: yes
- Wicks: yes
- Arambula: yes
- Ta: yes
- Sanchez: yes
SB 602 Cortese Consent Calendar Second Day
2025-07-17 · pass · 75-0
Member-level votes (79)
- Hart: yes
- Flora: yes
- DeMaio: yes
- Harabedian: yes
- Ward: yes
- Rogers: yes
- Irwin: yes
- Macedo: yes
- Haney: yes
- Caloza: yes
- Celeste Rodriguez: yes
- Krell: yes
- Muratsuchi: yes
- Zbur: yes
- Mark González: yes
- Fong: yes
- Bonta: yes
- Soria: yes
- Wallis: yes
- Connolly: yes
- Hoover: yes
- Kalra: yes
- Patel: yes
- Sanchez: yes
- Schiavo: yes
- Pellerin: yes
- Bains: yes
- Addis: yes
- Solache: yes
- Ávila Farías: yes
- Blanca Rubio: yes
- Bryan: yes
- Jackson: yes
- Gabriel: yes
- Pacheco: yes
- Bauer-Kahan: yes
- Jeff Gonzalez: yes
- Michelle Rodriguez: yes
- Lowenthal: yes
- Sharp-Collins: yes
- Quirk-Silva: yes
- Rivas: yes
- Patterson: yes
- Petrie-Norris: yes
- Papan: yes
- Castillo: yes
- Valencia: yes
- Elhawary: yes
- Ta: yes
- Ortega: yes
- Schultz: yes
- Lee: yes
- Arambula: yes
- Carrillo: yes
- Dixon: yes
- Ramos: yes
- Alanis: yes
- Garcia: yes
- Ransom: yes
- Stefani: yes
- Ellis: yes
- Aguiar-Curry: yes
- Davies: yes
- Lackey: yes
- McKinnor: yes
- Ahrens: yes
- Hadwick: yes
- Boerner: yes
- Nguyen: yes
- Wicks: yes
- Calderon: yes
- Chen: yes
- Gipson: yes
- Wilson: yes
- Tangipa: yes
- Alvarez: other
- Bennett: other
- Berman: other
- Gallagher: other
Special Consent
2025-08-25 · pass · 37-0
Member-level votes (40)
- Reyes: yes
- Allen: yes
- Jones: yes
- Menjivar: yes
- Dahle: yes
- Niello: yes
- Pérez: yes
- Wahab: yes
- Weber Pierson: yes
- Ochoa Bogh: yes
- Grove: yes
- Cabaldon: yes
- Wiener: yes
- Blakespear: yes
- Choi: yes
- Richardson: yes
- Limón: yes
- McNerney: yes
- Becker: yes
- Arreguín: yes
- Archuleta: yes
- Grayson: yes
- Cortese: yes
- Cervantes: yes
- Laird: yes
- Stern: yes
- McGuire: yes
- Seyarto: yes
- Umberg: yes
- Caballero: yes
- Durazo: yes
- Smallwood-Cuevas: yes
- Strickland: yes
- Gonzalez: yes
- Padilla: yes
- Ashby: yes
- Valladares: yes
- Hurtado: other
- Alvarado-Gil: other
- Rubio: other

Related bills

No related bills recorded for this bill.

Official source

http://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/billNavClient.xhtml?bill_id=202520260SB602

Attribution

Data from openstates_bulk_csv, retrieved 2026-07-24T01:34:27.960412Z

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