Last week California Governor Arnnew Schwarzenegger vetoed Senate Bill 1526 (SB 1526), which proposed educational and training requirements for sleep technologists. SB 1526 was one of 137 bills vetoed by the governor. The following message was sent by his office as explanation: "The historic delay in passing the 2008-2009 state budget has forced me to prioritize the bills sent to my desk at the end of the year’s legislative session. Given the delay, I am only signing bills that are the highest priority for California. This bill does not meet that standard and I cannot sign it at this time." Clearly, the veto of the bill was unrelated to the merits of the bill and solely based on political reasons.
The California Sleep Society (CSS) Board of Directors, with the American Academy of Sleep Medicine (AASM) and the American Association of Sleep Technologists (AAST), will be working on alternate courses of action in a strong effort to work toward passage of SB 1526. If members of the California legislature decided to return to Sacramento for a veto session, a possibility exists that the legislation will be enacted this year over the governor’s veto.
The AASM will keep members abreast of developments. If you have questions or would like additional information on SB 1526, please contact Ted Thurn at tthurn@aasm.org or Taylor Frawley at tfrawley@aasm.org.