Senate Floor

[Roll Call].

A quorum is present. Would the Members and our guests beyond the rail and in the gallery please rise? We will be led in prayer this afternoon by our chaplain, Sister Michelle Gorman. After which, please remain standing for the pledge of allegiance to the flag.

As we pray these days for peace and unity in our areas of worship and in our world, we consider the words of Judyth Hill in 2001, advising us to wage peace. 'Wage peace with your breath. Breathe in firemen and rubble. Breathe out whole buildings. Breathe in terrorists and breathe out sleeping children. Breathe in confusion and breathe out maple trees. Breathe in the fallen and breathe out lifelong friendships intact. Wage peace also with your listening. Hearing sirens, pray aloud. Remember your tools: flower seeds, clothespins, clean rivers.'

'Play music. Learn the word thank you in three languages. Think of chaos as dancing raspberries. Imagine grief as the outbreath of beauty. Wage peace. Never has the world seemed so fresh and precious. Act as if armistice has already arrived. Don't wait another minute.' Merciful God, we trust in Your presence as we engage the challenging work of waging peace and unity. Amen.

Members, please join me in the Pledge of Allegiance. I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America and to the republic for which it stands, one nation under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all. Senator Laird from the Majority Leader's desk under privileges of the floor.

Thank you very much, Madam President, and let me thank the Majority Leader for letting me stand at his desk to honor another Cal Poly. I'm pleased to welcome 19 Cal Poly San Luis Obispo students who have won individual or team awards here today and three associated student leaders that represent the Cal Poly student body. And they are joined by Cal Poly's President, Jeff Armstrong, and I am happy to welcome them to the State Senate.

For those of you that aren't familiar with Cal Poly, one of 23 of the CSU campuses in San Luis Obispo on California's Central Coast, about halfway between the areas of the Dodgers and the Giants, the location gives students access to opportunities for hands-on research, particularly agriculture, winemaking, distinctive coastal ecosystems, and marine science, and it has a close proximity to tech, industry, and culture hubs in Southern California and in the Bay Area.

And this gives Cal Poly students an opportunity to do work that makes an impact around the state and around the globe. Cal Poly consistently receives high rankings from major publications. For the past 30 years, it's been named the best public master's level university in the west by the U.S. News and World Report. It's achieved a five star rating on Money Magazine's 2023 best college rankings, along with 33 other schools, including Harvard, Princeton, Yale, and Columbia.

And we're here today to celebrate and recognize the individual achievements of these students, and it is all in different things. They work in the six colleges at Cal Poly. I know that the Senator from the San Fernando Valley welcomed a student that is from her district. There is a student from Senator Niello's district, together with this student's team, won the USPA Division II Women's Polo National Intercollegiate Championship. There's a student from Senator Allen's district who, with the Rose Float team, received the Crown City Innovator Award.

It is a long-standing tradition for Cal Poly, the students, faculty, leadership, alums, to put together an amazing Rose Bowl Parade float every year that has won awards through the years and has become such an institution within the campus that everybody participates.

And I would like to thank Jeff Armstrong, his Administration, and the faculty of Cal Poly for educating and creating such a group of winners that we honor today. So please join me in welcoming the representatives from Cal Poly here today. Give them a warm Senate welcome.

Members, if you want to wait a second, you'll be able to get into the next pictures. Now if Members would like to join the picture? Congratulations to all of the Cal Poly students, and thank you for joining us here today.

Members, we're going to move on with our agenda for today. Messages from the Governor will be deemed read. Messages from the Assembly will be deemed read. Reports of Committee will be deemed read and amendments adopted. Moving on to motions, resolutions, and notices.

Are there any motions, resolutions, or notices? Seeing none, we'll move on to unfinished business. We're going to move on to introduction and First Reading of bills. Secretary, please read.

Senate Bill 952 and 953.

Now we're moving on to unfinished business. File Item Number 74. Okay. Moving on to consideration of the Daily File. We'll take up Second Reading file. Secretary, please read.

[Second Reading].

Moving on to unfinished business, we're going to take up file item number 74. Senator Wiener is prepared. Please read.

Senate Bill 339 by Senator Wiener, an act relating to prescription drugs and declaring the urgency thereof, to take effect immediately.

Senator Wiener, the floor is yours.

Thank you, Madam President, colleagues. SB 339 is back from the Assembly on concurrence. Amendments in the Assembly add in an urgency clause necessary to protect public health. I respectfully ask for an aye vote.

Members, is there any discussion or debate on this item? Any discussion or debate? Seeing none, please call the roll.

[Roll Call]

Ayes 39, no zero. On the urgency, aye 39, no zero. The Assembly amendments are concurred in. Members, we're going to move on to Senate third reading, file item number 80. Senator Rubio is prepared. Please read.

Please read.

Senate Bill 536 by Senator Rubio, an act relating to horse racing.

Senator Rubio, the floor is yours.

Thank you, Madam President and colleagues of the Senate. Today I rise to present SB 536, a very simple bill that will support the sport of horse racing in California. This bill adds the Delaware Handicap to the existing list of out of state horse races that are exempt from California's 50th race per day importation limit. The bill has no opposition and passed with unanimous bipartisan support. I respectfully ask for your aye vote. Thank you.

Any discussion or debate on this item? Any discussion or debate?

Any discussion or debate? This is eligible for unanimous roll call. Is there any objection to using the unanimous roll call? Seeing none. Ayes 39, noes zero. The measure is adopted. Moving on to file item number 83. Senator Skinner. She is prepared. Please read.

Senate Bill 56 by Senator Skinner, an act relating to public contracts.

Senator Skinner, the floor is yours.

Thank you, Madam President. Members, SB 56 corrects something in state law in order to allow the University of California at Berkeley to transfer ownership of a student housing facility called the Rochdale Apartments to the Berkeley Student Cooperative Association. The Berkeley Student Cooperative Association was founded in 1933. It is the oldest student cooperative in the United States. It operates 17 houses and three apartment buildings in Berkeley, housing 1,700 students. Very affordable student housing and the Rochdale apartments.

While they are built on university land and thus owned by the University of California, they have been operated since the day they opened by the Cooperative Association. Now, the reason the transfer is necessary is because there needs to be some earthquake upgrades and some very important work done. And in order to finance that work, it's going to be much easier for the Cooperative Association to finance it if the ownership is in their hands. The university has agreed to this. They're sponsors of the bill. The Cooperative Association wants it. So that's it in a nutshell. And I ask for your aye vote.

Senator Jones.

Thank you, Madam President. I typically oppose bills such as this that transfer public purchased land without a bidding process. I understand the arguments in support of this particular bill, but I do have a question for the author, if she would be willing to take a question.

Will you accept a question?

Yes, I will.

In this particular case, I understand that it's currently nonprofit housing and the University just wants to transfer it to an operator that would continue that. But my understanding is, in the way the law is written today, there's nothing in there that protects the University of California or the California taxpayers if this nonprofit, the Berkeley Cooperative Student Housing program, dissolves for whatever reason or becomes insolvent, can you speak to that by chance and let us know that there's some protections for the California's taxpayers?

Thank you. Through the President, the bill stipulates that the building, the Rochdale apartments, must continue to be used for affordable student housing. So there is that protection. It can't be transferred to any other use.

So while in the remote possibility that the University Student Cooperative Association, who as I mentioned, has operated and managed this property since the day it opened and what the arrangement has been is like a dollar a year lease between the University and the Cooperative Association, if for some reason, like you pointed out, it were not to operate any longer or exist, the property and the building must still be maintained as affordable student housing.

Okay, that helps. Thank you.

Senator Grove.

I'm sorry. I apologize. I thought you said Senator Wilk. I thank you, Madam President, for letting me rise, on speaking on this. I am really trying to in this next year to look at legislation individually instead of cumulatively. And this is one of the bills that I'm working on. Do I think this bill is a good bill? Yes. Do I think that people should have affordable housing? Absolutely. Do I think this is a loophole how to make that happen and transfer state resources to this nonprofit?

Yes. Do I think that there is enough protections in there that will allow this piece of property to be transferred and there be a guarantee that it still remains affordable housing for students trying to get an education? Yes. My issue with this is that it all surrounds Seismic.

Each one of us or almost all of us in this room have a huge problem with Seismic and our hospitals, they're making decisions to end labor and delivery or cardio care or other issues that our constituents severely rely on, especially in my area where I have a high Medi-Cal population. We don't offer a bill to off ramp Seismic, but we offer a bill to offer up affordable housing for students, which is still a good reason to have this bill.

I wish we would look at things that are affecting all of us in this body, especially our rural hospitals that are really struggling with distressed financial loan payments. The loan payments that were given, the bridge payments. Every hospital that accepts Medi-Cal in our state, it's a pathway to bankruptcy. You spend a dollar and you might get $0.70 back. No business plan can survive like that. I think we need to seriously look at the Seismic.

I appreciate you bringing this bill forward but I needed to point out not the hypocrisy but the differences of how we treat one industry versus another industry. I supported this bill in Committee and I will support this bill now.

Any further discussion or debate? Seeing none. Senator Limon.

So, Members, this bill is actually more personal than I thought it would because I lived in Rochdale when I was there and I feel like anyone who has lived there--I lived there as a student when I went to college--anyone who has lived there knows how important the Rochdale community and the Rochdale apartments shared are to the student campus and what they mean for affordable housing. So I just wanted to share that this is very real and that any upgrades are much needed.

I think that decades ago we probably would have said those updates were needed then and I'm glad it's happening now. I respectfully ask for an aye vote.

Any further discussion or debate? Seeing none. Senator Skinner, you may conclude.

Ask for your aye vote.

Please call the roll.

[Roll Call]

Please call the absent--ayes: 39; noes: zero. The measure is adopted. Moving on to File Item Number 85: Senator Newman. He is prepared. Please read.

Senate Bill 347 by Senator Newman, an act relating to teacher credentialing.

Senator Newman, the floor is yours.

Thank you, Madam President. The Commission on Teacher Credentialing recently adopted proposed regulations to establish the PK-3 specialist instruction credential which is designed to authorize service in prekindergarten through grade three to meet the needs of preschool and transitional kindergarten teachers. Existing law authorizes the Commission on Teacher Credentialing to issue credentials for teaching specialties, including but not limited to early childhood education.

Senate Bill 552.

SB 347 simply acknowledges in statute that the Commission on Teacher Credentialing jurisdiction now includes the awarding of credentials for preschool as well as for kindergarten through grade 12. This measure simply cleans up the Ed Code to reflect the updated circumstances for ECE and does not create any new credentialing burdens on early childhood educators. I respectfully ask for your aye vote today.

Members, is there any discussion or debate? If you're discussing or debating anything else, please go off the floor so it's not so noisy. Is there any discussion or debate on this item? Seeing none, this is eligible for unanimous roll call. Is there any objection to using a unanimous roll call? Seeing none, ayes: 39; noes: zero. The measure is adopted. Moving on to File Item Number 87: Senator Newman. Please read.

Senate Bill 552 by Senator Newman, an act relating to public safety.

Senator Newman, the floor is yours.

Thank you, Madam President. I rise to present SB 552, which provides technical cleanup to the 2017 revision of the California Swimming Pool Safety Act, a measure which I carried which was signed into law by then Governor Jerry Brown. According to the California Department of Health, drowning remains one of the leading causes of death for children aged 14 and younger in California, with roughly 75 percent of all fatal childhood drownings occurring at home schools or in spas.

To help better prevent such tragedies, SB 442 of 2017 increased the number of required safety features at residential pools from one to two and instituted new pool inspection requirements for real estate inspectors. SB 552 addresses two technical implementation issues, including a clarification on the role of home inspectors and closing a loophole in the two-step safety device requirement, thereby ensuring that these life-saving features are properly employed to most effectively prevent childhood deaths and injuries.

Two years ago, I was pleased to work closely with the American Academy of Pediatrics on SB 855, which created a pilot program to collect improved data collection on childhood drownings in California. I'm grateful for their engagement on this bill, and I appreciate their concerns about how this measure may impact that work. I look forward to working with them once again to tighten up the language and ensure their concerns are fully addressed as we work our way toward the final version of the bill. Thank you, and I respectfully ask for your aye vote today.

Members, is there any discussion or debate on this item? Discussion. Senator Dahle.

A question to the author, please?

Would you take a question, Senator Newman?

Yes, please.

He will.

I just would like some clarification. In our rural district, we have several public pools that are on the borderline of not being able to sustain. We do fundraisers and all kinds of things to keep them open. And in our analysis here, the manual versus automatic pool cover would be an issue because those are very expensive where we have manually we're doing it. So could you maybe touch on that? I know that you're going to take some amendments. I just want to be clear.

The amendments that I am taking actually revert back and will no longer require that change, and so that was a drafting error. So the final version will not include a mandate for an automated pool cover.

Thank you. Then I'll be supporting the bill.

Any further discussion or debate? Seeing none, please call the roll.

[Roll Call].

Please call the absent Members.

[Roll Call].

Ayes: 38; noes: zero. The measure is adopted. Moving on to File Item Number 89: Senator Portantino. He is prepared.

Please read.

Senate Bill 607 by Senator Portantino, an act relating to control substances.

Senator Portantino, the floor is yours.

Thank you, Madam President and Members. SB 607 simply has prescribers of a controlled substance containing an opioid to discuss the risk and dangers of opioids and opioid addiction to their patients. Existing law requires a prescriber to discuss specific information with their patients, only requires them to do so when consulting a minor. Prescribers may discuss details about prescription opioids with the minor, the minor's parents or guardian or other adult authorized to the minor's medical treatment.

According to the CDC, in prevention, more than 1 million people have died since 1999 from drug overdoses. Currently, about 75% of all overdose deaths involve an opioid. And in recent years, opioid related overdose deaths have continued to increase for both prescription and non-prescription opioids. However, overdoses are not exclusive to minors. So by expanding the prescriber's responsibility to discuss specific information with all patients, we think we'll have better, healthier outcomes and better and less incidences of overdoses. With that, I respectfully ask for an aye vote.

Members, is there any discussion or debate? Any discussion or debate? Seeing none. This is eligible for unanimous roll call. Is there any objection to using a unanimous roll call? Seeing none. Aye 38. No, zero. The measure is adopted. Moving on to file item number 91. Senator Grove. She is prepared. Please read.

Senate Concurrent Resolution 97 by Senator Grove related to National Human Trafficking Awareness Month.

Senator Grove, the floor is yours.

Thank you, Madam President. Colleagues, today I rise to present SCR 97, which commemorates January 2024 as Human Trafficking Awareness month. I'd like to thank this body, every single one of you, for your willingness to pass meaningful action and legislation addressing these horrific acts of child sex trafficking last year by making it a serious felony in the State of California.

As we all know, there is still significant work that needs to be done, and I look forward to continuing that work together to ensure Californians are protected from this heinous crime. I can't help but think back and talk about the personal testimonies of those lived experiences by survivors Desperkins, Jenna Mckay, those from CASH here in Sacramento, and Brianna Mosely and so many others that shared their lived experience of this horrific, dark underworld.

On January 11, people across this country and across this state wore blue in honor of National Human Trafficking Day in hopes to bring in more awareness to one of the most lucrative crimes in the world. California has the unfortunate distinction of being ranked number one for the most tips called into the National Human Trafficking Hotline. And because of this, local, state, and federal law enforcement agencies continue to work tirelessly to end human trafficking and protect our most vulnerable. As a legislative body, we must continue to come together to promote awareness, educate ourselves and our loved ones.

And through SCR 97, we're declaring that our state is committed to combating this modern day slavery while offering support to survivors and their families. Please join me in supporting this resolution to give a voice to the thousands of victims that have suffered from this horrific abuse. And we got to fight continuously to protect victims, strengthen prevention in education, and stop buying and selling human beings.

Again, from the bottom of my heart, I want to thank all of you for your leadership on this floor to get that bill off of this floor and into the Assembly's hands and onto the governor's desk on September 25. That was a huge success for our state and mostly for our children. And I couldn't have done it without all my Senate colleagues. So, thank you.

Senator Bradford.

Thank you, Madam President. As Vice Chair of the Legislative Black Caucus, I rise in strong support of SCR 97. This is a critical issue to the Black Caucus for all communities of California, but especially the black communities. As I've mentioned before on this floor, according to a 2020 congressional Black Caucus report, 40% of human trafficking victims are identified as black women. Let me say that again. Forty percent of those identified as being trafficked are black women.

Perpetrators who were interviewed admitted believing that trafficking black women would land them less time in jail than trafficking white women if caught. This is a crisis that is harmful for all women, but especially for black girls, who are often unfairly viewed as needing less support and less protection than their white counterparts. And they are often categorized by law enforcement as runaways or criminals themselves rather than victims.

In LA County, an example of 92% of the girls in the juvenile justice system identified as victims of sex trafficking are black, yet they are identified as juvenile prostitutes. And we all know a juvenile cannot consent to sex, let alone sell it. Those who are not arrested often receive little or no attention to the fact that there are missing or being trafficked.

It is due to this great disparity that led me to author last year, the Ebony Alert that continued to show to disparate treatment that black women and girls can no longer be ignored and must be addressed. Sadly to state that on the fourth day of this year, we issued the first Ebony Alert in this state, a bill that had only been in place for four days, and it found a young girl who had been missing for over five days. And thank God for the Ebony Alert.

And they did another one this past weekend. I want to commend my colleague from Bakersfield for being committed to this issue and thank her for authoring this resolution. And I look forward to the support, and I urge the support of SCR 97.

Senator Wahab.

Thank you. I rise in support of the Senator from Bakersfield effort on SCR 97. Human trafficking is modern day slavery. We have heard some of the statistics already, and as a representative of Silicon Valley, in fact, in our ERs, they state that they actually look for trafficking victims, in particular young, diverse communities. It does not have a face. Human trafficking has no face. We traffic and we see the folks that are actually dealing with human trafficking and its individuals for labor and sexual exploitation.

It is happening in our backyards through force, fraud and coercion of vulnerable community members, largely very young girls: 12, 13, 14. While anyone who is vulnerable to exploitation can be targeted, human trafficking primarily impacts women and girls. Young girls and women are 57.6% of forced labor victims and 99.4% of sex trafficking victims. In fact, also, as a kid in the foster care system, many foster youth end up being trafficked as well. Many immigrants and refugees get trafficked.

Human trafficking is a violation of a victim's basic human rights, and we must use all the tools at our disposal to protect our communities against the rise of this horrific violation of an individual's freedoms and bodily autonomy. I respectfully ask for an aye.

Senator Rubio.

Thank you, Madam President. Ladies and gentlemen of the Senate, today I rise as a proud co-author to SCR 97, declaring 2024 as January 2024 as National Human Trafficking Awareness Month. I want to thank the Senator from Bakersfield for introducing this resolution and for her tireless work on this issue.

That includes SB 14, as we saw last year, that recognizes human trafficking of a minor as a serious felony, which I was also very proud to work with her and also co-author. As a longtime victim's advocate, my heart goes out to every person out there. My heart aches every time I sit down with the victim, especially children. This weekend alone, I sat with some survivors. One recounted her horrific experience.

Unfortunately, it started at the age of five, and she was put in that situation by her mother. So I want to highlight this particular issue, because we often tend to think that it's strangers doing the harm. But in this case, she started at the age of five. She didn't get out till she was 16, and all along, it was her mother and her sister that kept her in those circumstances. So I urge all of us to be vigilant, even when it's a parent or a relative.

Right now, as we meet here today, too many children and adults living in California continue to be forced into this type of circumstance. We must do more to improve awareness around prevention, identification, and response services across our state. We must do more to help those in need. And with that, I respectfully ask for an aye vote. Thank you.

Any further discussion or debate? Further discussion or debate? Senator Grove, you may conclude.

Thank you, Madam President. I'd like to thank all my colleagues for your comments. At the same time that we were running SB 14 last year, Senator Bradford was running the Ebony Alert.

And the information that he provided in the Ebony Alert coincided with all the information that we had from Homeland Security, the FBI, and all the other organizations that we worked with to put together this piece of legislation to protect our women and children, mostly women and children, some men and boys, but mostly women and children, from this horrific crime. So I want to thank him for doing that, and letting us use that data in the bill that we passed.

My colleagues that spoke from Baldwin Park, from the Bay Area, the chair of public safety, thank you very much for your help and for everybody that authored, co-authored, and supported SB 14. Again, from the bottom of my heart, I don't think if it would have not gotten off this Senate Floor unanimously, we would not be in a position that we were to fight where we needed to fight on the green carpet. And I just thank you all for that.

I thank you for honoring those human trafficking survivors and those that are still wrapped up in this horrific, dark underworld. There is still much work to be done. I have to tell you that when SB 14 started again last year, that it encompassed everybody, anybody. And it was one of the hardest thing I had to do to go to Jenna Mckay and say, because you were 18, you don't matter.

And just because you were 18 and she was taken to Vegas, and it took her a long time to get out of Vegas. And that was one of the hardest things I've ever had to do. And I want the people in this horrific, dark underworld to know that they matter and that we need to make decisions to help get them out of this situation and provide them with resources.

And I realize we're in a budget deficit, but there has to be something out there to wrap around services, because no one knows how to deal with this trauma. And I think these individuals that have this lived experience are the best resource we could ever ask for in order to diffuse a lot of this. I want to thank you again, my colleague, briefly, and I know I'm going on, but mentioned familiar trafficking. We had a human trafficking symposium.

We heard somebody say, my sister and I were trafficked. She didn't make it out alive. I was trafficked when I was 18. This happened. This happened. And then the last lady that spoke, Ophelia, she said, my human trafficking was different. My sister trafficked me. And the hardest thing I had to do was to go have dinner and say, pass the potatoes, when I knew what she just made me do and I couldn't tell my parents. That's a hard pill to swallow.

And so I think there's a lot of things that need to be addressed. We started last year protecting children zero to 17. We're bringing it forth January with SCR 97 to make it aware, to reengage in the awareness process. And I want to thank all my colleagues who supported SB 14 last year and who co-authored and are supporting SCR 97. Thank you.

This item is eligible for unanimous consent. Is there any objection for utilizing unanimous consent? Unanimous roll call, I'm sorry. Seeing none. Ayes 37. Ayes 38. No, zero. The resolution is adopted. Moving on to file item number 92. Senator Limon.

Please read. Pass temporarily. Move on to File Item Number 93: Senator Dodd. He is prepared. Please read.

Senate Concurrent Resolution 94 by Senator Dodd, relative to Data Privacy Week.

Senator Dodd, the floor is yours.

Thank you, Madam President and Members. SCR 94 would designate the fourth week of January as Data Privacy Week and the last Sunday of January as Data Privacy Day. As online activities become increasingly prevalent in our lives, businesses and social media platforms amass substantial personal data, which can lead us all so vulnerable to data breaches. The California Consumer Privacy Act, which I coauthored, provides the strongest privacy protections in the U.S. But privacy issues remain.

To kick off the week, the California Privacy Protection Agency just launched a new website, privacy.ca.gov, as a one-stop shop for consumers to access privacy rights and tools. With this SCR, we'll bring continued attention to these important issues and help protect California's privacy. I respectfully ask for your aye vote.

Senator Becker.

Thank you. I rise in strong support and--as a coauthor--and I commend the Senator from Napa for introducing this resolution. Senators, it's more important than ever that we understand that data privacy is a crucial part of everyday life. We all must understand how vulnerable we are and that there are data brokers out there. By definition, those are folks we do not have a direct relationship with.

We have over 500 registered data brokers now in California, and they collect thousands of pieces of information on every one of us. And as a Senator representing Silicon Valley, I feel a responsibility and obligation to work on this issue, and I appreciate all of you who have worked on this as well. Based on our current reports, over 15.4 million people have been targets of cybercrime in the last year, results in estimated 10.2 billion dollars of cost to everyday people.

And again, where do folks get access to this information? Oftentimes, it's from these data brokers who, again, who have collected information on all of us, even those who aren't themselves negative actors can be victims of data breaches. And then again, our information is out there. California is leading the way. As resolution points out, we created the California Privacy Protection Agency, which safeguards the privacy rights of all people in the state.

And last year, we passed a Delete Act, which I authored, that will allow anyone to go to one-stop shop, spend 30 seconds, and delete their information from these over 500 data brokers who buy and sell information on every one of us. So there are things we can do to protect ourselves now, and I think with the advent of AI, we're all going to have to do even more to protect ourselves. I look forward to continue working on this and that's why I rise in strong support of SCR 94 today.

Any further discussion or debate? Seeing none, Senator Dodd, you may conclude.

Respectfully ask for your aye vote.

This is eligible for unanimous roll call. Is there any objection to using the unanimous roll call? Seeing none, ayes: 38; noes: zero. The resolution is adopted. Moving back to File Item Number 92. Senator Limon is prepared. Please read.

Senate Resolution 53 by Senator Limon, relative to school governance.

Senator Limon, the floor is yours.

Thank you, Madam President and colleagues. I rise to present Senate Resolution 53, which recognizes the month of January as School Board Recognition Month to highlight the dedication and hard work of school board members in our education system. School board members are advocates for communities, making them a key element to our educational system. They are also committed to their communities and the needs and they work every day to support and advance the work of all faculty, staff, and students alike.

California has nearly 1,000 school districts and county offices of education throughout the state, represented by nearly 5,000 school board members, making the school board members the largest number of locally elected officials in our state. I would also like to recognize some of my colleagues who have served on school boards: the Senator from Santa Monica, Senator from San Jose, the Senator from Healdsburg, and the Senator from Yucaipa.

I want to thank everyone for their service, every school board member, and ensure that they know that the California State Legislature recognizes their hard work and contributions. I respectfully ask for an aye vote.

Is there any discussion or debate? Any discussion or debate on this resolution? Seeing none, this is eligible for unanimous roll call. Any objection to using a unanimous roll call? Seeing none, ayes: 38; noes: zero. The resolution is adopted. Members, that concludes our Senate Third Reading. We're going to return to motions and resolutions: Senator Umberg, an adjourn in memory.

Thank you, Madam President. Colleagues, I rise to honor the life and legacy of Lysanne Sebastian who passed away last October at home in Costa Mesa. She was only 50 years old. Lysanne was born on July 28, 1973 at Hoag Hospital. She's the daughter of Janet and James, known to all of us as Walkie Ray and the niece of Michael and Teddy Ray.

Lysanne graduated from Corona Del Mar High School in 1991, went on to earn a bachelor's degree in marine science from the University of San Diego. She began her career at the Ocean Institute in Dana Point as an educational programs instructor. Her newfound passion for education led her to Pepperdine University where she received her teaching credential. Lysanne's teaching career took her to several schools in Orange County, including Orange Magnet School, Davis School, Ray School, Kaiser School, where she served as the science, technology, engineering and math teacher.

With boundless energy and enthusiasm, she made science an engaging and fun subject for countless Orange County students. Lysanne was not only a dedicated teacher, but she was also an exceptional athlete. She was a natural swimmer and her love for the water was evident from an early age. She swam competitively, was accepted as a Junior Olympic Swim Team.

In her senior year of high school, she discovered her passion for rowing and continued her rowing journey at the University of San Diego, where she earned a spot on the varsity team as a freshman. Lysanne's dedication and commitment allowed her to row for all four years in college. After graduation, she explored various sports such as running, mountain biking and CrossFit, but her heart truly belonged to the ocean. This led her to Hawaiian outrigger canoe racing, where she found her ohana and her home.

It was in this sport that she met her loving husband, Rick, and forged friendships with teammates that endured for over 20 years. In addition to her career in athletic pursuits, Lysanne was deeply involved in various organizations and clubs that reflected her love for science and ocean. She was passionate about conservation energy efforts and had a genuine love for marine life that I think will one day be reflected at the Discovery Science Center. Her dedication to these causes was an inspiration to all who knew her.

She's survived by her husband Rick, her two children, Bradley and Sage. Lysanne is also survived by her parents, sister Sarah, her brothers Matthew, David, and Alex. I ask that we adjourn in the memory of Lysanne Marie Sebastian. Thank you.

Please bring her name to the front desk so she may be appropriately memorialized. Senator Rubio.

Thank you, Madam President. Ladies and gentlemen of the Senate, it is with a heavy heart that I rise to adjourn in the memory of Linda Gair, who I knew very closely. She was a previous city Clerk in the City of Baldwin park, and I took over years later, and I had the opportunity to share words with her and get her guidance. Linda always had the best interests of the residents of Baldwin park in mind.

She was always improving our community services and prioritizing transparency and efficiency in that office. She played an important role in resolving a significant deficit in the city's general fund and greatly contributed to leading on key issues and programs, including the annual Snowfest event. I remember when she retired, the city wanted to recognize her achievements and years of public service and everything she'd done for our community. This led to the Baldwin Park City Council declaring March 5, 2003 as Linda Gair Day.

She will be sorely missed by the residents of Baldwin Park and by her family of three children, four grandchildren, and 11 great grandchildren. As a testament to the profound love she shared with her late husband, Robert, she requested to join him in having her ashes scattered at sea. Thank you for joining me today and adjourning in memory of Linda Gair. Thank you.

Please bring her name forward to the desk so that she may be memorialized by the State Senate. Senator Dodd.

Madam President, Members. Betty Ruth Vaughn Rhodes passed away on Tuesday, January 9, 2024, 97 years of age. After fulfilling a journey as a mother, Betty began her advocacy journey into aging policy at the age of 63, when I, as a Napa County Supervisor, appointed her to the Commission on Aging. She not only served on the Commission on Aging, but on the board of directors for the Napa Solano Area Agency on Aging.

A member of the California Senior Leadership Alliance, she worked on the Napa County District Attorney's Elder Abuse Planning and Prevention Council and was an advocate here in Sacramento on behalf of many elderly Californians. And due to Betty's diligence, she is also known for her Napa County Caregiving Ordinance, California's first background check mandate for caregivers of senior residents. In fact, when I was on the board, we named that law Betty's Law, in admiration for all the work she did to get it there. Betty lived a great life, one of service, humility, and dedication. Please join me in a journey in the memory of Betty Rhodes. Thank you.

Senator, please bring her name forward to the front desk so we can appropriately memorialize her. If there is no other business, Senator Grove, the desk is clear.

Thank you, Madam President. Colleagues, the Senate will be in recess until 3:30 p.m. this afternoon. At that point, in a motion to adjourn will be made. We will reconvene Thursday at 9:00 a.m. Have a great few days.

The Senate will be in recess until 3:30, at which time the adjournment motion will be placed and we will reconvene Thursday at 9:00 a.m.