It's up to the Governator now.

Last night the California Assembly passed Assemblyman Leland Yee's video game bill, one day before the bill would have died. The ball is now in Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger's court. He has 30 days to sign the bill into law. His decision will be scrutinized by legislators and the media since, beyond the merits of the bill, Schwarzenegger has close ties to the entertainment industry and has appeared in several video games himself.

Here is partial text from the press release issued by Assemblyman Yee's office late last night:

On a bipartisan 65-7 vote (10:10 PM), the California State Assembly tonight approved legislation to limit children's access to extremely violent video games, now only needing the signature of Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger (R-Los Angeles) to become law. Assembly Bill (AB) 1179, formerly AB 450, calls for ending the sale and rental of violent video games that depict serious injury to human beings in a manner that is especially heinous, atrocious, or cruel, to persons who are under 18 years of age.

The bill authored by Speaker pro Tem Leland Yee (D-San Francisco/Daly City) would make retailers who violate the act liable in an amount up to $1,000 for each violation. In addition, such described video games would have to be labeled with a designation for adult sale only.

"Unlike movies where you passively watch violence, in a video game, you are the active participant and making decisions on who to stab, maim, burn or kill," said Speaker pro Tem Yee, also a child psychologist. "As a result, these games serve as learning tools that have a dramatic impact on our children."

"Governor Schwarzenegger is no longer an action star but an elected representative of all Californians; I am hopeful that he will consider our children's best interests by signing this commonsense legislation
into law and giving parents a necessary tool to raise healthy kids," said Speaker pro Tem Yee.

While Entertainment Software Ratings Board (ESRB) claims to be a non-biased ratings board that gives parents a valuable tool in deciding appropriateness of games for their children, they are funded by the
makers of video games who have a financial interest in making sure their games are not rated AO.

"Clearly the ESRB has a conflict of interest in rating these games," said Speaker pro Tem Yee. "Plain and simple, parents cannot trust the ESRB to rate games appropriately or the industry to look out for our
children's best interests."