Assembly Floor

The Assembly is now in session. Assemblymember Pellerin notices the absence of a quorum. Sergeants in arms will prepare the chamber and bring in the absent Members. The Clerk will call the roll.

[Roll Call]

We are ready to begin our session for the day. A quorum is present. We ask our guests and visitors in the rear of the chamber and in the gallery to please stand for the prayer. Today's prayer will be offered by our Assembly chaplain, Imam Yasir Khan. Imam Yasir.

In the name of God, the most gracious, the most merciful, good and gracious God, we embark upon a new year with hearts full of hope. We hope for a new age of peace. We hope for an increase of faith which opens us to the sacredness of all you have made. We hope for an increase of love to quell the fires of hatred. Grant us a fuller share in the gift of your spirit, which is strong, loving and wise. Give us strength to face the challenges, to face the challenges before us with courage and patience. Give us a loving spirit so that compassion for our fellow human beings and their deepest concerns may find its rightful place in our deliberations.

Give us wisdom, discernment and good judgment so that we may serve what is to the best interest and common good of all people. May 2023 be a year of miracles, time of peace, a vision of faith, and an outpouring of love. Amin

We ask our guests and visitors to remain standing and join us in the flag salute. Please join some of Nguyen as she leads us in the flag salute.

I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America and to the Republic for which it stands, one nation under God, indivisible, with liberty, justice for all.

You may be seated. Reading of the previous day's journal.

Assembly Chamber Sacramento Wednesday, November 302022. Pursuant to the provisions of Joint Rule 59, the following Assembly journal for the 2021-22

Mr. Flora seconds that the reading of the previous day's journal be dispensed with. Presentations and petitions there are none. Introductions and references of bills will be referred. Reports of committees will be deemed read and amendments deemed adopted. Messages from the Governor, there are none. Messages from the Senate? There are none. Moving to motions and resolutions, the absences for the day for illness are Assemblymember Chen, Assemblymember Muratsuchi and absence for personal business. Assemblymember Petrie Norris and Majority Leader Reyes, you are recognized for your procedural motions.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I request unanimous consent to suspend Assembly Rule 45.5 to allow Assemblymember Gipson to speak on an adjournment in memory today

Without objection. Such shall be the order.

I request unanimous consent to suspend Assembly Rule 118 A to allow Assembly Members Rubio, Patterson and Wallace and Schiavo to have guests and photographers on the floor today

without objection. So shall be the order. And Assembly Member Rubio, you are recognized at your desk for your introductions.

Thank you. Mr. Speaker, I have the honor of introducing Asusena Maldonado, who is the founder of Latinas Golfers Association. They're going on their 15th year, and they empower women to use golf as a business tool, and she's here with me today. Asusena, she is an amazing inspiration to a lot of not just Latina women, but women in General. She has taught many, many women the art of golf so that we are not afraid of competing with the gentleman on the golf course.

Welcome, Ms. Maldonado and Assemblywoman Schivo, you're recognized for your guest introduction.

Good afternoon. I would like to introduce my daughter, Sophia Johnson, who is here with me today. She is not quite in school yet, so it's bring your daughter to work day the whole week. And I just want to acknowledge that my daughter has been through a lot with her mom on this journey and making a big sacrifice to change schools and be with me here, which I'm very excited that we can be together.

I know a lot of folks in the room have to make the sacrifice of leaving their kids in the district and how hard that is. And so I'm very happy I get to see my daughter every day, but I know that she's got some trepidations about starting a new school and making new friends and is bravely going forward with me on this journey. So I thank you for sharing the space with her today, and I'm grateful for her being the brave, amazing kid that she is. So thank you.

And for our newest colleague, Assemblymember Wallis, you are recognized at your desk for your introduction.

This is my first time. Bear with me here, but sounds like you can hear me now. I am honored to be joined on the floor by my lovely wife, Mrs. Desiree Wallis. She took school off to be here with us today and just really appreciate her throughout the last 10 months and look forward to continuing to have her by my side over these next two years. Thank you Members.

Welcome to the Assembly. And Assembly Member Joe Patterson, you are recognized at your desk for your introductions.

Oh, thank you very much. I have with me two of my four children, so 50% of them who, they're out of school this week and my wife's traveling and was not expecting them to bring them on the floor, but appreciate everybody allowing me to have my son, Ethan, nine, and my daughter Andy, seven, having a great time here on the Assembly floor with me. Thank you very much.

Welcome, family, to the Assembly. Members, I'd like to recognize in the back of the chamber, we have our Attorney General and former Member of this house, Rob Bonta. Members, we have no business on the daily file today, so we will be moving to adjournments in memory. Members, I'll be asking that you give your respectful attention to those granted prior mission to speak on their adjournments in memory. And Assembly Member Gipson, you're recognized at your desk for your adjournment in memory.

Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker and Members, thank you very much. I rise to ask this body to adjourn in memory of someone who I've known all her life, and that's my sister. Rosie Gipson was born on July 14 to the proud parents of Ed and Opal Gipson and with three other siblings. I'm so honored to have three amazing sisters, Deborah, Rosie, and also Deidre. Rosie contracted cancer, and we found out about it. She was in stage four, dealing with cancer.

And I spoke to her Doctor, and her Doctor said, with the kind of cancer she has, we'll give her 10 years. I'm selfish. I wanted more because my sister was my road dog. She was my partner. She was my closest friend. We grew up together, and we graduated from school, from elementary school, junior high school, and high school. So she was with me every juncture. I believe I even changed her diaper as being the year under me. But we were very, very close.

On October the 18th of 2022, my sister transitioned while in the hospital, and we found out she had a brain tumor. That was not part of the equation. It was not part of the equation. And then a bacterial infection, and it couldn't treat both at the same time. And she said to all of us, because she was able to talk, no pain, no pain. No pain. And so that rocked our world.

My sister was very active, and she was supposed to have been with me and all of us. With all of your families on December the fifth, she was supposed to set right between you and I as we took our oath of office. And I know that she. Even though she wasn't with us spiritually, I mean, physically, she was with us spiritually. And I remember being in her room, and I'm a man of faith, and we pray when we're in trouble.

My mother and father taught us to do everything that we need to do, and the first thing we do is pray. And we prayed in the hospital room for my sister. And she said, as I close, she said, in Jesus name, in Jesus name, and in Jesus name. But she also said that she didn't want to be in any pain. And, see, I'm selfish. I want her to stay and live a long, prosperous life.

But as I was praying for one thing, she was praying for something else. Understand what I just said. As I was praying for her to stay here, she was praying to go home.

And I remember a pastor at Sharon Runner's funeral, Sharon Runner, a former state Senator, at her funeral that I attended because I was close to the Runner family, her pastor said that cancer was the vehicle, the transportation port towards heaven, and that gave me and my family a little constellation that she is in heaven. And so even though we said our goodbyes on November the fifth, I still struggle, even while on this floor, to keep her memory alive.

And as I conclude and ask this body, my colleagues, my new colleagues and previous colleagues, to adjourn in memory. You didn't know Rosie, but Rosie was a full of life. She was the life of the party in a very respectful way, because she was a lady in every sense of the word.

We fought like brothers and sisters, but the assurance that I had is knowing that every day, before she even got in the hospital bed, I would speak to her on the phone around 05:00 or 5:15 in the morning. And before we conclude our conversation, we said, I love you, because that's what our parents taught us.

No matter what the day went like, no matter what your problem may have been, you always tell your loved ones, your family Members, how much you love them, because you never know when that may be the last time that you're able to utter those words. So I have no regrets. I have released her, but it's still hard. And I want to thank this body for those of you who knew what I was going through for your prayers, your text messages, your calls.

Thank you, Mr. Gipson and Majority Leader Reyes, you're recognized at your desk.

That gave me and was the wind beneath my wings for me and my family. So I would ask this body to do one or two things. If you have an odd against your brother and sister, fix it today, because you never know. Tomorrow is not promised. And the second thing is, keep me and my family in prayers that we still go through this situation. Thank you, Members.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I, too, rise and ask that we adjourn in the memory of Rosie Gipson. I didn't know Rosie, but I knew her brother, and she was a constituent of mine. And every time my colleague would come into town, which was often, especially during the end, just to hear his voice and to know that he was right there with his sister all the way through was for me. It taught me so much. But on top of that, it reminded me about his faith.

It wasn't just faith on the surface. It was faith that was so deep rooted, and it was faith that was shared with his sister. And just to hear this from him, I learned so, so much, not only about Rosie, but also about him. And I join in asking that we adjourn in the memory of Rosie Gipson.

Thank you, Ms. Reyes. Members, please bring the names to the desk to be printed in the journal. All requests to adjourn in the memory will be deemed read and printed in the journal. We are moving to announcements. Members, please wish a happy belated birthday to Assembly Member Irwin, who celebrated yesterday. And schedule is as follows. Thursday, January 5. There's floor session tomorrow at 09:00 a.m. Seeing and hearing no further business, I'm ready to entertain a motion to adjourn. Majority Leader Reyes moves, and Mr. Gallagher seconds that this house stands adjourned until Thursday, January 5, at 09:00 a.m. The quorum call is lifted.