Senate Floor

[Roll Call]

A quorum is present. Would the Members and guests beyond the rail and in the gallery please rise. We will be led in prayer this morning by Senator Ashby, after which, please remain standing. We will be led in the pledge of allegiance to the flag by Senator Menjivar.

Gracious and merciful God, as we prepare to celebrate Mother Earth Day, we recall the words of Robert Shaw, the greatest threat to our planet is the belief that someone else will save it. Loving God. As we live the theme of this year's Earth Day. May all of us work together to invest in our future and the future of our children. May we build on the urgency of these times to address all environmental challenges which threaten the health and well being of our human species. Let us renew our commitment to be good stewards of our common home and learn to love the marvels and wonders of all creation. We ask this in your name. Amen.

Colleagues and guests, please join me in the pledge. [Pledge of Allegiance]

Under privileges of the floor, Senator Cortese will introduce Earth Uprising International founder Alexandria Villeseñor in recognition of her climate activism, in honor of Earth Day. Senator Cortese from the majority leader's desk. Senator Cortese, you are recognized for your guest introduction.

Thank you, Madam President, and good morning to everyone. I'm happy to recognize Alexandria Villeseñor in honor of Earth Day. At age 17, Alexandria has become an internationally recognized youth climate activist. She represents youth voices at major climate events around the world. Alexandria's climate activism began when she was 13. During the 2018 campfire, she was visiting family in Northern California. Surrounded by smoke, she could see and feel the impacts of climate change firsthand, and she was inspired to speak up.

Alexandria embarked on a lone climate strike outside the United nations headquarters in New York every Friday for over two years. She also founded Earth Uprising, an organization that works to bring accurate climate science and climate change education into schools. Alexandria has made an incredible commitment of time and energy to the climate movement, and there's so much we can all learn from her work. Thank you for your activism, Alexandria, and thank you Members for taking the time to recognize her with me.

Let's give her a nice big Senate welcome. Thank you very much, and we'll all enjoy earth days in our communities this weekend, I'm sure, as we recognize Earth Day. Okay, moving on. Messages from the Governor will be deemed read. Message from the Assembly will be deemed read, reports of committees will be deemed read and amendments adopted. Motions, resolutions and notices, seeing none. Consideration of the daily file, second reading. Clerk, item file items one through 32.

Senate Bill 231 with amendments, 315 with amendments, 337 with the amendments, 504 with amendments, 240 with amendments, 356 with amendments.

Members will be deemed read. Governor's appointment. Senator Laird, you are recognized.

Thank you very much, Madam President. File item 33 is the confirmation of John Sobek for reappointment to the Board of Behavioral Sciences. He's a licensed marriage and family therapist, a clinical consultant and trainer for life group, and also adjunct faculty at Phillips Graduate Institute. He was approved by the Rules Committee on March 29. I respectfully ask for your aye vote.

Is there anybody who has any objections or wishes to speak on this? Seeing none, secretary, call the roll.

[Roll Call]

28 to 7 is confirmed. Senator Laird, you are recognized as a second time.

Thank you, Madam President. Again, a file item 34 is a confirmation of Nicole Jung for appointment to the medical board. She's an attorney and the Southern California Regional Director of Advocacy for Root and Rebound, which works in partnership with The Anti-Recidivism Coalition. She serves as a public Member on the board. She was approved by the Rules Committee on March 29. I respectfully ask for an aye vote.

Any Members wishing to speak on this appointment? Seeing none, secretary called the roll.

[Roll Call]

Ayes 35, no zero. The appointment is confirmed. Thank you, Members. Moving on to Senate third reading, we do have some items up today. First file items 38, SCR 34 by Senator Ashby.

Thank you, Madam President.

Senate concurrent Resolution 34 by Senator Ashby to Child Abuse Prevention Month.

Thank you. Okay to proceed, Madam President?

Please.

Thank you. Today I rise to present SCR 34, recognizing the month of April as Child Abuse Prevention Month. I'm proud to stand with the Child Abuse Prevention Center and California Family Resource Association on this incredibly important resolution.

They join us in the gallery today. California's children deserve to grow up in a safe and nurturing environment where they're free from abuse and neglect and are able to thrive. Every minute in America, every minute a child is reported of being a victim of abuse or neglect.

In a one year period here in California, half a million children are involved in reports of mistreatment. About 50% of those are neglect. Unfortunately, children who've been abused or neglected have a higher risk of developing long term mental and physical health problems.

And as children are far more likely to need help with special education services and to become involved with our criminal justice system, therefore, it is an absolute imperative that we address preventing child abuse.

The work of the Child Abuse Prevention Center and the California Family Resource Association has been fundamental to protecting California's children and preventing child abuse and neglect across our state. Founded in 1977, the Child Abuse Prevention Center is a state and national training, education, research and resource center dedicated to strengthening children, families and communities.

The Family Resource Association is a subsidiary of the Child Abuse Prevention Center and is a statewide membership Association of Family Resource centers across California and family resource networks that work together to serve families and children in all of our communities.

Working to prevent child abuse and neglect through advocacy, education, health and safety, the Child Abuse Prevention Center leads the way in child protection efforts, pioneering successful child abuse prevention programs that have become models for other groups throughout California and across the nation.

Early in my adult life, I worked at a level 12 group home, serving some of California's most intensely in need young people. I later opened a consulting firm with my late father, who, some of you know, led foster care for the State of California and was previously a child welfare Director in San Diego County.

The focus of our practice was working with large agencies to implement programs to help serve populations with barriers to success, primarily foster youth, transition age youth, and children involved in the child welfare system, as well as families dealing with incarceration. Focusing on addressing child abuse prevention is about saving families from a life plagued with problems that are preventable.

Child Abuse Prevention Month is our time to reaffirm our commitment to preventing abuse and neglect and to recommitting to finding ways to ensure that all of California's children have an opportunity to grow up in a safe and nurturing environment. Madam President, if I may acknowledge the attendees in the gallery. Permission to do so.

Permission granted.

Thank you. Sheila Boxley, the President and CEO of the Child Abuse Prevention Center, Michael Williams, the Policy Director for the Child Abuse Prevention Center, the staff of the Child Abuse Prevention Center, Jeneba Lahai of the Yolo Children's Alliance, Shahrukh Chishty, Sacramento Children's Home, Rachel Rios of La Familia Counseling Center, Christie Gonzales of WellSpace Health, Wendy Hernandez of River Oak Center for Children, Robert Stanger of Folsom Cordova Community Partnership and the Office of Child Abuse Prevention under the California Department of Social Services.

I thank them for their hard work and dedication to the service of children and families across the State of California. And I respectfully ask for your aye vote.

Thank you, Senator. Senator Dahle, you are recognized.

Thank you, Madam Chair and Members. I also rise in support of SCR 34 and just wanted to say that the author talked about family resource centers, and I want to just draw a picture for you in the rural counties that many of them I represent.

For example, the town of Bieber is 75 miles away from the county seat where all the services are. As a county supervisor, we put family resource centers throughout our counties.

And as you may know, those are mandatory reporters. And we were able to bring those families in and we then could address the issues of child abuse, addiction abuse, and the likes.

And I just wanted to share one other thing that just yesterday, I had a Zoom call with my family resource centers and the Prop 10 Commissions. As you all know, flavored tobacco was banned in California, and the revenues from the tobacco settlement monies, which funded Prop 10, are drastically reducing.

How does that tie to this? Those funds are funds that are for children zero to five. And we know that in those years are the critical years, and so we must look at funding, other funding sources for the Prop 10 Commissions. And I wanted to bring that up because it will directly affect child abuse in California. I strongly urge an aye vote on SCR 34.

Thank you, Senator. Anybody else wishing to speak on this? Senator Ashby, would you like to close?

I thank my colleague for his comments and respectfully ask for an aye vote.

Thank you very much, and we truly thank our guests up in the gallery for the work you do every day and for sharing your day with us today. Secretary, please call the roll. This is eligible for unanimous consent unless anybody has any objections. Seeing none, unanimous roll call will be applied. The ayes: 35; noes: zero. The measure is adopted. Moving on in the file with File Item 61 by Senator Portantino: SB 383. Are you ready, Senator?

Senate Bill 383 by Senator Portantino, an act relating to the payment of claims against the state, making an appropriation therefore, and declaring the urgency thereof to take effect immediately.

Thank you, Madam President and Members. SB 383 is one of the bills carried by the chairs of the Appropriations Committees each year to provide payment authority for legal claims approved by the Attorney General and the Department of Finance. This urgency measure appropriates 6.8 million dollars from the General Fund to pay two claims against the state related to the following cases: Wetlands Preservation Foundation versus the Department of Water Resources and California DUI Lawyers Association versus Department of Motor Vehicles. The bill enjoyed unanimous support in the Appropriations Committee and respectfully ask for an aye vote.

On the urgency, first, is there anyone who would like any objections? Seeing no objections. Any discussion or debate? Seeing none. Is there objection to applying unanimous roll call on the urgency? Seeing none, ayes: 35; noes: zero. On the urgency: ayes: 35; noes: zero. Measures are adopted. Moving on, File Item 64: SCR 48, Ms. Smallwood-Cuevas. Secretary, please read.

Thank you, Madam President.

Senate Concurrent Resolution 48 by Senator Smallwood-Cuevas, relative to Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.

Thank you, Madam President. Colleagues, I rise to present SCR 48 that recognizes A Day of Remembrance on the 55th anniversary of the assassination of Dr. Martin Luther King. You all might remember that we were going to take this up last week, but it is ironic that as we were celebrating this great loss of life, we had a gunman, one of our sick brothers, driving through this city, shooting up hospitals and neighborhoods with a threat of coming to the Capitol, and we had to postpone this event.

And so it's special that we are here today, and I think it is an example of how we will not be deterred, we will not be moved, we will not be distracted from the pathway of justice. But today is a day to remember Dr. King's legacy of leading a revolutionary movement that made a difference in the lives of all Americans.

What is significant about the period leading up to Dr. King's untimely and tragic death was the enlightened transition he was pursuing within the Civil and Human Rights Movement. He evolved from fighting for the poor people's--he evolved to fighting for the Poor People's Campaign, fighting for workers' rights and economic justice. Dr. King was assassinated on April 4th, 1968, while standing on the balcony of the Lorraine Motel in Memphis, Tennessee.

He was visiting Memphis to support Black sanitation workers who were on strike, demanding safer working conditions and better pay. So Dr. King didn't die while fighting to integrate schools or lunch counters. He died at a time fighting for the rights of all workers to live with dignity and respect.

He believed that all work had dignity, whether you were a domestic worker, a day laborer, or a doctor, and that you can turn a bad job into a good job. You can ensure that all workers live with dignity. In his final book, 'Where do we go from here: Chaos or Community?' and the Pro Tem gave each of us that book to celebrate Dr. King's birthday this year.

This was published just a year before his death, and Dr. King discussed the failings of capitalism and his broader movement of uplifting both racial and economic equality. He believed that a multiracial, working class movement was the way to create true equality in our nation. In his book, he wrote that 'capitalism has often left a gulf between superfluous wealth and abject poverty, and has created conditions permitting necessities to be taken from the many to give luxury to the few.'

His book focused on the importance of improving America's jobs and creating equitable employment, not only for Black workers, but for those from underserved communities, including the difficult to place workers. And he believed that those workers deserve fair and quality housing and the opportunity to consume and have access to good foods and to live in a demilitarized community.

He is widely known to have asked, 'what good was having the right to sit at a lunch counter if you can't afford to buy a hamburger?' And he exposed our nation's connections between racism and economic exploitation and how to lead the poor, the disenfranchised communities, particularly communities of color.

Dr. King was, in fact, a revolutionary. The image that we celebrate today of Dr. King as being a peace-loving and affable person that everyone respected, he was considered by the FBI at the time as the most dangerous Negro in America.

But he courageously continued to speak out against racism and commercial greed, and he stood up for economic justice and corporate responsibility and citizenship until his last breath. As we forever mourn the loss of Dr. King and his great vision, we can only imagine what the world could have been like had he and so many others lived. How much farther along would America--California have been--had we put into practice the humanitarian ethos that Dr. King implored us all to embrace?

But instead, we're still struggling with many of the same issues and the same conditions a half a century later. Here in California, we are facing crises of unequal pay, of economic inequity, homelessness, incarceration, militarization of our communities, our police forces. Poverty continues to be a critical issue in our state, one that has undermined the progress that we've made because far too many families are living at or below the poverty line.

That's why I've introduced a bill package that looks at economic equality, that talks about protecting the most vulnerable workers. SB 16 is about making sure that we empower every city across our state to enforce civil rights protections, particularly around housing and employment for all. I've introduced bills around anti-retaliation to make sure that workers who are in experience civil rights violations, that they're protected from being fired and bullied.

And I'm working with so many coalitions, as are you, to ensure that displaced workers, workers who are laid off, have the protection that they need to be able to support themselves, their families, and our communities. We all can do our part to help ensure that Dr. King's vision of an equitable economy is realized.

This Day of Remembrance is a day of action for all of us to support the creation of quality jobs and equitable economy, and that our vote and our voices are heard and preserved to continue this tradition until these evils in our society are finally put to rest. I want to thank those who are in the gallery today who came last week to celebrate with us for coming back this week, particularly Dr. Reverend Anderson and other members of the Day of Remembrance Coalition 2023. Thank you.

Thank you very much, Smallwood-Cuevas. We do acknowledge your grace last week and having to have your guests not be able to be here on our floor ceremony. So we welcome you back today. Senator Min, you are recognized.

Thank you, Madam President. Fellow Senators, on behalf of the AAPI Legislative Caucus, I rise today in support of SCR 48 and want to thank my colleague and friend from Los Angeles for bringing this forward. We must continue to honor Martin Luther King's legacy, and as the Senator from Los Angeles eloquently pointed out, we've got a long way to go, and I would just want to reiterate many of the points she made.

This is not just about honoring the sanitized version of Dr. King that we are presented with, but his true message of racial equality, economic justice, and peace. Thank you, and I respectfully ask for your aye vote on SCR 48.

Thank you. Senator Rubio, you are recognized.

Thank you, Madam President. Ladies and gentlemen of the Senate, today I rise proudly as a member of the California Legislative Jewish Caucus in support of SCR 48. The Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. dared to believe that as a nation and as individuals, we could not only do better, but be better. He called for justice and was murdered for it 55 years ago in Memphis, Tennessee. His killers believed that his death would end the idea he represented: the movement for equity across race and class divisions.

But his movement has only grown. Rabbi Abraham Joshua Heschel famously marched with Dr. King from Selma to Montgomery, and Dr. King was joined by many Jews, both in spirit and in presence. Earlier this week, we recognized Yom HaShoah and the tragedies of the Holocaust.

Dr. King called out the evil of the Holocaust and pointed out to the Hitlers in America, that what they were doing was evil. He was clear that in the eyes of white supremacists, the Jewish and Black communities were similarly inferior.

He fought for our community as he fought for his own. Dr. King cited Jewish philosophers like Martin Buber to explain the immorality of segregation and reference the persecution of Jews, seeing our communities as partners in the fight against prejudice. Today's rise in bigoted rhetoric and violence only show that we are still far from the liberation that Dr. King envisioned, and he would be alarmed to see the rise in racial and economic inequality.

The laws that segregated Black Americans informed the laws of the Nazis in their quest to eradicate the Jews. The pseudoscience of race the Nazis used so efficiently was rooted in the American tradition of racism, which Dr. King lost his life long ago fighting for. Actors of bad faith have attempted to strain the relationships between our communities, but less than a year ago, the Buffalo Top shooting served as a painful reminder of why we cannot allow such attempts to go unchallenged.

Dr. King's assassins supported--they supposed that by stopping him, they would stop the call for equity for all people. We have a duty to ensure they are wrong. May Dr. King's memory be a blessing after 55 years of his passing, and may we all continue to work together. I am honored to vote aye on SCR 48, and we urge the same of all our colleagues. Thank you.

Thank you, Senator. Senator Bradford, you are recognized.

Thank you, Madam President, and as Vice Chair of the Legislative Black Caucus and coauthor of SCR 48, I am honored to recognize this month as the 55th anniversary of the tragic assassination of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. A moment in time, even though 55 years later, is still seared in my mind because as an eight-year-old, it was the first time I ever saw my father cry.

And it was one of the saddest days in my life and in my family's life, so much so that my father boarded a plane and attended Dr. Martin Luther King's funeral. 55 years later, Black men who speak out to promote peace and try to create a safe communities are still being silenced. People who are trying to create peaceful change are still being oppressed.

Just look at Colin Kaepernick. Just a few years ago, he led a peaceful protest of injustice and racial inequality, a protest that cost him his career just for taking a knee. We must not just stand up for justice.

We must speak up as well. Dr. King often stated, in the end, we will not remember the words of our enemies, but the silence of our friends when we see injustice. Let's be clear: injustice still exists in this country. We must confront it and not remain silent. This is our duty.

This is why so many, including the California Legislative Black Caucus, responded and raised our voice for the two Black legislators in Tennessee who were expelled for simply exercising their right to speak out as duly elected officials. It should not be lost on any of us here today that in the same state in the same city where these legislators were expelled is where Dr. King was assassinated.

In Memphis, Tennessee. These legislators were just speaking loudly and clear for peaceful protest in response to a tragic school shooting that killed three nine-year-olds and three faculty employees, school employees. These legislators were just standing up for victims of gun violence who could no longer speak for themselves. Members, we have come a long way since the assassination of Dr. Martin Luther King.

There has been much progress in this country, but it feels like we have reentered those turbulent times in which Dr. King devoted his life and confronted and tried to change. Just look at last week when a 16-year-old Black boy gets shot in the head by a white man by simply knocking on a door.

As we commemorate the life and tragic death of Dr. Martin Luther King, I hope we won't remain silent in the face of justice around us because Dr. King often stated, 'a threat of justice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere.' I respectfully ask for your aye vote on SCR 48.

Thank you. Senator Laird, you are recognized.

Thank you, Madam President. I rise on behalf of the LGBTQ Caucus, but instead of doing the usual talking points, I think I share the personal experience that the Senator from Gardena just mentioned. In 1968, on April 4th, I was 18. I was working on my first political campaign. On that day, I went to see Eugene McCarthy in the Greek Theatre in Berkeley. And on the way home with my friends, the news came over that something had happened in Memphis.

And when that happened, amazing things happened in this country. A lot of cities were in flames that night. But another presidential candidate had the unenviable task of having to speak in Indianapolis to a largely African American crowd, and it wasn't the 24-hour news cycle. He had to break the news to them about what just happened. And he had a tough decision, which was rather to go ahead and to do that--and there was advice all over--and he chose to do it.

And it resulted in one of the best extemporaneous political speeches, I think, in modern history. And I thought for my comments, I would read that speech. And so, permission to read?

Without objection.

Thank you. 'I have bad news for you, for all of our fellow citizens and people who love peace all over the world, and that is that Martin Luther King was shot and killed tonight. Martin Luther King dedicated his life to love and to justice for his fellow human beings, and he died because of that effort.'

'In this difficult day, in this difficult time for the United States, it is perhaps well to ask what kind of a nation we are and what direction we want to move in. For those of you who are black, considering the evidence there evidently is that there were white people who were responsible, you can be filled with bitterness, with hatred, and a desire for revenge.'

'We can move in that direction as a country in great polarization, black people among black, white people among white, filled with hatred toward one another. Or we can make an effort, as Martin Luther King did, to understand and to comprehend and to replace that violence, that state of bloodshed that is spread over our land, with an effort to understand with compassion and love.'

'For those of you who are black and are tempted to be filled with hatred and distrust at the injustice of such an act against all white people, I can only say that I feel in my own heart the same kind of feeling.'

'I had a member of my family killed, but he was killed by a white man. But we have to make an effort in the United States. We have to make an effort to understand, to go beyond these rather difficult times. My favorite poet, who was Greek, wrote, 'in our sleep, pain cannot forget. Pain, which cannot forget, falls drop by drop upon the heart until in our own despair, against our will, comes wisdom through the awful grace of God.''

'What we need in the United States is not division. What we need in the United States is not hatred. What we need in the United States is not violence or lawlessness, but love and wisdom and compassion toward one another and a feeling of justice toward those who still suffer within our country, whether or not they are white or they be black. So I ask you tonight to return home to say a prayer for the family of Martin Luther King. That's true.'

'But more importantly, to say a prayer for our own country, which all of us love, a prayer for understanding and that compassion at which I spoke.' And he ended with, 'let us dedicate ourselves to that and say a prayer for our country and for our people.' And that night, as cities burned across the country, there was one city that was quiet and peaceful, and it was Indianapolis because of this speech. So in that spirit, I ask that we support SCR 48.

Thank you, Senator. Those beautiful words still true today. Senator Gonzalez, you are recognized.

Thank you, Madam President, and I want to thank the good Senator and my seatmate from Los Angeles and her community for bringing this impeccable resolution forward and something that as Vice Chair of the Latino Caucus, it's my pleasure to support. It recognizes, of course, the 55th anniversary of the unfortunate assassination of the Dr. Martin Luther King, the good reverend.

And as we know, his voice was tragically silenced in 1968, but he led an extraordinary life, an example of one person that can have an incredible impact on so many of our lives as, of course, Black Americans, but also as Latinos. I remember being in college, and one of my very first impressions of Martin Luther King was 'Why We Can't Wait,' the book on why we shouldn't delay justice. And that's something I still read today, even as a legislator.

And Dr. King even inspired some of our incredible Latino leaders, like Cesar Chavez and Dolores Huerta as we know. And he was a model of nonviolence during the struggle for our communities, the farm worker rights. And as we mark this tragic day 55 years ago that took Dr. King away from us, we must continue to honor his legacy and strive to achieve the dream Dr. King fought for and for which he paid the ultimate price.

We stand in solidarity with our Black brothers and sisters and friends and will do our part as Latinos to honor Dr. King's legacy by advocating for the most vulnerable and ensuring social and economic prosperity for all. I respectfully ask for an aye vote.

Thank you, Senator. Senator Skinner, you are recognized.

Thank you, Madam President and Members. I rise as Chair of the Women's Caucus. It is hard to follow the comments of my colleagues that were so eloquent, and I want to thank the author for bringing the resolution. And I think we--it's been well-documented that racism is still alive and well in this country, and just the kinds of incidents that our colleague from Gardena described that just have happened in the last few days.

However, I rise now to remind us that when I say in the last few years of Dr. King's life, it sounds like he lived a long life, and yet we know he was very, very young when he was assassinated. But he went--while he certainly was rooted in the injustices and inequities that racism and systemic racism caused in our society, he also had gone.

He was looking at the issues of war and his strong belief in nonviolence, bringing him to the place of being anti-war, independent of who was perpetrating it. And he also began to really look deeply at the economic injustices in our society. Now, while those were due to racism greatly concentrated on our Black residents, they were not alone in terms of the experience of economic inequity. And his presence in Memphis was to support the sanitation workers. And these sanitation workers, the city had refused.

The sanitation workers were dominantly Black, but they were fighting for a wage and for some conditions, from better improved working conditions, and the city refused to recognize them. And the police were aggressively violent against the strikers, including killing a six-year-old boy, who, of course, was there on the sidelines. So Dr. King returned to Memphis to support those on strike.

And he did so because he saw that until we lifted the conditions of workers--and that was for all workers; he was not only supporting workplace conditions and wage improvements for Black workers--he was raising this issue across the country as he was raising his objections to war across the country.

So I think it is very important for us to recognize that his deeply, spiritually-held beliefs in equity and justice understood that racism, of course, perpetrated those injustices, but that those inequities and injustices also affected others of us. And he was a profound, profound intellectual and an incredible leader, and, of course, we still mourn his death today. And with that, I ask for your aye vote.

Thank you very much. Seeing other Members wishing to be recognized, Senator Smallwood-Cuevas, would you like to close?

I just want to thank my colleagues for the inspirational and personal accounts and storytelling, and we may not always remember the exact words, but we can remember how we felt today, and that's the spirit that we have to continue to work in, live in, and make change in here in this Senate Chamber. So with that, I ask for your aye vote.

Thank you very much for all of your words. This measure is eligible for a unanimous roll call if there are no objections. Seeing none, that measure passes 35 to zero. Moving back to privileges of the floor, Members, on behalf of Senator McGuire and Senator Dodd, I would like to recognize the high school seniors who are here to visit the Capitol and meet with their representatives today from Casa Grande High School. Please give them a warm Senate welcome. We hope you have a great day.

Moving on. File item 66, SR 25 by Senator Gonzalez. Secretary, please read.

Senate Resolution 25 by Senator Gonzalez, relative to Khmer New Year Week.

Please proceed.

Thank you. Madam President and colleagues, I rise today to present Senate Resolution 25, which would recognize last week, April 10 through 16th, as Khmer New Year Week. Khmer New Year, or Cambodian New Year, is also known as Maha Sankranta and coincides with the traditional solar new year and celebrated across Southeast Asia in parts of India, Bangladesh, Nepal, Myanmar, Laos and Thailand. In Cambodia, the new year is celebrated by a three day public holiday with specific acts of worship on each day.

And I think it's actually still going on in Long Beach as we speak in Cambodia Town. For the Cambodian diaspora in California, the new year represents a time to honor cultural heritage with food, dance, and in Long Beach, a huge parade honoring our leaders. Colleagues, I hope you will join me in officially recognizing this week as Khmer New Year Week for the very first time in California. I respectfully ask for your aye vote.

Thank you very much. I see, Senator Min, you are recognized.

Thank you, Madam President and Senators, on behalf of the AAPI caucus, I rise in support of this resolution. I want to thank my colleague from Long Beach for bringing it forward. Khmer New Year is the traditional celebration of the solar new year and a celebration of our ancestors. This multi-day observance is a time of reflection as we review our accomplishments over the past year and look forward to the important work ahead of us.

To all those who observe this new year, it's a time of joy and opportunity. I wish everyone a happy new year, and I ask you to join me in supporting SB 25 and in wishing the Cambodian community good health, peace, and good fortune.

Thank you very much. Seeing no other Members wanting to speak, Senator Gonzalez, would you like to close?

I respectfully ask for an aye vote. Thank you.

Thank you very much. This is eligible for unanimous roll call if there is no objection. Seeing none. Aye's 35. No, zero. The measure passes. Moving on now to Assembly third reading. We go to file item 84, ACR 4. Secretary, please read.

Assembly Concurrent Resolution 4 by Assembly Member Addis by Senator Ochoa Bogh, relative to Positive Parenting Awareness Month,

Senator Ochoa Bogh, you are recognized.

Good morning and thank you, Madam President and Members. Today I'm presenting ACR 4 on behalf of Assembly Member Addis, which declares January 2023 as Positive Parenting Awareness Month. Positive parenting is an approach to raising children based on collective wisdom and evidence. Positive parenting promotes children's healthy development, builds their capacity to handle emotions and solve problems, and teaches skills they'll need to have a healthy relationship throughout life.

We know that when children grow up in a positive, loving and safe environment with clear and consistent boundaries, they are better able to learn, get along with others and overcome life's challenges. Most importantly, positive parenting is not about being a perfect parent or raising a perfect child. It's about working together to ensure that California's children grow up to become healthy, confident and capable individuals.

Thank you very much. Seeing no other Members wishing to speak on this, this is also eligible for unanimous roll call. There are no objections. Seeing none, that is adopted. 35 ayes. No zero. That measure passes. Okay, we're going to move on now to our consent calendar. Secretary, items file items 91 through 95, please read.

You. Is there any Member who would like to remove anything from the consent calendar? See none. Secretary, please read.

{Consent Calendar}

It eligible for unanimous roll call. We're going to call the roll \

[Roll Call]

Please call the absent Members.

[Roll Call]

Ayes 35, no zero on file item 91. Ayes 35, no zero on the consent calendars. They are both adopted. Okay, moving on to Committee announcements. Senator Laird, you are recognized.

Thank you, Madam President. Subcommitee Budget Subcommitee number one on education will meet upon adjournment in room 2100 in the swing space.

Thank you very much, Senator Becker.

Thank you. Budget Subcommitee number two on natural resources and energy will meet in room 2215 minutes after adjournment.

Thank you. Budget Subcommitee number three on health and human services will meet 15 minutes after adjournment in room 1200. Senator Roth, you are recognized.

Thank you, Madam President. Budget Subcommitee number four will meet new adventure in the LOB. First floor hearing, room number 1 20 minutes after it closes.

Senate session Members, note that that was LOB room. Senator Durazo, you are recognized.

Thank you, Madam President. Senate Budget sub five will start 15 minutes after adjournment of floor session in the swing space, room 1100.

Thank you very much. All right, returning to motions and resolutions, this is the time for adjournments in memories by Senators. We have a number of adjournments today. Senator Allen, you are recognized Members.

I'm going to tell you about a very, very special person, especially young man. It's with a real. Heck, it's with a real heavy heart that I rise today to request that we adjourn the memory of Casey Rohr, who was an incredibly bright young man who passed away earlier this year on February 21. Beyond being a vibrant presence in his community, he was a playwright, an actor, a blogger, a motivational speaker and an advocate for accessibility. And when you hear about his story, you'll be so impressed.

It was a story of challenge and triumph from the very beginning. When he was born May 222002 he was entangled in the umbilical cord, deprived of oxygen, and his doctors told his parents, Matt and Beth, that he simply wasn't going to make it. Despite the prognosis and the eventual diagnosis of cerebral palsy, Casey would spend the next 20 years of his life pouring his heart, soul and gifted intellect into his community and his art.

When he was seven years old, his world was opened up in this profound way by the introduction of Toby, which is an eye tracking communication device that allowed him to be heard and, crucially, understood for the first time in his life. And he didn't waste a moment with his newfound voice driving headlong into his passion for the arts through stage acting and playwriting.

So with the help of this technology, which tracked his eye movement so as to allow him to communicate, his words and ideas flowed as if they'd been building up for the previous seven years. In his own words, if I could write everything I am thinking, my words would reach to the sky. So he graced the stage in performances of Snow White, the Lion King, Charlie and the chocolate Factory, once upon a mattress and he took creative control.

And he wrote his first play, once upon a road trip, a theatrical window into his experience with cerebral palsy. Through the comedy of a road trip. And after a year of refining the script and rehearsing with his cast, once upon a road trip debuted at the second story theater, marking an immense landmark on his creative journey.

Casey strove for each of these landmark achievements, not just for himself or his art, but for all of the other kids like him who have faced obstacles and challenges throughout their lives. His evolution and maturation as an artist led him to share his journey through motivational speaking and disability rights advocacy. And alongside his mother, Beth, Casey was integral in the formation and the transformation of South park in Hermosa Beach to be fully accessible for kids with disabilities.

And he marked the ribbon cutting with the words, all kids can play together now. Casey's memory in bringing legacy continued to be cherished by his loving parents, Matt and Beth, his siblings Luca and Anna, his grandparents, Beverly Rohr and Lon and Anne Palmer. Casey committed his life to breaking down the walls presented to him so that those after him would be able to access a world with less barriers. In his own words, if I can go there, so can you.

Colleagues, I ask that you join me today in celebrating the very special life and spirit of a remarkable fellow Californian. By adjourning in the memory of Casey.

Please bring his name forward so he can properly memorialize by the Senate. Senator Bradford, you are recognized for your adjourn.

Thank you, Madam President. And I rise to adjourn with great sadness for a dear friend, a businessman, community activist, that interpersonal Mr. Wayne Spencer. Wayne Spencer passed away suddenly on March twelveth at the age of 70. Wayne was a native of Kingston, Jamaica. He was a prominent and influential and beloved figure in Los Angeles business community. He was a bigger than life personality as well as in stature. He studied engineering and aviation technology at Northrop University in Inglewood with the hopes of being a pilot.

But he was discouraged because of his height and size, that he could not fit into the cockpit. But that did not dissuade him for his love at aviation. But he went into another direction and became one of the most successful business owners of a black owned security company in this country. Spencer for hire security. But I met Wayne over 40 years ago when I was a local club promoter, and I hired him to be my security guy.

And he shows up the first night at work with a suit on, looking like no other security guy I had ever seen before, and with a wooden box in his hand. And I says, what's in the box? He said, that's my gun. I said, most security guys have it on their waist or something. He carried it in his box in a nice polished box. He opened it up. I think it was a 357 magnum.

And he would sit it on the chair, and he would stand there at the door, and he would have more conversations and laughing and talking and doing security. But he was the best person you could have at the door because he knew how to calm any situation with laughter and just his great personality. And for over 40 years, Wayne was a passionate and devoted individual, protecting people throughout Los Angeles County with his very successful business. His dedication and service to the community was truly remarkable.

He served on numerous boards. He served as the Chairman of the Thunderbird District of Boy Scouts, the Chairman of the South Bay Workforce Investment Board, the President of the Inglewood Rotary Club, Commissioner for the Inglewood Police Oversight Commission, and he was a Member of various organizations, including the Jamaica Awareness Association of, California, the International Eye Los Angeles, and many other organizations. Wayne was also known for his passion for singing.

Singing was his hallmark of his life, and he remained active in the Barbara Morrison Performing Arts center and was a founding Member of the Hummingbird Village and performing group, representing the folk tradition of his native and beloved Jamaica Wayne was known for being notoriously late, and it was a running joke on every board and organization that was part of. But I hate to say he was far too early in death. He will be sorely missed by his family, his children, the community, his friends, his colleagues. I ask you to join me in adjourning in the memory of Mr. Wayne Spencer for hire.

Thank you very much. Please bring his name forward so he may be properly recognized and memorialized by the State Senate. Senator Umberg, you are recognized for your adjourn.

Thank you, Madam President, colleagues, I rise today to honor the life of Chief Ron Roberts, recently retired chief of the Orange County Fire Authority. Chief Roberts is a longtime public servant. His deeds merit respect and gratitude from the entire State of California.

After earning an associate's degree in fire technology and a bachelor's degree in management and business, Chief Roberts launched his stellar 42 year career as a fire service officer with the Santa Ana Fire Department in 1980, and then in 1981, he became a full time firefighter for the City of Westminster. Over the course of his decades of dedication to fire service, Ron worked his way up through the ranks and became a fire captain with the Orange County Fire Authority, where he excelled in various assignments across operations.

And he served in several roles before his ultimate role as Division Chief of one of the divisions of the Orange County Fire Authority. He also served as incident commander, the Orange County Fire Authority's Covid-19 pandemic response, shepherding the fire authority through its most difficult challenges. Known for his kind heart and strong character and leadership, Ron embodied the values that we hold dear here in California. He was a tremendous public service servant and a truly valuable person throughout our community.

He passed away on February 9, just 125 days after his retirement. He was on vacation with his wife, and sadly, he was looking forward to the golden years with his wife and family, and he and his family were deprived of his presence. He survived by his wife Stacey, his son Scott, his wife Nicole, son Brett, his wife Megan, Brett's wife Megan, and grandchildren Isabel, Henry, and Riker. I ask that we adjourn in memory of Chief Ron Roberts.

Thank you, Senator. Please bring his name forward so he could be properly memorialized by the State Senate. If there is no other business. Senator Mcguire, the desk is clear.

Thank you so much, madam President. Hope everyone has a wonderful weekend. The Senate will be in recess until 03:30 p.m. At which time the adjournment motion will be made. We're going to reconvene Monday, April 24, at 02:00 p.m..

The Senate will be in recess until 03:30 p.m. At which time the adjournment motion will be made. We will reconvene Monday, April 24, at 02:00 p.m.. Members. Have a great weekend.