Senate Floor

Secretary will call the roll.

[Roll Call]

A quorum is present. Would the Members. Colleagues, we got to get back to our desks right now. Would the Members and our guests beyond the railway in the gallery please rise? We will be led in prayer this morning by our chaplain, Sister Michelle Gorman, after which, please remain standing for the pledge of allegiance.

Let us center ourselves in God's presence in our daily efforts to create more prosperous societies. The progressive rock group rush invites us to lead from our hearts, and the ones who hold high places must be the ones to start to mold a new reality closer to the heart. God of compassion and mercy, you dwell in the deepest recesses of our hearts, where you know our dreams and hopes for positive change in our world.

Be with us as we work to bring those dreams to life by our actions forged with courage and creativity, with persistence and patience, until all those seeking a place of refuge and belonging can be assured of their value and their contribution to the ongoing evolution of our human family, we ask this in your name. Amen.

Please join me in the pledge. I pledge. Good morning. We're going to move into privileges of the floor. Senators, we have five presentations today. My ask of you as we transition into each presentation smoothly, and that if you're providing a presentation to be ready when it's your turn, we're going to start with Senator Laird from the majority leader's desk. Senator, are you prepared?

I'm prepared.

Thank you. Colleagues, if we can sit down, our Senator Laird has a presentation of some special guest. Senator, you may proceed, Senator.

Thank you very much, Madam President. Colleagues, today we celebrate Canada Day here at the Capitol. For over a decade, the Consulate General of Canada and San Francisco has hosted their annual advocacy Day to meet with legislators, policy makers and friends of Canada in Sacramento to celebrate the Canada California relationship. This is a welcome opportunity to highlight the bond we have. I should note that the very first Senate trip after the pandemic was to Vancouver.

And not only did the consulate General help with all the meetings and the visits, he came and accompanied the Senate delegation at that time. And he's working on a similar trip this summer for interested Senators to Ottawa, Montreal, and Quebec, which I hope many of you will avail yourselves of we have a trillion in trade that flows between our borders and it is a very strong relationship.

So to celebrate the relationship in Canada Day, we welcome to our Senate chamber today the Council General of Canada in San Francisco and Silicon Valley, Mister Rana Sarkar. Together with Members of his team, he was personally picked by Prime Minister Justin Trudeau to grow the California Canada relationship. The deep and historic partnership is a wellspring of strength to us all. I urge you all to give a raucous Senate welcome to the Council General of Canada and his team.

Welcome, council General, and welcome to your team. We're going to take a quick photo with the Senator. And then if you're interested in the group photo, be prepared. That's coming next. So first with the Senator. Alright, this is your moment, colleagues, if you wish to be in the photo, the group photo. Smooth transition. Colleagues, let's get ready for this photo.

All right, colleagues, Members. With that objection, we will take up the following resolutions out of order. Sr 85, SCR 129 and SCR 130. After adoption of each resolution, we will return to privileges of the floor for the author to introduce their guests. So we're going to be playing a little bit of ping pong back and forth after each resolution. We will begin with the majority leader, Senator Gonzalez, from her desk on file item 43. SR 85. Secretary, please read.

Senate Resolution 85 by Senator Gonzalez relative to Cambodian Genocide Memorial Week.

Good afternoon, majority leader. Give me a second here. If we can get our colleagues to please lower our voices. In fact, if you have a conversation, take it off the floor. Our majority leader is speaking right now. Senator, you may proceed. Thank you. Good afternoon, Madam President and colleagues. I rise today to present Sr 85, which will recognize the week of April 17 through the 23rd as Cambodian genocide Memorial Week.

Between April 17, 1975 and January 1979, the Khmer Rouge, under the leadership of Pol Pot, committed acts of genocide and crimes against humanity against the Cambodian people. This genocide resulted in the deaths of more than 1.67 million Cambodians, nearly a quarter of this country's population at the time. The Khmer Rouge regime also sought to eliminate all aspects of Cambodian culture by systematically killing those with education, separating families, and destroying institutions such as Buddhist temples, schools, libraries, dance and music.

Today, California is home to the largest population of Cambodian Americans and the City of Long beach in my district is home to the largest of Cambodians outside of Southeast Asia, to which I am very proud. Sr 85 honors those lives lost during the Cambodian genocide and marks this week as a memorial week for the Cambodian community in recognition of the genocide memorial Week. On your desks are silk animal ornaments lovingly handmade by Cambodian community Members in my district. Thank you. And I respectfully ask for an aye vote.

Senator Min, you're recognized.

Thank you, Madam President and fellow Senators. On behalf of the Asian American Pacific Islander Legislative of Caucus, I rise in support of Sr 85 and want to thank my colleague from Long Beach for bringing this forward. As she noted, this memorial week, observed from April 17 to April 23, honors the memory of more than 2 million Cambodians who lost their lives between the years 1975 and 1979. During this genocide and private property, currency, religious practices, traditional culture were eradicated.

Millions of Cambodians were sent to labor camps as well as mass executions of journalists, artists and students. And the horrors of the Khmer Rouge continue to pervade the lives of Cambodians and has left generations of Cambodians here and abroad with deep seated trauma. I want to thank my colleague for bringing this forward because it's only with acknowledging this horrible event that we can help to continue educating folks to try to prevent this type of action from ever happening again. So I ask that you join me in supporting Sr 85. Thank you.

Thank you, Senator. Do we have any. Senator Stern, you're recognized.

Thank you, Madam President. As a Member of the Jewish caucus who also chairs the State Council on Holocaust and Genocide Education, I want to stand in favor of this resolution and really recognize this shared destiny that survivors have of genocides in this state. Chennai Lau is a woman from the Bay Area who survived the killing fields as a little girl.

I would recommend to everyone in the book short haired girl, if you've not yet read it, it is a harrowing story, but ultimately, now an entrepreneur, business owner and a leader, but had never talked about her experiences and now goes around with survivors of the Holocaust, with survivors of those killing fields to, to high schools around the Bay Area and around the state.

And now they're training teachers in California how to teach through this material so that it doesn't become some vestige of history or a movie you once saw or some kind of exotic or foreign tale. But it's real. And every government on earth is susceptible to this. And people, our neighbors, have gone through it. So thank you so much for bringing this forward and in that spirit of Solidarity, ask for your aye vote.

Thank you. Any further discussion or debate, Majority Leader, Senator Gonzalez, you may close.

I thank my good colleagues from Los Angeles and Irvine, and I respectfully ask for an aye vote.

Secretary, please call the roll.

[Roll Call]

Secretary, please call the absent Members. Grove aye bertado I 39 no zero. The resolution is adopted. Majority leader, are you prepared for your presentation? Please proceed. Thank you, madam President and Members, to mark Cambodian Genocide Memorial Week, I am honored to be joined by several community leaders from Long Beach, the home, of course, as I always mentioned, of the largest Cambodian community.

I am joined today by Ledeen Chan, Prak Lee, Doctor Sarah Polim, Hrithi Han, Taivi Galano first, I'll start with Mister Ledine Chan was born in the refugee camp in Thailand. His family settled in Long Beach in the early 1980s and has since then called Long Beach Home. Currently, he serves as the program manager at St. Mary Medical center and families in good health.

With over 20 years of experience in community organizing and mentoring many, many youth, Mister Prak Lee is an internationally renowned, critically acclaimed, award winning artist. He's the founder of Cambodia Town Film Festival and his debut album is the first number one rap album in Cambodia, and Newsweek proclaimed him as the first Cambodian rap star through Massafrol lyrics. His music not only entertains but also educates. His lyrics have been published by multiple sources and are currently being used in southeast Asian studies.

Doctor Sarah Polim assists the Orange County Department of Education with the Cambodian American Studies model curriculum to which she helped me pass just last year. She serves on the Executive board of trustees for St. Mary Medical Center foundation in Long Beach, and she personally survived the Cambodian genocide with her mother, but unfortunately lost her father and three brothers to the Khmer Rouge.

Since the Khmer Rouge targeted the educated class, Doctor Polim has taken it upon herself to restore the educational values of the community and by continuing her education until she achieved a doctorate in educational leadership from Cal State Long Beach in 2018. Mister Riti Hanh is an organizer in the Cambodian community of Long Beach and a senior advocate at the legal nonprofit organization Disability Rights California. When he is not salsa dancing or carrying karaoke singing, you will find him in the community volunteering his free time.

For the past six years, Riti has been partnering with local businesses in the community to collect toys to be distributed. And he also organizes the Khmer Community Day events with the Khmer Alumni Association. And lastly, Miss Tevy Galano was a public servant for 42 years, serving in the Los Angeles County Child Support Services Department.

Her community service includes serving on the board of United Khmer American Coalition and Cambodian American Cultural center, and has served on the advisory board for the Coordinating Council for the Cambodian Culture and Art Association. And in 2017, she was actually the great grand Marshall for the Martin Luther King Junior parade in Long Beach, among many, many other accolades. Please join me, Members, in welcoming these Cambodian community leaders and thank them for their commitment to the California State Senate and to our state. Thank you.

Welcome. We'll take the first photo with the majority leader, and then I'll invite any other Members to step on in for the group photo. If any Member wishes to participate in this group photo, now is your chance. All right, colleagues, we're back to business. We're moving towards file item 40 on SCR 129. Secretary, please read. Sorry, secretary. Senator Padilla, are you prepared? Thank you. Secretary, please read.

Senate Concurrent Resolution 129 by Senator Padilla relative to California Public Safety Telecommunications Week.

Thank you, Madam President. Members, I rise to present SCR 129, which declares the week of April 14 through April 20, is California Public Safety Telecommunicators Week. California has over 8000 public safety dispatchers, including law enforcement, fire, EMS, and other public safety operations. These dispatchers answer over 27,000,911 calls annually.

This week, celebrated annually, honors the thousands of men and women respond to emergency calls, dispatch emergency responders and equipment, and render life saving assistance to Californians 24 hours a day, 365 days a year. Public safety Telecommunicators Week is celebrated nationally, but I got started here in California when, in 1981, Patricia Anderson of the Contra Costa County Sheriff's Office first promoted this idea to all of our dispatchers and system professionals.

We thank you for all the sacrifices you make to create a better and safer world for all of us and the public. Madam President and colleagues, I respectfully ask for your aye vote.

Thank you. Do we have any discussion or debate on this item? Seeing none, Members, this item is eligible for unanimous roll call. Do we have any objection in utilizing the unanimous roll call? Seeing none. Ayes 39. No, zero. The resolution is adopted. Senator Padilla, are you prepared for your presentation?

I am.

Please proceed.

Thank you. Madam President, I'm joined and honored to be joined today by a few amazing professionals from public safety telecoms. Mandy Reynolds, President of Cal Nina, the California chapter of the National Emergency Numbers Association. Tristan Scraber, President of Norcal APCO. The Association of Public Safety Communications officials, and Terry Nelson, President of the SoCAL, APCO, CPRA, California Public Safety Radio Association, Madam President and colleagues, please make them welcome.

Welcome to the California State Senate. Senators, now is the time if you wish to participate in the group photography. It we're moving forward now on file item 41, SCR 130. Senator Newman, are you prepared from the majority leader's desk. Secretary, please read

Senate Concurrent Resolution 130 by Senator Newman relative to Casa Appreciation Day.

Thank you, Madam President. It's my great privilege to present SCR 130, which will commemorate April 182024 as Casa Appreciation Day in the State of California. Court appointed special advocates, or Casa volunteers, or CASAs, as they are called, called act as champions for the rights and well being of children within the foster system. These generous and caring advocates play a very important role for children in foster care as they navigate the complex and sometimes overwhelming juvenile court system.

California's foster care system currently supports over 70,000 children, many of whom have experienced abuse, neglect, or abandonment. Casas may start as everyday people who answer the call to assist a child in foster care, but once trained and appointed by judges, they serve as advocates to ensure that in the midst of the labyrinthine and often chaotic world of the foster system, the voices and unique perspectives of the children themselves will be heard and considered.

In 2022, more than 8600 dedicated Casa volunteers served more than 12,000 California foster children, donating a cumulative total of over 400,000 hours of their collective time. These dedicated individuals undergo extensive training to understand the child welfare system, court procedures, and the specific needs of young people in foster care. They cultivate relationships with their foster children, becoming familiar with their families and caregivers, recognizing their circumstances and serving as powerful advocates for the children's best interests.

Academic is often the only consistent, supportive adult in a foster child's life, providing constancy and encouragement simply by listening, offering encouragement, encouragement, and guidance, and providing vital reassurance. They work compassionately and relentlessly at ensuring that all children can have safe, loving homes and a system that safeguards their needs. My wife and I both had the privilege of serving as Casas and have seen the power of this unique brand of advocacy firsthand.

Our experiences as Casa volunteers gave us a better understanding of the challenges and complexities foster children face and how critical it is to have an adulthood, advise them, guide them, and champion their rights. I'm very certain that I'm a better Legislator as well as a better person as a result of that experience.

Even if my wife was definitely a better Casa than I was colleagues, Casa volunteers, and the Casa programs across the state who recruit and support them exemplify the ideal of the Good Samaritan and what it means to assist and elevate some of the most vulnerable Members of our society. Please join me in recognizing the invaluable contributions of court appointed special advocates by designating April 182024 as Casa Appreciation Day. I respectfully ask for your aye vote.

Thank you, Madam President. I want to thank the Senator from Fullerton for bringing forward this today. And, you know, often when we talk about these issues, I think about my dad, who was the head of foster care for State of California for so many years. And he used to say this, often, the only thing that a child needs to change their life is one caring adult.

And for those of us who've worked in this system for a long time or have been in courts and worked alongside Casa volunteers, we know that very often, that caring adult for one young foster youth was a Member of the Casa team, somebody who volunteered to walk through the very difficult parts of the court system with this young person. So I wanted to rise today in support of the resolution and thank the Senator from Fullerton. Senator Hobb, you're recognized. Thank you.

I just want to say, I again appreciate my colleague for bringing this forward. It's incredibly important. As a person who grew up in the foster care system, genuinely, there's not enough advocates for folks. And I think Casa in particular allows for youth to have a mentor. And regardless of their placement, that mentor usually stays, sticks with them as much as possible. And, you know, Casa in particular allows for the Casa individual to be able to tell the youth, you know, like, here are your opportunities.

It's an extra support system that is very much needed, should be well funded, and should move forward and expand. And I think that we don't often realize how often foster youth really do fall through the cracks. It is a broken system. It has been broken for decades. It is a failure on the government's part.

And I'm personally speaking from this point, and it's really, really sad to see the statistics about foster youth on a government backed program where the youth are in this system at no fault of their own. They are youth. And we deserve to give them every single opportunity that they can have, including additional people that can just keep eyes on them and take care of them and see if they can help in any way they can. So I really do appreciate the resolution, and I respectfully ask for an aye as well.

Thank you. Madam President, I, too, rise in support of SCR 130. I got involved in Casa probably 10 years ago because I went to a Casa event that we have in our district where you can take a child's name off the wall and you can buy a gift listed so they actually get a real gift. It was a cottage house for Casa.

And this girl comes in, and she's pulling all these things off the wall. And again, looking at this person, I thought, there's no way she has the money to buy all those gifts. And so I got a little nervous, and the Casa people were nervous, too. And we walked over and we said hi, and we introduced ourselves, and she said, we got to know her. And she's a waitress at a restaurant in town, and she was telling us that she saves all of her tips.

She lives very cheaply, and she saves all of her tips, because when she was in foster youth, this was the only gift she ever got. And when she was in foster care, this was the only gift she ever got. And so Sarah and I became quick friends. We worked on legislation in the Assembly before. And I have to tell you this, I've never, like my former, my colleague that just spoke, she was in the foster care system, so nobody can experience her.

Lived experience is different than all of us. But I remember taking Sarah to a rotary club, and we were trying to get her involved in the community so that she could share her story. And this lady comes up to her, and she goes, do you remember me? Sarah starts crying, and she said the code word was flubber. The code word was flubber. And then I have these two grown women just crying in front of me.

Sarah was placed in a foster family house where abuse was taking place. And when they checked on her, the Casa checked on her in person. It was like a bed of roses and cookies and cream, right? But when this foster. When the Casa would leave, there would be detrimental treatment to Sarah. And so she walked in, and she goes, hey, are you watching TV? And she goes, we watched flubber. And the foster mom looked at her like, we didn't watch flubber.

And everybody got it, and they got Sarah out of there. And when they got Sarah out of there, her little brother was in a cage in the garage when they ran into that. So I agree with my colleague. We have a lot of work to do on the foster care system. These individuals are wards of the State of California. It is not their fault they're in this situation. It's because of something their parents have done to put them in this situation.

I would love to see legislation on categorical spending. So if you're a foster care person, you're not going to get rich off this kid, and they're not going to emancipate with a pillowcase full of stuff. They should have money in a bank account for a car. They should have money in a bank account for education, because some of these people get thousands of dollars a month, and it doesn't cost thousands of dollars a month to feed and house a child.

So I respectfully ask for an aye vote and think that there's a lot more work to do on this. And just on a side note, because I'm still really, really, frankly, upset about Tuesday or Wednesday or whenever that took place, because my days are running together, we abandon our foster care, specifically our 16 and 17 year olds, in a Committee the other day that says, Senator, if you could stick to the merit of this resolution, please. Absolutely. The 16 and 17 year olds in the foster care system are still going to be on a street with a misdemeanor. Respectfully asked for an aye vote.

Thank you. I became aware of Casa through a visit I did to children's school in Los Angeles, and then became introduced to the organization. And then on our budget Subcommitee, worked with Senator Newman on getting the funding, but the funding was just to maintain the structure, the infrastructure needed for volunteers to be able to submit their, put in their time. The Casa volunteers put in extraordinary number of hours to be trained to spend with the youth. And I've just been so impressed as just an extraordinary organization. And I want to thank all of the Casa volunteers and Senator Newman for raising the issue. Thank you.

Senator Newman, would you like to close?

Yes. So, thank you to all of my colleagues for your words from different perspectives, but all making essentially the same point. The foster care system is challenged, but the silver lining within that system are the wonderful volunteers from Casa and the folks who support them. We should be grateful, we should support their efforts. And I respectfully ask your. I vote on this resolution today.

Thank you so much, colleagues. This item is also eligible for unanimous roll call. Any objection to utilizing the unanimous roll call? See? None. Ayes 39. No, zero. This resolution is adopted. Thank you, Senator. We have one final presentation. Just kidding.

Introductions.

Senator Newman, you may proceed with your presentation.

Thank you. With us this morning to celebrate Casa Appreciation Day are a few of the wonderful people who do the important work every day of organizing Casa volunteers and ensuring that they have the training, tools and support they need to serve and succeed in this essential role. Joining us on the Senate Floor today are Sharon Lawrence Reagan Phillips and her son Connor, Kathryn Matthews and Andy Jacobson.

Sharon Lawrence is the CEO of California Casa and a passionate advocate for foster youth and improving the foster care system. With a background in law and proven success leading voices for children for over 20 years, Sharon brings a wealth of experience and a commitment to advocating for the well being of foster children across the state. Regan Phillips, who is joined today by her son Connor, is the CEO of Casa of Orange County.

She began advocating for children in foster care, starting with a Casa internship in New York and continuing throughout her time in law school. After doing work as an attorney representing children in foster care, she expanded that commitment by joining the Kosovosi board of directors, becoming KASA OSE chief program officer and ultimately ascending to lead the organization as its Chief Executive Officer. Her son Connor is in third grade and wants to be a baseball player when he grows up.

Katherine Matthews has been the chief program officer for California Casa since 2021. She began volunteering as a Casa in 2001 and later transitioned from the corporate world to the nonprofit world, joining Casa of Placer county as program Director in 2007. With nearly two decades of dedication, she has streamlined operations, expanded service, and introduced innovative new training approaches. Andy Jacobson is an advocate supervisor for Casa of Orange County. Andy has a master of social work degree from UCLA and has been a case supervisor since 2005.

Andy has dedicated her professional career to empowering and supporting vulnerable children in the foster care system. During my time as a Casa, Andy was actually my case supervisor and she can personally attest to the fact that my wife was a much better Casa than I was. Please join me in celebrating Casa Appreciation Day and thanking our guests for their essential work in the foster youth system by giving Sharon Reagan, Kathryn and Andy a warm California Senate welcome.

Welcome Casa Association Senator Newman will take that first photo with him and his special guest. Only perfect Members. If you wish to participate in the group photo, please head to the back of the floor.

All right, Members, we're adding an additional presentation. Senator Eggman, you're recognized.

Thank you. Thank you, madam President. Just. Members, just under privileges of the floor. When we're in April, we know we all feel like it's a tight month. We're out there in battle. But just because we are seven strong veterans on this floor. I got pins for all the veterans to be a part of the veterans caucus that say United States military on them, in addition to the Senate with red, white and blue.

So I have a presentation to make to each and every Senator who is a veteran. If you see me, we can all wear one together and maybe Jeff will take a picture of us. Thank you very much. And thank us all for our service.

Thank you, Senator. Concluding our presentations is going to be our pro tem. Sir, are you ready?

Yes, ma'am. Thank you, sir.

You may proceed.

Thank you, Madam President. Wonderful job today. Grateful for your work, Members. I'll be quick. Senator Dodd and I are honored to be able to work on behalf of the great City of Petaluma each and every day. Together we split that responsibility. And today we have some very special guests in the House. In fact, we have gauchos in the house today. Joining us in the gallery are students from the esteemed high school Casa Grande in Petaluma.

They're here work on the legislative process and focus on the importance of civic engagement. If we can, please give a warm California Senate welcome to the Casa Grande Gauchos.

Welcome to our the high school students. Thank you. Now we're moving on to. 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 under motions, resolutions and notices, we have none. Moving on to consideration of the daily files, starting off with their second reading items one through 20. Secretary, please read

[Second Reading]

2nd reading will be deemed read. Senate third reading, item number 44. Senator Cortese, are you prepared?

Yes, Madam President. Thank you.

1 second. Senator.

Secretary, please read Senate Resolution 86 by Senator Cortese relative to education in Shering Day, California.

Senator, you may proceed now.

Yeah. Thank you again, Madam President. Colleagues, Sr. 86 recognizes tomorrow, Friday, April 19, as education and sharing day. This resolution is a tribute to a great man with an important message for us all. Rabbi Menaka Mendel Schneerson, known as Rebbe, became the leader of Chapad Lubovitch, the movement in 1950. When he concentrated his efforts on rebuilding and energizing the global Jewish community after the devastation of the Holocaust, he paid great attention to the needs of all humanity.

The Rebbe trained his students to move out to every corner of the globe to set up outposts in education, light, and love. Today, Chobo Lubovitch has representatives on every continent, on the globe, in our 100 countries, in every state, in our union. The first Chabat institution in California was established in 1965 and is Boston. Over 300 institutions in California. The Rebbe taught that every individual and every individual action has an impact on the entire universe.

He emphasized the importance of education and good character and instilled the hope for a brighter future into the lives of countless people in America and across the globe. The rebel taught that education should not be limited to acquiring knowledge in preparation for a career. He prioritized building character with emphasis on morale and ethical values. Over the last four decades, the US Congress and presidents have recognized education and sharing day.

It is recognized on the Rebbe's birthday in tribute to his commitment to teaching ethical values to the next generation of Americans. This day provides us the opportunity to pause and recognize our responsibility to ensure that our young people have the foundation necessary to lead lives rich in purpose and fulfillment. The Rebbe taught that in truth, every person is an educator, and we must be mindful of our ability to impact the lives of others.

People are more influenced by the things they do than by the knowledge they are taught. Therefore, beyond the conversations, it is important to promote these ideas through action. This resolution calls upon Californians to reflect on our collective obligation to enhance the true education of our children, to serve as proper role models, and to take concrete action to bring more goodness and kindness into our world. Thank you. And I respectfully request your support on this resolution.

Senator Stern, you're recognized.

Thank you. Just to briefly add my gratitude, not just for Center for San Jose, but the indirect effect here is now my daughter gets to go to preschool, and a diverse group of kids in the San Fernando Valley are learning these values starting from square one. But it's true, anywhere in the world, when you show up, there's an open mindset, and especially within the Jewish faith, sometimes we can get closed and judgmental and sectarian.

And what this is, is an openness that extends beyond even this faith, to all faiths. So. And those who don't even have a faith in the seeking one anyway, respectfully ask for your aye vote.

Do we have any further discussion? Debate on file item 44. Seeing none. Senator Cortese, you may close I respectfully ask for your. I vote Members, this item is eligible for unanimous roll call. Any objection to utilizing the unanimous roll call? Aye 39 no. Zero resolution is adopted. Now moving forward towards consent calendar items 68 through 74. Is there any Member that would like to remove an item from the consent calendar? Seeing none. Secretary, please call the roll on the first item. Secretary, please read the first item.

[Roll Call]

Secretary, please call the roll on the first item.

[Roll Call]

Secretary, please call the absent Members. Ayes. 39 no, zero. Consent calendar is approved. Now onto special consent calendar items 75 through 81. We did that already. So moving. Returning to motions and resolutions, now is our time for adjourn in memories. Senator Bradford, are you prepared? Senators, as nicely as possible. Could we return to our desks or take our conversations off the floor? Thank you.

Madam President, I stand here today asking you join in the adjournment of an amazing human being, Mister Elon Samuel Gunning, who passed away on October 72023 at the tender age of 99. He was a loving son, husband, father, grandfather, and friend to many. Mister Gunning was born on January 271924 in Jamaica. He was a son of humble but proud parents, Norman and Mary Gunning.

His father passed away when Mister Gunning was only nine years old, and through financial struggles and hard work, was able to earn a civil engineering degree. Before he immigrated to New York in 1952, he was the assistant city engineer for the City of Montego Bay in Jamaica. He spent three and a half years in New York as part of a large consulting engineering firm and helped supervise the construction of two major highways in New York City.

In 1956, Mister Gunning visited the City of Los Angeles for the first time and fell in love with it. Before his vacation was over, he had landed a job with an engineering firm of Daniel Mann Johnson and Mental hall. He brought his family including his two sons, Michael and Mark, to California later that year. Yes, that Michael Gunning.

He left to leave the engineering field in the early seventies to invest in real estate, which was always been a field that he enjoyed and he was very successful at it. Mister Gunning and his family were Members of the Wilshire Methodist Church starting in 1962, and he noticed that the choir was all white, so he started a process for integrating it. He went on to hold several leadership positions with the church and was a Member of the board of trustees until his very last day.

He also had a great passion for golf, and that's where I met Mister Gunney for the first time on a golf course. And for 20 years, he arranged trips to Jamaica and loved acting as an official tour guide in his homeland for anyone who wanted to visit. Mister Gunning approached golf in the same way he did with his life, with passion, with honesty and integrity. He is survived by his wife Jean, his sons Michael and Mark, four grandchildren, and numerous relatives and friends.

And I consider myself one of those friends. He'll be forever remembered for his iconic greeting of hey buddy with a smile and a warm handshake. Please join me in journeying in the memory of Elon Samuel Gunning. Thank you.

Thank you, Senator, for sharing his story with us. Please bring his name forward so that he may be properly memorialized in the journal. Senator Min, are you prepared? Please proceed.

Thank you. Madam President and Members, I rise to adjourn in memory of Orange County Fire Authority captain and paramedic Robin Culp. Rob dedicated his life to serving others through his work in the fire service, and for 25 years he selflessly answered the call of duty, earning the respect and admiration of all those he worked with. Rob was born on February 261971 and grew up in Laguna Beach.

Following a series of fires in 1993, Rob went out and helped his friends and loved ones saved the memorabilia and cherished items from their homes, and this sparked his eventual interest in firefighting. He joined the National City Fire Department a few years later in 1999, then moved over to the Carlsbad fire Department in 2003 before coming back home to work for the Orange County Fire Authority in 2007.

In addition to being a firefighter and paramedic, Rob played a crucial role in emergency response and disaster relief efforts, serving as a Member of the technical rescue team and as part of FEMA's Urban search and Rescue California Task Force five. He was a dedicated father and husband who loved the outdoors. A true Laguna Beach native, he loved to surf, snowboard and mountain bike. In his spare time, his unwavering commitment to public safety throughout his life touched the lives of countless individuals, including my own family.

While I never had the chance to meet Rob personally, he did come into my life as we had a scary incident in my home a couple years back while I was up here in Sacramento. He was the captain of the first responders who came to my home in Irvine.

And he helped calm and soothe the fears of my wife, who described it as the scariest incident she'd ever seen with one of our kids, talked her through the fears that she had as they went to the hospital in the back of the ambulance. And just as a postscript, everything turned out to be just fine. But his calm presence was something that calm and stable presence and deep kindness were the words that my wife used to describe him from that experience.

His fellow firefighters described him as the guy that always came to work with a smile on his face. No matter the adversities he faced, he was happy, always active and healthy. He was a proud father to his two children. Robin passed away surrounded by his family on March 42023 way too soon.

But his legacy will live on through his family, including his wife, Katie Hengen Culpepper, and his children, Jackson and Madison, as well as his colleagues and all of the many, many people whose lives he positively affected. I ask that we adjourn in his memory today. Thank you

Thank you, Senator Min for that tribute and the personal connection that you have to him and your family. Does I also rise today to pay tribute to fire Captain Rob Culp. His legacy and reputation make my constituents and me very proud. Captain of Culp made a significant positive impact in Southern California, and we are deeply saddened for his passing.

I'm grateful for his dedicated service to the National City Fire Department, the Carlsbad Fire Department, and the Orange County Fire Authority over the past 25 years. He leaves behind a lasting legacy of courage, commitment, and care in the communities he served. During his 16 years with the Orange County Fire Authority, Kolb served as firefighter, paramedic, fire apparatus engineer, fire captain, paramedic, and was a Member of the technical rescue team and the FEMA California Task Force five.

He was a true public servant, and we are forever grateful with that. Thank you for honoring Captain Culp, Senator Min. And together we ask that the Senate adjourn in his memory. Thank you.

Thank you, Senator. Please bring that fire hero's name forward so that he may be properly memorialized in the journal. Senator Portantino, are you prepared?

Members, I rise today to ask us to adjourn in memory of Rosetta Lee Morris, a distinguished californian whose character and deeds in life merit gratitude and respect. Acknowledgement by the people of the State of California. Rosetta Lee Morris was born August 171948 in Tulsa, Oklahoma, and raised by parents Johnny Claussen, Sr. And Rose Marie Seals.

Rose Morris attended Booker T. Washington High School and graduated in 1966, having excelled in her studies while developing a love for music and singing with a local all female group known as the Dynamics. In 1967, she met Raymond Lee Morris in Oklahoma City, and they subsequently married in 1968. Together, they raised their children, Michelle and Michael.

In 1975, Rose and her family moved to California, where she secured employment with the Legislative Analysts Office and contributed to a number of legislative committees during the course of her stellar 35 year state service career, including the Assembly Committee on Hazardous Waste and Toxic Materials, the Assembly Committee on Public Safety, the Senate Committee on Natural Wildlife, the Senate Committee on Revenue and Taxation, and the Senate Budget and Fiscal Review Subcommitee. Until a retirement in 2010, Rose had a passion for nature and beauty.

She cultivated flowers in her garden and was a collector of many books. The high esteem in which she was held by her loving family, her numerous friends, and other individuals fortunate enough to have known her stands is a testament for others who strive for the best in every aspect of their lives. Rosetta Lee Morris is survived by her daughter, Michelle Morris Battle, a former Senate employee.

Her grandchildren, Alexander Miguel Rivera Morris, Dante Terrell Morris, Michael Javon Calhoun, Lee Anthony Ward, Taj Terrell Morris, Micah Leone Morris, Anthony Lee Battle, Malia Michelle Ward, her great grandchildren, Jovi Rivera, Jamison Rivera, Josiah Calhoun, and Micah Calhoun, and her seven siblings. This is a truly extended, large, wonderful family.

I express my deepest sympathy at the passing of Rosetta Lee Morris and by this resolution, obviously memorialize her for illustrious service to our state and in particular the Legislature, and respectfully asked for us to adjourn in her memory.

Thank you, Senator. Please bring her name forward so that she may be memorialized in the journal. Moving on to Committee amendments. Any Committee, Committee announcements? Those aren't done here. Senator Laird, you're recognized.

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

Senator Becker, you're recognized.

Thank you, Madam President. Budget Subcommitee number two on energy, natural resources, and the environment will meet in room 2200 in the swing space, 15 minutes out after end of session.

Budget Subcommitee number three on health and human services will meet in room 1215 minutes after session. Senator Padilla, you're recognized.

Thank you, Madam President. Budget Subcommitee number four on state Administration and government will convene upon adjournment in. Room 113 here in the Capitol.

Senator Wahab, you're recognized.

Thank you. Sub budget sub number five will meet in room 112 immediately after session.

Thank you. Before we go to Mister Pro Tem, we're going to recognize two special things. First, we got to recognize Senator Caballero. Her birthday, if I'm not mistaken, is tomorrow. And then also, we need to recognize me because my birthday is this Sunday. I did already. If there is no other business, Mister Pro Temp. The desk is clear.

Madam President. Thank you so much. Happy birthday, by the way. To Madam President. Of course, Senator Cavallero. And you just witnessed each of the budget sub chairs standing. There is a majority of this body who serves on the Budget Committee and we owe them a debt of gratitude. Especially this year with the challenges that we face working together to be able to get the job done.

I want to say thank you to our budget sub chairs and to each of the Members of our Budget Committee on both sides of the aisle. We're grateful for your work, ladies and gentlemen. The next floor session is scheduled for Monday, April 22 at nine. At 02:00 p.m. 02:00 p.m. Enjoy the weekend.

The Senate will be in recess until 03:30 p.m. At which time the adjourn motion will be made. We will reconvene Monday at 02:00 p.m.