Senate Floor

Secretary. Recall the role.

Allen. Alvarado-Gil, Archuleta, Ashby, Atkins, Becker Blakespear Bradford, Caballero, 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.

A quorum is present with the Members and our guests beyond the rail and in the gallery. Please rise. We'll be led in prayer this afternoon by our chaplain, Sister Michelle Gorman, after which, please remain standing will be led in the Pledge of Allegiance to the flag by Senator Limon.

Let us remember that we are always in God's presence. In the words of Harvey Milk the important thing is not that we can live on hope alone but that without hope, life is not worth living. Oh God, in whom we hope, we thank you for the hope and resilience of the Asian and Pacific Islander American Heritage Month honorees by their leadership in providing ongoing solutions to the challenges of our times.

They offer hope to all those who wish to transform lives and bring justice to those who are often marginalized and misrepresented. Give all of us the strength to accomplish the seemingly impossible with limited time, energy and resources. Help us to be especially sensitive to the needs of those who are vulnerable and those who are close to despair. May all that we do today engender hope in our communities and may we continue to hope in Your divine providence. We ask this in your name. Amen.

Members, please place your right hand over your heart for the Pledge of Allegiance. Ready? Begin. I pledge allegiance 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.

Privilege of the floor. All right, Members, we're moving to privileges of the floor. And at this time, we would like to do a couple introductions of Members up in the gallery. So, on behalf of Senator Dahle, we'd like to welcome several motorcyclists organizations from Northern, Central and Southern California who join us in the gallery today. Let's please give them a warm Senate welcome. All right, moving on.

On behalf of Senator Smallwood-Cuevas and Senator Steven Bradford, we'd like to welcome some Members of the Alpha Kappa Alpha sorority who are here for their lobby day. We have Mrs. Shelby Bogney, Mrs. Carol Dixon, Mrs. Archeline Amos Martin, Ms. Sandra Poole, and the honorary Patrice Marshall Mckenzie. Again, let's please give them a warm Senate welcome. Thank you all for joining us today.

Moving on to messages from the Governor, which will be deemed read messages from the Assembly, which will be deemed read reports of committees, which will be deemed read and amendments adopted. Now, we're moving to motions, resolutions and notices. Without objection, the Senate journals for May 15, 2023 through May 18, 2023 will be approved as corrected by the Minute Clerk. Now, moving on to consideration of the Daily file we'll move to second reading.

Secretary, please read Senate Bill 585 Senate Bill Four. Senate Bill Nine, Senate Bill 10 Senate Bill 11 Senate Bill 16 thank you so much.

And that will be deemed read. Now, moving on to Senate third reading. First up, we have file item 121 by Senator Becker. Senator, forgot where you where is he?

Secretary, please read Senate Bill 341 by Senator Becker. An act related to housing.

Senator Becker.

Thank you. Basically, what this Bill does is it lets make sure that affordable housing developers and private developers are not punished when they operate in cities that have not gotten a pro-housing designation. So it lets us continue to build affordable housing where we need it most. It has bipartisan support and respectfully asked for an aye vote.

Thank you. Any other mics up? Seeing none. Secretary please call the role.

Allen aye. Alvarado-Gil aye. Archuleta aye. Ashby aye. Atkins aye. Becker aye. Blakespear aye. Bradford aye. Caballero aye. Cortese aye. Dahle aye. Dodd aye. 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 aye. Umberg aye. Wahab aye. Wiener aye. Wilk aye.

Ayes 40. No zero, measure passes. Now Members, moving on to file item 123. And that would be by Senator Dahle. I see Senators ready.

Secretary please read Senate Bill 787 by Senator Dahle. An act related to alcoholic beverages.

Senator Dahle.

Thank you. Thank you, Mr. President. Members, this is a support support. This Bill will authorize the ABC to additional 10 applications for liquor licenses in Nevada County. I respectfully ask for an aye vote.

Seeing no, seeing no. Mics up. This is eligible for unanimous roll call. Any objections? Seeing none. Ayes 40 no zero measure passes. Now moving on to file item 125. Senator Padilla, are you prepared?

Secretary, please read Senate Bill 775 by Senator Padilla, in accolade to vehicles.

Senator Padilla.

Thank you, Mr. President. I rise today to present SB 775, which would allow K-12 school districts to apply signs on the rear of their electric school buses identifying them as zero-emission vehicles. It authorizes the Department of the California Highway Patrol to issue guidelines governing the size and placement of such signage as the state moves towards a carbon-free future. Electrification of the state's massive K-12 school bus fleet is a significant step in achieving these climate goals.

Awareness by taxpayers of where their dollars are going and what their children are inhaling while they wait to take transportation to and from school is important, as well as earning public support for achieving our climate goals. Colleagues, this Bill has had no votes and I respectfully ask for an aye vote.

Thank you. Senator, any comments? Seeing none. This is eligible for unanimous roll call. Any objections? Seeing none. Ayes 40. No zero measure passes. Now moving on to file item 128. Senator Roth. Are you prepared? You are.

Secretary, please read Senate Bill 95 by Senator Roth, in accolade to commercial transactions.

Thank you, Mr. President. Colleagues, this Bill updates the California Commercial Code to conform with recommendations made by the Uniform Law Commission. Focusing primarily on the treatment of digital assets, these UCC amendments relate to sales of and security interest in a wide variety of electronic payment rights, the negotiability of and security interest in virtual currencies. Security interest in electronic money, such as central bank digital currencies. Respectfully, ask for an aye vote.

Thank you. Any comments by Members seeing? None. Secretary call the roll.

Allen aye. Alvarado-Gil aye. Archuleta aye. Ashby aye. Atkins aye. Becker aye. Blakespear aye. Bradford aye. Caballero aye. Cortese. Dahle aye. Dodd aye. 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. Portantino aye. Roth aye. Rubio aye. Seyarto aye. Skinner aye. Smallwood-Cuevas aye. Stern aye. Umberg aye. Wahab aye. Wiener aye. Wilk no.

Secretary please call the absent Members.

Cortese? Padilla aye.

Secretary please call the absent Members one more time.

Cortese aye.

Ayes 39, No's one. Measure passes. Now, moving on to file item 129. Senator Portantino. He looks like he's prepared.

So, Secretary, please read.

Senate Bill 786 by Senator Portantino, an act relating to prescription drugs.

Senator Portantino, floor is yours.

Thank you, Mr. President and Members. I rise to present SB 786, which will set regulations on pharmacy benefit managers, commonly known as PBMs, to protect federal 34, 340 B Program dollars. The 340 B pricing program gives eligible covered entities the right to discounted drug prices from drug manufacturers. The savings from this program has allowed healthcare providers to treat more low income and uninsured patients, thereby improving community health standards across the country.

Unfortunately, pharmacy benefit managers who negotiate rebates with drug manufacturers are increasingly looking for ways to divert these 340 B program benefits for profits, not patients. Covered entities need protections against price discrimination, refusals to renew contracts, and preventing covered entities from entering into preferred pharmacy networks. Safety net hospitals and rural critical access hospitals largely rely on these contracts with community pharmacies, as many do not have in house pharmacies. SB 786 will protect covered entities and the communities they serve by preventing PBMs from discriminating against qualified 340 B entities, and respectfully ask for an aye vote.

Thank you, Senator Portantino. Anybody care to speak? Senator Dahle?

Thank you, Mr. President. I rise in support. Just want to let you know that federally qualified health clinics, this will help them be able to get their prescription drugs at a lower cost. So I thank the Senator for bringing the bill forward and respectfully ask for an aye vote.

Thank you, Senator Dahle. Seeing no other mics up. Senator Portantino, would you like to close?

Conversations continue on this bill, and respectfully ask for an aye vote.

Thank you, sir. Secretary, please call the roll.

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

Secretary, please call the absent members.

Alvarado-Gil. Glazer. Hurtado. Menjivar. Aye. Min. Nguyen.

Ayes 35, no's zero, measure passes. Moving on to file item 132, Senator Roth.

Secretary, please read.

Senate Bill 595 by Senator Roth, an act relating to health insurance.

Thank you, Mr. President, Colleagues. The difficulty in accessing information by applicants regarding health insurance options is one of the primary barriers to achieving universal health care coverage in this state, especially as Californians experience transitions in employment and income. The confidentiality of applicant information during that process is also important.

This bill states that Covered California may disclose personal applicant information to its vendors for marketing and outreach, but may not disclose personal applicant information, whether obtained from a healthcare coverage application or from the EDD, to a certified insurance agent or enrollment counselor without first obtaining the consent of the applicant. Respectfully ask for your aye vote.

Thank you. Senator Roth. Any comments? Seeing none. This is eligible for unanimous roll call. Any objections? Seeing none. Ayes 40. No's zero. Moving on to file item 134, Senator Umberg. Secretary, please read.

Senate Bill 250 by Senator Umberg, an act relating to controlled substances.

Senator Umberg.

Thank you, Mr. President and colleagues. This bill simply extends the Good Samaritan law in terms of self reporting fentanyl poisonings. I urge an aye vote.

Any Senator care to speak on this measure? Seeing none. Secretary please call the roll. This is a 27 vote requirement.

Allen. Aye. Alvarado-Gil. Aye. Archuleta. Aye. Ashby. Aye. Atkins. Aye. Becker. Aye. Blakespear. Aye. Bradford. Aye. Caballero. Aye. Cortese. Aye. Dahle. Dodd. Aye. 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. Aye. Umberg. Aye. Wahab. Aye. Wiener. Aye. Wilk. Aye.

Secretary, please call the absent member.

Dahle. Dahle, aye.

Ayes 40, no's zero, measure passes. Now, Members, moving on to file item 136, Senator Limon. She is prepared.

Secretary, please read.

Senate Bill 728, by Senator Limon, an act relating to solid waste.

Thank you, president and colleagues. SB 728 transitions the state away from the sale or distribution of plastic gift cards by January 1 of 2026 towards more environmentally sustainable gift card options that are readily available by many retailers. More than 3.4 billion gift cards were sold in the United States in 2021. Plastic gift cards contain polyvinyl chloride plastic, also known as PVC, considered to be one of the most single environmentally damaging of all plastics.

While many businesses already offer more environmentally friendly cards, there are multiple options. MasterCard recently announced that by 2028, they will transition from using plastic gift cards in this country. With us, paper or wood, and even electronic gift cards are other options available. I respectfully ask for an aye vote.

Thank you. Would any members care to speak on the issue? Senator Caballero?

Thank you very much, Mr. President. I'm going to support this bill because I think this is a good, well intentioned bill which is to transition away from products that are detrimental to our environment. But beyond this, I think we need to stop doing these one-off bills. We need to come up with a proposal that gets rid of our trash so that we're no longer filling our landfills with things that will take a bazillion years to decompose.

And so I'm going to support the bill because I think it's an easy transition to a paper-type product, that this is easy enough to do. But I also do think, fundamentally, that we need to change the way that we get rid of our trash. We need to stop sending our plastic to other countries. We need to stop changing or sending our clothes to pile up in other countries where it's not needed and they don't have a way to dispose of it.

All of this stuff is incredibly detrimental to our future in this world, and we need to come up with a better solution. And so, I ask for you to vote aye on this bill and get to the real work, which is what are we going to do with all this trash that we're producing?

Thank you, Senator Caballero. Senator Dahle?

Thank you, Mr. President. Members, I rise in opposition. I actually heard this bill, and I think it was EQ. It's opposed by the Chamber because they're really close to getting the technology to where we don't have to have plastic. This bill actually is going to force them.

And one of the issues that came up during the conversation was the tracing part of the card doesn't hold up well under the new technology or the nonplastic, and you could lose your amount that you have on the card. So, as was stated by the last speaker, these are one-offs, but this is what we do. We force industry to do something when they're trying to do it on their own.

A little more time and we can get it right, and then it doesn't have such a huge impact on the businesses in California. For those reasons, I respectfully ask for a no-vote.

Thank you, Senator Dahle. Seeing no other mics up, Secretary, please call the roll. Oh, yeah; I'm sorry, Senator Limon.

Thank you. I will just say, as a reminder, this does not apply to transportation, hotels, credit cards, or things that are multiple use. I think that the signs are there that the industry is already moving to these and the technology is catching up so that you don't have these problems of losing any amounts. With that, I respectfully ask for an aye vote.

Thank you, Senator. With that, Secretary please call the roll.

[Roll Call]

Secretary, please call the absent members.

[Roll Call]

Yeah. You two, knock it off. Ayes: 31, No's: 9. Measure passes. Now, members, moving on to file item 137. Senator Umberg looks like he's prepared. Secretary, please read.

Senate Bill 34 by Senator Umberg, an act relating to surplus land.

Thank you, Mr. President and colleagues. This bill and the next bill are related to the issue in Anaheim concerning the attempted sale of Anaheim Stadium. In that attempted sale, the former city council and former mayor struck an agreement with the team formerly known as the Anaheim Angels for the sale of the stadium. HCD notified the city and notified the Angels that the sale was in violation of the Surplus Lands Act.

Nevertheless, the city decided to go ahead with it because the fine was sort of somewhat farcical, because it simply required that money be moved from one pot in the city to another pot in the city. What this bill does is this bill addresses this loophole and simply says that if HCD is notified, if HCD notifies the city or the seller in a surplus land transaction that they're in violation, then they either have to cure it or correct it within 60 days, or the sale is not to be executed. I urge an aye vote.

Thank you, Senator Umberg. Any Member want to comment? Seeing no mics raise, Secretary, please call the roll.

Allen. Aye. Alvarado-Gil. Archuleta. Aye. Ashby. Aye. Atkins. Aye. Becker. Aye. Blakespear. Aye. Bradford. Aye. Caballero. Cortese. Aye. Dahle. No. Dodd. Aye. Durazo. Aye. Eggman. Aye. Glazer. Aye. Gonzalez. Aye. Grove. No. Hurtado. Aye. Jones. No. Laird. Aye. Limon. Aye. McGuire. Menjivar. Aye. Min. Aye. Newman. Aye. Nguyen. Niello. No. Ochoa Bogh. No. Padilla. Aye. Portantino. Aye. Roth. Aye. Rubio. Aye. Seyarto. No. Skinner. Aye. Smallwood-Cuevas. Aye. Stern. Aye. Umberg. Aye. Wahab. Aye. Wiener. Aye. Wilk. No.

Secretary, please call the absent members.

Alvarado-Gil. Caballero. Aye. McGuire. Aye. Nguyen.

Ayes 31, no 7, measure passes. Now, Members, moving on to file item 140, Senator Grove. I got you ready for the next one. We're going to go to file item 139, Senator. Senator Umberg.

Secretary, please read.

Senate Bill 229 by Senator Umberg, an act relating to surplus land.

Senator Umberg.

Thank you, Mr. President and colleagues. This bill is also derived from the same issue concerning the attempted sale of Anaheim Stadium. It simply requires that there be a period of 14 days between the signing of the transaction and the City Council approval. Urge an aye vote.

Thank you, Senator Umberg. Any Senator wishing to comment? I see no mics. So with that, secretary, please call the roll.

Allen. Aye. Alvarado-Gil. Archuleta. Aye. Ashby. Aye. Atkins. Becker. Aye. Blakespear. Aye. Bradford. Aye. Caballero. Aye. Cortese. Aye. Dahle. No. Dodd. Aye. Durazo. Aye. Eggman. Aye. Glazer. Aye. Gonzalez. Aye. Grove. No. Hurtado. Aye. Jones. No. Laird. Aye. Limon. Aye. McGuire. Aye. Menjivar. Aye. Min. Aye. Newman. Aye. Nguyen. Niello. No. Ochoa Bogh. No. Padilla. Aye. Portantino. Portantino. Aye. Roth. Aye. Rubio. Aye. Seyarto. No. Skinner. Aye. Smallwood-Cuevas. Aye. Stern. Aye. Umberg. Aye. Wahab. Aye. Wiener. Aye. Wilk. No. One moment.

Secretary, please call the roll. Call the absent members.

Alvarado-Gil. Atkins. Nguyen.

Sure.

Senate Resolution 29 by Senator Min, relative to Asian and Pacific Islander American Heritage Month.

Senator Min, the floor is yours.

Thank you, Mr. President and colleagues. As vice chair of the API Legislative Caucus, I am proud to present Sr 29 which commemorates and acknowledges Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month. Each May, we celebrate the diversity of all those included in the Asian American, Native Hawaiian, and Pacific Islander family.

We celebrate this time because the first known Asian immigrants to this country arrived from Japan on May 17, 1843, and also because on May 10, 1869, the transcontinental railroad was completed, a project that relied heavily on the blood, sweat, and tears of more than 20,000 Asian immigrant workers. Today, nearly 6.7 million Asian Americans call California home. And we have a wonderfully diverse community representing distinct regions, including the Middle East, Southeast Asia, South Asia, West Asia, East Asia, the Pacific Islands, and Hawaii.

We bring cultures with long and storied traditions and, of course, amazing food, whether we're talking about China or Afghanistan, Japan or Samoa, Vietnam or India, Pakistan or Iran, or so many more. Many AANHPIs have been here for generations, while many, such as my parents, who came here in 1971 from Korea, are newer arrivals. But they all came here for similar reasons.

For the same reasons that so many people came to this country because of the values and opportunities that this country at its best and this great State of California, in particular, has always represented. And this is the story of America. It's the story of California. This country's fundamental promise holds that every person is created equal and deserves to be treated equally throughout their lives under the law.

The celebration of AAPI Heritage Month means that while we have never fully lived up to this ideal, we have never walked away from it either. Recognizing AAPI Heritage Month takes on particular importance right now because for Asian Americans, now is a time of fear and uncertainty, and anxiety. A sustained rise in anti-Asian hate has led to deep concerns in AANHPI communities.

And this has been exacerbated by anti-China rhetoric that has led to a number of states, such as Texas and Florida, proposing to bar Chinese Americans from purchasing property and stripping them of other basic rights as well. But the core American values of diversity and inclusion, values that drew so many Asian Americans and others to this country, these are under attack right now. Hate and xenophobia are on the march throughout this country.

So I would urge you to support this resolution which sends a strong and clear message to our AANHPI friends, colleagues, and neighbors. We see you, we recognize you, we appreciate you, and you are welcome here in the great State of California. You make our communities and our countries stronger and so very much richer. I respectfully ask for your support on SR 29.

Thank you, Senator Min. Senator, I mean, Senator Min. Senator Nguyen, did you want to?

Oh, I'm sorry. Go ahead.

We're going to have any senator who wants to comment, comment. Then we'll have the vote and then we'll do the introductions. Senator Nguyen.

Thank you, Mr. President. I also to rise as a proud co-author of Senate Resolution 29 which recognizes the month of May as Asian and Pacific Islanders American Heritage Month. Today is a special occasion where we get to highlight the best and the brightest among our community and honor those who have done great things worthy of note and celebration. The contributions Asian Americans is seen throughout academia, athletics, the arts and culture, business and industry, civics and government, medicine and health, and science and technology.

Rising from humble beginnings, the AAPI community has grown and prospered in California and throughout the nation. The American tapestry is made stronger and brighter when the stories of AAPI community are wound together as part of the greater American story and heritage that we share, I respectfully ask for your aye vote. Thank you.

Thank you, Senator Nguyen. Senator Wiener.

Thank you very much, Mr. President. Colleagues, I rise today as co-chair of the California Legislative Jewish Caucus and also as a senator who represents a community that is nearly 40% AAPI. Jewish American and Asian American Pacific Islander heritage have much in common. For one thing, we share a month celebrating our heritage. Many in both of our communities came to the United States drawn both by economic opportunity and by a desire to escape various hardships and forms of oppression faced in our home countries.

The United States represented a land of opportunity in the eyes of our ancestors and they worked hard to assume leadership in all aspects of American life overcoming bigotry and hostile treatment and laws designed to marginalize us. In recent years, we have seen a flourishing of Jewish and AAPI solidarity facing similar violence and hatred from bigoted conspiracy theories that paint us as the other.

Recently, the Jewish Community Relations Council of the Bay Area and the Asian and Pacific Islander Council in San Francisco came together on a five-day tour of New York and Washington, DC to build bridges between our communities, connecting over our history and committing to work to address the issues that plague our respective communities. This unity is incredibly important and I respectfully ask for an aye vote.

Thank you, Senator Wiener. Senator Wahab.

Thank you, President and fellow senators. I'm proud to stand here as an Afghan American and a member of the AAPI caucus. There are six major regions of Asia, Central Asia, East Asia, South Asia, Southeast Asia, Western Asia, and North Asia. Afghanistan, a landlocked country, is part of technically, Central Asia sits at the crossroads of Central Asia and shares its borders with Iran, Pakistan, China, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan, and Turkmenistan, all of which are part of Asia. I share this to emphasize how diverse the AAPI community is.

AAPI community members descended from over 30 countries and ethnic groups that speak over 100 languages. We have distinct cultures, traditions, and spiritual and religious practices. We are also varied in our connections to our ancestral lands. However, we are all Americans. We're proud Americans. We have left an enduring mark on American history and culture. From farm workers and small business owners, artists and entertainers, to leaders in medicine, technology, government, and much more.

We're all here in the pursuit of the freedoms and possibilities promised in the American Dream. With appreciation from myself and my constituents, largely the district that is known as 55% Asian, the largest Asian district in the State of California, I thank you for the opportunity to acknowledge May 2023 as Asian and Pacific Islander American Heritage Month. I respectfully ask for an aye vote. Thank you.

Thank you, Senator. Senator Bradford.

Thank you, Mr. President. As vice-chair of the Legislative Black Caucus stand in strong support of SR 29 as an individual who grew up in a predominantly Asian and Pacific Island City of Gardena, and representing a large API district, I stand in strong solidarity. As stated, the contributions that the API community has made, not only to stating in this nation and education and arts and entertainment and science and technology and fashion should be recognized not just today, but every day. So as a way of our solidarity, we ask for an aye vote on SR 29. Thank you.

Thank you. Senator Bradford. Senator Gonzalez.

Thank you, Mr. President. And I also want to stand as vice-chair of the Latino Caucus in strong solidarity with my friends from the AANHPI Caucus. Having Long Beach, of course, which I always talk about, the largest Cambodian community in the State of California, but just the country as well. I am just always so very proud of the caucus for being so diverse. Of course, we talk about it a lot as Latinos, that we're not a monolith very similar to the AAPI community.

And I want to thank you all specifically for the reception we held and the work we've done together. I know every single one of you have done work with me to support my Cambodian community and to ensure that we're doing so intersectionally and mindfully. So with that, thank you very much. And I respectfully ask for an aye vote as well.

Thank you, Senator Gonzalez. Seeing no other mics, Senator Min, you may close.

I want to thank my colleagues for their comments in support of SR 29 and I respectfully ask for your aye vote.

Thank you, sir. This resolution is eligible for unanimous roll call. Any objections? Seeing none. Ayes 40, noes zero. Okay. Ayes 39, noes zero. Resolution adopted. With that, we're going to go back to the majority floor leader's desk and Senator Min and Senator Nguyen and Senator Wahab have some introductions. The floor Is yours.

Members, thank you for joining the AAPI Caucus today in celebrating AAPI Heritage Month. On your desk, you may have noticed you have some gifts to celebrate the month. There is a book by Simu Liu aka Shang-Chi, the nation's first AAPI superhero, in the movie Shang-Chi. There's also a special pin that you can wear for the remainder of the month to show solidarity with the AAPI Caucus in our community.

And last, you'll find a program on each of your desks that shares the accomplishments of these wonderful people behind us that we'll be honoring today in a brief floor ceremonies. Each of these honorees is also highlighted on the second floor here in the Capitol with a banner hanging in the rotunda. As part of our celebration, the California Asian American and Pacific Islander Legislative Caucus recognizes distinguished AAPI leaders and honors them.

This year, we're proud to honor 12 honorees who have been supported, uplifted and amplified the voices of our AAPI community in this great state of California. To begin our first floor ceremony, I want to invite Senator Nguyen to introduce our first honorees.

Thank you. Our first honoree, Anne Nguyen Oliver, House of M Beauty. Ms. Anne Nguyen Oliver is the founder and CEO of House of M Beauty. She's committed and eager to help those in need within the AAPI community. And as an entrepreneur. Ms. Nguyen Oliver works to guide aspiring AAPIs in business and embolden them in achieving their career goals. She is also avid and giving to the community, such as providing resources to local healthcare agency during the COVID-19 pandemic, and so much more.

Ms. Anne Nguyen Oliver, House of M Beauty. Our next honorees, Ms. Wisa Uemura, the executive director, and Mr. Franco Imperial, the artistic director of San Jose Taiko. San Jose Taiko promotes AAPI inclusion and representation through the art of Taiko, the word for drum in Japanese. San Jose Taiko stresses education and provides educational opportunities that explore the heritage of Taiko. Ms. Wisa Uemura is the executive director, And Mr. Franco Imperial is the artistic director for San Jose Taiko.

And they are both committed to serving the community and serving others through this very unique art form. Please give them a big round applause. Our next honoree, Anni Chung, Self Help for the Elderly. As president CEO of Self Help for the Elderly, Ms. Chung has assisted more than 40,000 immigrant AAPI seniors in assessing resources and care since 1981.

She has extended her efforts to support the AAPI community by serving as the Tri Chair for Elder Abuse on the Family Violence Council, as a board member of the Board of the Wildflowers Institute, and as a producer for the Chinese Journal. Additionally, she has been a member of the California Commission on Aging since 2020. Please give her a big round of applause. Our next honorees, David and Maryann Fong, Million Dollar Baby.

Mr. Daniel and Ms. Mary Ann Fong is a founder of Million Dollar Baby. Alongside Million Dollar Baby. As AAPI business owners, they employ their efforts to promote the growth of other AAPI businesses. Mr. And Mrs. Fong emphasized the importance of AAPI culture and emphasized equality in their workplace. Mr. Fong is also a mythbuster and teacher as well. Please give them a big round of applause.

Thank you, Senator Nguyen. I now want to invite Senator Wahab up to introduce the next round of honorees.

Thank you. Our next honoree is Sameena Usman with Support Life Foundation. Throughout her career, Ms. Sameena Usman has been committed to fighting for inclusion and rights for immigrants, Muslims, and many more in the United States. As the former senior government relations coordinator for the San Francisco Bay Area office, she worked proactively to address discrimination within the community, expressing her concerns to those who hold office. Ms. Usman continues to support and fight for Muslims living in the United States as the outreach and advocacy consultant at Support Life Relations.

Our next honoree is Ms. Anh Phoong. Ms. Anh Phoong is the President and CEO of Fong Law. Fostered by her experience as an AAPI immigrant, she is committed to helping those in need. During the COVID-19 pandemic, she provided healthcare workers with resources such as N95 masks, as well as aided those who experienced discrimination and hate crimes during the pandemic.

Many of you here may also be aware of her work with the Sacramento Kings to support the Asian Resources Incorporated organization. Let's give it up. Benny Luo of Next Shark. As the founder of Next Shark, an AAPI News platform company, Mr. Benny Luo has substantially contributed to providing the community with up to date AAPI reports in various areas featuring political issues to AAPI Sports News. Mr. Luo was recognized in the Forbes 30 under 30 list in 2018 for media. Thank you.

Thank you, Senator Wahab. Now, I have the privilege of introducing our final set of honorees. And first, I would like to introduce Julia Gouw. Ms. Julia Gouw is the Chairwoman of the board at Piermont Bank. Along with her work as a banker, she is well known for advocating for AAPI representation in the entertainment industry. She's promoted AAPI diversity and inclusivity within the industry by contributing to opportunities organized by the Coalition of Asian Pacifics in Entertainment.

In addition, she serves on the Board of Trustees for the Academy Museum of Motion Pictures and the Board of Directors of Pacific Life. Please give a round of applause honoring Ms. Gouw. Our next honoree is Mr. Travis Kyota. Oh, he said stay there. Okay. Mr. Travis Kyota is the Head of Corporate Global Affairs at East West Bank, and his extensive knowledge in the banking industry and with government allows him to be an exceptional leader.

He's deeply involved in the community and works as a board member for a number of AAPI organizations, including the Asian Art Museum of San Francisco and Asian and Pacific Islander American Vote. Let's give it up for Mr. Kyota. Next up, we have someone who is a familiar presence in this building, Ms. Jodi Hicks, President and CEO of Planned Parenthood Affiliates of California.

Throughout her career, she has employed her expertise in public policy to push stridently for legislative reforms, and she assists different agencies in achieving political and financial support. She was previously the Vice President of Government Relations at the California Medical Association and has been named one of Capitol Weekly's Top 100 for her advocacy work. Thank you so much, Ms. Hicks.

And last but not least, certainly, we have Dr. Albert W. Young. Dr. Young is a physician and Chief Administrative Officer at ApolloMed Holdings and is associated with the Allied Pacific IPA and Network management. He's a representative of the work that AAPIs do within the medical field on behalf of all of us. He is a bright light in his field. Let's give it up for Dr. Young. So I want to congratulate all of our 2023 AAPI Heritage Month honorees. You are all amazing Californians, Amazing Americans.

We thank you for making our state and our country a better place to live, work, and play. The dome of the Capitol will be lit in red and gold in recognition of Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month. That's going to be kind of cool to see. And to honor the achievements of our honorees and all of the AAPIs throughout the state. We're proud to stand with you and are proud to celebrate AAPI Heritage Month with all of you. Thank you so much.

Thank you. Senator Min. Congratulations to all of our honorees. And if they would come forward to the Rostrum, we'll do a series of photos.

Now, we're going to invite the caucus up for a picture with the AAPI guests. The rest of the Senators, the rest of the Senators, come on up. We welcome you.

Okay, now just PT Atkins and Leader Jones with our guests. PT Atkins and Leader Jones with our guests.

And we'll have a brief pause as our guests leave the chambers. And congratulations again to our guests.

All right. As we continue to work through the daily file, we're up to...

All right, we're good to proceed. Up next, file item 140, Senator Grove. And she's prepared. Secretary, please read.

Senate Bill 293 by Senator Grove, an act relating to pupil assessments.

Senator Grove.

Thank you, Mr. President. Colleagues, today I present SB 293, which would require the California Department of Education to make the California Assessment of Student Performance Progress results publicly available to everyone on October or by October 15 of each year. Delaying this releases of information makes it more difficult for people to make decisions over investments and improve student performance. SB 293 would create a transparency is a transparency measure by requiring the CDE to publicly release the statewide results before, like I said, or by October 15 each year. It has no opposition and got out of Committee. I respectfully ask for an aye vote.

Thank you, Senator Grove. Any members wishing to comment? Seeing no mics up. This is eligible for unanimous roll call. Any objections? Seeing none. Ayes 39, no zero, measure passes. Moving on to file item 141, Senator Rubio. She is prepared. Secretary, please read.

Senate Bill 376 by Senator Rubio, an act related to human trafficking.

Senator Rubio, floor is yours.

Thank you, Mr. President. Ladies and gentlemen of the Senate, today I'm proud to rise to present SB 376, which is a critical measure to help victims of human trafficking. This bill would grant a victim of human trafficking the right to have an advocate present while being interviewed by police or law enforcement. Unfortunately, right now, the law only allows an advocate for victims of sexual assault and domestic violence, but they are excluded.

But we know that victims of human trafficking also go through a lot of barriers and a lot of trauma. So we want to make sure that they have someone present to help them navigate the legal system. They're extremely vulnerable, as we know, and oftentimes they need assistance that's just understanding what they're saying. This bill passed with bipartisan support. With that, I respectfully ask for an aye vote. Thank you.

Thank you, Senator. Any members wishing to speak? Senator Grove.

Thank you, Mr. President. I, too rise in support of SB 376. We did a lot of research because of SB 14 on human trafficking. And some of the things that the district attorneys and law enforcement were sharing with us is that it's not always easy and it takes a longer time to have these women and these victims to be able to give their testimony or their story of what happened to them. And the reason is, sometimes they just need to sleep.

Sometimes they haven't slept in weeks. Sometimes they need something to eat. They haven't eaten in days. Sometimes they just need somebody to help translate some of the language that they use, because some of the language they use may not be easily understood by the average person. And I think this is a great bill, and it will provide a huge asset to the victims and hopefully future survivors of human trafficking, and respectfully ask for an aye vote on behalf of the author.

Thank you. Senator Grove. Seeing no other mics up, Senator Rubio, you may close.

Thank you. I want to thank the great Senator from Bakersfield for her comments and her advocacy as well, and joining in partnership to help protect victims of human trafficking. With that, I respectfully ask for an aye vote. Thank you.

Thank you. This measure is eligible for unanimous roll call. Any objections? Seeing none. Ayes 39. No zero. Measure passes. Now, members, moving on to file item 142, Senator Newman. He has prepared secretary, please read.

Senate Bill 386 by Senator Newman, an act relating to elections.

Senator Newman, the floor is yours.

Thank you, Mr. President. I rise to present SB 386, an Elections Omnibus Bill which makes three minor changes to California's election code, all in the service of further ensuring transparency in the electoral process while more effectively stewarding taxpayer dollars.

First, the measure would delete an antiquated section of California's Elections Code that requires every California ballot printed in presidential election years to contain detailed instructions informing voters of the process by which presidential electors are chosen, where electors are no longer chosen in that manner by political parties in this era. Second, SB 386 will increase the efficiency of ballot tabulation processes by allowing for the extension of a signature verification period.

Not the signature collection period, but the verification period for state petitions or recall petitions during election season to ensure that election workers can officially manage the counting and tabulation of ballots at those times where they would otherwise also be required to simultaneously conduct petition signature verification. In recent years, this overlap has resulted into the need to hire supplemental staff, causing great expense to municipalities, and could result in a delay in vote counting and reporting.

This provision will enable election officials to manage their resources more efficiently and thereby reduce taxpayer cost. The third provision is in order to prevent confusion for potential candidates in city elections. City clerks or others administering elections for a municipality would be required to post information to their website at least two days prior to the filing deadline informing voters of which seats for a vote will be considered open contest races which has bearing on when a filing date for a particular seat would close.

Each of these provisions is useful and necessary to eliminate confusion while providing transparency and efficiency in the conduct of elections. I am respectfully asking for an Aye vote today.

Thank you. Any Senators like to make a comment? Seeing no mics up. Secretary, please call the roll.

[Roll call].

Secretary please call the absent members.

[Roll call].

Ayes, 31. Noes eight. Measure passes. Now, moving on to file item 144, Senator Ochoa Bogh. I see that she is prepared. Secretary, please read.

Senate Bill 531 by Senator Ochoa Bogh, an act related to financial literacy.

Senator, the floor is yours.

Thank you, Mr. President.

President, Members, Senate Bill 531 will simply require the Student Aid Commission and the Department of Financial Protection and Innovation to display a link to the Financial Literacy Guidance on their respective websites. The guidance, created by the Federal Student Aid Information Center, includes information on budgeting, borrowing and repayment and has other resources aimed at helping students make informed decisions. I feel so strongly about this literacy, about financial literacy education, that I added the link to my own Senate website. Overall, I believe California students need more financial literacy education, but especially young adults who are heading towards a more financial Independence. I respectfully ask for an aye vote.

Thank you, Senator. Any Senator wishing to comment? I seeing no mics up. This is eligible for unanimous roll call. Any objections? Seeing none. Ayes 39. No's zero. Measure passes. Moving on to file item 145, Senator Rubio. She is prepared. Secretary, please read.

Senate Bill 626 by Senator Rubio, an act relating to workplace safety.

Senator, floor is yours.

Thank you, Mr. President. Ladies and gentlemen of the Senate, today I'm proud to present SB 220, sorry, 626, which protects hospitality workers. What it does is it protects the workers from secondhand smoke, which we know is very dangerous. It really prohibits... What it does, it prohibits the smoking of tobacco products within all hotel motel rooms in California. In 1973, California passed a law that would exempt smoking in hotels, except that they left a 20% exemption.

So that means that, today, you go to hotels and they're still smoking, and we need to make sure that the workers are protected. The guests are protected. A study by San Diego State University found that hotels and motels with designated smoking rooms continue to pose a high risk of exposure to dangerous toxins to people staying in hotels. So today, I respectfully ask for an aye vote. Let's continue to protect these employees and our guests. Thank you.

Thank you, Senator. Any other Senator wishing to comment? Seeing no mics up. Secretary, please call the roll.

Allen. Alvarado-Gil. Aye. Archuleta. Aye. Ashby. Aye. Atkins. Becker. Aye. Blakespear. Aye. Bradford. Aye. Caballero. Aye. Cortese. Aye. Dahle. No. Dodd. Aye. Durazo. Aye. Eggman. Aye. Glazer. Aye. Gonzalez. Aye. Grove. No. Hurtado. Aye. Jones. No. Laird. Aye. Limon. Aye. McGuire. Aye. Menjivar. Aye. Min. Aye. Newman. Aye. Nguyen. Niello. No. Ochoa Bogh. Padilla. Aye. Portantino. Aye. Roth. Aye. Rubio. Aye. Seyarto. No. Skinner. Aye. Smallwood-Cuevas. Aye. Stern. Aye. Umberg. Aye. Wahab. Aye. Wiener. Aye. Wilk. Aye.

Secretary, please call the absent members.

Allen. Aye. Atkins. Nguyen. Ochoa Bogh.

Ayes 32. No's 5. Measure passes. Now we move to file item 146, Senator Cortese. He's prepared. Secretary, please read.

Senate Bill 636 by Senator Cortese, an act relating to workers compensation.

Senator, floor is yours.

Thank you, Mr. President and Members. SB 636 would require utilization review to be done by doctors licensed in California. This would only apply to private workers compensation cases, not public. Utilization review is when a workers' comp insurance company reviews a treating physician's treatment recommendations. They can approve, they can modify, or they can deny treatment based on what they consider medically necessary. Under current law, doctors doing utilization review for workers' comp cases do not have to be licensed in California.

If a reviewer not licensed in California makes a decision that results in harm to a patient, that doctor is not accountable to the California Medical Board. This lack of accountability for malpractice is a danger to patients. This Bill is co-sponsored by the Union of American Physicians and Dentists, the California Neurological Society, and ASME. Mr. President, I respectfully ask for your Aye vote.

Thank you, Senator Cortese, Senator Grove.

Thank you, Mr. President. I would support this Bill because utilization review is important. And I do agree with the concept that the author is bringing forward about utilization review medical providers being certified by the State of California. Because obviously, if someone in Texas, Arizona, Florida writes a report and doesn't have the best interest or understand California workers' comp law and as an employer, I think it's important that our employees get adequate benefit treatments.

But I am opposing the Bill because I don't think that the author has taken into consideration and he can address my comments if I'm indifferent with him. But I don't think he's taken into consideration that public employees get hurt too and they should have the same benefits that private employers have under utilization review.

And if you're not going to require a doctor to treat one of our public employees like any of our staff or law enforcement or teachers or anyone like that, if you're not going to allow them to have the same benefits as a doctor to be subject under the same rules for utilization review for workers' comp on the public side. I think it's very, very discriminatory against our public employees and respectfully ask for a no vote until the Bill can address that issue.

Thank you, Senator Grove, Senator Roth.

Thank you, Mr. President. I will be supporting the Bill today. However, during a fairly recent Rules Committee hearing where I was the Substitute Rules Committee Member, we heard some testimony from an appointee to the Workers' Compensation Board and I asked some questions about workers compensation reform and specifically asked questions about utilization review.

And it was clear to me from the testimony that the workers' compensation attorney, now I assume board member, provided that the utilization review system in the workers compensation process is not as smooth or as timely as it needs to be.

And so my only concern, and I've spoken to the author about this, I asked the author to take a look at the time it takes to complete utilization review in the workers' compensation process to ensure that this Bill requiring California physicians, which I support for the reasons stated, does not unduly lengthen the utilization review process. Because right now it is way too long to get a process approved or a prescription refill approved. The author's committed to me that he will do that as this Bill moves forward.

So Roth will be an Aye today on this Bill. And thank you for your efforts, sir.

Thank you, Senator Roth. Seeing no other mics up, Senator Cortese, you may close.

Thank you, Mr. President. I would just close by respectfully responding to the comments. Senator from Bakersfield makes a great point. The Bill was originally envisioned to cover both public and private employees. Because we're trying to move a whole body of work to California doctors in negotiations with stakeholders involved it was decided it would be better for now to take one tranche, basically, which is private sector.

And this rolls out according to the way it should then we can come back and we can have a discussion about bringing public employees in. So I want you to know that I did consider that. And, of course, to the Senator from Riverside, yes, I did commit to working on that issue and trying to get more data on processing time and so forth. With that, I respectfully ask for your Aye vote.

Thank you, Senator Cortese. Secretary, call the roll.

[Roll call].

Senator Cortese moves the call.

Now we're moving on to file item 152, Senator Hurtado. Are you prepared? She is. Secretary, please read.

Senate Bill 707 by Senator Hurtado. An act relating to... Excuse me. Senate Bill 701 by Senator Hurtado, an act relating to agriculture.

Thank you, Mr. President. I rise today to present SB 701, which makes necessary updates to existing law regarding registration fees for wholesalers of fruits and vegetables for purpose of food safety standardization programs. When we shop for our food, we often don't think that the fruits and vegetables we purchase at grocery stores or markets could be harmful to our own health. We can usually trust that we are buying high quality food, but that is not always the case.

In a recent report, NPR reported that frozen organic strawberries sold at popular stores across the US had been recalled over a potential link to an outbreak of hepatitis A infections. This outbreak led to multiple people getting sick and even hospitalized, a couple of them, which triggered an investigation by the CDC. The investigation traced the strawberries back to certain farms located in Baja California, Mexico, in 2022 that produced and sold those strawberries to multiple companies in California and the US.

Food safety is a major problem that contributes to the food insecurity we have seen and will continue to see as the world changes around us. Within each California county, AG commissioners are tasked with enforcing wholesomeness, absence of contamination or decay, standard containers and labeling, as well as accurate responsibility statements, which help trace products back to origins in the event of foodborne illness. SB 701 seeks to empower those who are doing what they can to ensure Californians are consuming safe and high quality fresh fruits and vegetables.

Specifically, SB 701 expands authority to any interested county to adopt a registration fee program, updates maximum fee allowed to 500 to assist in covering the operational cost associated with fruit and vegetable standardization inspections, and removes the requirement that limited the fees to one third of the cost of the inspections conducted by the county agricultural commissioners. I respectfully ask for an aye vote.

Thank you, Senator Hurtado. Any other Senator wish to comment? Seeing no mics up. Secretary, please call the roll.

Allen. Alvarado-Gil. Aye. Archuleta. Aye. Ashby. Aye. Atkins. Becker. Aye. Blakespear. Aye. Bradford. Aye. Caballero. Aye. Cortese. Aye. Dahle. No. Dodd. Aye. Durazo. Aye. Eggman. Aye. Glazer. Aye. Gonzalez. Aye. Grove. No. Hurtado. Aye. Jones. Laird. Aye. Limon. Aye. McGuire. Aye. Menjivar. Aye. Min. Aye. Newman. Aye. Nguyen. Niello. Aye. Ochoa Bogh. Aye. Padilla. Aye. Portantino. Aye. Roth. Aye. Rubio. Aye. Seyarto. Aye. Skinner. Aye. Smallwood-Cuevas. Stern. Aye. Umberg. Aye. Wahab. Aye. Wiener. Aye. Wilk. Aye.

Secretary, please call the absent members.

Allen. Allen, aye. Atkins. Jones. Jones, aye. Nguyen. Smallwood-Cuevas.

Senator. Excuse me. Senator Hurtado moves the call. Moving on to file item 153, Senator Padilla. He is prepared. Secretary, please read.

Senate Bill 713 by Senator Padilla, an act related to land use.

Senator Padilla.

Thank you, Mr. President. I rise today to present Senate Bill 713, which further cements state law by explicitly defining development standards within the state density bonus law to include those adopted through local initiative, thus shielding affordable housing developers from frivolous lawsuits and ensuring scarce financial resources are not strained by unnecessary delays and instructions.

SB 713 codifies a recent technical assistance memorandum from the Department of Housing Community Development, restates the law that local government cannot impose standards that stop state density bonus projects from moving forward. This greater certainty allows developers to proceed with confidence and to develop more housing, faster. Colleagues, this bill has not had any no votes, and I would respectfully ask for your aye vote.

Thank you, Senator. Any Senator wishing to comment? Seeing no mics up. Secretary, please call the roll.

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

Secretary, please call the absent members.

Atkins. Dahle. Dodd. Dodd, aye. Durazo. Aye. Grove. Nguyen. Niello. Ochoa Bogh. Seyarto. Smallwood-Cuevas. Wilk.

Senator Padilla moves the call. Moving on to file item 154, Senator Wahab. And she's prepared. Secretary, please read.

Senate Bill 461 by Senator Wahab, an act relating to public employment.

Senator, floor is yours.

Thank you.

SB 461 adds religious or cultural observances to the list of state holidays and authorizes state employees to take 8 hours of their choice in lieu of 8 hours of personal time. This bill does not increase available holiday credits or hours off for state employees, and therefore will have negligible fiscal impact. Instead, SB 461 will increase inclusion and awareness of the true diversity in our state workforce.

It will improve employee employer relationships by formally recognizing more holidays and encouraging people to use paid time to celebrate their heritage. It will reinforce California's values for respect and acceptance of diverse traditions. I respectfully ask for an aye vote.

Thank you. Any Senators wishing to comment? Seeing no mics up. Secretary, please call the roll.

Allen. Aye. Alvarado-Gil. Aye. Archuleta. Aye. Ashby. Aye. Atkins. Becker. Aye. Blakespear. Aye. Bradford. Aye. Caballero. Aye. Cortese. Aye. Dahle. Aye. Dodd. Aye. Durazo. Aye. Eggman. Aye. Glazer. Aye. Gonzalez. Aye. Grove. Aye. Hurtado. Aye. Jones. 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. Stern. Aye. Umberg. Aye. Wahab. Aye. Wiener. Aye. Wilk. Aye.

Senator Wahab moves the call. Up next, file item 155, Senator Skinner. And looks like she's prepared. Secretary, please read.

Senate Bill 680 by Senator Skinner, an act relating to motor vehicles.

Senator Skinner, the floor is yours.

Thank you very much.

Whoops. Thanks very much, Mr. President and Members. I think you've probably noticed the various news reports about how the price of cars continues to increase. Regardless, the fact that inflation is cooling and the supply issues that impacted car prices during the pandemic, supply chain issues, have been many, much resolved. This bill was specifically addressing the fact that car dealers seem to inflate the price of electric cars even higher than other cars.

And there seem to be some correlation between the rebates that both the state and the feds are giving regarding electric cars and that price increase. But the bill has been significantly amended. So, originally, the Bill would hold the car dealer to selling or to only selling the electric vehicle at the MSRP, or what's called the Manufactured Suggested Retail Price.

It has now been significantly amended so that the bill just requires the dealer to provide clear and conspicuous notices to the consumers of when the electric vehicle price exceeds the manufacturer's suggested retail. So there is no mandate on the price to the dealer. Purely consumer information. That is what the bill does now and, again, back to that media reports. Washington Post, for example, reported that more than 80% of US car buyers paid above the MSRP in 2022, compared to the only 0.3% back in 2020. So, purely consumer information bill. And with that, I ask for your aye vote on SB 680.

Thank you, Senator Skinner. Senator Grove.

Thank you, Mr. President. I appreciate the author taking some amendments. If in her close, she could clarify the fact, as I had a lot of people come and meet with me on this. And one of the main concerns that new car dealers had was that they would be required to sell under what was at the MSRP, but somebody could purchase that vehicle, have it two days, and turn around and sell it for that number.

That's within the 80% of those individuals who paid more than the MSRP. And I just want to make sure with the new amendments that just came about that I haven't had a chance to read, and I apologize, it addresses that specific issue. Thank you.

Thank you, Senator Grove, any other Senator wishing to comment? Seeing none. Senator Skinner, you may close.

Thank you. Then I will address our colleague from Kern County's question in this close. Yes, to be very specific, as I stated, the bill no longer requires the dealer to sell at the manufacturer's suggested retail. In other words, it no longer puts those price mandates on the dealer. Purely requires the dealer to provide consumer information. That is all the bill does at this moment.

Thank you, Senator. And with that, Secretary, please call the roll.

Allen. Aye. Alvarado-Gil. Archuleta. Aye. Ashby. Aye. Atkins. Becker. Blakespear. Aye. Bradford. Aye. Caballero. Aye. Cortese. Aye. Dahle. No. Dodd. Durazo. Aye. Eggman. Aye. Glazer. Gonzalez. Aye. Grove. Hurtado. Jones. No. Laird. Aye. Limon. Aye. McGuire. Aye. Menjivar. Aye. Min. Newman. Aye. Nguyen. No. Niello. Ochoa Bogh. Padilla. Aye. Portantino. Aye. Roth. Roth, aye. Rubio. Aye. Seyarto. No. Skinner. Aye. Smallwood-Cuevas. Stern. Aye. Umberg. Aye. Wahab. Aye. Wiener. Aye. Wilk. No.

Senator Skinner moves the call. Moving on to file item 157, Senator Umberg. He's prepared. Secretary, please read.

Senate Bill 55 by Senator Umberg, an act relating to vehicles.

Senator, floor is yours.

Thank you, Mr. President, Colleagues. I think all of us are familiar with catalytic converter theft and the epidemic that has now occurred in California. It's illustrated by the beloved Oscar Mayer Wienermobile. No relation. Just lost its catalytic converter. In all seriousness, this is an issue that is pervasive. What this Bill does is it requires that a unique number of vin number be etched on the catalytic converter. I urge and aye vote.

Thank you, Senator. Any Members wishing to comment. Senator Wiener.

Thank you, Mr. President. For the record, it's no longer the Wiener mobile. It's now. The Frank mobile. And I object strenuously to that. But it was still bad that its catalytic converter was stolen. We will be voting aye.

Thank you for that, clarification. Okay, seeing no other mics up, Senator Umberg, do you want to close?

On behalf of the Frankmobile, I ask for an aye vote.

Very good. Secretary, please call the role.

Allen. Alvarado-Gil. Aye. Archuleta. Aye. Ashby. Aye. Atkins. Becker. Aye. Blakespear. Aye. Bradford. Aye. Caballero. Aye. Cortese. Aye. Dahle. Aye. Dodd. Aye. Durazo. Aye. Eggman. Aye. Glazer. Aye. Gonzalez. Aye. Grove. Hurtado. Aye Jones. Aye. Laird. Aye. Limon. Aye. Mcguire. Aye. Menjivar. Aye. Min. Aye. Newman. Aye. Nguyen. Aye. Niello. Ochoa Bogh.

Aye. Padilla. Aye. Portantino. Aye. Roth. Aye. Rubio. Aye. Seyarto. Aye. Skinner. Aye. Smallwood-Cuevas. Stern. Aye. Umberg. Aye. Wahab. Aye. Wiener. Aye. Wilk. Aye.

Senator Umberg moves to call. Up next file, item 158. Senator Umberg, are you prepared? Seeing that he is secretary, please read Senate Bill 99 by Senator Umberg, an act relating to courts. Senator Umberg. Thank you, Mr. President and colleagues. This Bill is a simple sunset extension on last year's budget trailer Bill, which was AB 199.

The courts have used remote proceedings here, in particular, since the pandemic. These provisions provide for testimony to be able to be adduced remotely. It also requires that a court reporter be present in the courtroom. I urge an aye vote.

Thank you, Senator Umberg. Any members wishing to comment? Senator Durazo.

Thank you. Thank you very much, Mr. President. Through our Budget Subcommitee 5, which I chair, we've had over, during the pandemic, many hearings throughout. We've continued to have extensive discussions, debates, we heard from witnesses, experts, practitioners, judges, lawyers, advocates. And one really important aspect of this discussion was, not only how do we maintain, but how do we increase access to justice. There are many who are not used to the system and many times feel intimidated. They do not have the confidence that some of us have to be able to walk into a courtroom, especially when their freedom is at stake or the custody of their children.

I've heard not only about how not everyone has a personal computer or space in their homes. We've heard from court reporters who have the highest responsibility to produce an accurate record of proceedings, the problems they face in remote proceedings, and how an inaccurate or incomplete transcript deny someone justice. I don't deny. I don't believe in any way that the author doesn't care about these issues. I know that the author does. But right now, for me, it's too early in the process to extend. And so I wanted to make sure that it was clear what the reasons were of why I cannot support this bill. Thank you.

Thank you, Senator Durazo. Senator Wiener.

Thank you, Mr. President. Having heard various of these bills from the author in different committees. I've expressed my discomfort with some of the scale of remote court proceedings, but also, my understanding is that no one will be forced to participate remotely. Particularly, no defendant will be forced to participate. And so, although I will be honest that I continue to have a discomfort level, I'll be supporting the bill today.

Thank you, sir. Any other member wishing to comment? Seeing no mics up. Senator Umberg, you may close.

Thank you. My colleague from San Francisco is correct. This bill in particular, pertains to criminal proceedings. And criminal defendants have a right to be present and confront witnesses that are being used against them. And so, yes, that is true, that in any criminal proceeding, if a defendant wishes to be present, defendant may be present and shall be present.

One of the challenges that we face overall in our system of justice is access to the courts. Remote access provides an opportunity for folks to participate who wouldn't otherwise be able to participate. Typically, for a status conference, you might need miss a day of work. If you can do it remotely, you miss maybe an hour of work. There are many courts, collaborative courts, really important, really important. For example, for parents to be able to participate remotely in collaborative courts. It is a benefit to most Californians. If someone doesn't have access to the facility to be able to participate remotely, then the public law center or other locations may do so. Urge an aye vote.

Thank you. With that, Secretary, please call the roll.

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

Secretary, please call the absent members.

Archuleta. Aye. Atkins. Durazo. Jones. Aye. Newman. Portantino. Aye. Smallwood-Cuevas.

Ayes 36. No's zero. Measure passes. Now, Members, we're moving on to file item 161, Senator Limon. She's prepared. Secretary, please read.

Senate Bill 390 by Senator Limon, an act relating to greenhouse gases.

Senator Limon.

Thank you. Colleagues, I present to you SB 390, a Bill that would enact protections for purchases of carbon offsets. Carbon offsets are tradable financial instruments that claim to represent a reduction of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere. However, due to lack of regulations and enforceable standards, the carbon offsets markets are broken, and we are seeing businesses lose confidence in this product. This Bill would bring much needed clarity and accountability to voluntary offsets, to the voluntary offset space.

By establishing truth in advertising rules for offsets, we want to ensure that Californians receive the benefits that they believe underpinned these instruments when they purchase an offset. This Bill has no registered opposition, and I respectfully ask for an aye vote.

Thank you, Senator Limon. Any Members wishing to comment? Seeing no mics up. Secretary, please call the roll.

[Roll call]

Secretary, please call the absent Members.

[Roll call]

Ayes 32. No's zero. Measure passes. Moving now to file item 163, Senator Portantino. He is prepared. Secretary, please read.

Senate Bill 538 by Senator Portantino, an act relating to transportation.

Senator Portantino, the floor is yours.

Thank you, Mr. Chair and Members. I rise to support SB 538, which would create in the Department of Transportation, an appointment of a Chief Advisor on cycling and active transportation. Think of it. Someone dedicated within Caltrans with a specific mission to make our streets safer for pedestrians, bike riders, and to look at opportunities for active transportation.

Other countries have used this position as, believe it or not, a position directly to a Prime Minister specific to help other countries make those countries more bike-friendly and pedestrian-friendly. We should have that position internally within the California Department of Transportation, and I respectfully ask for an aye vote.

Thank you, sir. Any Members wishing to comment? Seeing no mics up, Senator, I mean, Secretary, please call the roll.

[Roll call]

Secretary, please call the absent Members.

[Roll call]

Aye's 31. No's five. Measure passes. Now, Members, moving on to file item 164, Senator Stern, and I can see he's prepared. Secretary, please read.

Senate Bill 572 by Senator Stern, an act related to natural gas.

Senator Stern, the floor is yours.

Thank you, Members. Those of you who went through last December may recall in your own family's budget what happened, not just prices at the pump when the oil industry was making windfall profits, but also in your natural gas bills. People around the state of California lost billions during that period of time. And this Bill is a modest effort to try to at least get some answers from what exactly happened. We know the gas prices spiked. We've dealt with oil prices spiking earlier this year.

But in this regulated sector, we were supposed to have a handle on these things, in that people on fixed income are receiving $800 bills in the middle of a cold snap and have to decide over life and death stuff. It's serious, it's dangerous. And our system and our regulatory structure isn't, I don't think, designed to handle what we're about to face. The natural gas economy is looking beyond our borders now. The LNG markets are where the profits at truly, selling to Europe, selling to Asia.

We're becoming an export market. And that's, frankly, been one of the main counterweights to Russia in this clash, is the natural gas market export business of the United States of America. I have concerns about that export business, but I actually think that belies the point. The bigger point is that that's what the marketplace is doing and our consumer base is at risk of getting squeezed here. And that broader structural question, I think, needs to be asked.

I don't think this Bill fully gets at that question because we're still relying on our federal regulators in our state to do that work. But I would just say that this Bill commits us to hearing what FERC and the Public Utilities Commission have to say about why we just ate a few billion dollars, and whether we should expect more. And I hope you'll all join me in at least supporting this quest for answers. What the solutions are, we do not yet know I would say.

Humbly ask for your aye vote.

Thank you, Senator Stern, any other Members looking to comment? Senator Grove.

Thank you, Mr. President. I rise in support of this Bill, but I wish we would all look at ourselves in the mirror because I believe it's the policies that get passed out of this building that create extra burdens and layers of regulatory processes on all of our utility providers.

If you were to look at either gas prices or you were to look at utility prices, and you look at consistently over the last 10 years, there's been a couple of spikes in gas prices, and immediately there was this windfall tax Bill. But if you look at something that goes up consistently, it's our utility prices.

But if you look at the regulatory process that require underground lines, all the regulatory processes and the policies that pass through this building that demand more and more resources, go to infrastructure and other things that are deemed necessary, in order to meet goals that this legislative body sets. I think that we would realize if we looked in the mirror and we addressed those policies, it would immediately address some of the cost increase to California consumers. I do support this Bill.

I hope that the Public Utilities Commission will come back and say, 'Look, if these bills weren't enacted or if this wasn't done, then these prices would be lower'. It's a supply and demand issue. And I think that when we decrease the ability for gas companies to create supply to sell to our constituents, I think that's probably one of the biggest problems that we face. So again, it's a study Bill.

I hope the CPUC comes back and says, or an audit, and the CPUC comes back and know these are the reasons why costs are going up. And again, we can look at ourselves in the mirror and hopefully address some of those things when this report comes back.

Thank you, Senator Grove. Senator Stern, you may close.

Thank you. I would just say in closing, I hope that the CPUC does listen to Senator Grove's very good questions there and looks hard at exactly those kinds of issues and gets back to all of us with some real answers. And it can't come quickly enough. I just have to say, a climate credit can't solve this crisis. We designed that climate credit.

But getting another $50 in the mail this year is not going to deal with your $900 Bill over Christmas that might have put you out of your house in the cold and that we'll never fully account for it. But I would submit that people were injured during these events and that we had lost life in addition to all that sort of financial burden. Because when you lose heat, bad things happen. With that, I hope we can turn the corner here and respectfully ask for your aye vote.

Thank you, Senator Stern. This is eligible for unanimous roll call. Any objections? Seeing none. Aye's 40. No zero. Measure passes. Up next file item 165, Senator Eggman and she's prepared.

Secretary, please read.

Senate Bill 586 by Senator Eggman, an act relating to flood management.

Senator Eggman, floor is yours.

Thank you very much. SB 586 is a Bill that seeks to update adequate progress created for flood projects to more reflect what is reality today. I respectfully ask for your aye vote.

Thank you, Senator Eggman. Any Members wishing to comment? Seeing no mics up. This is eligible for unanimous roll call. Any objections? Seeing none. Aye's 40. No zero. Measure passes. Now moving on to file item 167, Senator Gonzalez. She is prepared.

Secretary please read.

Senate Bill 674 by Senator Gonzalez, an act relating to air pollution.

Senator, the floor is yours.

Thank you, Mr. President and Members. I rise today to present SB 674, which will create statewide standards for the refinery fence-line and community air monitoring program. The refinery fence-line program, which was codified in 2017, requires refineries to install and maintain air monitors along their facility fence line, to publish this air monitoring data online and to send real time alerts to the community and to also take corrective action when dangerous levels of pollutants are detected.

In the six years since this program was launched, there have been serious deficiencies in implementation that are depriving fence-line communities of the information and protections they need. It will address the shortcomings and will ensure that there is greater transparency along in these communities as well. I respectfully ask for an aye vote.

Thank you, Senator Gonzalez. Any Members wishing to comment? Seeing no mics up. Secretary, please call the roll.

[Roll call]

Secretary, please call the absent Members.

[Roll call]

Aye's 31. No's six. Measure passes. Now Members, we're moving on to file item 168, Senator Eggman, and she's prepared. Secretary, please read

Senate Bill 746 by Senator Eggman, an act related to public contracts.

Senator, floor is yours.

Thank you very much.

SB 746 adds hydrogen to the alternative fuels that public agencies are authorized to enter an energy service contract with, and adds transit districts to the list of public agencies that may enter into said contracts. I respectfully ask for your aye vote.

Thank you. Any other Members wishing to comment? Seeing no mics up. This is eligible for unanimous roll call. Any objections? Seeing none. Aye's 40. No zero. Measure passes. Now moving on to file item 173, Senator Umberg, and he's prepared. Secretary, please read.

Senate Bill 30 by Senator Umberg, an act relating to transportation.

Senator Umberg.

Thank you, Mr. President, colleagues. This Bill simply says that, just like signs on our interstates and other roadways where we indicate that there's gas available at a gas station, this would simply say that charging is available and also hydrogen fueling is available at certain locations. I urge an aye vote.

Thank you. Any Members wishing to comment? Seeing no mics up. This is eligible for unanimous roll call. Any objections? Seeing none. Aye's 40 No zero. Now, Members, moving on to file item 176, Senator Min, and he's prepared. Secretary, please read.

Senate Bill 475 by Senator Min, an act relating to park property.

Senator Min, floor is yours.

Thank you, Mr. President. This is a local Bill about a fire station support. I ask for your aye vote

Well done, Senator Min. Any Members wishing to comment? Seeing none. This is eligible for unanimous roll call. Any objections? Seeing none. Aye's 40 No zero. Measure passes. Now moving on to file item 178, Senator Stern, and he's prepared. Secretary, please read.

Senate Bill 664 by Senator Stern, an act related to energy.

Senator Stern.

Thank you, Mr. President. This Bill would make sure we look at extreme weather when we're doing energy planning. Respectfully ask for your aye vote.

Thank you, sir. Any Members wishing to comment? Seeing no mics up. This is eligible for unanimous roll call. Any objections? Seeing none. Aye's 40. No's zero. Now, moving on to file item 180, Senator Durazo and she's prepared secretary, please.

Senate Bill 723 by Senator Durazo, an act relating to employment.

Senator Durazo, floor is yours.

Thank you, Mr. President. I rise to present SB 723, which will give hospitality workers the right to return to their jobs when they are needed. These rehiring rights were originally established in 2021. This successful law has helped workers go back to work as businesses get better by removing the sunset to the rehiring rights enacted for them. This Bill will help hospitality workers deal with economic crisis, layoffs and uncertainty, and it continues to support economic recovery in the industry.

At the start of the pandemic, low-income workers in the industry, primarily immigrants and women were laid off and anxiously waited to see if they could get their jobs back. The vast majority of the job losses were among hotel housekeepers over the age of 50. These workers had no source of income or security, and many, after many years on the job, they feared employers would only rehire younger, newer workers at lower pay rates.

This is why the Legislature passed SB 93 in 2021, to protect those workers who were laid off due to a nondisciplinary reason. It was clearly needed as the tourist industry reopened for business. In fact, the Labor Commissioner cited a resort in Southern California, the Terranea Resort, for violating the law in not offering 53 workers the jobs back when the resort reopened. The hospitality now continues to be one of the fastest growing employers. Rehiring rights are set to end.

We need to remove the sunset in order for them to continue to have those rights. Employees working in the industry will be allowed to return to the jobs after temporary layoffs where there was no fault of their own that they lost their jobs. I respectfully ask for your aye vote. Thank you.

Thank you, Senator Durazo, any other Members wishing to comment? Seeing no mics up. Secretary, call the roll.

[Roll call]

Secretary, please call the absent Members.

[Roll call]

Aye's 27. No's nine. Measure passes. Now, Members, moving on to file item 186, Senator Laird. He's prepared. Secretary, please read.

Senate Bill 756 by Senator Laird, an act relating to water.

Senator, the floor is yours.

Thank you. Senate Bill 76 authorizes the Water Board to take certain actions in violations for unlicensed cannabis. My office worked with various groups to address their concerns, and we took amendments in Senate Judiciary that were taken here that make clarifying and technical changes to reflect that feedback. The Bill supports support. I respectfully ask for an aye vote.

Thank you, Senator Laird. Any other Members wishing to comment? Seeing no mics up. This is eligible for unanimous roll call. Any objections? Seeing none. Aye's 39. No's zero. Now, Members, we're moving on to file item 187, Senator Rubio. She's prepared. Secretary, please read.

Senate Bill 545 by Senator Rubio, an act relating to juveniles.

Floor is yours.

Thank you, Mr. President, ladies and gentlemen of the Senate. Today I'm proud to present SB 545, the Safe Children Act. SB 545 is sponsored by Human Rights for Kids and passed through Senate Public Safety Committee with unanimous bipartisan support. The Safe Child Act will stop child sex crime victims from being tried as adults in court when they fight back against their abusers. Children who are trafficked, who are sexually abused, need to be recognized as victims who need help and are preyed upon by adults.

But worst of all, if these children fight back against their abusers, are often traumatized again by being tried as adults in a criminal court and sent to prison without any support and help. On behalf of many children that can be saved from a cycle of trauma, I ask for your aye vote. Thank you.

Thank you, Senator. Any Members wishing to comment? Seeing no mics up. Secretary, please call the roll.

[Roll call]

Secretary, please call the absent Members.

[Roll call]

Aye's 36. No's zero. Measure passes. Now, moving on to file item 188. Once again, Senator Rubio, and she's prepared. Secretary, please read.

Senate Bill 20 by Senator Rubio, an act relating to joint powers.

Senator Rubio, the floor is yours.

Thank you, Mr. President, ladies and gentlemen of the Senate. Today, I'm proud to present SB 20, which is an important Bill that will help local governments address California's affordable housing shortage and help homeless individuals. SB 20 is supported by over 25 pro housing groups, local governments, and community organizations from across our entire state. The Bill passed through Senate Committee with unanimous support.

The idea for this Bill comes from an incredible success of the San Gabriel Valley Regional Housing Trust that has been very successful in housing the homeless, feeding them, giving them wrap-around services, as well as helping local governments have the resources to build. I want to make it clear that this is not a mandate for local governments. They still retain their local control. It's just a way of supporting them with finances if they choose to take this option and create a JPA with other cities.

So, once again, this will allow local governments to create their own regional housing trusts without needing to come to the Legislature every single time. As we've seen after my bill back in '19, we've had three or four, and so this will just expedite the process. So with that, I ask for your aye vote. Thank you.

Thank you, Senator. Any other Members wishing to comment? Seeing no mics up secretary, please call the roll.

[Roll call]

Secretary, please call the absent Members.

[Roll call]

Aye's 35. No zero. Measure passes. Now, moving on to file item 189, Senator Dodd. He's prepared. Secretary please read.

Senate Bill 278 by Senator Dodd, an act relating to elder abuse.

Senator Dodd, floor is yours.

Mr. President, Members, I'm presenting SB 278 pertaining to elder financial abuse. SB 278 is about protecting seniors from financial scams, plain and simple. SB 278 is about updating the current law to make clear what financial institutions and other responsible parties need to do to protect elders when red flags signal a senior is being scammed. And with recent amendments, SB 278 is also about providing banks, credit unions, and others a safe harbor when they do the right thing to protect elderly people and their customers.

Elder financial abuse is everywhere. Losses equal $3 billion annually. And once a senior falls prey to financial fraud, they may never recover. SB 278 will clarify what is expected of mandated reporters if they know or should have known that such abuse was taking place. I respectfully ask for your aye vote.

Thank you, Senator Dodd. Any other Members wishing to comment? Senator Umberg.

Thank you, Mr. President, colleagues. Just very briefly, I wanted to commend our colleague for his hard work on this Bill. This is a challenging issue, and the good Senator has amended the Bill to make sure that it's not too broad, make sure that there's a safe harbor provision. And so I also urge an aye vote.

Thank you, Senator. Seeing no other mics up. Secretary, please call the roll.

[Roll call]

Secretary, please call the absent Members.

[Roll call]

Aye's 32. No's five. The measure passes. Now, moving on to file item 200, Senator Durazo. I see that she's prepared. Secretary please read.

Senate Bill 52 by Senator Durazo, an act relating to elections.

Senator, the floor is yours.

Thank you, Mr. President. SB 52 requires cities of two and a half million residents or more to establish an independent redistricting Commission to draw its City Council district lines. Already, redistricting office boundaries for state and several counties, including Los Angeles County, are based on independent redistricting commissions. Currently, major cities, including Los Angeles, are some of the largest remaining local entities yet to adopt independent redistricting.

With regards to the legal question that some have raised in this Bill, regards to charter cities having certain autonomy over municipal affairs like elections, the Bill is based on extended legal research, including the opinion of UC Berkeley Law Dean Chemerinsky, and our own legislative counsel, who agree that this Bill has strong legal standing. Case law has set legal precedent and granted the state the ability to legislate on local matters under certain conditions.

SB 52 also provides an independent redistricting model for large cities based on those of the state and several counties, including LA County, with an off ramp if the city charter adopts a model of independent redistricting. We're engaged with various stakeholders in the community. We continue to look at recommendations of best practices. We need SB 52 to provide a fair, transparent and unbiased City Council redistricting, which captures also equitable representation for a city and to mend a relationship between the community and its government.

I respectfully ask for your aye vote.

Thank you, Senator Durazo. Any other Members wishing to comment? Seeing no mics up. Secretary, please call the roll.

[Roll call]

Secretary, please call the absent Members.

[Roll call]

Aye's 31. No's seven. The measure passes. Now, Members, moving on to file item 206, Senator Frank. I mean, Senator Wiener, I'm sorry. The Senator is prepared. Secretary, please read

Senate Bill 90 by Senator Wiener, an act relating to health care coverage.

Senator, floor is yours.

Thank you, Mr. President, colleagues. SB 90 caps insulin co-pays at $35 a month to align with the Medicare $35 cap, and I respectfully ask for an aye vote.

Thank you, Senator. Any Members wishing to comment? Seeing no mics up. This is eligible for unanimous roll call. Any objections? Seeing none. Aye's 39. No's zero. Moving on to file item 217, Senator Ashby. She's prepared. Secretary, please read.

Senate Bill 307 by Senator Ashby, an act related to student financial aid.

Senator Ashby, the floor is yours.

Thank you, Mr. President. I rise to present SB 307, the Fostering Futures Act, which seeks to make debt-free higher education a reality for foster youth in California.

SB 307 is sponsored by John Burton Advocates for Youth, who are amazing partners in this space, and joint-authored by Majority Leader McGuire, and has 19 co-authors, bipartisan support and bicameral support. SB 307 will give foster youth the agency to attend community college, trade school, or a four year UC or CSU with 100% of their unmet need covered by the state of California. This includes food, books, and, most importantly, housing.

Foster youth are, by definition, housing insecure, and this instability makes it extremely difficult to attend higher education. The rate of homelessness among former foster youth is 43%, which is more than double that of other students. SB 307 seeks to fill the gaps of need by establishing the Fostering Futures Program within the existing Middle Class Scholarship Program to support foster youth and cover 100% of their remaining unmet need after all other aid is applied.

93% of foster youth in high school will tell you that they would like to go to college. Only 4% of them will actually have that opportunity. SB 307 will help ensure that foster youth can reach their educational goals and better prepare them to enter the next stage of their lives debt free from higher education. I respectfully ask my colleagues for an aye vote.

Thank you, Senator Ashby. Any Members wishing to comment? Seeing no mics up. Secretary, please call the roll.

[Roll call]

Call the absent Members.

[Roll call]

Aye's 38. No's one. The measure passes. And now, moving on to file item 218, Senator Ashby, and she is prepared. Secretary, please read.

Senate Bill 314 by Senator Ashby, an act related to elections.

Floor is yours.

Thank you, Mr. President. I rise to present SB 314, which would create an independent redistricting commission to draw the district boundaries in Sacramento County. In California, existing law allows counties to establish advisory or independent redistricting commissions. In the City of Sacramento, I worked as a Council Member to pass a reform that established an independent redistricting commission for the City of Sacramento. Many other jurisdictions have done the same, including Los Angeles, San Diego, Riverside, Fresno and Kern Counties.

Studies of this past cycle of redistricting showed that independent redistricting commissions are more transparent, promote more public participation, and draw maps that are more reflective of the community. By contrast, in 2021, the Sacramento County Board of Supervisors drew their own district lines. They held hearings and took public comment. But ultimately, the supervisors themselves made the final decisions about their own areas of representation. Many groups felt their voices were silenced or their communities were split between districts.

The API and the LGBTQ communities in my district were particularly vocal about the process, not incorporating their feedback. This Bill is supported by many local groups in Sacramento that were vocal advocates in the redistricting process, particularly for the AAPI and LGBTQ+ communities. SB 314 lays out eligibility requirements and selection processes that are modeled after bills that were established in Los Angeles, San Diego and Riverside, as well as the one I authored in the City of Sacramento.

This Bill has been broadly discussed in multiple outlets and has no formal organizational opposition. Like the Senator from Los Angeles presented only moments ago, I am bringing forward this Bill in an attempt to make sure that communities are heard during the important redistricting process and that communities are well represented by their elected officials. I respectfully ask for your aye vote.

Thank you, Senator. Any Members wishing to make a comment? Senator Niello.

Thank you, Mr. President. I rely in reluctant opposition to my friend from Sacramento. She and I have been friends for many years. However, due to, I think, a confusion in communication between our offices, she and I were never able to discuss this Bill. She has pointed out to me a few articles in CalMatters and the beat that have covered it. I completely missed them. And I actually learned about this Bill last Friday.

So, as the other Senator representing Sacramento County and also a former county Supervisor, I'm opposed to the Bill, but not to the idea. This Bill has many concerns stated by the County of Sacramento, which all of you received this morning, creates problems for them in implementing it. The current members of the Board of Supervisors are split on the efficacy of the proposal. And as I say, I'm not opposed to a redistricting commission. But this Bill has burdens on it that cause problems for the county.

And I'm significantly concerned about my request is that we not pass this Bill off the floor. And I pledge to work with my friend from Sacramento to bring this back in a way that everybody can agree to or at least have less problems than exist now. I would request a no vote.

Any other Members wishing? Senator Glazer.

Thank you, Mr. President, Members. I had a chance to review this Bill two occasions during our legislative process. First, as Chair of Elections and then on the Governance and Finance Committee. And we heard extensive testimony from all sides on it. I know this Bill is headed in the right direction. I know the author is going to continue to listen carefully to all sides. I certainly support moving this Bill forward.

Thank you, sir. Any other Members wishing to comment? Seeing none. Senator Ashby, you may close.

Thank you very much. To be clear on the record, Sacramento county has not opposed this Bill. The relinquishment of control may be difficult for some Sacramento County electives to accept, but that doesn't make it wrong. I am willing to work with my colleague from Sacramento, who has been my friend for many years and will continue to be after this. This is not the final vote this Bill will see, and I will work with you as it continues through the process forward.

I urge an aye vote.

Thank you, Senator. With that, Secretary, please call the roll.

[Roll call]

Secretary, please call the absent Members.

[Roll call]

Aye's 31. No's seven. The measure passes. Now, moving on to file item 219. Once again, Senator Ashby. She's prepared. Secretary, please read.

Senate Bill 321 by Senator Ashby, an act related to literacy.

Thank you very much. Thank you. Mr. President, I rise to present SB 321, the Youth Literacy Act, which seeks to increase student engagement in reading by establishing the Public library partnership program. SB 321 requires the state librarian to facilitate partnerships between local public libraries and elementary schools to issue student success cards to third grade students. It also requires the state library to report outcome data to the Legislature. Members, California ranks lowest in the nation for third grade reading levels. Studies show that immersing children in book oriented environments builds their vocabulary, increases cognitive skills, and improves educational outcomes. SB 321 ensures that California gives our students the resources they need to succeed and help close our literacy gaps. I respectfully ask for your aye vote.

Thank you, Senator. Any other Members wishing to comment? Seeing no mics up. Secretary please call the roll.

Allen aye. Alvarado-Gil. Archuleta aye. Ashby aye. Atkins. Becker aye. Blakespear aye. Bradford aye. Caballero aye. Cortese aye. Dahle. Dodd aye. Durazo aye. Eggman aye. Glazer aye Gonzalez aye. Grove. Hurtado aye. Jones no. 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 aye. Umberg aye. Wahab aye. Wiener aye. Wilk aye.

I secretary please call the absent Members.

Alvarado-Gil aye. Atkins. Dahle aye. Grove aye.

Senate Bill 333 by. Senator Cortese, an act relating to homeless pupils.

Ayes 38, noes one, measure passes. Now, members, we're moving on to file item 224 Senator Cortese. And he's prepared. Secretary please read

Senator, floor is yours.

Thank you, Mr. President. Members, I'm here to present SB 333, known as the California Soar Guaranteed Income Program. Approximately 270,000 students within California's K-12 school system are experiencing homelessness right now, a number that has increased by over 48% over the past decade. And about 15,000 of these students are in the twelfth grade, meaning imminently, they will be exiting high school. When they exit high school, they will lose their so called Mckinney-Vento Act benefits.

The lack of support available to youth experiencing homelessness post-graduation or departure from high school significantly hinders their ability to pursue their educational career ambitions. As a result, we have a phenomenon now known as summer melt. In recognition of the need to extend support to our most vulnerable students during this bridge between high school graduation and either post-secondary education or employment. This Bill establishes a statewide guaranteed income program that will provide direct cash assistance on a monthly basis to these youth.

The youth does use a Mckinney-Vento Act definition to define who's homelessness, who's homeless, and who's not. And again, the program would serve 15,000 youth experiencing homelessness statewide starting April 1, 2025, but ending August 1, 2025. So, over a five month period. Other guaranteed income programs, including one that I helped pilot Santa Clara County to serve transition age foster youth, have proved to be successful.

The results have demonstrated that guaranteed income reduces income volatility significantly, helps people find full time employment, improves physical and mental health, and creates new opportunities. Thank you. And I respectfully ask for your Aye vote.

Thank you, Senator. Any Members wishing to make a comment? Seeing no mics up. Secretary please call the roll.

[Roll call].

Secretary please call the absent Members.

[Roll call].

Ayes 33. Noes, four. Measure passes. Now, moving on to file item 225. Senator Wiener. He's prepared. Secretary, please read.

Senate Bill 339, by Senator Wiener, an act relating to prescription drugs.

Senator, floor is yours.

Thank you, Mr. President, colleagues, SB 339 will expand access to PrEP and PEP, which are preventative medications to stop people from getting HIV. PrEP is a once daily pill, and PEP is a pill or a series of pill that you take after you may have been exposed to HIV. These are critical tools to end HIV and to stop HIV infections. This builds on legislation that we passed in 2019 to allow pharmacists to provide PrEP and PEP. We learned from our experience over the last few years, and this will make that law more implementable. I respectfully ask for an aye vote.

Thank you, sir. Any Members wishing to comment? Seeing no mics up. This is eligible for unanimous roll call. Any objections? Seeing none. Ayes 39. Noes zero. Now, moving on to file item 229, Senator Menjivar. She is prepared. Secretary please read

Senate Bill 372 by Senator Menjivar.

Senator Menjivar, an act relating to professions and vocations.

Senator, floor is yours.

Thank you, Mr. President. Today, I rise for SB 372, a Bill that is being authored through bipartisan support. This Bill is looking to provide protections for those who legally change their name and then get a license through DCA. Currently, right now, if you are a transgender individual and you legally change your name, your dead name will be on the system, the BreEZe system that is utilized online.

Currently, if you're running from an abusive relationship and you change your name, you can be found with that original name that you had. If you get married and legally change your name again, you wouldn't be able to change your name to your married name through the BreEZe system. Above all, looking to protect the privacy of individuals who are hairstylists, who are mental therapists, everyone who falls under the DCA board at the end of the day.

Right now, we're having and if you've heard a Bill from me recently about address protection for therapists, and this is very similar to that. Right now with mental health therapists, we're seeing trans and non-binary individuals being outed because their legal name is not reflective on the BreEZe system. With that, I ask, respectfully ask, for your Aye vote.

Thank you, Senator. Any Members wishing to comment? Seeing no microphones up. Secretary please call the roll.

[Roll call].

Secretary please call the absent Members.

[Roll call].

Ayes, 32. Noes, four. Measure passes. Now, moving on to file item 232, Senator Gonzalez. She's prepared. Secretary please read.

Senate Bill 394 by Senator Gonzalez, an act relating to energy.

Senator, the floor is yours.

Thank you, Mr. President and Members, this is SB 394, which is a master plan for healthy, sustainable, and climate resilient schools. It's exactly what it states there. It's decarbonizing our over 10,000 schools across the state. Working with labor partners and environmental justice advocates, I respectfully ask for an aye vote on SB 394.

Thank you, Senator. Any Members wishing to weigh in? Seeing no mics up. This is eligible for unanimous roll call. Any objections? Seeing none. Ayes, 39. Noes zero. Measure passes. Now we're moving on to file item 265. Senator Laird. He is prepared. Secretary please read.

All right? I was right for once. File item 265, Senator Laird, he's prepared. Secretary, please read.

Senate Bill 623 by Senator Laird, an act relating to workers' compensation.

Laird, the floor is yours.

Thank you, Mr. President and colleagues, Senate Bill 623 will extend the existing Post-Traumatic Stress workers' compensation presumption, which is due to expire at the end of next year until 2032. This Bill will also add public 911 dispatchers, as well as firefighters and law enforcement personnel employed by other state agencies.

The presumption will provide critical access to mental health care for our fighter fighters and peace officers who put themselves in harm's way every day, and for 911 dispatchers who are on the receiving end of traumatic calls for a hub. The Senator from Ventura and Los Angeles counties authored a substantially similar measure last year Senate Bill 284, which would have expanded the PTSI presumption to include 911 dispatchers and other state first responders.

The Bill was vetoed by the Governor, who cited the need for data. In response to the veto, the sponsors of the Bill are actively working on surveying its Members to collect data on how the presumption has been utilized and whether it is increased access to care and treatment. This data is forthcoming and will be shared as the Bill progresses. This received unanimous support in the policy Committee, and I respectfully ask for an aye vote.

Thank you, Senator Laird. Any other Members wishing to comment? Seeing no mics up, secretary, please call the roll.

[Roll call].

Secretary please call the absent Members.

[Roll call].

Ayes 34. Noes zero. Measure passes. Moving on to file item 270, Senator Cortese and he's prepared. Secretary please read.

Senate Bill 646 by Senator Cortese, an act relating to Civil law.

Senator, the floor is yours.

All right. Thank you again, Mr. President. Colleagues arise today to present SB 646, a Bill that seeks to hold social media companies liable for distributing child sex abuse material, or CSAM. Victim advocates use a federal statute Marshall's law to seek restitution and hold platforms accountable for their culpability. Through that statute, victims are able to sue their abusers and their enablers in federal court. This Bill seeks to provide victims the same standing in state court. Any person or entity who transmits CSAM is liable to be sued for damages under SB 646. The Bill also requires that platforms list an agent who will be responsible for fielding requests to remove content, if the platform does not act within two business days to remove that content, they will be liable for civil remedies. Crucially, CSAM is excluded from the immunity provided by Section 230 of the Federal Communications Indecency Act, since the Fight Online Sex Trafficking Act and the Stop Enabling Sex Traffickers Act were enacted by Congress, I respectfully ask for your aye vote.

Thank you, Senator. Any Members wishing to comment? Seeing no mics up, secretary, please call the role.

Allen aye. Alvarado-Gil. Archuleta aye. Ashby aye. Atkins. Becker aye. Blakespear aye. Bradford aye. Caballero aye. Cortese aye. Dahle aye. Dodd aye. Durazo aye. Eggman aye. Glazer. Gonzalez aye. Grove aye. Hurtado. Jones. 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. Skinner aye. Smallwood-Cuevas aye. Stern aye. Umberg aye. Wahab aye. Wiener aye. Wilk aye.

Secretary, please call the absent Members.

Alvarado-Gil aye. Atkins. Glazer aye. Hurtado ay. Jones. Seyarto aye.

Ayes 38, noes zero, measure passes. Now we're moving on and returning to Senator Cortese with file item 283. He's prepared. Secretary, please read.

Senate Bill 740 by Senator Cortese, an act relating to hazardous materials.

Senator Cortese.

Thank you, Mr. President. Today I rise again, this time to present Senate Bill 740. Senate Bill 740 will create high quality jobs in emerging industrial facilities and increase the safety of the surrounding communities. The Bill extends the skilled and trained workforce requirements now applicable to petroleum refineries to additional industrial facilities, including commercial facilities for hydrogen manufacturing, biofuels manufacturing and carbon dioxide capture.

As with any other industry, industrial maintenance and construction should be required to have an adequately skilled workforce equipped to prevent reduce the risk of fires, explosions, the leaks of noxious air, solvents and other substances, and any and all adequate industrial protection to protect the surrounding communities. I respectfully ask for your aye vote.

Thank you, Senator Cortese. Any Members wishing to speak? Senator Grove.

Thank you, Mr. President. I respectfully rise in opposition to this Bill. Last year, there was a Bill that was introduced that was trying to do the same thing. And I produced data to all of you that showed when you report your loss and incident rates, incident and illness prevention program that requires you to report on your OSHA 300 log all of your incidents and injuries to the Department of Industrial Relations.

They compile that information and it shows that in the trades, they have a higher loss ratio for safety issues than they do in the non-trade type similar systems. And it was catastrophic and unfortunate that while the debate on last year's Bill was going forward, a trade person was catastrophically killed because they just failed to do a sniff test. When they walked up to a tank, they started an igniter for a welding system and it just blew up the tank, tank went up the air.

It was really catastrophic. I feel bad that that person lost their life. But just because you carry a union card does not make you one of the safest industries in the State of California. And if you look at the information that's provided by the Department of Industrial Relations, which is publicly available to all of us, you will see that the loss ratio rates far outseed non-signatory companies. And I respectfully ask for a no vote.

Thank you. Senator Grove, Senator Dahle.

Thank you, Mr. Chairman, Members, I rise in support of this Bill. This Bill actually is for actually doing carbon sequestration. I actually reached out to all the folks that I know WSPA, CIPA, all the people that represent oil, and asked them if they were opposing this Bill. And if you look, there is no opposition to this Bill from those folks. Now, there is some opposition in I saw this Bill in Committee. There is some opposition to the steel workers. There was some opposition in that area.

But as far as the part where we have workers being disgruntled, there are no organizations opposing this Bill. For those reasons, I think it's great that California can lead the way doing carbon sequestration and the environment and helping with those new technologies that are available. For those reasons, I support the Bill.

Thank you, Senator Dahle. Seeing no other mics up. Senator Cortese, you may close.

Thank you, Mr. President. I respectfully ask for your aye vote.

Thank you. Secretary please call the roll.

[Roll call].

Secretary please call the absent Members.

[Roll call].

Ayes 35. Noes two. Measure passes. Moving on to file item 284, Senator Cortese, and he's prepared. Secretary please read.

Senate Bill 745 by Senator Cortese, an act relating to housing.

Senator, floor is yours.

All right. Thank you, Mr. President, I'm proud to present SB 745, known as the Drought Resilient Buildings Act, to address projected water shortages in California due to global climate change. SB 745 directs the California Department of Housing and Community Development and the California Building Standards Commission to research, develop, adopt, approve, codify and publish voluntary and mandatory building standards to reduce potable water use in new buildings.

The Bill would require both HCD and the Building Standards Commission to review and update the water efficiency and water reuse standards in the California Building Standards Code every three years. Hotter and drier weather conditions from climate change are projected to reduce California's water supplies by up to 10% by 2040. Scientists project the average water supply from snowpack will decline by two-thirds as to historical levels by 2050.

Because buildings stay in use, as we know, for 30 to 100 years before the replace, we need to prepare for the realities of climate change by reducing the designed potable water demand of new buildings now. Thank you, and I respectfully ask for your aye vote.

Thank you, Senator. Any Members wishing to comment? Seeing no mics up. Secretary please call the roll.

[Roll call].

Secretary, please call the absent Members.

[Roll call].

Ayes, 30. Noes, nine. Measure passes. Now, Members, moving on to file item 289. Senator Gonzalez. Prepared as always. Secretary please read.

Senate Bill 769 by Senator Gonzalez. An act relating to local government.

Floor is yours.

Thank you, Mr. President and Members. I rise today to present SB 769, which will require local officials to complete fiscal and financial training. In California, local officials are entrusted with taxpayer money and have authority over budgeting, procurement, management, investments and such. Yet there are no requirements that these officials receive training on best practices or how to manage these substantial financial responsibilities.

SB 769 will encourage responsible governing and prevent fiscal mismanagement by applying training requirements for local officials in cities that have been designated as high-risk by the California State Auditor, or when a city, county or special district receives notice from the state controller that their annual financial transaction report is late or not submitted. Thank you. And I respectfully ask for an aye vote on SB 769.

Thank you. Senator, any Members wishing to comment? Seeing no mics up. We got a mic up. Senator Dahle.

I rise to support this Bill today, and I would just like to offer that maybe this should be extended to the Legislature as well.

Senator, I see no other mics up. Senator Gonzalez. You may close.

Absolutely. I think we already sort of do some financial training, so with that, I will take that support and I respectfully ask for an aye vote again. Thank you.

Thank you. Secretary, please call the roll.

[Roll call].

Secretary please call the absent Members.

[Roll call].

Ayes, 36. Noes two. Measure passes. Now, Members, moving on to file item 298. Senator Ashby. She's prepared. Secretary please read.

Senate Bill 824 by Senator Ashby, an act relating to foster care.

Before you start, we're getting a little loud in here. Senator Ashby. Please proceed.

Thank you, Mr. President. Good news, colleagues, I think I'm your last file item of the day. Today I rise to present SB 824, which would ensure that nonrelative family Members, extended family Members, and tribes with criminal histories are no longer automatically disqualified from fostering a child, but rather, they are considered based on discretion from the court and a case by case approval. Studies have shown that foster children in kinship care are more likely to be employed or enrolled in higher education.

They are also less likely to need public assistance, experience homelessness, or be incarcerated, compared to children placed in nonkinship care. Additionally, this Bill expands the eligibility for the Kinship Guardianship Assistance Payment Program for caregivers who choose to become a guardian or adopt a child. SB 824 guarantees that loved ones can foster a child in their time of need, which is vital for the child's safety, stability, and well being.

SB 824 builds on the strong work from the Senator from Oakland, and I respectfully ask for your aye vote.

Thank you, Senator Ashby. I believe this was support, support, but thank you for that. Any Members with their mic up? Seeing none. I'm sorry, this is eligible for a roll call vote. Any objections? I mean, unanimous. Thank you. Seeing none. Ayes, 39. No's, zero.

Now, that may be the last file item of the day, but we need to return to we had, I believe, six bills on call, and so just give us a minute to get organized here and we'll plow through this and send you out on your way. All right, Members, we're returning to file number 146 by Senator Cortese. Secretary please call the absent Members.

Alvarado-Gil, Archuleta. Aye. Atkins. Blakespear. Aye. Glazer. Rubio. Aye. Smallwood-Cuevas. Aye.

Ayes 29, noes 8, measure passes. Now, moving on to file item 152, Senator Hurtado. Secretary please call the absent Members.

Atkins. Nguyen. Smallwood-Cuevas. Aye.

Ayes 36, noes 2, measure passes. Now moving on to file item 153, Senator Padilla. Secretary please call the absent Members.

Atkins. Dahle. Grove. Nguyen. Niello. Ochoa-Bogh. Seyarto. Smallwood-Cuevas. Aye. Wilk

Ayes 32, noes 0, measure passes. Now moving on to file item 154, Senator Wahab. Secretary please call the absent members.

Atkins. Jones. Aye. Smallwood-Cuevas. Aye.

Ayes 39, noes 0, measure passes. Moving on to file item 155, Senator Skinner. Secretary please call the absent members.

Alvarado-Gil. No. Atkins. Becker. Aye. Dodd. Glazer. Aye. Grove. Aye. Hurtado. Aye. Niello. Ochoa-Bogh. Smallwood-Cuevas. Aye.

Ayes 30, noes 6, measure passes. And finally, file item 157, Senator Umberg. Secretary please call the absent Members.

Allen. Aye. Atkins. Grove. Aye. Niello. Smallwood-Cuevas. Aye.

Ayes 38, noes 0. Members, I want to thank you for excellent work today. I believe we got through 53 bills and if there's no other business, Senator Grove, the desk is clear.

Thank you, Mr. President. Congratulations Colleagues, our goal today was 50 bills, we got 53 done today. We only have 1,752,063 more to go. Just kidding. Yeah, just kidding. Um, the Senate is adjourned and we will reconvene Wednesday, May 24 at 10:00 A.M..

Again, thank you, Members. And just a reminder, the Senate is adjourned and we will reconvene on Wednesday, May 24 at 10:00 A.M..