Senate Floor

Secretary will call the roll. Alvarado Gill. Archuleta, Ashby, Atkins, Becker, Blakespear, Bradford, Caballero, Cortese, Dahle, Durazo, Eggman, Glazer, Gonzalez, Grove, Hurtado, Jones, Laird, Limon, Maguire, Menjivar Min, Newman, Nguyen, Niello, Ochoa Bogh, Padilla, Portantino, Roth, Rubio, Seyarto, Skinner, Smallwood-Cuevas, Stern, Umberg, Wahab, Wiener, Wilk. Quorum is present with the Members and our guests beyond the rail. Please rise.

We'll be led in the prayer this afternoon by our chaplain, Sister Michelle Gorban after which please remain standing for the Pledge of Allegiance which will be led by Senator Grove.

So we bring ourselves into God's presence again and since tomorrow is Valentine's Day I thought I would offer the following little poem by Rumi. It's called relationship booster. Here is a relationship booster that is guaranteed to work every time your spouse or significant other says something stupid. Make your ayes light up as if you had heard something brilliant. See if that works. And so, gracious God, source of all love, we trust that your ayes light up at the very thought of each one of us. Amen.

Colleagues, please join me in saluting our flag. I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America.

Indivisible with liberty and justice for all.

Members, we're going to start out with privileges of the floor and I'd like to start out with Senator Bradford. Oh, wow.

Thank you, Mr. President. In conjunction with Black History Month, it is an honor and my pleasure to introduce in the gallery the honorees of this year's Legislative Black Business Brunch which was hailed earlier today. These business leaders have been chosen by the twelve Members of the Legislative Black Caucus as well as four at large businesses selected by Jay King, the President of the California Black Chamber of Commerce for their commitment to their service and professionalism.

The annual legislative Business Brunch provides an opportunity for us to come together and to recognize and honor black owned businesses and allies creating jobs and opportunities throughout the state of California and help closing the racial wealth gap and empowering local communities. Thank you for your positive impact that you have made in your communities and to the state of California, congratulations and happy Black History Month. Members, please welcome our honorees in the gallery to the California State Senate.

Next up on the privileges of the floor, we're going to start with Senator Skinner. We have some Irvine Foundation awardees and Senator Skinner will kick us off from the majority leader's desk. Thank you, Mr. President. Members, today we have the opportunity to recognize seven outstanding Californians who are honored by the James Irvine Foundation for their innovative solutions to issues across our state including tribal sovereignty and family welfare criminal justice reform and human rights food insecurity, and climate change.

And I have the distinct honor to introduce four of these seven Foundation Leadership Award recipients. First is a pair blair Cruiser and Delia Sharp from the California Tribal Families Coalition. They are dedicated to advancing tribal sovereignty by unifying tribes in California to protect our children and families and their children and families. It was founded by tribal leaders in 2017 and the tribal families coalition advocates for changes on behalf of the tribes.

Also legal counsel for tribes and child welfare cases and supports the mission of protecting and promoting health, safety and welfare of tribal children and families. And under Blair and Delia's leadership, CTFC has helped reform over 50 sections of our California welfare and institutions code and secured millions of dollars in state funding to support tribal family welfare. They are filling a critical gap in the child welfare system and it's why I'm truly honored to stand here with them today.

Please join me in celebrating blair and Delia's good work is Mine MAFOOD from Oakland in my district, and he's being recognized for his valiant efforts to address climate change by helping businesses donate surplus food and reduce waste. Mine grew up in Syria and he built relationships with his neighbors by delivering extra food that his mom had prepared to those who needed it.

He later moved to the Bay Area and he was shocked to see how much food we wasted, as well as the high rates of poverty and food insecurity. Notably, one in five Californians, nearly 8 million people are experiencing food insecurity. Meanwhile, we Californians throw away about 6 million tons of surplus food every year. In 2016, Mine founded replate replate's technology, dispatches drivers to collect and redistribute surplus food from participating businesses to community organizations.

He and his team have successfully diverted surplus food to people in need rather than seeing it sent to landfills or compost piles. And by doing so, they've prevented the production of more than 3600 tons of CO2. Please join me in congratulating mine MAFOOD and his organization, replay the next awardee I'm presenting, and the final one I'll present is Dorsey Nunn, a friend of mine and a resident of Oakland who runs legal services for prisoners with children.

Dorsey fights for dignity, opportunity and freedom for people affected by incarceration. Dorsey knows personally that completing a prison sentence does not guarantee the end of restrictions to freedom, especially for people of color and workers in Low wage jobs. Today, one in five Californians have a criminal record, so finding employment and housing is a struggle. Dorsey also understands how deeply our families and communities can be set back by just one person in that family's involvement in the criminal justice system.

As Executive Director of legal services for prisoners with children and the co founder of all of us or none, dorsey is a recognized movement leader. He is best known for his leadership with all of us or none and the ongoing ban the box campaign to give formerly incarcerated people much better chance for getting jobs and providing for their families. For Dorsey's commitment to ensuring opportunity and improving the lives of those formally incarcerated and their families, I ask you to join me in congratulating this remarkable leader.

Skinners, did you have something? And now I hand it over to Senator yes. So congratulations to those awardees. Senator Cortese is next.

Thank you, Mr. President. Thank you, Senator Skinner. It's my honor to introduce Saru Jairaman who leads one fair wage. For more than two decades, Saru has been leading the charge to raise wages and improve the working conditions of service workers. She knows that when employees receive good wages, they are more likely to stay in their jobs and perform effectively. Simple changes to workplace practices can go a long way in helping to create an inclusive, equitable workplace.

When the pandemic struck, millions of workers in Low wage jobs faced dangerous working conditions or lost their jobs. Drawing on her decades of experience advocating for workers, saru jumped into action. In just four months, she raised $24 million to support service workers and quickly mobilized tens of thousands of people. She helped lead an emerging and unprecedented new worker rights movement in California and nationwide.

As millions of workers increasingly reject Low wage jobs that don't allow them to support their families to get ahead, saru is marshaling their energy and finding new ways to advocate for and ensure dignity for California's workers. Just last year, she successfully led the passage of legislation to raise minimum wages for Tip workers in Michigan and Washington, DC. Securing raises for nearly 715,000 workers. There's a lot of zeros at the end of these numbers.

And now she has her sights set on raising California's minimum wage to better reflect the state's rising cost of living for advancing economic mobility for millions of workers. Please join me in congratulating. Saru jaya Raman one fair wage.

Next up will be Senator Roth.

Thank you, Mr. President. As another of our 2023 Irvine Award recipients today, please allow me to introduce Dr. Linda Bentriglia Navalette. This inspiring leader is transforming language and literacy education for early childhood English learners across our great state. Roughly 40% of the students in California public schools speak a language other than English at home. And while many of those students are fluent in English, more than 1 million are English Language Learners or emergent bilinguals.

While working in underresourced schools, Linda witnessed how children learning English often fall behind. She knew that to reduce student opportunity gaps, children needed early accelerated English instruction to set them up for success in school. Taught with methods outside the traditional memorization practices, Linda created Project Moving Forward and its Rule of Three curriculum, which includes three steps rehearse, analyze, and produce and combines analytical thinking, hand gestures and movement, and peer interactions to build language and literacy skills.

The approach is reinforced at the student's home with extensive digital content and video lessons, and an animated teacher that engages the entire family. Linda's innovative Rule of Three curriculum has proven to accelerate language and literacy attainment for early childhood English learners. In one study, 76% of Project Moving Forward students met target reading levels, compared to 5% of non participants. Based on the overwhelming success of the program, the Rule of Three curriculum is now used in over 800 classrooms. Interestingly, dr.

Navalate's work was motivated in part by her experience teaching educators in South Africa and an inspiring interaction with activist and politician Nelson Mandela. He encouraged her efforts to keep and to cultivate independent thinking and told Dr. Navarrette to keep moving forward. Well, she certainly has done that and much, much more. Colleagues, please join me in welcoming Dr. Linda Bentrikda Navarette of Project Moving Forward, the 2023 Irvine Award Recipient.

Thank. Our final presenter today will be Senator Weiner.

Thank you, Mr. President. Colleagues, our next award recipient is Chris Contreras, who's receiving this award for his pioneering work of helping people exit homelessness through rapid housing placements and supportive services. Chris knows, as do each and every one of us, that too many people in San Francisco, LA. And statewide struggle with housing and security, and that stable housing is key for one's health and ability to advance economically.

As the Chief Program Officer of Brilliant Corners, Chris oversees the Los Angeles Flexible housing subsidy pool in partnership with the LA. County Department of Health Services and other partners. This first of its kind public partnership pairs rental subsidies with tenancy supports and case management services to help LA's most vulnerable populations secure and maintain housing in a more coordinated and streamlined way.

Chris and his team have facilitated permanent supportive housing placements for roughly 10,500 formerly unhoused Angelinos through the Flex Pool, building off of the success of this innovative program in LA. And sometimes good ideas start in LA. And come to San Francisco. It's often the opposite, but sometimes it goes both ways. Brilliant corners has since launched a flex pool in San Francisco in partnership with the San Francisco Department of homelessness and supportive housing, tipping Point community and other partners.

And the program has already achieved tremendous results, helping unhoused or unstably housed San Franciscans find the place to call home. Chris Contreras is exactly the kind of leader that our state needs to solve this unbelievably, complex problem. I want to thank you, Chris, for demonstrating so well how we can, person by person, help our neighbors exit homelessness. Members, please help me show our appreciation to Chris Contreras.

Finally, we'd like to invite all the awardees up for a picture, and any Members who would like to join, please feel free to do so. Yeah, any Members should feel free to join in the picture. We'll get a few more Members up there. Be fun. Nice picture. All right. Congratulations. All right, Members, moving on. Messages from the Governor will be deemed red. Message from the Assembly will be deemed red. Reports of committee will be deemed red and amendments adopted.

Now is the time for motions, resolutions, and notices. First, I have a motion to approve the Senate journals without objection. The Senate journals for February 6, 2023 through February 9, 2023 will be approved as corrected by the minute. Clerk see no other motions. We'll move on to introduction and first reading of bills. Secretary please read. Senate Bill 4214-2242-3424-4254-2642-7428 1st reading will be deemed red. Now, consideration of daily file. We'll have the governor's appointments. First item number one, Senator Grove. Thank you, Mr. President. Colleagues file.

Item number one is a confirmation of James Haskin frank Ramirez to the Building and Trade Standards or excuse me, building Standards Trade Commission, and then Christina Jarame to the State Park and Recreation Commission. These individuals were unanimously approved by the Rules Committee on February 1, and I respectfully ask for your aye vote. Members, any discussion or debate seeing? None. Secretary please call the roll on file item one. Allen. Aye. Alvarado Gill. I Archuleta Ashby. I. Atkins? I. Becker. I. Blakespeare. I. Bradford. I. Caballero? I. Cortezi.

I dally? I. Todd. I. Derazzo? I egman? I glazer? I Gonzalez Grove. I Artado Jones. I. Laird? I. Limon? I. Maguire? I. Menjivar. I. Min? I. Newman. I. Wynn. I. Neelo? I ochoa bogh? I. Padilla? I Portantino? I. Roth? I rubio? I say ARTA. I. Skinner? I smallwood quavoff i. Stern Umberg wahob. I weiner? I wilk? I please call the absent Members. Archuleta Gonzalez, artado stern Umberg ayes are 35. The no's are zero. The appointments are confirmed. Now on to Senate third reading.

We have one item. File item number five. Senator Menjivar ready? Madam Secretary, please read Senate Concurrent Resolution 18 by Senator Menjivar relative to where? Red Day in American Heart Month. Senator Menjivar. Go ahead.

Thank you, President. Members, SCR 18 simply declares February 2023 American Heart Month and recognizes February 3, 2023, as Wear Red Day in California. Thank you to those who wore red on February 2. Heart disease is the leading cause of death in the United States, claiming nearly 700,000 lives a year. And almost half of all American adults have at least one major risk factor for cardiovascular disease. From heart attacks and strokes to high blood pressure, the threat of cardiovascular disease touches almost every family.

While heart disease and stroke can be costly and deadly, they are also often preventable. SCR 18 raises awareness of the importance of the ongoing fight against heart disease and stroke. This resolution also highlights the impact of heart disease among women. Cardiovascular diseases account for one in three deaths nationwide, killing more women than all forms of cancer combined. Because oftentimes the symptoms aren't as obvious in men. And I wanted to share a story.

I was an EMT ER tech in a hospital in my district, and a Latina woman came in. I was called because no one else in the hospital spoke Spanish. I went and the report I was given that she was anxious, she just needed to calm down, and I just need a translator to let her know that someone else would be here with her later. I left the room only for minutes later for there to be a cold blue be called.

When a cold blue is called someone goes into a cardiac arrest or another cardiovascular disease. Go back into the room and she's in full cardiac arrest. Where I performed CPR for what seemed like a day and a half. Unfortunately, we weren't able to resuscitate her, and she died. Again, I mentioned cardiovascular disease are very common in women and aren't often recognized. So SCR 18 brings another awareness to this.

So in recognition of the importance of the ongoing fight against cardiovascular disease, we continue to raise awareness and encourage action by knowing your numbers like your blood pressure numbers. Know your family history. Is it common in your family? Meet with your healthcare provider to understand your risk and learn to recognize the sign and symptoms of heart attack and stroke. So I ask for your support and an aye vote on SCR 18.

Thank you. Senator Durazo.

Thank you. I rise in support of SR 18 and American Heart Month and thank the author for raising this important issue. The author highlights that women, especially Black and Hispanic women, are disproportionately impacted by heart disease and stroke and research shows that attacks are on the rise in younger women. According to the American Heart Association, on average, Hispanic women are likely to develop heart disease ten years earlier than non-Hispanics. The disease ten years earlier not their awareness of it. And only one in three Hispanic women are aware that heart disease is their number one killer. I hope that this resolution will serve as a vehicle to empower the women of California as we advocate for our health. Urge your support so that we can continue to work on this issue.

Any other discussion or debate? I see none. This item is eligible for unanimous roll call. Is there any objection to using unanimous roll call? I see none. The ayes are at 35. The noes are zero. The measure passes. Now we will return to motions and resolutions. Now is the time for adjourn in memory and we will start out we have three today. We'll start out with Senator Wiener.

Thank you, Mr. President. Colleagues, I rise tragically to ask that the Senate adjourn in memory of Stephen Lau who peacefully passed away on January 10 at the age of 92 in San Francisco. Mr. Lau was born on November 15, 1930. He was a native of ToiSan in China where most of the first-generation Chinese immigrants in San Francisco come from. During World War II at the age of 18, he moved to Hong Kong and later joined the Marine Branch of the Royal Hong Kong Police.

In 1964, Stephen, his wife, and his son immigrated to California where he worked diligently to support and raise his family. He spent most of his life in the San Francisco Bay Area. He actively participated in community activities, advocated for community issues, and promoted friendly exchanges between American and Chinese individuals. He served admirably in leadership positions at the US-China Exchange Council, the American Traditional Medical and Traumatology Association, and the Lau Family Association.

Stephen also volunteered in many local elections, including mayoral races, supervisor races, and was even involved in my own race. And he actively practiced his right to participate in democracy, and he cared about it deeply. Stephen loved life. He loved traveling. He was a very gregarious person who had many, many friends. And his loss is deeply felt in our community. Stephen Lau was preceded in death by his wife, Jane Loo. He survived by his son David, his daughter-in-law Mary, and his grandsons Alex and Jonathan. He will be deeply missed, and I ask that the Senate adjourn in his memory.

Thank you. Please bring his name up so we can be properly memorialized.

Thank you.

Next, we have Senator Allen.

Members. How can you tell how much a dragon weighs? Well, depends on who he's eaten that day. How can you get rid of varnish? Well, take away the r. What did the working horse get every Friday? A paycheck. My first introduction to Dr. Steve Marcy was in 7th grade pre-algebra.

My teacher with his wonderful but wild middle school math with pizzazz worksheets that I worked through Dutifully every day, honing my pre-algebra skills, working through these worksheets, filling in the answers into a special code, only to be rewarded with terrible gems such as, when does a farmer go to a drugstore? When he needs a farm assist. Well, yeah. This wonderful man, good-natured, somewhat earnest, lover of puns and of good and bad humor, was an extraordinary teacher at Lincoln Middle School where I attended since 1971, 36 years as a teacher. Many, many students all over the country, actually, from my generation, know these worksheets from middle school math with pizzazz because they sold everywhere and helped to enlighten and enliven and enrich the learning experience for young middle schoolers in classrooms all over the country.

He was a selfless person who devoted himself to the classroom and also devoted himself to our beloved Boy Scout troop, Troop Two in Santa Monica, a position he served long after his son, my own patrol leader, had graduated from the troop. 32 years leading Troop Two, overseeing the training of thousands of scouts and the graduation of 222 Eagle Scouts, myself among them, over his 32 years leading the troop. And those troops went on to save literally dozens of lives because of our first aid training, become leaders in their communities, to become better men and better citizens because of their time under his leadership. He was an organizational genius. Not just planning massive camp trips all over the country and hiking that we used to do, but also just the day-to-day running of the troop, managing all of the energy of those boys, but also all their parents. Just the other night, I was talking with his son about how he had the skill set to run a major corporation.

But he devoted his life and his considerable talents to bettering youth. And it's so hard to underestimate sorry, so hard to overestimate how many lives that he made better. The leadership example that he showed to us through it was always so centered in integrity, the deep love for storytelling, for camaraderie, for the outdoors. It was also infectious, and it made us want to keep coming back for more.

So while being honored as a local hero in 2013, Dr. Marcy said, you can teach children that they have the power to do something great, a mission that he embodied as a teacher, as a scoutmaster, and, of course, as a family man, a father, grandfather, and great grandfather. I'm close to two of his kids, Matt and Jenny. I grew up with them. He's got two also survived by two other children, Jasmina and Andy, and his wonderful wife Janice, who was my college counselor at Santa Monica High School.

So his memory lives on not just through them, but also literally thousands and thousands of lives in our community that he altered and helped for the better. And so we can only hope that we know that he's smiling down on us. We just had the memorial service on Saturday. I was really honored to speak there. We know he was smiling down on us.

And from somewhere over the rainbow we can only hope that he's up there following his own advice that he gave to us students many years ago in middle school math with pizzazz when he asked us students on one of those worksheets about what one should eat somewhere over the rainbow. And, of course, the answer is way up pie. So I ask you to join me today in striving to emulate at least a bit of Dr. Marcy's selfless commitment to community and to the betterment of youth here in the Senate today as we adjourn in his memory. God bless you, Dr. Marcy.

Thank you. Please bring his name up so the Senate can properly memorialize him. Next up, Senator Nguyen.

Thank you. Thank you, Mr. President. Today I rise to ask that we adjourn in memory of Ric Lerma from Garden Grove. Ric was born in Cherry Point, North Carolina, as an only child to parents Vince and Verla Lerma. As a military family, they moved their way across the country, settling down in what he's always considered home, Garden Grove, California. He graduated as an argonaut from Garden Grove High School in 1972.

I'm also a Garden Grove argonaut as well. Studied at Cypress College and started a 50-year career in facility maintenance and cleaning. He started as a janitor and built his own small business. His dedication to Garden Grove, to making Garden Grove a better place for everyone, was seen in his public service as a very active member and served in many, many leadership roles for many of the organizations, including but not limited to the Garden Grove Chamber of Commerce, Garden Grove Strawberry Festival.

The Garden Grove Strawberry Festival, actually, back in the 70s had Robert F. Kennedy as our grand marshal. The Garden Grove Downtown Business Association, the Lions Club, the Keonis Club, and so many, many more. He was also recently honored as the Garden Grove Chamber of Commerce Man of the Year in 2020 and Cypress College Citizen of the Year for Garden Grove in 2017. Last week, I was able to attend Ric's funeral, where over 500 people attended.

All those who have touched Garden Grove from the past to the present and moving on forward all showed up. Lots of them, like myself, flew back home just to attend and make sure that we pay our respect. Ric was actually a very good friend, a supporter, and a mentor. Anytime you want anything or need anything or need to know about card and go, Ric knew where the dead bodies are buried.

So, you know, I just wanted to tell to the Lerma family, especially to his wife Susie, we love Ric, we miss Ric, and he has touched every aspect of Garden Grove for over 40 years. And so we thank them for giving him to us even after he the funeral was last Tuesday, two days after the community put on a blood drive in honor of Ric because when he was in the hospital, he needed a lot of pints of blood.

And that's how the Lermer family and how Ric would want it, is he always remembered to give back. I actually also, when I flew in from Sacramento, went to and tried to give blood as well. But I was actually rejected. Mainly it's because they didn't have the right needles for me. But that's how Ric is. Ric never forgets anybody and is always willing to say yes. He never says no to I don't think he's ever said no to anybody. And he is very quick.

If you call him, it doesn't matter how busy he is, he calls you back. So Susie and to the family, he is survived by his mother, Verla, his wife of 28 years, Susie, and their children, Maria, Richard, Nicole, Jeff, Justin, Danielle, David, Josh, and Vincent, and along with eight grandchildren. I respectfully ask that we adjourn in memory of Ric Lerma a dedicated husband, father, grandfather, and a beloved member of our Garden Grove community who we will truly miss. But he has touched every one of our lives. Thank you.

Thank you. Please bring his name up as well so we can be properly memorialized. If there's no other business, Senator Atkins, the desk is clear.

Mr. President. Thanks so much. Our next floor session is scheduled for Friday, not Thursday, Friday, February 17, 2023, at 9:00 a.m.

The Senate will be in recess until 3:30 p.m. at which time adjournment motion will be made. We'll reconvene Friday, February 17, at 9:00 a.m.