Senate Floor

Madam Secretary, please call the roll.

Allen, Alvarado-Gil, Archuleta, Ashby, Atkins, Becker, Blakespear, Bradford, Caballaro, Cortese, Dahle, Dodd, Durazo, Eggman, Glazer, Gonzalez, Grove, Hurtado, Jones, Laird, Limon, McGuire, Menjivar, Min, Newman, Nguyen, Niello, Ochoa Bogh, Padilla, Portantino, Roth, Rubio, Seyarto, Skinner, Smallwood-Cuevas, Stern, Umberg, Wahab, Wiener, Wilk.

Members, a quorum is present. Would the Members and our guests beyond the rail and in the gallery please rise? We will be led in prayer this morning by our chaplain Sister Michelle Gorman after which, please remain standing as we will be led in the Pledge of Allegiance by Senator Archuleta.

And let us remember that we are always in God's presence. Yesterday we celebrated International Women's Day. The poet Audrey Lorde asks what are the words you do not yet have? What do you need to say? For it is not difference which immobilizes us but silence. Loving and merciful God, we ask you to give to the women of our time the courage to speak our truth, the strength to persevere the faith, to believe in ourselves beyond all systems and institutions.

So that your face on earth may be seen in all its beauty. So that women and men become whole, so that our world can reflect our love and care for all creation. We ask this in your name. Amen.

Senators, ladies and gentlemen guests in the gallery please place your hand over your heart as we honor the men and women who serve our great country. I pledge of allegiance to the flag. One nation under God, indivisible with liberty and justice for all.

Members, we're going to move on to privileges of the floor. Senator Hurtado at the majority leader's desk.

Thank you.

Senator Hurtado, the floor is yours.

Thank you. Good morning, colleagues. I rise this morning to introduce Members from various Central Valley economic development centers. We are truly grateful for their work in California and I ask you now to join me in giving them a warm Senate welcome.

Senators, who would like to join the group for a group photo? Now would be a good time. We want to thank the EDCs for being here with us today. You do extremely important work for all of us. Members are going to move on to messages from the Governor will be deemed red. Messages from the Assembly will be deemed red. Reports of committee will be deemed red and amendments adopted. Members are going to move on to motions, resolutions and notices. Senator, Sayardo.

Thank you. Madam President, I would like to move file item 17 SCR 28 to the inactive file. Thank you.

So ordered. Members moving on to consideration of the daily filed the second reading file.

Please read Senate Joint Resolution One.

Moving on to Senate. Third reading Senator Ashby file item number 13 at the majority leader's desk.

Thank you. Madam President. Excuse me.

I forgot. We need to read the file. Our reading of the file.

Senate concurrent Resolution 29 by Senator Ashby relative to Women in Construction Week The.

Floor is yours, Senator.

No problem. Thank you so much. I rise today to present Senate concurrent Resolution 29, which declares March 5 through March 11 as women in construction Week. As a Member of the Legislative Women's Caucus and amid Women's History Month, I'm proud to declare the Legislature's support for programs and policies that promote an equitable workforce for women. SCR 29 celebrates women workers as an essential component of the construction industry and encourages policymakers to enact legislation that will increase their presence in the workforce.

In the construction industry, women face many gender related barriers to entering and staying in the workforce therefore being excluded from apprenticeship opportunities that lead to meaningful careers with family supporting wages. Women currently occupy 10% of all apprenticeships and less than 3% of construction trade jobs nationally. Despite facing severe underrepresentation, women in the construction sector earn, on average 95% of what their male counterparts make which is much better than the average in other industries.

By comparison, at the national level across all professions white women in the United States earn only 79 cents of what their male counterparts make. Hispanic women have the largest wage gap at their male counterparts and black women make, on average, sixty four cents per dollar to their male counterparts. SCR 29 recognizes that California can meet its infrastructure goals by acknowledging women as an untapped resource to help close the skilled labor gap.

We know there is an enormous need for laborers in California and we have the opportunity to educate and inspire women to pursue rewarding career opportunities in the construction and trades. I have with me a couple of hard hats. One of my favorite is the groundbreaking hard hat for the Golden One Center here in Sacramento. And I'll come back later to acknowledge some special guests, madam President.

But right now, I'd like to just ask the Senate to acknowledge that women can and do thrive in construction and that we have a lot of wonderful people here who support this Senate resolution and I ask for your aye vote. Thank you.

Is there any discussion or debate on this resolution? Any discussion or debate saying none? Please call the rule.

Allen, aye. Alvarado-Gil, aye. Archuleta, aye. Ashby, aye. Atkins. Becker, aye. Blakespear, aye. Bradford, aye. Caballaro, aye. Cortese, aye. Dahle, aye. Dodd, Durazo, aye. Eggman, aye. Glazer, aye. Gonzalez, aye. Grove, aye. Hurtado, aye. Jones, aye. Laird, aye. Limon, aye. McGuire, aye. Menjivar, aye. Min, aye. Newman, aye. Nguyen, aye. Niello, aye. Ochoa Bogh, aye. Padilla, aye. Portantino, aye. Roth, aye. Rubio, aye. Seyarto, aye. Skinner, aye. Smallwood-Cuevas, aye. Stern, Umberg, aye. Wahab, aye. Wiener, aye. Wilk, aye.

I rayes 37 no. Zero. The resolution is adopted. Now for introduction.

Thank you, Madam President. In conjunction with SCR 29, we are joined by my friend Allison Otto. Allison is the President of Auto Construction. She's with us today on the floor. She's a leader in the construction industry and someone that I've been very fortunate to work with in my time on the Sacramento City Council. We built Sacramento's only Olympic size pool together just about a year ago. So she is a great friend, she's amazing and she is a force of nature in the construction industry.

I would also like to note that there are over 100 women in the gallery with us today, including Mary Tykert. Mary is the chairwoman of the contractor state licensing Board and has been a pivotal person in the construction industry, particularly as it relates to supporting women in the workforce. So thank you to Mary.

Thank you to my friend Allison Otto for being here on the floor with us today and to all the women in the gallery who made the trip to Sacramento to be in the Capitol with us to celebrate Women in Construction Week. Thank you.

Senators that would like to join in a photo. Now would be a good time if you'd like to take a photo with her. A big Senate welcome to those in the gallery. Thank you very much for being here today and celebrating with us. We're going to move on to committee announcements. Committee announcements. Senator Laird.

Thank you. Madam President, budget Subcommittee one on education will meet at Room 2100 in the swing space upon adjournment.

Very good. Senator Becker.

Thank you. The Budget Subcommittee on Natural Resources, environmental Protection and Energy will be meet in room 2200 in the O Street building 20 minutes after the adjournment.

Very good. Senator Menjivar.

Budget Subcommittee number three will be meeting 15 minutes after the conclusion of the session in room 1021.

Senator Durazo, we're checking to see if everybody's awake. Room 1200. Senator Durazo.

Senate Budget Five will be meeting in room 112 ten minutes after we session conclude in session.

Very good. Senator Padilla.

Thank you, Madam President. Senate Budget sub number four will convene here in the Capitol room one one three upon adjournment.

Very good. Members, we're going to move on to motions and resolutions. Now is the time for the adjourn in memories. Senator Gonzalez.

Thank you. Madam President and Members. Today I rise to adjourn in the memory of Stanley Eugene Poe, a cherished constituent in my district. Stanley was a prominent figure in Long Beach. In fact, he was lovingly known as Mr. Preservation and was highly regarded for his work in preserving the city's cultural heritage.

He was born February 21 in Watsonville, California, moved to LA County when he was only three years old, served as an army paratrooper and then taught for over 37 years at LA USD, and then met his lovely wife Maureen at Cal State Dominguez Hills as they both were getting their teaching credentials. He's also written two books. Naples, a History in Words and Pictures, as well as Naples, the City of Red Tiled Roofs the first hundred years.

All in all, Stanley loved Long Beach and deeply loved preservation. As mentioned, he served as the President of the Long Beach Heritage Board for three terms an organization dedicated to preserving and promoting the city's historic architecture, neighborhoods and cultural landmarks, such as our beloved Bembridge House and Queen Mary. In this role, he worked tirelessly to ensure that the Long Beach history was celebrated and remembered and that future generations would have the opportunity to experience it.

I know I often talk to him many, many times about our history and I will certainly miss him. I respectfully ask that we adjourn in his memory and offer our sincerest condolences to his family and of course, his Long Beach friends. Thank you, Madam President.

Please bring his name to the desk so he can be appropriately memorialized by the Senate. Want to ask all Members to please cease their discussions. We are doing adjourn in memories and out of respect. It's important to do so. Senator Weiner.

Thank you very much. Madam President, colleagues, today I rise in great sadness to ask that the Senate adjourn a memory of Tom Shea Senior, who peacefully passed away on Sunday at the age of 91 in San Francisco, surrounded by his family. Tom Shea, Senior was a Member of the San Francisco Board of Supervisors from 1986 to 1997.

He was San Francisco's first citywide elected Chinese American in the history of San Francisco, and he was only the third Member of the Board of Supervisors of Asian American Ancestry. As Chairman of the Board of Supervisors Budget Committee, he was credited for helping San Francisco maneuver through some very, very difficult fiscal years. And he also paved the way for other Asian Americans to enter San Francisco politics. Tom was born in 1931 in Beijing.

In 1948, his family immigrated to Taiwan, and from there in 1951, he came to the United States at the age of 19 with only $400 and a suitcase. Tom attended City College of San Francisco. He received his Master's of Architecture from UC Berkeley. As an architect, he designed and built more than 1600 Low to moderate income homes designated for elderly San Franciscans.

He designed the Western Park apartments in San Francisco that were recognized with the annual design award by the National American Institute of architects in Washington, DC. He also designed and built the Mandarin tower on Stockton Street. He was appointed to various city commissions, typically as the first Chinese American both in the 1970s and 1980s. He was very active in the state and National Democratic Party. He was appointed as the first Chinese American to the San Francisco Arts Commission.

He served as the first Chinese American commissioner on the San Francisco Police Commission and was a commissioner on the San Francisco Public Utilities Commission. In the early 1980s, he served on multiple city and regional commissions, including chairman of the Peninsula Corridor Joint Powers Board, caltrain from the Golden Gate Bridge Board of Directors and the Metropolitan Transportation Commission. He was the founding National Chair of the Asian Pacific Caucus of the Democratic National Committee and he served as a DNC Executive board Member.

He was also Vice chair of the California Democratic Party under then Chair Nancy Pelosi. He served on endless nonprofits and community serving organization board of directors. He was always described as a class act and an incredibly decent and honorable man. Tom is survived by his wife of 63 years, Jeanette. His sons, Jackson, Franklin and Tom Shea Jr. And his grandchildren Nicholas, Cameron, Emma, Jack and Ryder. Rest in peace. Tom and I ask that we adjourn in his memory.

Senator Weiner, please bring his name forward to the desk so that the Senate may appropriately memorialize him. Senator Archuleta.

Thank you, Madam President. As we fill the gallery with so many women, strong leaders of the future, I'd like to share with you a strong woman who was in my life for a good number of years. I rise today to adjourn in memory of my dearest, close friend, Irma Acosta. Irma served as the Executive of the Montebello Board of Realtors for over 40 years and was currently the CEO and Executive vice President of the board.

Irma Acosta opened doors for women throughout the region in real estate, and she will be deeply missed. Under Irma's leadership. The Montebello Board of Realtors received numerous accolades from the California Association of Realtors and the National Association of Realtors. Irma herself was the recipient of several awards during her career, including recognition as Woman of the Year for her personal and professional achievements in association management throughout the region and the state of California.

She was frequently quoted in the press as known for producing high quality association events as well as premier educational content for realtors and affiliate Members. Irma was able to put people together, and we've all seen the Oscars. You can imagine the award ceremonies. She would do this and we would have hundreds upon hundreds of people at the award ceremonies.

She continued to do this for years and years, maintaining the positions throughout the region where the Montebello Board of Realtors had over 500 Members consistently for over those 40 years. Because of her leadership, most notably Irma mentored careers, a multitude of real estate professionals and business owners in the Montebello area, many of whom credit her guidance for their success.

In 2000, the achievement of the Montebello Board of Realtors inspired the creation of the National Association of Hispanic Real Estate Professionals, known as NARAB, of which she was a founding board Member. Along with her son, Irma lived in my district in Hacienda Heights with her husband, Ernie. She's survived by three children gary, Acosta, yvette Acosta, Spina and Delia Acosta. And they will be together with their four grandchildren and one great grandchild to pray and remember Irma.

For these reasons and many, many more, I journey in the memory of Irma Acosta and I thank you for your time, Madam President.

Thank you, Senator Archuleta. Make sure that we get her name here at the desk so that she can be appropriately memorialized by the Senate if there is no other business. Senator Grove, the desk is clear.

Thank you, Madam President. The Senate will be in recess until 03:00 P.m. When the adjournment motion is made. Colleagues, one of my favorite scriptures is this is the day the Lord has made rejoice and be glad in it. That means go home, have a wonderful day, a wonderful weekend, and we will see you back Monday the 13th at 02:00 P.m..

The Senate will be in recess until 3330, at which time the adjournment motion will be made. We will reconvene monday, March 13, at 02:00 P.m..