Senate Floor

Secretary, please call the roll.

[Roll Call]

Members, a quorum is present with our Members and our guests beyond the rail and in the gallery. Please rise. We'll be led in prayer this morning by our chaplain, Sister Michelle Gorman, after which we're going to ask you to remain standing for the pledge of allegiance to the flag.

And so we gather in the presence of our God. In his letter from Birmingham jail, April 16, 1963 Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Stated, I have tried to make it clear that it is wrong to use immoral means to attain moral ends, but now I must affirm that it is just as wrong and even more to use moral means to preserve immoral ends. Today let us pray in the words of Dr. King.

O God, we thank you for the fact that you have inspired men and women in all nations and in all cultures. We call you different names. Allah, Eloim, Jehovah, Brahma, the unmoved mover. But we know that these are all names for one and the same.

God grant that we will follow you and become so committed to your way that we will be able to establish in our lives and in this world a brotherhood and sisterhood, that we will be able to establish here a kingdom of understanding where men and women will live together as brothers and sisters and respect the dignity and worth of every human being, even our enemy neighbors.

And we ask you, God, in these days of emotional tension, when the problems of the world are gigantic in extent and chaotic in detail, to be with us in our going out and our coming in, in our rising up and in our lying down, in our moments of joy and in our moments of sorrow, until that day when there shall be no sunset and no dawn. Amen. Members, join me in the pledge. I pledge allegiance to the flag. Justice for all. Now Members removing to privileges of the floor, there are none. Messages from the Governor will be deemed read. Messages from the Assembly will be deemed read. Reports and committees will be deemed read, and amendments adopted. Motions, resolutions and notices. Are there any at this time? Hearing, seeing none. Now moving on to introductions and first reading of bills. Bills will be deemed read. Consideration of the daily file or on second reading file items 1 and 2. Secretary, please read.

Senate Bill 402 with amendments. Senate Bill 382.

Right now we're moving to Senate. Third reading All right, file item. Moving on to file item 64. Clerk will read.

Senate Concurrent Resolution 95 by Senator Bradford relative to Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.

Thank you very much. And before we introduce Senator Bradford, I want to take a minute to introduce and wish happy birthday to another very important person in black political history. And we wish happy birthday to Stephen Bradford. Senator Bradford, you may proceed.

Thank you. Madam President, as Vice Chair of the legislative Black Caucus, it is with great pride and honor that I present SCR 95, which recognizes Monday, January 15, as Martin Luther King, Jr. Day. For those of you who were attended to black Caucus's breakfast yesterday, it was a fantastic opportunity. And I started my remarks by saying, we will be celebrating Michael King, Jr. Day. And I said it twice. And people looked with great awe and wanted to correct me.

And many were unaware that his birth name was Michael. And not until 1934, at the age of five, did his father change both his name and his own name to Martin Luther. So this day also would celebrate his 95th birthday. And as we enjoy this holiday, we should remember Dr. King's legacy and impact on this state, the nation, and the world. Dr. King wore many hats throughout his life.

He was a son, he was a father, a husband, a baptist minister, an activist, President of a southern Christian leadership conference, and many considered the greatest leader and proponent of civil rights in America and perhaps the world. His work and advocacy helped bring forth advancements in voting rights, desegregation, labor rights, and all other civil rights, not just for black Americans, but all Americans.

We would not have the great diversity and ethnic caucuses that we have in this institution and across this nation if it were not for Dr. King's leadership. His leadership made America and the world listen and pay attention to the injustice suffered by black Americans. Americans stand again at the precipice of change. The rise of hate and division in this country echoes the same environment that Dr. King spent his entire life fighting against.

So it's important that we recognize Monday as a day on and not a day off. We stay on to recognize that there are still injustices to make right, that California has the ability to make real progress towards paying back the debt owed to its disenfranchised citizens. That's why it's keenly important that we support reparations this year in whatever form it comes to this body. Dr. King recognized that even after the emancipation proclamation was signed that the negro was to rise out of poverty.

They had to persevere through discrimination and segregation, without recognition or compensation for the centuries of harm that were inflicted. In his I have a dream speech, Dr. King shined a light on the issue, saying that when the architects of our republic wrote the magnificent words of the Constitution and the Declaration of Independence, they were signing a promissory note, which every American were to fall heir, even the negro. America has defaulted on that promissory note insofar as the citizens of color are concerned.

And instead of honoring the sacred obligation, America has given the negro people, a bad check which has come back marked insufficient funds. But as Dr. King says, he refused to believe that the bank of justice was bankrupt. He refused to accept that the vaults of opportunity in his country would come back insufficient funds. There are there, if we're committed to making those changes.

Dr. King stated that it was equivalent to keeping a person in prison and suddenly discovering that that person was not guilty of a crime and don't give them any money to get some clothes to put on his back or get on his feet and start their life again. Since California's reparations task force released its final report last year, we now have actionable solutions to ensure California leads the nation in being the bank of justice.

We can lead the nation in making sure justice is given to all of our citizens. And like Dr. King, let our actions lead our words. This Martin Luther King Day, I ask my fellow colleagues, Californians, and Americans to remember the truths of what Dr. King stood for, the truth of equality, of love and injustice. Let us all embody those truths and honor Dr. Martin Luther King. And I respectfully ask for your aye vote.

Thank you. Senator Smallwood Cuevas, you are recognized.

Thank you. Madam President and colleagues, I rise on behalf of SCR 95 that also recognizes January 15 as Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Day to commemorate a brave visionary whose revolutionary civil rights movement made it possible for all people in this country to have equal rights. And yesterday, we celebrated with a wonderful breakfast and so happy that many of our colleagues supported the black caucus at the breakfast. I had the honor of representing our caucus over with the women's caucus as we went to ChalchilLA prison.

And I think it was really about the actions of Dr. King that were on my heart as we stepped into that prison and as my good colleague talked about Dr. King's perspective on our justice system. I want you to know, yesterday we learned our work is still alive, well and needed as we heard about the continued sexual assault of women who are in our care and the lack of rehabilitative services that they are receiving.

And so in this moment, I want to just reflect on that lived experience yesterday and how moving it was and how Dr. King was in the room with us. As one of the residents there said, the spirit of change is with us today. In this moment, we still live in a world that is marred by racism, hatred and military violence. And I love the Dr. King of 1968. He is my favorite.

We were talking about how his image and his words have been co opted by far too many. But it was that end of life where he was able to reflect and sum up all of the movements, where he turned into the most radical, most defiant, and as J. Edgar Hoover called, the most dangerous man in America, when he stood up for not just the end of racism, but the end of economic insecurity and the end of the military industrial complex.

I think we see today, as there is war in the Ukraine, we see the war that is happening in Gaza. We have to reflect on Dr. King's approach to nonviolence against fierce hatred and decades of injustice. Dr. King's civil rights movement defended the rights of black Americans. But really, all human beings in this country. And it would not have succeeded if not all races, all religions stood up with that movement to ensure that justice would prevail in this democracy.

In fact, the Black Jewish alliance, there was some research that showed that 90% of the attorneys who have defended and protected the civil rights movement and those in it were Jewish. And many Jewish leaders marched alongside of Dr. King. And as you know, my district is where Dr. King came to do all of his fundraising. It was in many of our districts that house parties were held to support the movement by leaders like women in my district, God rest her soul.

Gwynn Green, who was then the secretary of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference of Los Angeles. We as a people, as a community, cross sectors, came together in winning and standing with Dr. King for justice. In our voter registration drives, in our fight against segregation and sit encounters, we were fighting for real policies, real enforcement to protect our terrorized communities.

And when we say real enforcement, meaning that we could call on the government to stand with and protect our communities against hate and discrimination in an active and proactive way, we can learn from this alliance, we can learn from the goals of that movement, and we can continue in our state and in this chamber to unite our communities together to work for justice. As we learn from Dr. King's nonviolent resistance, we will seek peaceful solutions for our world. Today.

We will check and watch the pouring in of billions of dollars to continue war and human suffering as we are seeing growing and developing around us with all sorts of negative forces aligning for injustice.

And we have to make sure that in our state that we challenge any effort to invest more in war and armament as we are fighting to balance our budget, to ensure that folks in this state and in this country are able to just meet their basic needs and to make sure that we continue to build the real ladder to opportunity for all. Dr. King was vehemently against the ravages of the Vietnam War, reinforcing connections between war abroad and the injustices at home.

He argued that America should refocus its priorities away from Vietnam and toward greater support for anti poverty programs and diplomacy that unites the world in peace and nonviolence. And as we seek solutions to critical issues here in California, where we're facing poverty, where we are facing a crisis of housing individuals, where we are facing a crisis of defining what is rehabilitation in the face of crime that helps our communities build stronger skills and able to rejoin and become good neighbors to our communities.

We have to look to Dr. King and his poor people's campaign and recognize that as we are the state with the most billionaires in the country, we should and can create an environment where we are able to ensure that there are basic opportunities for every californian here to live with dignity, to live with peace, and to be able to have a brighter future for the children than we have today. Dr. King understood that racial injustice is inseparable from economic injustice.

He knew that this nation could not truly move forward if ignored the needs of the poor, saying, whatever affects one directly affects us all indirectly. Each one of us, right here in this room, can honor Dr. King's legacy by turning those dreams into actions. And I know we do it every day, and I think the state and our constituents are calling on us to do it now more than ever.

As we stand at a crossroads for our nation in terms of who we are going to be, are we going to go back to the days that Dr. King helped to bring us out of, or are we going to move forward into a climate resilient, brighter future that brings all Californians along to opportunity and growing our economies together? I thank you for the time today echo the birthday wishes to my good colleague from Gardena, and with that, I respectfully ask for your support of this resolution.

Senator Wiener, you are recognized.

Thank you, Madam President. Colleagues, I rise today as co chair of the California Legislative Jewish Caucus in strong support of SCR 95. And I want to thank my colleague from Gardena and my colleague from Los Angeles for moving this resolution forward. Dr. King fought division and oppression. He taught us to value the preciousness of life and to treat all people with dignity. He was viewed as a radical for believing in justice, and in the end, he was murdered for it.

His assassination was won in a string of bloody events that sought to quash a righteous movement. Those murders were of many black people, but others as well, including Jews, who stood for racial equality. In the movement that Dr. King led, Jewish thinkers and activists found allies and champions. The Jewish community continues to proudly teach the lesson of Rabbi Abraham Joshua, a rabbi whose understanding of Jewish values and traditions led him to the civil rights movement and who marched with Dr. King from Selma to Montgomery.

Similarly, we remember that Dr. King held a place for Jews in his movement. He refused to ignore the plight and suffering of other people or anyone. He frequently spoke of the need to stand by the Jewish community, who he considered as siblings to the black community. Dr. King, a Christian Reverend, cited Jewish philosophers like Martin Bouver to explain the immorality of segregation and reference the persecution of Jews.

Seeing our communities as partners in the fight against hate, as cynical actors today seek to create divisions amongst communities that have long been allies, we must not forget the lessons of Dr. King, that our greatest strength lies in our unity. Today's rise in bigoted, hateful rhetoric and violence show that we are still far from the liberation that Dr. King imagined.

And he would be, I am confident, alarmed by our rising racial and economic inequality and by the fact that in 2023, we still see so much, not just hate, but people who think that it is okay and that they can get away with just brazen, open denigration and attacks on different communities. We lost Dr. King when he was only 39 years old, and yet he left us with so many lessons and so much work that we need to do still to continue his righteous mission. May Dr. King's memory be a blessing, and may we all continue his work. I urge an aye vote.

Thank you, Senator Min. You are recognized.

Thank you, Madam President. On behalf of the Asian American and Pacific Islander Legislative Caucus, I'm honored to rise to commemorate the life of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. And I want to thank my colleague from Gardena for bringing this forward. As we all know and has been eloquently stated by my colleagues, Dr. King fought for inclusivity, equality, and against economic oppression. And leaders today continue to inspire us to fight for these goals, for equitable opportunities, for equal protection under the law.

And make no mistake, these battles are still underway. Now, we have a long history of our communities working together to fight for these goals, including the Aapi community. AAPI women in particular, like Grace Lee Boggs, Yuri Koshiyama, Inochka Roska, and Helen Zia, work closely with allies in the civil rights movement, including with Malcolm X and Dr. King. Together, our communities fought for integrated education and human rights. After the murder of Vincent Chin, Jesse Jackson joined forces with Asian American activists to demand justice.

And we want to stand with the API caucus, with the Black Caucus, to recognize not only the life and legacy of Dr. King, but what we can do going forward to try to continue to make Dr. King's dream a reality. As my colleagues have eloquently expressed before, we have a lot of work to do. Racism still exists and is on the rise. Division, economic oppression are on the rise. We're seeing an alarming rise in hate across the country.

And yes, in California, we're seeing outrageous acts taken under these culture wars memes. Even in California, in the district I represent, we've seen attempts to enact book bans and voter suppression efforts. So we have a lot of work to do, and I urge you to support this and thank again my colleague from Guardiana for bringing this forward.

Thank you. Senator Blakespear, you are recognized.

Thank you. I rise today to offer my support for the resolution honoring the late civil rights pioneer, Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. My tribute is not just to the legacy, but to the present day impact of Dr. King. Dr. King is not only America's most mourned martyr, but he is our only modern day founding father. His moving memorial in Washington, D. C. Which is inside of the Lincoln and Jefferson Memorial, is the only national monument in Washington dedicated to a person of color.

We admire our American founding fathers for their vision, for their courage, their intellect, their leadership, and most importantly, for their dedication to the principles of justice, liberty, democracy and equality. As I am reading this book about Dr. King, which is the first major biography in the last 35 years and includes a lot of interesting new material, which I will not quote from today.

I am continually struck by the commitment of this leader, preacher and orator to those bedrock principles of integration, of nonviolence, and of love of your fellow human. He asked his supporters to love the enforcers of white supremacy even when it was a fight to the death. All of us in this chamber work to right injustices. It's the deepest calling of public service.

The fact that king and millions of ordinary protesters could build a revolution four generations after the end of the civil war that forced America to reckon with our failure to live up to our founding father's standards and our American ideals is truly remarkable. He used only the tools of nonviolence, Christian love and faith, and collective action. This is the most deeply inspiring American history that we have in this country.

While Dr. King is beloved and influential, and we have this now national holiday on Monday and hundreds of streets and schools that are named after him all across America and all across California, we know that we have not lived up to his or the founding father's ideals.

Black Californians continue to fight housing and educational segregation, economic inequality, disparate levels of gun violence, of homelessness, of maternal death rates, among many other injustices. I rise today in recognition of this unacceptable reality and to add my voice to the chorus of voices who finds inspiration in Dr. King, who recognizes the importance of this holiday every year to remind ourselves of where we are and where we need to be.

And as someone who remains as committed to our nations in Dr. King's demands for racial and economic justice for every Californian and every American, together, we can and we must do better. Thank you.

Thank you Senator. Senator Skinner you are recognized.

Thank you, Madam President. I rise on behalf of the Legislative Women's Caucus in support of SCR 95 and to honor the late Dr. Martin Luther King. As our colleagues have mentioned, today, our world struggles with social, political, and economic violence, and there is an urgent necessity to reinvigorate ourselves in the commitment of Dr. King's philosophy and methodology of nonviolence.

The numerous acts of nonviolent activism that he led and inspired have transformed our nation and opened the doors to liberty for many for whom it denied. But I always like to remind us on the day that we honor him, that his focus expanded as time went on.

And at the point of his assassination in Memphis, he was there in Memphis to support the striking garbage workers who not only had been denied any kind of decent working conditions, their wages were beyond poverty, and yet they were doing a job that every city relies on, which is to keep a community clean and pick up garbage. But what he was really focused on was, of course, those workers.

But the in general economic injustice of low wages and lack of worker protections that black and other low wage workers faced and, unfortunately, continue to face. So I think that we need to remind ourselves that as we continue to face this challenge of economic justice and economic opportunity, that in Dr. King's honor, we should recommit ourselves to those, to writing those wrongs. And I urge your aye vote.

Thank you. Senator Laird you are recognized.

Thank you, Madam President. I rise today on behalf of the California LGBT Caucus in support of SCR 95. And I commend the first two Members that spoke that brought this to us so that we can have this discussion and call attention to some of the major pieces of the civil rights movement. We're here to honor Dr. King and his incredible work, his leadership, what he gave his life for. But what I want to talk about today is the intersection of two different civil rights movements.

And it was best embodied this year because of Barack and Michelle Obama and their Higher Ground Productions, where they produced a movie on Bayard Rustin. And Bayard Rustin was a leader of the Civil Rights Movement and at Martin Luther King's side. And since the high point of the Civil Rights Movement until this movie had largely faded from memory. And in 1946, it was against the law, in essence, for interstate travel for people of color.

And he organized what was what we now recognize as the Freedom Rides, one of the first Freedom Rides. He served 21 days on a chain gang in North Carolina for breaking the law about crossing the state border as a black man. And as it went forward, he studied, in the early 1950s, Gandhi.

And when Martin Luther King was organizing the Montgomery Bus Boycott, he advised Martin Luther King about Gandhi in a way that together they decided to adopt those principles for how that bus boycott was run. He was at his side when they organized the Southern Christian Leadership Conference that was mentioned, and he was one of the lead organizers of the march on Washington. He headed the A. Philip Randolph Institute for the AFL-CIO.

And in 1964, when people advised him not to do it, he organized a boycott of the New York City schools for one day because of the de facto segregation that existed in the New York City schools. And it was just an amazing success coming out of that. But at the same time, he was a gay man, and he was a gay man who, at the time, didn't run away from it.

In 1953, he was arrested in Pasadena for gay sexual activity, and that colored his place in the civil rights movement. There were people that argued that he should be in the background. And then Strom Thurmand, at the time of the march on Washington, read the entire police report from Pasadena into the congressional record, and it probably led to Rustin not being the head of or a leader in the Southern Christian Leadership Conference.

It definitely caused a move back in the march on Washington and his participation there. And yet he was clear. And Martin Luther King did not push him away. It was very important. And in 1987, when the Supreme Court, on a five to four vote, outlawed sodomy laws across the state, Thurgood Marshall was a key vote, and his vote was attributed to his friendship and the conversations with Bayard Rustin. And so you move to the current time. You wonder. People talk.

One of our colleagues mentioned, what would Martin Luther King do if we were in the current time? Which issues would he take on? Because there's so many that are within his fear where justices have not been addressed. And I think the same would be true with Bayard Rustin. He would be out there and clear. He had a partner, the last 10 years of his life.

And there has been a redress of justice to him, not just in his memory being honored with the film, but the Senator from San Francisco and the Governor, I think, three or four years ago, dealt with a pardon in relation to the Pasadena in North Carolina, took them till 2022, but they rescinded the charge for he and other people that were imprisoned in the 1946 Freedom Ride. And it's just very significant because it is a true intertwining of the two movements.

And the interesting thing is, both Martin Luther King Jr. And Bayard Ruston were men of their times. Martin Luther King was taking the injustice as he saw it and addressing it case by case to advance civil rights. And Bayard Rustin was doing the same thing. He did not shrink. I mean, it is now believed to be J. Edgar Hoover. But a photo was leaked of Martin Luther King cleaning up somewhere with Bayard Rustin at his side, implying a relationship.

And it's believed that J. Edgar Hoover leaked that photo. And so it is very important to recognize, yes, we have a lot to do in both spheres, but we've come this far because of two men that were creatures of their times and faced injustice as they saw them and stood strong and addressed the issues.

And we really do need to constantly recognize Dr. Martin Luther King on this day and every day for what he did and the example he showed for people, because I think, and it is my experience, and I think it's the experience of probably the different caucuses that have been represented thus far. As we go through our individual lives, sometimes we don't consider ourselves part of a larger movement, but just responding to the injustice in the moment means, in fact, we are.

And in retrospect, it takes an outsized view compared to what we thought was happening at the time or in the moment. And in part, that's what we're celebrating today. So, on behalf of the caucus, I strongly support SCR 95. And in the spirit of what I've talked about, ask your aye vote.

Thank you, Senator. Senator Durazo, you are recognized.

Thank you, Madam President. I rise in support of SCR 95 and thank the Black Caucus and my colleague for bringing this forward. And happy birthday. Last year, I had the privilege of introducing Senate Resolution 38, which will encourage each local education agency to include in its curriculum the study of the principles of nonviolence that Dr. Martin Luther King practiced and championed throughout the civil rights movement. This resolution passed the Legislature overwhelmingly. Colleagues, we mustn't let these teachings get lost or forgotten. Today's generation is practicing.

I'm proud. They are practicing the philosophy of nonviolence through strikes at the UC campuses, through organizing at Amazon and in this very capital. They are rejecting hate. They are rejecting violence. They are moving forward with peace through justice. By teaching our students about nonviolence principles, we can help. We will help future generations move towards racial healing, overcome hate and division. And more importantly, the goal of Dr. King was to build the beloved community. Thank you. And respectfully, ask for your aye vote.

Thank you, Senator Niello. You are recognized.

Thank you, Madam President. I rise in honor of Dr. Martin Luther King. I really can't add to all of the comments that have been made already, but clearly Dr. King's memory will live forever to continually remind us of his teachings and his tremendous work in civil rights for the oppressed, but importantly, for justice for all. He used some tactics of confrontation, but he didn't do it to drive us apart. He did it to try to keep us together.

And two quotes that I've seen of Dr. King's that disappeared from my screen all of a sudden. He said, "forgiveness is not an occasional act. It is a permanent attitude. We must learn to live together as brothers and sisters or perish together as fools." We are tremendously polarized in this country right now, not in this chamber. It's a very collaborative place. But in our country, the polarization is deeply troubling to many of us, myself included.

We could use more than his memory, but actually his existence back with us again to help us be less foolish and more brotherly and sisterly.

Thank you Senator. Senator Bradford, would you like to close?

Thank you, Madam President. I want to thank my colleagues from the various caucuses and the various parties of both sides of the aisle for your comments about Dr. King. And we could be here all day stating the impact that Dr. King has had on this world and will continue to have on each and every one of us.

I wouldn't be here today if it wasn't for Dr. King because at an early age, he taught me the courage of standing up, showing up, speaking up, and sometimes showing out by sitting down when most folks wanted you to leave, to refuse to get up from a counter, when folks wanted you to leave, to have the courage to fight for what you knew was right. And that's what he did. And that's what we all should continue to do.

Dr. King often stated, "we will not remember the words of our enemies, but the silence of our friends" and far too many of our friends are silent on the issues that matter the most to Californians as well as Americans. So let's not just honor Dr. King's memory. Let's live out his deeds by our actions. Let's promote peace, unity. Because he was a bridge builder of a variety of entities. Like, I say, gay rights, women rights, civil rights, Latino rights. And many folks don't know.

Dr. King was a Republican. He was a Republican up until John Kennedy ran for office. His father was a Republican, and so he worked on both sides of the aisle. And he was a servant leader and a courageous individual who's a fine example that we should all lead. But I want to touch upon one thing. My colleague from Berkeley touched upon it. The focus of the march on Washington and Dr. King's ending of life was about economic equality for everyone, especially people of color.

So I say to each and every one of us here in California and across this nation, until we remove the shackles and bondage of poverty and the lack of generational wealth from each American, we will never be able to truly echo the words of Dr. King." Free at last, free at last. Thank God almighty, I'm free at last." I ask for your aye vote.

Thank you. Secretary will call the roll.

[Roll Call].

Please call the absent Members.

[Roll Call].

The motion is adopted. Moving on to file item 10. Returning to motions and resolutions, this is the time for adjourn and memories. We're going to begin today with Senator Archuleta for Emmanuel Ruben Kota.

Thank you, madam President, I rise today to give honor to a very dear friend of mine who I served with in the 82nd airborne. And as I listened to our colleagues and all of you about Martin Luther King. I've got to, just for a second, insert something before I talk about my brother in arms, a fellow paratrooper, because we were in North Carolina. Turn the clock back. 1965 in North Carolina.

And Manuel Coda, my buddy from East LA, and I were walking down with a couple of other brothers from Los Angeles. African Americans, two Latinos. And we were walking down streets of Fayetteville North Carolina. We wanted to go into the theater because we were off post, and that sign said whites only. Then we walked a little further. The other sign said balcony for the blacks. And we looked at each other. We're all from California. And we said, this is not California. This is not America.

And we kept going until we found a time to be together. Then my first time in combat and the mission I was on, side by side were two black Americans, African Americans, the only three of us in that moment in combat. And they fought with dignity, with honor. And I was so proud of both of them again, my fellow paratroopers. So I go back a long ways, but I will tell you, when in the 60s, Martin Luther King was doing what he was doing.

We were in the military, and we heard, we saw. And now, as the chair of military and veterans Committee, I see our military now, the diversity. And I'm so proud what Martin Luther King has done, not just for this country, but for our military men and women across this nation, the minorities. And I'm so proud of what he's done, and that's my input. So, back to honoring my fellow paratrooper, Emmanuel Coda.

And I adjourn in his memory and to the friends and relatives he has from East Los Angeles and the famous Garfield High school where he graduated from. Following his graduation from Garfield High School, he, like so many back then, joined the military. And Manuel's call of duty was join the 82nd airborne to be a proud paratrooper. And that's where we met up. And I was already there. And he came in, and we started talking about good old east La Whittier boulevard only but goodies, Motown.

Next thing, the friendship grew and grew, and then we were inseparable. And as we got closer and closer, time went on. Then we were both deployed. We went overseas. He came back first, went home, started his life. And then when I got out, I was able to meet his family, and he opened the doors for me, for employment and everything else, so I can get acclimated back in the world, as they say. So, Manuel Kota, you've touched my heart.

And when I got a call that he was lying dead in his home in Whittier, in one of my cities, his daughter called, crying hysterically that my dad is dead. You got to get here. So I left my family at a quinceignetta in Los Angeles, jumped in the car, drove to Whittier, and there he was in the house. Yes, he was dead and had been there for a couple days because no one had responded to him. And finally when they did, they found him there.

And I was able to pray over him and kiss him in the forehead. We talked a little bit, and then I was with the family, and I called for the funeral to come out and pick him up. They put him in the body bag, and as he was being brought up, I looked up at top of his roof, there was the American flag. And I asked his daughter's fiance, take the flag down. We put it over the gurney and over him.

And again we prayed and we saluted. I saluted. Emanuel Coda. You're going to be missed, my brother. But I will tell you what he did. He raised some great kids. He worked as an inspector at Norris Industries, at a defense plant, and he also got into the real estate business. I guess I pushed him a little bit on that, but he was very active in all the military units that he could get his hands on.

He joined the 82nd Airborne Association, VFW, American Legion, and he was very active in Norwalk, Downey, East LA, and all the areas surrounding Whittier. And he passed away on October 14. And then we arranged a full military honor in Riverside cemetery. And we were able to have a good 120 people there in Riverside from Los Angeles to Riverside. You can imagine the drive. But everybody followed one another. Long caravan of cars, full military honors, gun salutes, taps, the whole thing.

I was able to speak on his behalf. And Manuel is survived by his daughter, Mitzi Koda and son Adrian Coda, and granddaughter Priscilla Coda, and grandson aiden Daniel Coda. And, of course, now the one who's really saddened also was his sister, Diana, who was able to meet when I met his mom. But he now joins his mother and father and nieces and those in his family.

So, ladies and gentlemen, my fellow colleagues, as we honor another veteran, I thank you for this time, and thank you for allowing me to adjourn in his memory a paratrooper, a veteran, an American. Manuel Coda. Thank you.

Thank you, Senator. We ask you that you bring his name forward so he can be properly memorialized by the California State Senate. Next up is Senator Skinner and Wahab.

Thank you, Mr. President. And Members, I ask that you join me in adjourning the Senate in the memory of Officer Oakland police officer Tuan Lay, who was killed in the line of duty on December 29 in Oakland. He was 36 years old. Officer Lay was working undercover in a burglary task force when he was investigating an Oakland cannabis dispensary burglary.

And there he was shot and killed two people are now in custody on suspicion of murdering officer lay, and one has been arrested on suspicion of burglary. Officer Lay was the first Oakland police officer to be killed in nearly 15 years, and he was the 54th Oakland officer to die in the line of duty in Oakland's 171 year history. At his memorial service on January 10, hundreds of Oakland officers and officers across the region, as well as community Members and many others, joined in memory.

He was beloved not only by his fellow officers, but by the many Oakland residents who came into contact with him. He worked as a community resource officer in West Oakland, helping to reduce crime and foster a better community. The type of officer he was is that he would really engage with the residents in the area, that he was the beat officer. He would give them his cell phone. He was a great listener. There was no complaints lodged against him.

He was known for helping bridge the divide in Oakland between the Police Department and Oakland's very large Asian American community. And the Chinatown Chamber of Commerce, for example, hosted a memorial service in Officer Lei's honor earlier this month. He was born in Sagan, Vietnam. He immigrated to the US at the age of seven, and his mom and he settled in Oakland. He attended Oakland High School, and he became a naturalized citizen at age 14. On 911 yes, on September 112001.

His lifelong dream was to be a police officer and to follow in the grandsteps, or, excuse me, to follow in the footsteps of his grandfather, who was a police officer in Vietnam. After graduating from Oakland High, he earned his bachelor's degree at SF state, and he graduated from the police academy in 2000. Oakland's police academy.

He had deep connections to the Oakland community, as I mentioned, growing up there, going to high school there, and he ultimately gave his life in service to that community to make it safer. After he was rushed to Oakland's Highland Hospital on December 29, scores of officers from Oakland and other cities and officials all showed up and stayed outside the hospital in vigil to pay their respects. So let me mention what Acton Police Chief Allison referenced about officer lay.

He said that although the loss of officer lay leaves a void in our Department and our community, and he will be missed, his legacy of courage, compassion, service, and sacrifice will be immortal. He left his mark on our Department and in our community. His kindness, his loyalty, and his smile will remain in our memories a true hero. He will never be forgotten.

And as I close, I think we want to remind ourselves that each and every day our sworn public safety officers put on that uniform and walk out their door. They are taking their lives in their hands and they are doing that. They are taking that risk on our behalf to protect our public safety.

And our hearts and thoughts go out to Officer Lay's family and his friends, but also to all of his fellow officers, all of the Oakland PD, as well as officers up and down the state who feel the loss of an officer in this way who is shot in the line of duty. They feel it acutely. So we know, or rather, in this adjourn in memory, we act to honor officer Lay, but we also act to honor all of our police officers for their service. And with that, I ask you to adjourn in his memory.

Thank you, colleagues. I also rise to adjourn in memory of Officer Tuan Ley, who lived in my district in the City of Hayward at the time of his death, not only as a public safety chair. Senator Skinner is absolutely correct. Officers that approach frontline efforts often are met with risky situations. And not only do we have to honor the work that is being done to protect our safety and the safety of all of our community Members, we also have to realize that sacrifices are made.

Officer Lei was beloved in the Bay Area community where he and his wife lived in Hayward. Everyone who knew him said he could light up a room with his contagious smile and laughter, and that he was always upbeat and positive. Tuan Lei was also known around the community for just walking his dogs and caring for his garden and taking his Harley for a spin.

He was deeply devoted to his family, who he specifically adored, his extended family, his cousins, his brothers and sister in laws, and his nieces and nephews. Those who knew him described him as funny, loyal, responsible, hardworking, honest, full of integrity and compassion. And since childhood, Tuan displayed a spirit of generosity that he carried with him into adulthood. In fact, after coming to the East Bay from Vietnam, Tuan grew up as the only child of a single mom. The two of them, mother and son, were inseparable.

He specifically was devoted as a son, but also loved going to school and always had a positive, cheerful outlook on life. Every single person, including our police force, both mourn the death of Tuan Lei and celebrate his life across the district, Hayward and the Aapi community. I also just want to say that with this adjournment memory, specifically, we are also honoring the lives of all of those who are at the front line and end up sacrificing their own life for our safety and security. Thank you.

Thank you. And we ask that you bring his name up so the Senate can properly moralize him. Thank you for his service as well. Next up, we have Senator Durazo.

Thank you, Mr. President. Today I rise and ask you to adjourn in the memory of Mr. Edik Agahani. He is the father of a very dear friend, Dr. Armand Agahani. Mr. Agahani lived the true immigrant journey, coming to America from Iran as a Coca COLA accountant. Having to reinvent his entire life in California. Starting with nothing, Edik and his wife reestablished themselves once they moved to America. They raised two amazing children.

One of them, my dear friend Dr. Armana Honey, earned his PhD, is now a Professor at East La College and a school board Member in Burbank. Sharing his father's passion for serving the community throughout his life, Mr. Agahani exhibited a passion for camaraderie and the simple joys of life, particularly through his love for playing gin Rummy and backgammon.

For him, the moments spent playing Jim Rummy and backgammon were not just about the games themselves, but a reflection of his character, his love for togetherness, his appreciation for the simple pleasures in life, and his ability to create a warm and inviting atmosphere for those he held dear. After a long period of illness, he passed away on December 252023 in Glendale, California. His legacy lives on in the hearts of all who were fortunate enough to be touched by his love.

A loving father, husband, generous friend, beloved community Member, unwavering love for friends and family and community. He continues to inspire us to cherish our relationship and hold our loved ones close, just as he did throughout his remarkable life. We send our condolences to his family during this difficult time. Rest in peace, Mr. Edik Agahani. Thank you.

Thank you, Senator. Our deepest condolences, and we ask that you bring the name forward so you can be properly memorialized. Next up is Senator Roth.

Friends, I ask you to join me this morning in adjourning in memory of Ophelia Valdez Jeger, who sadly passed away early Sunday morning in Riverside. Ophelia was truly a force of nature in inland Southern California, and she was a very, very dear friend of mine. As an educator and community advocate, Ophelia was a champion for greater access, equity, and inclusion for all in our community. She worked in so many ways to improve the quality of life of our residents in our region.

A child of Mexico, she was a true trailblazer. She was the first in her family to earn a college degree. She started as one of the first students in the equal opportunity program at UC Riverside in 1965, where she earned her degree in Spanish and later her teaching credential she became an elementary school teacher and a high school counseling assistance assistant.

Ophelia's experience in education and leadership in our community led her to becoming, in 1992, the first Latina elected to the Riverside Unified School District board, and she later chaired the RUSD bond measure Committee. She worked for our former Riverside mayor Ron Loveridge and held the role of chief administrative liaison to then Riverside County Superintendent of Schools Dave Long, who later served as our California secretary of education.

In 1993, she was one of the first founding Members of the Latino Network, which today is a prominent and powerful organization in our region. Uplifting and empowering Latino voices Ophelia had a deep passion and love for expanding and promoting the arts. She was the immediate past President of the board of trustees of the Riverside Art Museum and was instrumental in raising millions and millions of dollars for the establishment of the Chichmarine Center for Chicano Arts and Culture in Riverside, which opened in 2022.

Yesterday would have been her birthday and our hearts go out to Ophelia's wonderful family, her beloved husband, her four children and seven grandchildren. At this most difficult time, I can say that she was everywhere all the time. She left quite a legacy and some very, very big shoes to fill for all of the rest of us, and we will miss her a lot. I ask that we keep Ophelia and her family in our prayers. Thank you.

Thank you. Senator. We ask that you bring her name forward so she can be properly memorialized by the California State Senate. If there's no other business. Senator Atkins, the desk is clear.

Mr. President, thanks so much. Just a comment as we wrap up. I don't know about you, but I often find myself as I listen to our chaplain, Sister Michelle, offer blessings. It seems to me that sometimes it comes exactly what she is saying, comes exactly at the right moment and seeks to inspire me and remind me of our place in the universe. And today was one of those moments.

So I often get her blessings in print so that I have them in case I want to reflect a little further. So if you have the opportunity to look at her remarks today, I am grateful for her words of encouragement and inspiration, particularly today. Colleagues and I didn't feel the need to get up and speak after each of you spoke.

But I have to say I hope we all get to truly reflect this weekend as we go into the celebration of a life of excellence and celebrate Dr. Martin Luther King Jr's birthday on Monday. Many of us will go home to our districts and we will do an active service. We will participate in ways that hopefully are reminders of the goals and the great inspiration his life gave us, and I will be joining one every year in San Diego.

I look forward to the Martin Luther King breakfast. More than a thousand people show up and I always walk away inspired. So I hope you have that opportunity with community and family to do that as well.

Before we adjourn, I just want to invite everyone once again to say happy birthday to our colleague and President of today's session, but invite you on behalf of his staff and all of us to join us in the Maddie Lounge for some cupcakes in celebration of his birthday as we head home to our districts. And our next floor session is scheduled for Tuesday, January 6, Tuesday the 16th, 2024, at 02:00 p.m. Safe travels, colleagues.

Thank you, Madam President. The Senate will be in recess until 03:30 p.m. At which time an adjournment motion will be made. We'll reconvene on Tuesday at 02:00 p.m. Have a great weekend. Bye.