The Sacramento Bee reports today that the NBA's combined Finance and Relocation Committee will convene for a final time on the Sacramento Kings issue on Monday via conference call. A recommendation to the rest of the Board of Governors will be made after that meeting. After the recommendation is made, the Board of Governors will be able to vote on the issue after seven business days have passed, making May 8th the earliest possible day that the Kings saga can be officially finalized. However, the Board is likely to vote based on the committee's recommendation, making Monday a historic day for the Sacramento Kings, either good or bad.

While David Stern mentioned at his previous press conference following the Board of Governors meetings on April 18th and 19th that both Seattle and Sacramento would get a chance to present again, there are currently no plans in place for that to happen. The committees have been spending the last week or so vetting both sides in preparation for the final decision. One of the most important things being looked at by the NBA has been the arena timelines for each prospective city.

Regarding arena timelines, Sen. Darrell Steinberg introduced a bill yesterday that could possibly help expedite the environmental review process for Sacramento's downtown arena. The bill, called SB 731, rewrites part of the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) to reduce the amount of lawsuits on projects like the arena. Steinberg told the Bee that he sent a copy of the bill to the NBA.

If you remember, Steinberg was on hand when the Sacramento group made their presentation to the NBA on April 3rd, particularly to discuss the impact of AB 900, a law Steinberg authored that also expedites the EIR process. Recently an Alameda county judge struck down one part of AB 900, not the whole bill as some have reported. Despite all the jokes we make about how Sacramento Kings fans can become lawyers after discussing this story so much, I hold no faith in my own legal analysis of the Alameda judge's ruling on AB 900 and leave that for others with more expertise. If you wish to take a look for yourself, the judge's statement can be found here.