Assembly Standing Committee on Appropriations

Good morning. We'd like to call to order the March 29th, 2023 Assembly Appropriations Committee hearing. Today, we will be reviewing 30 bills to consider as a part of our regular ordered hearing. Before we begin, there are just a few housekeeping items that I must make our way through.

We encourage the public to provide written testimony before the hearing by visiting the committee website at apro.assembly.ca.gov. Please note that any written testimony submitted to the committee is considered public comment and may be read into the record or reprinted. The hearing room is open for attendance. All are encouraged to watch the hearing from its stream on the assembly website at assembly.california or ca.gov./ todaysevent. We encourage the public to monitor the committee's website for updates.

We will accept public comment on any bill placed on the suspense file by the committee today and for which the author waived presentation before the close of the regular ordered hearing. Testimony on any such bill will be limited to a statement of name, organization, if any, and position on the bill. The Committee will allow no more than 40 minutes of testimony in total.

As you came into the hearing room today, the sergeants directed your attention to the rules of public attendance and participation which were posted outside the door. I encourage the Members of the public who are in attendance to be aware of and observe those rules. Please be aware that violations of these rules or other violations of general courtesy or decorum may subject you to removal or other enforcement processes.

Now, last week, in our very short and brief, I should say our brief meeting, I neglected to recognize the new members of this committee and our new Vice Chair. And so I'd like to do that if I could at this point. First, let me just recognize and acknowledge our new members. Assemblymember Diane Dixon, Gregg Hart, Josh Lowenthal, who should be here shortly. Diane Papan, welcome. Gail Pellerin, welcome. And Kate Sanchez.

We welcome you to the committee, and we look forward to your participation and your valued service. I also wanted to acknowledge Megan Dahle, who is our Vice Chair. I'm going to offer her an opportunity to say a few words. I know she doesn't really like to do that, but I'll turn to her anyway, even if it's no comment. But thank you, and we look forward and appreciate your leadership in the role of Vice Chair.

Thank you, Mr. Chair, and I'm honored to be serving you as your Vice Chair and my constituents in the State of California. And I know this is a very important committee, and I look forward to the good work that we're going to be doing together. So thank you.

And let me also acknowledge Mr. Mathis, who is a new member to this committee. So welcome. I see your face everywhere, so I just assumed you were part of the committee. For a long standing.

New to the Committee, but not new to the building.

There you go. All right. Welcome to the committee. Now we will turn to establishing a quorum. Madam Secretary, quorum members present.

[Roll Call]

We have a quorum we'd like to now move to the consent calendar and dispense with that. Madam Secretary, would you please read the consent calendar?

AB 242 Ward. AB three. 07 Chen. AB 314 Jim Patterson. AB 349 Ramos. AB 387 Aguilar Curry. AB 454 Aguilar Curry. AB 57 Brian. AB 559 Bernard Hoover. AB 75 Lowenthal.

Thank you. Is there a motion to adopt the consent calendar? It's been moved by Vice Chair, second by our not new member. Or new member. Thank you. You're a senior. The consent calendar is deemed adopted by unanimous.

Holden?

Aye. I'm sorry. Yes. Okay. We will now move to the suspense file. Madam Secretary, please read the suspense file.

AB 11 Jackson. AB 83 Lee. AB 97 Rodriguez. AB 250 Rodriguez. AB 253 Maienschein. AB 293 Alanis. AB 8303 Davies. AB 325 Reyez. AB 327 Joan Sawyer. AB 330 Dixon. AB 363 Bow Kehan. AB 385 Ta. AB 390 Haney. AB 404 Connolly. AB 405 Connolly. AB 406 Connolly. AB 512 Waldrine. AB 527 Calderon. AB 552 Bennett. AB 652 Lee.

The suspense file calendar is adopted. Let's see. We'll now move to our first presentation, and that's going to be on AB 652. Mr. Lee, the Bill is on suspense, but you have the opportunity, as you're taking today, to present on the suspense candidate.

Thank you, Mr. Chair and members. I want to thank you for your time today. And I will be brief to talk about AB 652. Pesticide exposure increases the risk of cancer, endocrine disruption and reproductive harm, among many other health risks. Studies show that people of color, as well as people in low-income communities, are disproportionately exposed to and harmed by pesticides. Yet these same people have historically not been and still aren't meaningfully included in pesticide policy decision-making. My Bill requires the Department of Pesticide Regulation to establish an environmental justice Advisory Committee to integrate the environmental justice concepts into DPR's activities. This will create a public institutionalized process to meaningfully include equity at DPR. I want to thank the Committee for their Thoughtful Analysis and my team is compiling examples of similar advisory committees and their costs. We'll provide that information along with proposed amendments to clarify duties and structures of the DPR Advisory Committee to reduce cost pressures outlined in the analysis. Thank you, Mr. Chair, for working with me on this Bill during the suspense period to help raise the voices of people who have carried the burden of our pesticide policies far too long. And I have with me briefly today is Asa Sharma from the Pesticide Action Network.

Welcome. You could proceed.

Good morning, chair Members. My name is Asa Sharma and I am the organizing Co-Director at Pesticide Action Network. I thank Assembly Member Lee for his leadership, for authoring AB 652, which is a critical first step in ensuring environmental justice at the Department of Pesticide Regulation or DPR. I speak on behalf of 73 organizations ranging from labor unions, environmental organizations, farm worker, farmer, and environmental justice organizations who are all in support of this Bill. AB 652 is absolutely critical in order to address the environmental injustices of pesticide exposure and associated health impacts which predominantly impact majority communities of color in California. I want to quickly address the fiscal impacts of this Bill in the Committee analysis, the cost estimates are based on the CARB Environmental Justice Advisory Committee, which while similar in concept to the EJ Committee in this Bill, has a much bigger and more technical scope with much more frequent meetings and with more Members. There are other examples of similar committees such as the BIPOC Farmer Advisory Committee at CDFA and the Land Equity Task Force at the Strategic Growth Council that operate at much lower costs, which are more representative of the costs associated with this proposed Committee. There is an urgent need to follow these justice driven models and form a similar Committee at DPR. Given the close intersection between pesticide exposure, environmental injustice and racial injustice. We look forward to working with the Appropriations Committee on providing accurate costs of implementing the Bill based on similar EJ committees and working on necessary amendments to improve the cost effective effectiveness of this Bill. Thank you, chair and Members, I urge your support of AB 652.

Okay, is there anyone here in the Committee hearing room that would like to speak on this Bill? Either in favor or opposed, please come forward.

Hello, Mr. Chair and Members, Melissa Sagun, on behalf of Pesticide Action Network, Californians for Pesticide reform, safe ag, safe schools and over 70 plus organizations in support. Thank you.

Thank you. Seeing no one else. Thank you for your presentation today, Mr. Lee. The bill is on suspense, and we'll have conversations going forward. Thank you. Let's see. AB 398 Pellerin. This is a do pass.

Good morning and thank you, chair and members. So my bill here, AB 398, will basically remove the wet signature requirement that will make replacement ballot request processes more efficient for both the voters and election staff. And without the wet signature requirement, voters will be able to submit the request for replacement ballot online or over the phone, which is what they were able to do prior to when the law changed setting up all mail ballot in the State of California.

We also changed the term of a second vote by mail ballot to replacement ballot, which really is what's happening. So I respectfully ask for your aye vote. This is a bill that is sponsored by the California Association of Clerks and Election Officials and has support from Disability Rights and Environmental Advocates. Thank you.

Thank you. No witnesses?

Just me.

Just you. Okay. Is there anyone in the committee hearing room that like to comment on the bill, name, organization, if any, and position on the bill either in for or against? Seeing none, we'll bring it back to the committee. Seeing no comments. Would you like to close?

Just. I respectfully ask where aye vote. Thank you.

Okay. This bill is out on AB roll call with Senator Member Dixon not voting.

Thank you.

Thank you. Well, now, having dispensed with our calendar items of action today, we'll now turn to public comment. And this is on anything that was on the agenda today or on consent or suspense. Seeing none, we'll bring it back to where we are here. And I guess we're done. Unless there are any comments from any members, we'll keep the roll open for five minutes to allow members who have not yet presented themselves to have an opportunity to do so.

The rest of us are free to go. The last. What I'd like to do is just to confirm that the consent is out on an a roll call. You're good. Good morning. We will hold the roll open for another two minutes. We'll wait for. We have a member who's chairing another committee and I've got to get to a committee. This meeting is adjourned.