Assembly Floor

The Assembly is now in session. Assembly Member Boerner notices the absence of a quorum sergeant. Armed. Prepare the chambers and call in the absent Members. The Clerk will call the roll.

[Roll Call]

Members, a quorum is present. We ask our guests and our visitors in the gallery and in the rear of the chamber to please stand for the prayer and the pledge. Today's prayer will be offered by our Assembly chaplain, Imam Yasir Khan.

In the name of God, the most gracious, the most merciful, O God, bless us this day as we gather here. Turn our necessities into virtue and do not let pride or ego pollute our spirit or taint any of our words and actions. But let us all, in body and in spirit, be servants of you that doing all things for your pleasure here, we may be partakers of your grace in the hereafter. Amen.

We ask that you remain standing for the flag salute. Please join Assembly Member Jones Sawyer as he leads us in the nation's pledge.

Put your right hand over your heart. Ready? Begin. 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 and justice for all.

Thank you. You may be seated. Reading of the previous day's Journal

Assembly Chamber, Sacramento on Wednesday, May 17, 2023, the Assembly met at 07:00 a.m. The Honorable Juan Corella...

And Mr. Flora seconds. The reading of the previous day's journal will be dispensed with. Presentations and petitions, there are none. Introductions and references of bills will be deferred. 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 personal business, Assembly Members Addis Chen and Essayli and Majority Leader Reyes, you're recognized for your procedural motions.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I request unanimous consent to suspend Assembly Rule 45.5 to allow Assemblymember Bryan 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 Lowenthal, Mathis, Nguyen, Schiavo Ward, and Bauer Kahan to have guests seated at their desks today.

Without objection, such shall be the order.

At the request of the author, please remove item 37, SB 828, 25 Limon, from the consent calendar.

The Clerk will note.

Pursuant to Assembly Rule 96, I request unanimous consent to re refer the following bills to Committee SB 35, Umberg from the Health Committee to the Judiciary Committee SB 497 Smallwood-Cuevas from the labor and Employment Committee to the Judiciary Committee, and then back to the labor and Employment Committee SB 547 Blackspear from the Housing and Community Development Committee to the Agriculture Committee, and then back to the Housing and Community Development Committee.

SB 80 Skinner from the Privacy and Consumer Protection Committee to the Judiciary Committee and then back to the Privacy and Consumer Protection Committee and SB 862 Laird from the Agriculture Committee to the Local Government Committee and the Revenue and Taxation Committee.

Without objection. Such shall be the order.

Members, we have some guest introductions. We will begin with Assemblymember Aguiar Curry. You're recognized at your desk for your guest introductions.

Good morning, everyone. It is with great honor that this morning I would like to honor our Girl Scout troop number 278 from Sacramento. And if you girls would like to stand up and we can wave to you.

And Majority Leader Reyes, you're recognized for your guest introductions.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I've got some Girl Scouts in the House, too, now here in Sacramento. I appreciate you all know from Special Services Sergeant Erica, her daughter Kendall is one of the Members. So when you need those Girl Scout cookies locally, I know some of the parents are selling them, but Erica is always one of those, or Kindle is always one that I'm buying from.

But I've got some very special guests from San Bernardino, from the Girl Scout Troop 76, San Gorgonio Council, Jillian Mendoza and Ava Ferncos. And their family Members. Members, I want to tell you a little bit about them. They recently earned their Silver award through their engagement in the legislative process. Very specifically, they came up to testify on AB 230, which was presented yesterday in the Senate Education Committee. It was an idea they came up with. They presented it to me with medical proof.

They had the doctors, they had the nurses, they had their colleagues. And they presented the idea. We absolutely loved it, introduced it, and they have been here to testify on both occasions in the Assembly Education Committee and now in the Senate Education Committee. Without a doubt, our future leaders are right there in the gallery here and here. And I'd like for you to give them a nice.

Welcome to the California Assembly. And Members, we have a birthday to announce today, a happy early birthday to Assemblymember Alanis, whose birthday is Saturday, June 17. Moving to business on the Daily file. Second reading. The Clerk will read.

Senate bills 360, 727, 250 ,400, 467, 644 with amendments 639, with amendments 551, with amendments 698. And Senate Bill 746 with amendments.

All bills are deemed read. All amendments will be deemed adopted. Moving to third reading. We will begin with file item 28. This is SB 101. Clerk will read.

Senate Bill 101 by Senator Skinner, an act relating to the state budget to take effect immediately, budget bill.

and Senator Ting, you may open on the Bill.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I rise to present the 2023 Legislative Budget Agreement between our House and the Senate. It represents a significant amount of resources, over $227,000,000,000 in General Fund expenditure. But more importantly, with uncertain economic times coming, it also represents a $37 billion Reserve to make sure that when those rainy days come, that we have money set aside for all the core resources that we think are our priorities.

This exercise over this last year has been a real introspective exercise through our Budget Committee to really focus on what is core and what is absolutely paramount and a priority for our budget. This represents an 8% COLA increase for K through 12 education and our community colleges, a 5% COLA increase for our UCs and our CSUs. At the same time, we continue to move closer and closer to healthcare for all. We also are moving towards T-K for all.

So if you think about a budget as a representation of our values, this represents an education first, budget first and foremost. But at the same time, it's a focus on those folks who need our help the most. And how do we give them help? Well, we give them help in healthcare. We give them help with food. We give them help with cash assistance because they need money to pay bills. They need money for housing. This is also a budget where we are helping our transit operators.

We heard loud and clear that during the pandemic, operators up and down the state were really suffering. Ridership was down. We've invested billions and billions of dollars in these operators in every single city, every single county, up and down our state. There's absolutely no reason we should let them fail now.

That doesn't mean that they don't need to be held accountable. That doesn't mean that they don't need to focus more on writers than they need to do a better job on ridership. Absolutely. But at the same time, we're doing our part to make sure that they have the money to dig themselves out of that hole. Childcare. You can't go to work if you don't have childcare. I know that as a father with young children. When I first started here, my oldest was starting kindergarten.

My youngest was two years old. Couldn't have done this job without childcare. Childcare providers haven't got a COLA since 2016. Let me just repeat that. They haven't got a COLA since 2016. At a time when we're having inflation of 8%, 9%, no COLA, that has to stop. And it stops today because this provides a 25% increase. And while that sounds like a lot of money, it just keeps them even based on all the inflation that we faced since 2016.

So it sounds like it's a huge increase. It just keeps their head above water because we've been hearing about childcare providers who've been going under, childcare providers who can't pay their bills, and what happens? That means families have to stay home. They can't go to work, they can't work in our businesses, they can't provide for their families housing and homelessness. Right. It's the biggest issue all up and down the state. We hear about it every single day we're home, every single time we're talking to constituents.

We do 1 billion more dollars for our HAPP program, which again is flexible funding for our counties, our cities, our continuums of care. We also do a billion for next year. On top of that, we added to the May revise another 200 million for affordable housing. So there was money in there for the revise for affordable housing. Another $200 million, sorry, $1.0 million. On top of that. This also is a historic investment in climate. We talk about some of the climate priorities we couldn't fund right.

Anytime you have to make those challenges, we still have record billions dollars. Investments in climate. Climate is still a major priority. It's still a major priority in terms of our ZEVs, our clean air, really looking at a variety of agricultural items in this budget. This is again a huge investment in climate. Again, when I started in that first 12 year class in 2013, our General Fund budget was somewhere, I think it was around 90 or $100 billion. As I mentioned today, this budget here is 227,000,000,000.

It marks a huge comeback from a time when we first got up here almost 12 years ago where the state couldn't pay its bills. We were wondering if we could, frankly, if the state could stay solvent. So this represents an amazing turnaround for us, an amazing opportunity, and also an amazing opportunity to help all the families who really need it. Now, this budget is not done. We still need to work out some final details with the Governor, which we anticipate doing over the next coming days.

We are very, very close. We're not very far apart. I anticipate I'll be presenting the final budget in front of this House very shortly with the three-party agreement. But today I stand before you to ask you to vote for SB 101.

Thank you, Mr. Ting and Assembly Member Vince Fong. You're recognized on the Bill.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. First, let me acknowledge the Budget Chair, my colleague from San Francisco, for leading the Budget Committee for the last seven years, several months longer than I've been in office. And while we've had differences on policy, we have also shared some similar frustrations and challenges. And over the past few years I have served as Vice Chair. I have appreciated his candor and openness as we have worked together I would also like to thank the Budget Committee staff on both sides for their work.

And a special thank you to Joe Shinstock and our great team of Republican budget consultants. Unfortunately, Members, I rise in opposition to SB 101. Now, many of you expected that, but to quote the Governor, I hope you will all be open to a cross-pollination of ideas, especially from my perspective. First, this budget is not complete. An honest assessment of this process will tell you that negotiations, as the chair said, are ongoing on many outstanding issues.

And while this may be touted as an on time budget, it is really only a framework. Today's budget deadline has always been there. But as millions of Californians continue to struggle with a growing list of crises facing the state from an intensifying affordability crisis, housing shortages, rising crime, fentanyl, homelessness, flooding, hospital closures, an insurance crisis now in full view. And the list goes on and on.

The process on how we got here with closed door negotiations, a lack of a budget conference Committee, the lack of transparency, the rush process on major budget and policy decisions, that is not. This is not a process that we should continue to replicate. However, there is fault that lies outside of this body. We have become complacent with a broken budget process. Pass a framework. Then the Governor will engage. We are staring at a $32 billion deficit with revenue numbers still uncertain.

We have a framework based off of risky revenue estimates. According to the Legislative Analyst Office, it is more than likely revenues will come in below the governor's estimates. And should revenues come in lower than estimated, we have a major budget problem. The independent Legislative Analyst Office also warned to not pass a budget with ongoing budget deficits. The Governor's own forecasts show operating budgets that range from $14 to $17 billion per year over the next four years. No amount of budget gimmicks can escape this fact.

How is this an example of fiscal responsibility? As revenues decrease, government spending continues to grow. Only in California can a state take in less revenue, yet spend billions more on government programs. And as we stare down ongoing deficits, this budget still ignores major infrastructure needs while financing misplaced priorities. You have heard me say this many times, water storage, along with modernized conveyance and levee facilities, are a critical part of flood protection. Now we are seeing the consequences of the lack of investment.

Drought stricken communities are now dealing with flooding. Water storage projects that could have stored water to be used for drought as well as provide the means to store floodwater, continue to be trapped in red tape. And it remains mind boggling that there is still not one additional dollar for water storage. In this framework, if sites reservoir were up and running at this very moment, we could have stored as much as 1.5 million acre feet.

That's almost 500 quadrillion gallons of water, water that could have been stored this year. But instead we are recovering from broken levees, flooded homes and precious water supplies are pouring out into the ocean. On energy there was a special session held to demonize domestic energy production while demanding action on lowering gas prices. If you look at the details of this budget, it assumes that the state's gas tax will go up again next month with no plan, no plan to provide meaningful tax relief.

And we are looking at potential supply shortages this summer as refining capacity is curtailed. Members, I can save you the millions of dollars in this budget, creating a new bureaucracy trying to explain why gas prices are going up in California. It's the policies coming from this legislative body. Instead of building roads, building water storage, shoring up our electricity grid, and hardening our supply chain, this budget wastes billions of dollars on a failing high speed rail project that every audit, every business plan says is structurally flawed.

This budget exemplifies a broken process, one that should be significantly improved. A two party agreement that will be revised in the coming months behind closed doors, with even less input from all sides, deprives every Californian of the certainty and stability they deserve from their government in the face of harder economic times on the horizon. And we wait to see budget trailer bills that will make significant policy changes outside the policy process with little input from legislators.

Increasing borrowing, leveraging more debt shifting monies from special funds places the cost burdens on the backs of hardworking Californians. Poor budget decisions force families to spend more on necessities, force them to save less, but pay more to cover the government's bills. It's difficult to reconcile the concerns about managing a deficit when this legislative budget framework actually spends more than the Governor's Budget proposal. Spending over $311,000,000,000 tells me that this state indeed has a spending problem.

Years of unsustainable spending have caught up with an already strained taxpayer base, many of which are leaving California. Coupled with a cooling economy, we have tough decisions ahead to provide a broader context. As mentioned by my colleague from San Francisco, over the last seven years, the state budget has almost doubled in size. But the same problems and crises continue to plague Californians. Many have gotten worse. Californians continue to leave. Companies are leaving or closing permanently.

In some cases, companies are just not expanding or doing business anymore in California. Californians are rightfully frustrated and they are not seeing things get better in their daily lives. Success is not defined by more spending. It's defined by real, measurable results. Members, I am less concerned about a debate between the Governor of California and the Governor of Florida. I am more concerned about what is happening right here in our state.

With so much uncertainty on the horizon, now is the time for prudence and input from both sides. This framework is still incomplete, has structural deficits for years to come, and fails to make needed investments. California simply cannot afford this spending plan. I urge a no vote.

Thank you, Mr. Fong and Assembly Member Ramos. You're recognized on the Bill.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Today I rise in support of the budget and ask for an aye vote. It is difficult to me to express a lot of the issues that we deal with, but in SB 101, the Budget Act of 2023, I am thankful that the Assembly Budget Committee's hard work on keeping the communities and commitments that were made last session while making key investments for the future.

This year's budget includes money for fentanyl test strips, which is a vital preventive tool that we need in the State of California to combat this issue in our communities and schools. Additionally, I would like to thank the Legislature for making significant commitments to the tribal communities. The additional 16 million in grants will be greatly impactful in combating missing and murdered Indigenous persons and will help tribal communities bring their loved ones home. This year's budget also includes ongoing funding for tribal health programs.

The health of California's first people, and also continues to move forward in the protection of foster care kids in the State of California, including California's first people, the tribal kids in foster care. And this body continues to stand with the Indian community. Recently, there's been an attack on the Indian Child Welfare act, an act that was established in 1978 that went to the Supreme Court.

And I'm happy to report today that the Supreme Court just ruled this morning to uphold the rights of all Indian people in the nation. And this body stands with us. It's issues like this and the budget that brings full circle to really, really impact the diversity of our community in honoring California's first people. And today is a day for us to be able to stand together and join in the celebration because the US Supreme Court has stand side by side with the nation's first people. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Ramos. And Assembly Member Mccarty, you're recognized on the Bill.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I rise in support, obviously, of this budget. And first, I wanted to thank our budget chair from San Francisco for the 8th year leading this House in negotiations and making sure that we have a budget that invests in the people of California but also is responsible. And I know we have some tough times in our economy and down the road we have some things to worry about. But rest assured, this budget is responsible.

Still taking care of things like making sure we have an adequate Rainy Day Fund, weathering the storm for the future economic conditions that we just don't know. But more importantly, we can't forget about the people of California today. And we've done some historic, transformational things in the budget last three years and this continues them and it doesn't make some slight adjustments. So certainly the news says deficit Sacramento problems. But you should know, Members, this is an A minus budget.

We had an A Plus budget for the past two years. You can't get an A plus on your exam every year in school. Sometimes you need to get an A minus and this really is an A minus budget. So go back home to your constituents and know that we are being responsible, but investing in the people of California for the issue that we focus in our Subcommitee. I want to thank our Subcommitee Members and our staff for education.

From our youngest kids in childcare pre K programs to TK through 12 schools to higher education, this is an amazing budget. Education won this state budget and I guarantee that all of you, when you came to Sacramento, when you campaigned, said that education is the top issue or a top issue and you should be able to go back home and say, this does just that. We all want local control in our school districts. Making sure that you spend the money, not Sacramento.

That is the mantra for our public schools. We have a record eight plus percent COLA for our public education to go back home, talk to your school boards and invest in your schools, your educators, your classroom programs, making sure that we focus on the future for higher education. As our chair said, we're making sure that we expand access to our universities for CSU and community college.

Too many UC applicants, high school graduates, you hear this, graduate with a 4.4 GPA, apply to a UC and get denied. Like, hey, that's not fair. We pay our taxes, we get good grades, why can't we get in no more? We are reducing enrollment for nonresident students and putting those slots for Californians plus greatly, vastly expanding just overall slots for Californians. At the University of California, plus the CSU, we Fund financial aid reform on a path to debt free college in California.

The one issue that we're not done yet, as our budget chair alluded to, as our majority leader reminds us as a priority of the Assembly and the Women's Caucus is childcare. We have a pact in this two party budget that we're not quite there yet with the Administration, and it would be devastating if we don't cross the finish line and make sure we adequately Fund our care system, including the providers and most importantly, the workers that often get paid poverty wages.

That's the one final piece we're trying to close in the last few days. But this is an outstanding budget. Funds a top priority for California, our kids, our future. Ask for your aye vote. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. McCarty. And Assembly Member Mathis, you're recognized on the Bill.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. This budget, I will agree our Budget Chair, our Vice Chair, our staff have been working tirelessly on trying to figure out this budget. This mean some of y'all, I think the best saying I could think of it is California dreaming. But it's a dream. We don't really know what this budget is. We started off with the talk of, well, the deficit is going to be this much. We'll know it's going to be this much.

We'll know it's going to be this much, and we can talk about priorities, about this budget is really where our heart is with the things that we want. The reality for me, for my district, for the people in the San Joaquin Valley, we're still living in Third World conditions. It was already mentioned about the water. It's mentioned about the roads, the schools, the housing. We can go on and on.

But this year, particularly when people have come to me and they've said, hey, what's the budget look like? Or what are the budget asks going to be? We've really got to talk about the process on this. The reality of it is we normally turn in our taxes in April. We get the data from that that goes into the May revise, and then we take that and we put it all together for this June. Budget Members, the fact is taxes aren't due until October.

We don't have the data to give an honest projection. That should worry all of us. The one thing that I've been kind of listening for and looking for is when are we going to sit down and be responsible as a state, as the fourth largest economy in the world and say, you know what? We know taxes are going to be due in October. Let's go ahead and be responsible. Let's put on the calendar in November.

We're going to come back and do a special session on this budget to get it right. That's something I've been looking forward to hearing, looking for that responsibility in government, but I still haven't heard that. Because let's be honest, at some point we're going to have to come back. Once we get all the data.

And fix it, and we can say we're going to do it in trailer bills, we can say we're going to do it in other things, but the fact is we won't have the data until October. So let's be honest with ourselves. We can have all the great budget goals and all the great budget ask and all the great things we want to do, which are important things, and I encourage all of them.

But I also encourage us to be responsible and to look down the road and say, hey, we know we're going to get the data here and let's step up and be responsible and say, hey, we're going to come back in November and make the adjustments that are necessary. Until I hear those things, until I see something solid, until I know what we're voting on is an honest set of numbers, I can't support this. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Mathis and Assembly Bains, you're recognized on the Bill.

Thank you, speaker and Members. I want to thank Chairman Ting and the budget staff for all their hard work to this point, the Legislature has not had to grapple with a significant deficit for nearly a decade, so finding a path that allows us to protect critical program investments while fulfilling our constitutional obligation to pass a balanced budget is no small task.

As the revenue picture becomes clearer and clearer, and as we continue to work with the Senate and the Administration to refine the budget we are passing today, I wanted to highlight the importance of addressing the fentanyl crisis. Our policy committees have passed a number of important proposals designed to address fentanyl addiction and overdose deaths, including my Bill to create a fentanyl task force. But many of these reforms cannot go into effect until we appropriate dedicated funding for implementation.

For example, the Fentanyl Task force in my Bill is supposed to have its first meeting no later than March 1 of next year. But that cannot happen if we do not Fund the task force this year. We should not make the mistake of waiting another year or more to Fund these proposals because we are already playing catch up. Just this morning, Governor Newsom announced that the CHP has seized enough fentanyl in San Francisco to kill over 2 million people in just the last six weeks.

2 million people. And that's just one city. We need to act swiftly and urgently to address the fentanyl crisis and we need the budget to deliver resources to make that happen. I look forward to working with Members of the Budget Committee and our colleagues in the Senate and the Administration to make sure that that definitely happens. Thank you. And I respectfully ask for your aye vote .

Thank you, Dr. Baines. And Speaker Rendon, you're recognized on the Bill.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Members, crafting a budget is always a matter of dealing with a number of competing challenges and it's vastly more complex when you're dealing with a State of 40 million people. I am astounded and incredibly proud of the job that has been done by our budget chair. He has been aided by a particularly sharp group of Budget Subcommitee Chairs and I want to thank each of them. The Vice Chairs have been outstanding as well.

And of course, the staff, which always knows how to turn policies into numbers and numbers into budget law. You all have my great thanks. Thank you. I also want to thank the Senate, the Senate pro Tem, the Senate budget chair and the able staff of that House. What we have to vote on today is a budget that embodies our core values and defends our principles. We were able to do that because we built smart budgets in recent years. We knew that tough times would come.

We just didn't know when. Guess what? They're here. So our past budgets were built to withstand adverse conditions such as these. This is how we were able to preserve core programs. In this year's budget, we have increased childcare funding by 25% because we know that children do not go to work. We know that Californians do not go to work without stable care. In this state. We have protected education funding.

We've restored transportation funding and we've pushed forward a united legislative position for transit, intercity rail and active transportation. We continue to invest in housing. We continue to invest in climate protection and we continue to maintain strong budget reserves for the future. This puts the 2023-2024 budget firmly in place as a key component of fiscal progress. We have raised over the last several years, we've raised General Fund revenues by 78%, up to $205.1 billion.

We've expanded childcare and preschool funding by 225% and made it more secure in the future. We've also doubled per pupil funding for K through 12 students. We've invested $54 billion with AB to fight climate change. And we have seen results. We have grown our state budget reserves to record highs higher than the complete budgets of many states. We've reached a place in budgeting history that should make all of us proud. And we should be proud to add to our legacy with a vote for this budget package. I ask that you proudly vote for this budget.

Thank you, Speaker Rendon. And Assembly Member Ting. Nothing further to close. Clerk will open the roll. All those vote who desire to vote. All those vote who desire to vote. All those vote who desire to vote. Clerk will close. Roll tally the votes.

Ayes 61. noes, 14. The bills pass without objection. Clerk will have immediate transmittal to the Senate and Majority Leader Reyes, you are recognized for your procedural motion.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. At the request of the author, please remove item 36, SB 798 Glazer, from the consent calendar.

The Clerk will note.

House Resolution 36 by Assembly Member Gipson, Relative to Fatherhood Wellbeing Month.

And Assembly Member Gibson, you may open on the resolution.

Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker and Members. I proudly stand to lift up HR 36, which annually declares the month of June as a Fatherhood Wellness month. I want to start by thanking the Children's Institute and Project Fatherhood that lies within my district for supporting and being a sponsor of this HR that's before us today. Project Fatherhood is led and directed by a vivacious father by the name of Keith Parker.

Since 2007, Children's Institute has worked in the Watts community, my District, to transform the lives of children through free, high quality childrenhood education programs. They have seven locations dealing with counseling services and workshops and so much more. For over 20 years, Project Fatherhood have served more than. Watch this. 15,000 fathers and 23,000 children across Los Angeles County.

Project Fatherhood has continuously supported fathers and their well being by providing services in three core areas, building relationship skills for healthy marriages and coparenting developing skills that support responsible parenting practices and enhancing economic stability for families. Fathers involvement leads to increase in childhood outcomes such as performance, physical and emotional development, and encouragement in positive social activities. Too many fathers continue to be missing from the homes. If we have a strong father, then we have a strong household.

If we have a strong household, we have a strong neighborhood. If we have a strong neighborhood, we have a strong community, a strong city, a strong state, and a strong country. So fathers plays a major role in our very fabric, in our community. Not to mention that myself. As a father, I am grateful. The best thing that could have ever happened to me is to have children and to be that role model for those Individuals. Project Fatherhood also embodies this. Watch this.

A songwriter wrote a song by the name of Donnie McCurkland. He said this we fall down, but we get back up. For saint is just a sinner who have fallen down. No matter what you've done, no matter the circumstances, you can get back up again. And the Father Project, Project Fatherhood embodies that kind of spirit, that kind of great leadership.

And I want to take an opportunity here today to wish all of your fathers, all the fathers here on this floor, and even if you don't have your father, we still remember their names. We still remember the memories. And if you are a stepfather, you are still significant. If you're fathering someone who is not your biological children, you're still a father. And we lift your name up. So I respectfully ask for an aye vote on HR 36.

Thank you, Mr. Gipson and Assembly Member Carrillo, you're recognized on the resolution.

Good morning, Mr. Speaker and Members. I rise today in support of HR 36. I want to thank my colleague from Carson for bringing this resolution forward. As a father of four wonderful children, I understand the importance of recognizing and supporting the integral role that fathers played in our families and communities. I want to emphasize that this resolution holds even greater significance. As we celebrate Pride Month. It is essential to recognize and honor the diversity of fatherhood as it exists in many forms beyond traditional biological fathers.

They provide a strong foundation for educational success and emotional wellbeing, which in turn pave the way for economic mobility. Recognizing and providing father wellbeing is crucial for maintaining their active involvement and positive presence in their children's lives. When fathers are well and thriving, they can discover their strengths and develop essential skills that foster enduring success for themselves and their families. By prioritizing father Wellbeing, we are building stronger bonds within our families and creating a nurturing environment for our children to grow and flourish.

The resolution also draws our attention to the systemic racism that fathers of colors have faced, which has perpetuated inequalities across various social institutions. It is imperative that we address these injustices and take targeted actions to advance equity in education, employment, housing, justice and social systems. By investing in fathers of color and supporting their well being, we are taking a significant step forward towards building inclusive communities and dismantling the barriers that hinder progress.

By passing HR 36, we have an opportunity to advance the well being of fathers and ensure they are healthy, thriving, and empowered in the lives of their children. In conclusion, I urge each and every one of you to stand with me today in supporting HR 36, declaring the month of June as Fatherhood Wellbeing Month. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Carrillo. And Assembly Member Gallagher, you're recognized on the resolution.

Yes. Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Members, I also, as a father of five, wanted to rise in support of this Resolution, and I thank the author. He said it so well, how important fathers are to our society and how much we know. Our fathers really can influence us in good ways, sometimes in bad ways, too. And the lack of not having fathers has had impacts in our homes and our communities.

And so the more that we can do, and I think that's really the intent of this resolution, the more that we can do to really help support fatherhood and ensuring that we have strong fathers, we are going to help ensure all the indicators show that when we have responsible, strong fathers in our families, all those indicators for children get better.

And so the more that we can do, and I know this is his heart, the author's heart is, the more that we can do to help support fathers and help bring them into engagement and being strong in their families, the more that we're going to see success on all the things that I think we want in our society. So thank the author for bringing this forward proud to support it. And I urge your aye vote.

Thank you, Leader Gallagher. And seeing no other Members wishing to be recognized, oh my apologies, Assembly Member, Jim Patterson, you're recognized on the resolution.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Member. I rise to support all that has been said with respect to this important House Resolution. But I also stand as an adoptive dad. My three children are not biologically connected to me, but I'll tell you, they're my babies just as much as they were if they were biologically connected. God was very, very good to us. We had issues with fertility.

And I've told a story about BJ, our oldest orphan in Vietnam, our middle son, Jason, from a 16 year old birth mother, and Lindsay from a 37 year old birth mother. And they are today grown, have homes, have jobs, are raising their own kids. I'm a grandfather now. And all I can tell you is there was a time when I thought maybe I wouldn't be a father. And then something miraculous happened.

You know, the Lord does answer prayer, and our prayer was, Lord, how should we live now without children? And we were really blessed. And all I can tell you is that two Father's days ago, my daughter Lindsay gave me a little Father's Day gift. It was a picture of her and a saying on it that said, God gave me the best gift ever. I call him dad. We can be dads, and we can love them and we can nurture them.

And I can tell you that the joy of being an adoptive dad has led me to author adoption legislation, session in and session out. That helps to make sure that those adoptions are less stressful and that when the families are formed, they are strong and protected. And so in no small part, I kind of feel like I'm a dad to lots and lots of kids.

And I feel that paternal sort of fatherly care, and I would never have enjoyed or known that gift had not adoption come our way. So I rise as an adopted dad to basically say thank you for making sure that we remind each other that dads can be dads in all kinds of sets of circumstances. And what they need is they need love, and they want understanding. And they will have a family whether or not they go to the hospital and see the baby there delivered.

And I can remember when we picked Lindsay up when she was newborn and the hospital was up in Lincoln City, Oregon. And we were brought into the hospital when she delivered. And we took Lindsay home, three days old. And I remember going into the hospital and looking at the babies. Well, there was only one baby there, and that was Lindsay. I'll never forget that.

Although we did not physically create or birth those kids, we might as well have because we love them as dearly as if we did. So thank you for recognizing fathers, and thank you for allowing me to stand for adoptive parents everywhere. We know that joy of fatherhood and motherhood because circumstances came along where children who might not have been able to be in a family of loving moms and dads found a family, our family.

And I was able to be the dad and now the granddad to these kids. And so I'm a dad and proud to be so. And I'm hoping that what we do here on this floor helps other dads to remember that they could very well be the very best gift God ever gave to your children. Calling you dad. We must call ourselves to the high calling of fatherhood. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Patterson and Assemblywoman Soria, you're recognized on the resolution.

Good morning, Mr. Speaker. First, I want to thank my colleague from Carson for bringing HR 36 to the floor today. I rise today as a daughter of my father and also as a woman, want to highlight the importance of supporting what my colleague is trying to do and really highlighting the importance of fatherhood. I'm grateful for my dad.

And so I just wanted to say thank you to him because I wouldn't be here had he not worked very hard to come to this country and to sacrifice all that he did so that I could have a better opportunity. And so dads really make a difference in the lives of children. And so I did want to just rise on that. And I also just wanted to say to all the fathers on this floor, to my dad, happy Father's Day. As we go into this weekend on Sunday, to celebrate fathers across our state and in our own communities, so happy Father's Day.

Thank you. Ms. Soria, seeing no other Members wishing to be recognized on the resolution, Mr. Gipson, you may close.

Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker and Members. I want to thank my colleagues, those who've raised their microphone and speak in support of HR 36. It's really gratifying as we uplift fathers. This great organization, Project Fatherhood. One I'm grateful to being in my district. I'm grateful to see the men, the men who wants to have strong relationships with their children in the community. And I reflect back on my own daddy. And it was no coincidence why I quoted Donnie McCurkland. We fall down.

We get back up, because none of us are perfect. My father was not a perfect man, but he showed me how to be a man. He showed me the responsibilities that I now hold as a father, but also a leader that's on this floor that I will hold dearly and always remember, even though he's in heaven looking down, I will never forget all of the teaching that my daddy has brought me. So I respectfully ask for a strong aye vote on HR 36.

Thank you. Mr. Gipson, would you like the first roll open for co authors? Very well. Clerk will open the roll for co authors. All those wishing to be a co author on HR 36, please signify by casting your vote. Clerk will close the roll. There are 75 coauthors. Without objection. We'll take a voice vote on the resolution. All those in favor say aye. All those opposed say nay. The ayes have it. The resolution is adopted and Majority Leader Reyes, you're recognized for your motion.

Thank you. Mr. Speaker. I request unanimous consent to suspend joint Rule 62 A, the file notice requirement to allow the Joint Legislative Audit Committee's Subcommitee on the Selection of the High Speed Rail Inspector General to meet in closed session on Monday, June 19 upon adjournment of Assembly and Senate Sessions, and for the Joint Legislative Audit Committee to also meet in closed session upon adjournment of the Subcommitee. Both hearings will be in room 437.

Without objection, such shall be the order. Members are moving on to our consent calendar and before we vote we will first take out the resolutions on consent calendar for a purpose of adding co authors. Clerk will read the resolutions on the consent calendar.

Assembly Concurrent Resolution 89 by Assembly Member Calderon Relative to Abused Women and Children Awareness Day, House Resolution 44 by Assembly Member Jones Sawyer Relative to Women's Veterans Recognition Day, Senate Concurrent Resolution 68 by Senator Padilla and others related to GM One Ganglion Sarcoidosis Awareness Day and Senate Current Resolution 39 by Senator Umberg and others relative to National Fentanyl Awareness Day.

Clerk will open the roll to allow any Member to add on as co authors. All those vote who desire to vote Members, this is for co authors on the consent calendar resolutions. Clerk will close the roll. There are 68 co authors moving to a vote on the consent calendar does any Member wish to remove an item from the consent calendar? Seeing and hearing none. Clerk will read the second day consent calendar.

Assembly Concurrent Resolution 89 by Assembly Member call the roan relative to Abuse Women and Children Awareness Day.

Clerk will open the roll on the consent calendar. All those vote who desire to vote. All those vote who desire to vote. This is on the consent calendar. Clerk will close roll tally votes I 74, no zero. The consent calendar is adopted. Clerk will read the remaining items on the consent calendar.

[Consent Calendar]

Members at this time. Our quorum call is lifted. We have one adjournment in memory today, so we ask that you give respectful attention to some Member Bryan on his adjournment memory. Mr. Bryan, you're recognized at your desk.

Thank you. Mr. Speaker and colleagues, it is with a heavy heart and a deep sadness that I ask that we adjourn today in the memory of Quincy Darnell Reese Jr. Quincy was a 16 year old junior at Crenshaw High School whose life was taken too soon by gun violence. Just last week, Quincy's journey began in the south central South LA neighborhoods where he fell in love with basketball. He worked so hard, he became the starting point guard for the Crenshaw high basketball team.

It was truly love in basketball for his athletic ability. His teammates nicknamed him Batman because on the court he could strike at any moment. He was a lot more than just a basketball player, though. He was hilarious. He was a good friend. He was a great student. He was on the honor roll. He had a 3.4 GPA. He had so much promise and so much potential to his mother and to his father. Know that Quincy's memory lives on.

Yesterday, Council Member Marquise Harris Dawson adjourned the City of Los Angeles in his memory. Today we adjourn the State of California in his memory. Quincy was all of the Crenshaw corridor. Quincy was all of South LA. The very best of who we were, who we are and who we can be. And for all of us who ever played basketball in high school, we always wondered if it would be us. We always knew somebody who it was, and none of us thought it would be Quincy.

We have a lot of work to do in this body to improve the conditions of life so that lives like Quincy's life can live to their fullest potential. And with that, I respectfully ask that we adjourn in his memory.

Thank you, Mr. Bryan. Please bring his name 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. Moving to announcements. The session schedule was as follows. Friday, June 16. No check in session. No floor session. Monday, June 19. Our floor session is at 01:00 p.m. All other items remaining will be passed and retained. All motions shall be continued. Seeing and hearing no further business, I'm ready to entertain a motion to adjourn. Mr. Holden moves and Ms. Waldron seconds that this house stands adjourned until Monday, June 19, at 01:00 p.m. We are adjourned.