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.
California SB 602 (20252026) — Veterinarians: veterinarian-client-patient relationship.
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.
Version chain
The bill's text revisions, in order — the diff chain from filing to enrollment.
Do pass and be re-referred to the Committee on [Appropriations] with recommendation: To Consent Calendar — 16–0 (pass) · lower
Special Consent — 37–0 (pass) · upper
SB 602 Cortese Consent Calendar Second Day — 75–0 (pass) · lower
Do pass. To Consent Calendar. — 15–0 (pass) · lower
Do pass, but first be re-referred to the Committee on [Appropriations] with the recommendation: To Consent Calendar — 11–0 (pass) · upper
Consent Calendar 2nd — 36–0 (pass) · upper
Sponsors
Cortese — primary (person)
Timeline
The legislative action history — every referral, reading, and vote.
2025-02-20 Introduced. Read first time. To Com. on RLS. for assignment. To print. introduction, reading-1
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-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-favorable
2025-09-02 Enrolled and presented to the Governor at 11 a.m.
2025-10-10 Approved by the Governor. executive-signature
2025-10-10 Chaptered by Secretary of State. Chapter 589, Statutes of 2025. became-law
Source
OpenStates / OpenCivicData bulk snapshot 2026-07-01; origin ocd-bill/bf55c30a-c4d1-4003-ab12-5fc222d24f1a. Confidence: reported (aggregated from official California legislature records).
Fabio