Assembly Floor

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

In the name of God, the most gracious, the most merciful, full, Almighty God, grant us wisdom, fairness and compassion as we serve California. May this Assembly unite for the state's well being. Embracing diverse views. Guide us in decisions for equality, justice and prosperity. Protect us from harm as we work diligently. May compassion drive our actions. Bless this Assembly and all contributing to California's welfare. Amen.

Our pledge this morning will be led by Assemblymember Joe Patterson.

Thank you, Members. Please put your hand on your heart and ready pledge. I pledge allegiance to the flag. ...

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

Assembly Chamber Sacramento Thursday, September14, 2023

here removes Mr. Gallagher seconds that the reading of the previous day's journal be dispensed with. Presentations and petitions there are none. Introduction and references of Bill will be deferred. Reports of committees will be deemed read and amendments deemed adopted. Messages from the Governor, there are none. Messages from the Senate, there are none. Moving to motions and resolutions, the absences for the day will be deemed read and printed in the journal. Majority Leader Aguiar. Curry, you are recognized for your procedural motions.

Good morning, Mr. Speaker. I request unanimous consent to suspend Assembly Rule 45.5 to allow Assembly Members Bryan, Juan Carrillo, Jim Patterson and Addis to speak on an adjournment in memory today.

Without objection. Such shall be the order.

I request unanimous consent to suspend Assembly rule 118 a to allow Assembly Members Quirk-Silva, Joe Patterson and Schiavo to have guests seated at their desk today

Without objections. Such shall be the order.

I request unanimous consent to suspend Assembly rule 56 to allow the Education Committee to notice AB 359 Holden for a hearing on Wednesday, January 10, pending rereferral from the Higher Education Committee.

Without objection. Such shall be the order.

Pursuant to Assembly rule 96, I request unanimous consent to rerefer SB 549 Newman from the Rules Committee to the Government Organization Committee.

Without objection. Such shall be the order. Members, please direct your attention to the rear of the chamber. Is Mr. Speaker present? Well, I got your attention anyway. We'll move on and we'll come back to that. But thank you for your attention. Happy New Year, by the way. And for those of you who haven't planned dinner tonight, today is national Spaghetti day, so keep that in mind. All right, we're going to move on to our guest introductions and announcements. Assembly Member Joe Patterson, you are recognized for your guest introduction.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker, Members, I'd like to introduce my son, Graham Patterson. He's in kindergarten. He's on break this week. He goes to Sunset Ranch Elementary School. And when I was sworn in last year, he drew this picture, and it's been in my desk ever since. Backwards, Joe and a heart and a spaceman. So proud to have him as my son. And thank you for letting him be here today. Thank you.

Thank you very much and welcome, Graham. Assembly Member Sharon Quirk Silva, you have a guest with you.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker and Members, I want to introduce you to my husband, Jesus Silva. He is a junior high teacher teaching entrepreneurship and has a job that he makes a difference every day.

Thank you very much and welcome, Jesus. Ms. Schiavo, you have. Assembly Member Schiavo, you have a guest. You are recognized for introduction.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I am very happy to have my daughter Sophia here with me today, as many of you know and participated in. She was here a lot last year, and now that she's found a school in a good home, to be in person, in school, she's not here so much, so I'm very happy to have her back. And she's been excited to see all of her friends that she made as the 81st Assembly Member here.

Thank you very much. Assembly Member Schiavo. Welcome, Sophia. So now we will go back to directing our attention to the rear of the chamber. Mr. Speaker, you are recognized.

Well, thank you, Mr. Speaker Pro Tem. And although it's a day late, I wanted to welcome everyone back and say Happy New year, and I hope you all had a restful break and you had the opportunity to reconnect with family, with friends. I know that even when we're away from Sacramento and during the holidays, our work, it doesn't stop, as many of you know.

In fact, it's a time that we often spend in celebrating our communities and engaging with our constituents, and that is the essence of our work, and it's incredibly important. And so I want to recognize and thank each and every one of you for the passion you bring to this building. So, thank you so much. And I also want to acknowledge all of you for your integrity and professionalism yesterday.

And I want to extend my gratitude to our capitol staff, to sergeants, and to the California highway officers, the CHP. There's no question that this is a tense moment. This is a difficult moment. For our communities here in California and for everyone around the world. But our job here in the California Legislature, our job is to stay focused, focused on the issues we can affect here in our state. And we know there is no shortage of that.

And it's safe to say that no matter what time of year it is, what month it is, the stakes are always high here in Sacramento. The stakes are always high in our California Legislature. But this year, we truly are at a crossroads. We face clear challenges as a state. I've heard feedback from many of you who are concerned about the direction that our state is heading in the Californians who elected us, they're also frustrated and they're worried.

They want us to produce results and to solve problems. That's why they sent us here. And so this year, in 2024, we must be relentless as a body. We must be relentless in working together as a unified body to improve the day to day quality of life for all Californians. As we all know, this year our budget deficit is staggering. So this body must embrace serious fiscal restraint and commit to accountability and oversight while also protecting our most vulnerable Californians.

We have a lot to tackle in this new year, and there are several areas that I know are top of mind. I know I've been asked that myself for months. Housing, a supermajority of Californians across our state agree. We must build the housing we need and we must build it now. To do this, we must find new solutions.

Solutions such as looking into the fees and red tape that prevent construction, addressing blighted and vacant buildings that are dotting our cities and our communities, ensuring that business and homeowners can obtain property insurance and more. And second, public safety. We must preserve California's successful criminal justice reforms while holding up our responsibility to look at unintended consequences. This is an essential quality of life issue for our residents. It's a top of mind issue for our residents. And finally, our climate crisis.

The world looks to California as America's climate leader, and so we must continue to lead. We must lead in protecting our lands and managing their use wisely and equitably to ensure our carbon reduction goals are met. My vision, like yours, is for an optimistic and hopeful California. And we can deliver this when we work together. It's excellent to be back. And as pro Tem Atkins had the opportunity to say yesterday to Members of the Senate, let's get to work. Thank you very much.

Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker, for your welcome. And also want to note that happy belated birthday to Speaker Rivas, who celebrated on the second. So happy birthday. Speaker Rivas also like to wish a happy birthday to Assemblymember McCarty, who celebrates on Saturday.

Moving to business on the Daily file pass and retain on file items one through 103. Items 104 and 105 are notices. All items reconsideration all items shall be continued. Moving to adjournments in memory. Members, the quorum call is still in place. Please give your respectful attention to those who were granted prior permission to speak on adjournments in memory. Please give your attention. Our first adjourn in memory is by Mr. Bryan. Please give your attention to Mr. Bryan. Mr. Bryan, whenever you're ready.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Members, today I ask that we adjourn in the memory of a constituent, a dear friend, a part of my chosen family. Michael Latt. Michael was born and raised in LA and embodied the best of the city's heart and spirit in his work. He devoted his career to elevating artists of color and using the power of storytelling and community building to leverage social change. He created his nonprofit, his company, and he named it lead with love.

And while his dad and I and many others thought that that might be a little corny, Michael reminded us often that that's what we've been called to do. Through his nonprofit, he elevated the narratives of communities often unseen and unheard. He got his start working on the movie Fruitvale Station with Ryan Coogler. More recently, he worked on the campaign for the movie till, the story of 14 year old Emmett Till, who was lynched in 1955.

If you've been in the Capitol for many years, you've probably met Michael anytime common ever came up here. He came up here with Michael Latt when we did the 50th anniversary of hip hop this past year and honored folks here in this chamber. Michael Latt was among those people who were here. This was an unexpected loss for our entire Los Angeles community and for me and for his family.

He survived by his fiance, Hannah, his mother, Michelle, his father, David, his big brother, who he loved and looked up to dearly. Franklin, his grandmother Helen, who recently celebrated her hundredth birthday. A holocaust survivor who shared a deep, deep connection with her grandson, Michael. I spoke at his memorial at a temple back home, and I thought about it a lot after his death.

And the reason Michael is not with us here today is because the world that he fought for, the world he tried to work to create every single day, is not here either. And so in his passing, I'm reflective on the responsibility that all of us have all across this state. And in the community he dedicated his life to, to try to bring that world to fruition. So here on this first day of active business in this body, I ask that we adjourn in the memory of Michael Latt.

Thank you, Assembly Member Bryan. Assembly Member Juan Carrillo, you are recognized for your adjournment memory.

Good morning, Mr. Speaker and Members. Today I rise with a heavy heart to adjourn in the memory of Mr. Kimball De Leon Goodman. Kimball was 61 years old when he passed away on October 14, 2023 in Lancaster. Born on November 11, 1961 he was the fourth child of the Goodman Edward family in Los Angeles, California. Kimball and his siblings were raised by four powerful women, his grandmother, mother, Aunt Georgia and auntie. Each one helped shape him into the empathetic, compassionate and determined person he was.

Kimball graduated from the University of California, Berkeley, in 1984 after he enjoyed a career in banking with Wells Fargo and began doubling in politics, supporting individuals who were truly committed to the success of all people. Gimbal moved back to Southern California in the late 2013, where he began to make his mark once again in the Antelope Valley. There, Kimball was involved in various groups, clubs and campaigns. He was most proud of his south American art collection, political activism and community garden projects.

Over the years, Kimball received numerous commendations for his contributions to the community, even being recognized for his south American art collection that he displayed at Palmdale City Hall. Kimball's passion for gardening led him to become a University of California Master Gardener and certified naturalist. His most recent project, Urban Farms, celebrated 7 million in funding for 37 farms in underserved communities. Kimball indeed his dream job working for California State Legislature, where he worked until the very end as a field representative in my office.

Kimball's passion for uplifting the community was failed by the constituents he helped serve every single day. His loss will be felt tremendously across the 39th district. It was a pleasure to have Kimball with me in what was both our first year in the Legislature. It will be difficult to navigate this new legislative year without him. Kimberly is survived by his elder sister, CarLA Goodman, older brother Kevin Goodman, twin sister Kimberly Deandra Goodman hall, and baby sister Kyra Goodman. Members, I respectfully ask that we adjourn memory of a very valued Member of my team, Mr. Kimberly De Leon Goodman. Thank you.

Thank you very much. Assembly Member Carrillo. Assembly Member Jim Patterson. You are recognized for your adjournment in memory.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker, thank you for the opportunity of asking this body to adjourn in the memory of a lifelong Fresno resident, grand lady of our community, Sally Caglia. This is the story of Italian immigrants who came to Central California, rolled up their sleeves, and for several generations contributed to the vibrancy of our community. Beginning at 12 years old, she began working at her father's electric motor shop in downtown Fresno.

In high school, she and her brother Vince learned to manage and operate the Orange Avenue disposal by working alongside her father Frank and two brothers, Dick and Vince. She eventually moved through all the levels of business management to eventually become head of corporate development for all of the Caglia family businesses, which is a significant number of businesses in our community. But Sally was also someone who generously supported her community over the years through time and effort and philanthropy.

This included, by the way, support of the arts and fundraisers and various community groups. It also includes the iconic Warner's Theater in downtown Fresno. The Caglia family many, many years ago purchased it, kept it operational. It has a magnificent organ that is still playing and concerts are given regularly. In recognition of her tireless efforts in and around our Fresno area, she was awarded the prestigious Fresno Chamber of Commerce Leon S. Peters Award in 2023.

That is the single highest, most substantial honor that can be bestowed on a Fresno by the Fresno Chamber of Commerce. In remembrance of Leon S. Peters, who was so generous and so effective as a community leader in our area. Her family considered her a role model for them and their employees who all admired her dedication, work ethic and commitment to the community. Central California lost Sally Cagley on December 10 at age 76. She passed from cancer.

She was a dogged fighter against that terrible disease as she passed with family friends mourning her loss but remembering what a grand lady she was. Also for eight years I was mayor of Fresno. And to have the Cagley of family by your side, to have Sally Cagley as personal cell number during difficult decisions that have to be made. Running the fifth largest city in the State of California, it was a Delight to know that Sally was there.

Just a phone call away to give me advice, to be helpful, to be generous, and as a result, her passing is a huge loss. But we are also asking ourselves, how should we then live to honor her legacy? And that's to be an awful lot like her. Sally was a beloved mother, grandmother, sister and aunt. She survived by her large family, including her four children, five grandchildren and five siblings. Thank you for the opportunity of adjourning this body in her memory.

It is a sad recollection that she is no longer with us, but her life is a hallmark. It's a searchlight, it's a pathway, it's a direction that compels us to be like her self effacing, generous community, committed and a very kind, generous, loving person. Thank you.

Thank you very much, Assembly Member Patterson. Assembly Member Addis, you are recognized for your adjournment in memory.

Good morning. Thank you, Mr. Speaker and Members. It is with sadness that I asked to adjourn in the memory of Gary Carnes, a longtime community and labor activist in Monterey County. Gary was proud of his deep organizing roots and his efforts to make our democracy, to make our democracy better, touched every corner of our portion of the central coast. Gary was passionate and committed to the Monterey County Democratic Party. In 2018, he was honored for his lifetime of work being named Democrat of the year.

But it wasn't just his party that stood out. It was his dedication of advocacy for working people and to elevating the voices of marginalized people that made Gary a star. Gary graduated from UC Santa Cruz with a major in history and then moved to Salinas in Monterey County in 1970. He supported the farm worker strike and himself worked in the agricultural fields, picking crops alongside other farmers and becoming a Member of the United Farm Workers.

It was this experience that inspired his lifelong commitment to serving the underserved and making our democracy better. Former State Senate Majority leader emeritus Bill Monning described Gary as a master of creating good trouble, always with a kind spirit and a respect for others. Gary cofounded the Monterey County Peace center in 1971, where he advocated for peace and provided support and counseling to enlisted people.

He also authored along came the Whirlwind, a tale worth telling my 40 years in Salinas, in which he wrote about our collective strengths and what we can do as a group.

If we band together, may we all be the whirlwind of enthusiasm for a better life as Gary taught us to be. So. Colleagues, please join me in extending our deepest sympathies to Gary's family, his friends and loved ones as we adjourn in memory of Gary Karnes. Thank you.

Thank you, Assembly Member Addis. Members, please bring the names to the desk to be printed in the journal. All requests to adjourn in memory will be deemed read and printed in the journal. Moving to announcements. Rules Committee will meet today upon adjournment of session in room 2126. Session schedule is as follows. Friday, January 5 no session no check in session Monday, January eigth floor session at 01:00 p.m. All other items will be passed and retained. All motions shall be continued.

Seeing hearing no further business, I'm ready to entertain a motion to adjourn. Ms. Aguiar Curry moves Mr. Flora seconds that this house stands adjourned until Monday, January eighth, at 01:00 p.m. The quorum call is lifted. The house is adjourned.