Assembly Standing Committee on Accountability and Administrative Review

Members of the public can provide testimony in person here in room 437 to preserve the safety of everyone here and to ensure the public's access to the discussion, please follow the directions of our sergeants. If any Member of the public in the room would like to testify on a Bill, I will ask you to approach the microphone at the appropriate time. All witness testimony today will be in person.

And lastly, I do want to acknowledge that the Assembly has experienced several disruptions to Committee and floor proceedings over the last few years. We want to ensure that all voices are heard. However, conduct that disrupts, disturbs, or otherwise impedes the orderly conduct of today's hearing is prohibited. Thank you in advance for your cooperation. And it looks like we do have a quorum. So, Madam Secretary, if you please call the roll.

Petrie-Norris? Here. Petrie Norris here. Dixon? Baines? Davies Here. Davies here. Nguyen? Rodriquez? Here. Rodriguez here. Wilson here. That's four.

Okay, thank you. All right, so at the request of the authors, the following bills have been withdrawn from today's agenda. Item number two, AB 681. Item number four, AB 740. Item number six, AB 885. Item number eight, AB 1135, and item number 10, AB 1274. And I think we'll go ahead and start with the consent calendar if you want to go ahead and outline the bills that are on our consent agenda, and we can call the roll.

Item number three, AB 696. The motion is do pass, as amended to appropriations, item number five, AB 749. The motion is do pass, as amended to appropriations, item number seven, AB 964. The motion is do pass to appropriations item number 11, AB 1348. The motion is do pass to appropriations, item number 13 AB 1713. The motion is do passes. Amended to appropriations item number 14, AB 1759. The motion is do pass, as amended, to appropriations.

And do we have a motion? And a second. Thank you. So we have a motion by Assemblymember Wilson, second from Assemblymember Davies. Secretary, please call the roll.

Petrie-Norris? Aye. Petrie-Norris aye. Dixon? Baines. Davies aye. Nguyen. Rodriguez aye. Wilson aye. That's four.

Great. Thank you. And we only have three bills that we will be hearing for presentation this morning. So we will start with Mr. Rodriguez, who is presenting on behalf of Assemblymember Garcia, if our other two. Miss. I'm so not. I thought you had left us, Mr. Jackson. You're not sitting in the proper seats. Thank you. Yeah, poor Mr. Jackson has been waiting patiently for us. Good morning, Mr. Jackson. Whenever you are ready, the floor is yours.

I appreciate that. Well, good morning, Madam Chair and Members of the Committee, a pleasure to be here to present AB 437, which we're calling the Equity Equalization Act, which seeks to require, to the extent allowable by law, every state agency shall, in carrying out its duties under the law, ensure that its policies, allocation of resources and practices are equitable. Since the 1999-2000 legislative session till today, the term equity has been referenced in 2763 pieces of legislation introduced in the California State Legislature.

In 2021, California created a Chief Equity Officer Position tasked with improving equity and inclusion throughout the state government operations by collaborating with state agencies. The National Academy of Public Administration considers social equity to be a key pillar of public Administration and fostering social equity as one of the 12 grand challenges in public Administration. Despite the considerable efforts to advance and promote equity statewide and nationally, no definition for the term exists in California statute.

Considering the importance of the work done by California State Legislature, state agencies and local governments, equity must play a vital role in public service. But most importantly, we must all understand and react to one definition of equity. To achieve this aim, there must be a transparent and verifiable means also to measure whether a policy, practice or program is equitable in the first place. But we can't measure what we have not defined.

As defined in this Bill, equitable shall mean legislation, policies, allocation of resources, and systemic practices that empower and meet the unique needs of diverse and underserved populations to ensure that communities facing the greatest inequities are not left behind in the allocation of resources in a fair and just way. Believe it or not, people have been using equity throughout history for over 2000 years.

This is a long and enduring word to make sure that things are done in a fair and just way, that people are treated in a fair and just way, and it was even a measure of kings and queens, of whether they were good at what they do based upon whether their judgments were equitable or not. So, although culturally we have allowed equitable to mean many things to many different people, there truly is a definition of equity.

We just have to be disciplined to really understand the meaning of it and making sure that we let people know that this is not based upon people's individual judgments, there actually is a concrete definition that we can actually utilize. So by adequately defining equity, California will be able to directly measure the performance of practices of programs and policies through an equity lens and use those metrics to improve and promote equity through data driven practices. And so with that, I respectfully ask for an aye vote.

Thank you, Assemblymember. And I think there's no primary witnesses in support. Is there anyone in the room wishing to testify in support? Seeing none. Is there anyone in the room wishing to testify in opposition to AB 437? Seeing none. Open it up for questions or comments from the Committee. Well, Assembly Member, you have a motion from Assemblymember Wilson. Second from Assemblymember Rodriguez. Would you like to close?

I just respectfully ask for an aye vote.

Thank you, Madam Secretary please call the roll.

Item number one, AB 437. The motion is do passed to appropriations. Petrie-Norris? Aye. Petrie-Norris aye. Dixon? Baines? Davies not voting. Nguyen? Rodriguez? Aye. Rodriguez aye. Wilson? Wilson aye.

This is item number one, AB 437. The motion is do pass to appropriations. Nguyen? Aye. Nguyen aye.

40. That measure is out, and we'll leave the roll open for absent Members to add on. Thank you, assemblymember. All right, we will now jump to file item number 12. Mr. Garcia's AB 1597. And Assemblymember Rodriguez has agreed to present on behalf of the author. Thank you, assemblymember. Whenever you're ready.

Good morning, Mr. Chair and Members. I'm here to present AB 1579 on behalf of Assemblymember Garcia. I'd like to accept the Committee amendments that strikes the provisions of the bill in print and instead require the Department of General Services to no later than January 1 2025 report to the Legislature on the following. The results of the study on the supply chain for lithium batteries in electric vehicles purchased by the state to meet the goals of the governor's Executive order to transition to zero emission vehicles.

Recommendation for policy related to the supply chain to advance the state environmental and economic development goals. The author understands the chair's concerns with preferences in state procurement. He appreciates the chair and Committee support to move forward with this measure to further discuss how we can determine the best policies for state government to meet our goals for a transition to EV, the environment and economic development. The author will also continue to work on this legislation and follow up with this Committee on any new amendments. Thank you.

Thank you, assemblymember. And I don't believe we have any primary witnesses in support or in opposition, we'll open it up for testimony in the room. Anyone in the room wishing to testify in support of AB 1597? Seeing none. Anyone wishing to testify in opposition to this measure? Seeing none. Questions or comments from Committee Members? All right. And I will just note and thank you for accepting the Committee amendments on behalf of Assemblymember Garcia.

I just want to, I think, provide some context for Committee Members and other folks who may have been following this bill, so certainly appreciate Assemblymember Garcia's passion for wanting to deliver economic development in the Salton Sea area with the development of the burgeoning lithium industry. And that certainly holds a ton of promise, I think, both from an economic development perspective and also as we work to achieve California's climate goals. The bill as originally drafted would have provided a contracting preference and the policy of the Committee. We sort of hesitate to statutorily codify contracting preferences outside of the established state contracting goals for women, minority and disabled veteran businesses.

So the amendments that are being adopted today, as perfectly described by Assemblymember Rodriguez in his opening comments, will help California better understand the lithium battery supply chain for electric vehicles purchased by the state and possibly, I think, enable future recommendations for legislation to help California achieve our climate goals and ensure that we are doing everything possible to fuel economic growth and development in the Salton Sea region and really throughout the state. So I think, context for why those changes were made. Thank you for your presentation. And with that, we have a motion and a second. So, Madam Secretary, if you could please call the roll.

Item 12, AB 1579. The motion is do pass, as amended, to appropriations. [Roll Call]

All right, so, 5-0 that bill is out, and we will leave the roll open for absent Members to add on. Thank you. And there's just one additional bill on today's hearing. We will wait. Okay, wonderful. The author is presenting in appropriations, so she will be joining us when her presentation is complete. And while we have a moment, let's go ahead and recall the role for the consent calendar for absent Members.

Item number three, AB 696. The motion is do pass, as amended, to appropriations. Item number five, AB 749. The motion is do pass, as amended, to appropriations. Item number seven, AB 964. The motion is do pass, to appropriations. Item number 11, AB 1348. The motion is do pass to appropriations. Item number 13 ,1713. The motion is do pass as amended to appropriations. Item number 14, AB 1759. The motion is do pass as amended to appropriations. Nguyen. Nguyen, aye. Thank you.

Okay. Madam Secretary, if you would please open up the role to enable Members to add on.

This is the consent file. Item number three, AB 696. Do pass as amended to appropriations. Item number five, AB 749. Do pass as amended to appropriations. Item number seven, AB 964. Due pass to appropriations. Item 11, AB 1348. Do pass to appropriations. Item 13, AB 1713. Due pass as amended to appropriations. And item number 14, AB 1759, do pass as amended to appropriations. Dixon. Dixon, aye.

6-0 on the consent calendar. Why don't we go ahead and call. Let's go ahead and finish through the roll.

Item number one, AB 437. The motion is do pass to appropriations. Dixon. Dixon, not voting. Item number 12, AB 1579, do pass as amended to appropriations. Dixon. Dixon, yes.

Thank you, assemblymember. Good morning.

Whenever you're ready.

Good morning.

Thank you. Madam Chair and Members, I want to start by thanking Bernie for his work on the analysis of this Bill. AB 1163 takes vital steps in empowering the transgender, gender, nonconforming, and intersex at a time when they need it most. This Bill updates California State Department and agency forms to be inclusive of individuals who identify as transgender, gender nonconforming, or intersex by January 12025. In 2015, the US Transgender Survey USTs issued the largest survey examining the experiences of transgender people in the United States.

The survey found that 33% of transgender people seeking healthcare services reported having negative experiences, including refusal of treatments, verbal harassment, and physical assault that all stemmed from being misgendered. In 2018, a national study on the physical and mental health of intersex adults in the US was conducted by PubMed Central Medical Journal. The study aimed to examine the health disparities that derive from stigma by lack of proper gendering by healthcare providers.

The study also found that 43% of participants rated their physical health as poor and 53% rated their mental health as poor due to avoiding health diagnosis from providers out of fear of being misgendered. It's clear that the misgendering of the TGI community has prevented them from receiving the services that they need to survive and thrive. Additionally, the lack of accurate data collection essential to service agencies limits the state's ability to fully understand the scope and severity of the issues and the dangers facing this vulnerable population.

With this Bill, the TGI community will not have to avoid services out of fear of being misgendered and will have the support they need to be seen and identified when seeking government services. Today, I have with me to provide testimony Alexandra Magallon, Manager of Operations at TransLatina Coalition.

My name is Alexandra Magallion. I use my name as pronouns and I am an intersex person. As a kid growing up, I was often teased, bullied, assaulted, and treated less than a human being because I was different, because of erasure, because of my identities not existing in the system. This was in part due to the fact that years ago, there was very little information and data on intersex gender, nonconforming, and transgender people.

If at the time where I was navigating the most difficult time of my life, throughout my youth, there were data and forms reflecting my identity, I know that I would have had a different life. In doing my advocacy efforts for my community, specifically the intersex community, I have found throughout counties that forms are not often reflected, data is not often collected, and all of the gathered information doesn't make sense. Nonetheless, I am here today, existing against all odds, asking that AB 1163 be supported.

Thank you. Thank you. And thank you for being here to share your story and help us understand how something that might seem like an administrative detail can have such an impact. Thank you. And I don't believe we have any primary witnesses in opposition. I will go ahead and open it up for testimony in the room. Anyone in the room wishing to testify in support? Seeing none. Anyone in the room wishing to testify in opposition to AB 1163? All right, seeing none.

Questions or comments from the Committee. Assemblymember Wilson.

Thank you, Rivas for bringing this Bill forward. It's important as we know that there are over 400 bills across this nation that are anti LGBTQ. And this is such a pivotal time in our nation where we in California set the standard allowing individuals within this community to be seen, to be heard. And we know that in making you visible, we make you more of a target. But I'd rather make you visible and support you than keep you hidden.

And we appreciate this Bill, and I appreciate your testimony and your strength and courage to be here and stand in the gap for so many who don't have a voice and a seat at the table.

Thank you. Thank you. With that, you have a motion and a second. Assembly Member, would you like to close? Yes.

Thank you for hearing this Bill. And I want to thank Alexandra for being here and sharing the stories. So I respectfully ask for an aye vote.

Thank you. We have a motion by Assemblymember Wilson. Leave a second from Assemblymember Nguyen. Madam Secretary, please call the roll.

Item number nine, AB 1163. The motion is due. Past appropriations. Petrie-Norris? Aye. Petrie-Norris aye. Dixon not voting. Baines? Davies not voting. Nguyen? Aye. Nguyen aye. Rodriguez? Aye. Rodriguez aye. Wilson aye.

All right, four-zero. That Bill is out. Thank you, Assembly Member. Thank you. And with that, I believe that concludes the business on our file. One moment. All right, that does conclude the business on our file. We are going to go ahead and close the roll on the consent fil six-zero.

The consent file, which is six-zero. On AB 437, which is four-zero. Item nine, AB 1163, file item nine, which is four-zero. And lastly, file item 12, AB 159 six-zero. With that, our business for today's hearing of the Assembly's Committee on Accountability and Administrative Review is concluded, and we are adjourned. Good job.