Assembly Standing Committee on Appropriations

Good morning. Welcome to April 24, 2024 Assembly Appropriations Committee hearing. We have 129 bills to consider this morning as part of our regular order hearing. We encourage the public to provide written testimony before the hearing by visiting the Committee's website at [Website].

Please note that any written testimony submitted to the Committee is considered public comment and may be read into the record or reprinted. The hearing room is open for attendance.

All are encouraged to watch the hearing from its live stream. It's riveting, I can assure you, on the Assembly Committee's website, [Website]. Today events we encourage the public to monitor the Committee's website for updates.

We will accept public comment on any bill placed on the suspense file by the Committee today and for which the author waived presentation before the close of the regular order hearing.

Testimony on any such bill will be limited to a statement of name, organization, if any, and a position on the bill. The Committee will allow no more than 40 minutes of testimony in total.

As you came into the hearing room today, the sergeants directed your attention to the rules for public attendance and participation, which were posted outside the door. I encourage members of the public who are in attendance to be aware of and observe those rules.

Please be aware that violations of these rules or other violations of general courtesy or decorum may subject you to removal or other enforcement processes. With that, we would like to establish a quorum. Madam Secretary, is a quorum of the Members present?

[Roll Call]

We have a quorum. Okay, I'd like to dispense with the consent calendar. Do we have a motion? On the cons of a motion and a second, Madam Secretary.

[Second Reading]

[Roll Call]

Consent calendars adopted. We'll leave it open for folks to add on. We will dispense with the suspense calendar at the end of the meeting.

Now for bills to be presented to the Committee. First up is Mr. Rodriguez. Would you like to present? You have AB 1843. You can begin.

Thank you, Madam Chair and Members. Thank you for the opportunity to present AB 1843. Would significantly improve and expand the mental health and emotional support options available for our EMS workers in private ambulance companies.

With over 35 years working firsthand in emergency medical services, I know the difficulties of being a first responder and encountering traumatic incidents almost daily that create a stressful home and work environment. With AB 1843, our first responders will have the resources and support they need to address their mental health needs and recover so that they can continue providing Californians with emergency care and need they deserve. Because this only affects private sector EMS providers, this is estimated to have no fiscal impact on the state. Thank you.

Thank you. Do we have any witnesses? Primary witnesses in support? Any additional witnesses in support? Any primary witnesses in opposition? Additional witnesses in opposition? We will bring it back to Committee. We have a motion and a second. And Mr. Rodriguez, that bill is out on A roll call with Ms. Dixon and Mr. Patterson not voting.

Thank you.

Thank you. Next up, we have Ms. Blanca Rubio wearing your jeans on Denim Day.

Thank you, Madam Chair and Members, for the opportunity to present AB 1965.

This measure would establish the Office of Tribal Affairs within the Department of Public Health, led by a tribal health liaison. This would provide a direct advocate for our tribal communities with the primary goal of reducing health disparities while consolidating many, much of the work already carried out by CDPH in this space. This measure has no opposition, has enjoyed bipartisan support through P Committee. Here with me today to answer any technical questions is Doctor Mark Labou on behalf of our sponsor, the California Rural Indian Health Board. Thank you.

Thank you. You have two minutes.

Good morning. I'm Doctor Mark LeBeau, a Member of the Pitt River Tribe from Northern California. I work for the California Rural Indian Health Board. We have 58 fairly recognized tribes in our membership,19 tribal clinic systems throughout California, particularly in rural and frontier regions of the state. CRIHB is the organizational sponsor of this legislation. Thank our Assemblywoman for leading this effort. CRIHB urges support and an aye vote for the measure.

Thank you. Do we have any other additional witnesses in support in the room? Any primary witnesses in opposition? Additional witnesses in opposition? We will bring it back to the Committee. Motion and a second. And Miss Reba, that is out on a roll call. Thank you. Next up, we have Mr. Zuber, who has two bills, AB 2242 and AB 2889. And we have. We'll be looking for authors after that. Also wearing your denim on Denim Day.

Madam Chair Members, AB 2442 seeks to improve access for gender affirming care in anticipation of a surge in out of state patients seeking care in California. This bill specifically requires the expedited processing of licensure applications for providers demonstrating a commitment to gender affirming healthcare or mental health care services within their licensed scope of practice.

This bill will fortify our gender affirming care provider network in our state and according to the Committee analysis, has minor and mostly absorbable costs for the licensing boards.

The bill is sponsored by Equality California and Planned Parenthood affiliates of California. I respectfully ask for your aye vote. With me today is Craig Pulsipher, on behalf of Equality California.

Good morning, Chair Members Craig Pulsipher, on behalf of Equality California. A very proud co-sponsor of this bill to ensure that Trans people in California and across the country can access the essential health care they need. Appreciate the Committee's analysis.

I would just note that the costs are extremely minimal, only $18,000 in non-absorbable costs, especially given the urgency of this issue. Currently, over 20 states, nearly half the country, restrict access to health care for Trans youth.

And just last week, the US Supreme Court issued a ruling allowing Idaho to enforce its ban on health care for Trans people. And while California has taken numerous steps to be a safe haven for Trans youth and their families, we need to make sure we have a robust provider network in place to serve the growing number of Trans youth who will seek essential health care in California.

This is a straightforward and low cost measure to expedite the licensure process for providers who can provide this essential health care and respectfully urge your aye vote.

Thank you. Do we have any additional witnesses? Sorry. Yes.

No, this is for the other Bill.

Got it. Great. Okay. For the other Bill. Okay. Any additional witnesses in support?

Molly Robeson with Planned Parenthood affiliates of California. We're a co-sponsor in strong support. Thank you.

Thank you. Any witnesses in opposition? Okay, we will bring it back to Committee with a motion second. And Mr. Zbur, that. Yes, absolutely.

Thank you Madam Chair. And thank you to the author for bringing up this important policy. I'd love to be added as a co-author if possible. I would like to just share just something that I think we should be cognizant about. As far as I know, there are currently three policy bills that expedite the licensing for out of state providers. So yours being one of them, very important.

The Governor today is announcing another policy on expediting the licenses for abortion providers. The federally qualified healthcare clinics are, healthcare centers are also expediting doctors from out of state to service low income areas and communities of need, all of which are incredibly important.

I would just caution that we also have to look at the bandwidth of the agency and department to see if they have the staff available. We currently have more than 1500 vacancies in agencies across the state.

I had a policy bill that we are giving more time to, to ensure that CalHR is able to hire more individuals to work in the state, specifically in licensing. So I would just encourage you to have those conversations as well.

Because while we may be moving forward policies that expedite the licensing, if we don't have the staff in the agency or departments to move those things, then I just worry that we're creating a deficit at the same time. So just putting that on your radar as well. Thank you.

Yeah, thank you. I mean, the only response to that is that if you look at sort of the non-absorbable cost, it was $18,000. We're talking about really a relatively small number of people given the size of the population on this very specialized area of gender affirming care. So thank you.

Great. Any other questions from Committee Members? And I think we have a motion in a second. Great. Mr. Zbur, that is out on AB roll call. Thank you. And would you like to present 2889?

Yes, thank you, Madam Chair, Members. Pleased to present AB 2889 which gives the Public Employee Relations Board, PERB, jurisdiction over initial requests for injunctive relief by the Los Angeles City and Los Angeles County. Unions that bargain with the City of Los Angeles and the County of Los Angeles are the only public employee unions in the State of California that are not afforded the same protections that other public employee unions obtain from PERB.

The two bodies that govern unions in the city and the County of Los Angeles do not have the same labor protections as PERB affords these unions in other parts of the state. In the public sector strikes and employer requests for injunctive relief in Los Angeles City and Los Angeles County are less common than in the private sectors. We estimate that PERB would have to devote resources to these of up to two times a year, but only once on average, which is what the cost is.

It's really just responding to these injunctive requests. The staff time and resources PERB would expend are less than what would be expended by the county and the City of Los Angeles filing in court under the current practice. AB 2889 is a measure that leads to a more efficient and effective resolution for labor disputes within the County of Los Angeles and the city. AB 2889 is sponsored by SEIU California and AFSCME California.

With me today is George Osborn on behalf of the Union of American Physicians, and Dentists, another one of the sponsors of the Bill, to provide additional information and assist with questions.

Thank you.

Good morning, Madam Chair Members. George Osborn for the Union of American Physicians.

Can you turn the mic on? Thank you.

Is it on now?

There we go. Thank you so much.

Morning, Madam Chair Members. George Osborn for the Union of American Physicians and Dentists. AB 2889 requires that in Los Angeles County, Los Angeles City, public employee unions are treated the same as they are in the rest of the state. It's really that simple. Happy to answer any technical questions you might have. Again, thank you.

Appreciate you being here. Thank you. Additional witnesses in the room in support? Any witnesses in opposition? We will bring it back to Committee. I believe we have a motion and a second, is that right? Okay. Any questions? No? Okay. Mister Zbur, your Bill is out on a B roll call.

Thank you very much.

Thank you, Madam Chair.

Thank you, Madam Chair.

Thank you very much. Thank you, Assembly Member Dixon. You will be presenting for Assembly Member Mathis for AB 2745.

Thank you. Yes, correct. Good morning. I'm happy to be here to present AB 2745, on behalf of Assembly Member Mathis. Invasive pests and diseases can disrupt ecosystems by endangering native plants, altering soil chemistry, and affecting water systems, in addition to posing a grave threat to agriculture. AB 2745 will give agricultural commissioners a much-needed enforcement tool to combat negligent properties that harbor invasive pest and species.

This bill incurs negligible, if any, cost to the state, which is a small price to pay for the relief from agricultural losses it will provide. I would like to add that Assembly Member Mathis and his team are diligently working with representatives of the California Alliance of Family Farmers to address their stated concerns and strengthen the bill in its efforts to protect California farmers. Thank you for your time, and I respectfully ask you for your aye vote.

Thank you. Do we have any folks in the room wish to express support? Anyone wish to express opposition? Oh, support. You gotta walk faster.

Clifton Wilson, on behalf of the Fresno County Board of Supervisors, in support. Thank you.

Are you opposition? Okay. Opposition.

Good morning. Jamie Fanous, on behalf of the Community Alliance with Family Farmers or CAFF. Although we are in conversations with the office, we're gonna remain opposed to the bill. Thank you.

Thank you. We will bring it back to the Committee. Any questions? We have a motion and a second. And with that--oh, right there. Sorry. That's out on A roll call with Mr. Ta not voting. Thank you. I was just texting you to come up, Mr. Maienschein, and look. You're right here. Perfect timing. You are here to present 2802.

Telepathically communicating. Is that what's happening?

Exactly.

Thank you very much, Madam Chair and Members. AB 2802 is a bill that updates the minimum statutory requirements for regulations governing transitional housing placement providers. This bill would allow program participants to share units and bedrooms with siblings and co-parents, regardless of gender identity, with approval from all associated parties. According to the analysis of fiscal impact of this bill is minor and respectfully request and aye vote.

Thank you Mr. Maienschein. Any additional witnesses in support? Any witnesses in opposition? Any questions from Committee Members? We have a motion and a second. This enjoys a do pass and this bill is out on a B roll call.

Thank you very much.

Thank you. And we are looking for Mr. Lowenthal, if anyone knows where he's at. Mr. Bryan to present on behalf of Mr. Gabriel. Mr. Kalra, I believe is on his way. Ms. Cervantes and Ms. Weber. Oh, Brian's for, oh, and Mr. Bryan's doing for Mr. Weber as well.

Assemblymember Wicks, your bill enjoys a do pass, as amended recommendation. Would you like to present your bill?

Yes. Thank you, Madam Chair. Thank you.

For the Committee staff and their work on this bill, AB 2755 would appropriate $523,000 from the General Fund to the Attorney General to pay for three specific claims against the state. This bill is one of several annual bills authored by the chair of either the Senate Appropriations Committee or the Assembly Appropriations Committee to provide appropriation authority for legal settlements approved by the Department of Justice and Finance.

Along with me here today to answer questions are Justin Rausa, Deputy Director of the California Department of Justice, and Tony, I want to pronounce your name correctly, Hawkwell, Supervising Deputy Attorney General, California Department of Justice. Respectfully ask for an aye vote.

Thank you, Madam Chair. Good morning, honorable Members of the Committee, and appreciate the opportunity to present AB 2755. On behalf of the sponsor, Attorney General Rob Bonta. As the Chair mentioned, this bill would appropriate $523,000 from the General Fund to the AG for the payment of claims, settlements, or judgments against the state arising from the three specified actions in the bill analysis, which we think the staff for the detailed Committee analysis.

As the Chair mentioned, this bill is one of several annual bills carried by the chairs of the Appropriations committees, and they provide appropriation authority for legal settlements approved by the DOJ and the Department of Finance that were entered into lawfully by the state upon advice of counsel and are considered binding state binding legal obligations. Included in the bill are settlements in the Gupta, progressive Democrats for social justice and right to life of Central California cases.

And Supervising Deputy Attorney General Tony Hawkwell is available if you have any technical questions. We appreciate your consideration. Respectfully ask for an aye vote.

Did you want to add anything?

Oh, no, he's just here for questions.

Okay. Are there any members of the public wishing to speak in favor of this bill? If so, please approach the microphone. Seeing any witnesses in opposition. Would you like to close?

Respectfully ask for an aye vote.

Excuse me. Just wanted to ask a clarifying question. Number one, is this typically what we do in the Appropriations where there are lawsuits against the state, and if the state loses, then this is where we resolve those claims against the state even if a matter is unconstitutional?

It's my first year as Appropriations Chair, but my understanding is, yeah, this is what typically happens when there's claims against the state.

And then when the state, did the state prevail in this case where it was unconstitutional, or no.

No, we did not prevail. That's why these are settlements for attorneys fees and costs in litigation in which the state was not successful.

Oh, in upholding the constitution, it failed. Yeah.

There's three matters before. Before the Committee, but in the. Yeah, in the Gupta and right to life. Yeah, it was struck down as unconstitutional. And also in the progressive Democrats case, the law was struck down as unconstitutional at first under the First Amendment.

Okay, so then the state didn't, the state lost.

Correct.

Okay. All right. Thank you very much for clarifying. Appreciate it.

Any further questions? I see we have a motion by Assemblymember Arambula. Do we have a second? Okay. Madam Secretary, please call the roll. Oh, never mind. Thank you. The bill gets out, due pass as amended on an A roll call. Thank you.

We have Mister Kalra here presenting AB 3281 on behalf of the Committee on Judiciary.

Thank you so much, Madam Chair. AB 3281 is the Judiciary Committee's Annual Civil Law Omnibus Bill. This Bill contains numerous minor updates to various code sections within the jurisdiction of the Committee, thus saving the Legislature from having to consider at least a dozen additional bills.

Among the provisions, this Bill renames the Consumer Law Section, the Consumer Protection Section of the Department of Justice, clarifies jurisdictional issues related to divorce cases when parties move counties, updates the administrative procedure for correcting minor errors and vital records, prevents the Attorney General's Office from having to attend every probate mediation in the state, and fixes two typos in existing law. Again, all the changes in the Bill are fairly minor and generally clarifying in nature. Respectfully ask for an aye vote.

Thank you. Do we have any other witnesses or any witnesses in support? Any witnesses in opposition? We will bring it back to Committee. Any questions? We have a motion and a second. And with that, Mister Kalra, your Bill enjoys a do pass recommendation and it is out on a B roll call.

Thank you.

Thank you and Mr. Cervantes is here. Sorry, I did not see you. You will be presenting AB 1899.

Madam Chair and Committee Members, for allowing me to present Assembly Bill 1899 today, which will require our county superior courts to use juror questionnaires that ask prospective jurors their pronouns in an open-ended format, prohibiting the use of gendered salutation, and ask questions about family and relationships using gender neutral language.

This bill will also require the Judicial Council to publish a template juror questionnaire that uses languages that are inclusive of our LGBTQ community.

According to the Committee analysis, this bill will likely pose minor and observable costs to the Judicial Council for creating an updating template juror questionnaires. Respectfully asked for your aye vote.

Thank you very much. And we have a witness here. No? Okay, supporting. Okay. Any additional folks wish to express support? Any opposition? We have a motion and a second. Your bill enjoys a do pass recommendation and is out on AB roll call with Mr. Ta not voting. Thank you.

And Mr. Bryan, I believe you are presenting for Mr. Gabriel and Ms. Weber. Thank you. Whatever you prefer. How about we do Mr. Gabriel's Bill first? AB 2331.

Perfect. Thank you, Madam Chair and colleagues. I'm pleased to present AB 2331 on behalf of Budget Chair Gabriel. This Bill would make clarifying changes to last year's AB 1305, which established decision disclosure requirements for voluntary carbon offset credits. As noted in the Committee analysis, this Bill has minor and absorbable costs and no known opposition.

Thank you. Any witnesses wish to express support? Any in opposition? We will bring it back to the Committee. We have a motion and a second. Would you like to close?

On behalf of Mister Gabriel, I respectfully ask for your vote.

Great. Thank you. That enjoys a do pass recommendation and is out on an A roll call with Mister Patterson not voting. Thank you. And if you'd like now to move to Miss Weber's bill, AB 1815.

Good morning, Madam Chair and colleagues. I'm here to present AB 1815 on behalf of Doctor Aquila Weber. AB 1815 is an extension of the original Crown act of 2019, which stands for creating a respectful and open workplace for natural hair.

Truly ironic. She had me present this. The Crown act prohibited hair discrimination under the California Fair Employment and Housing Act and the California Education Code, making it the first law in the nation to prohibit such discrimination.

AB 1815 will expand this law to include amateur sports organizations or youth sport organizations and any private entities open to members of the public, whether they are for profit businesses or nonprofit organizations.

This Bill has minor and absorbable costs to the Civil Rights Department, and this bill has no opposition. Discrimination takes place systemically within schools, the workplace, and on the sports field. And this bill would protect both students and employees from discrimination within these spaces. I respectfully ask your aye vote.

Thank you. Any additional witnesses wish to express support?

Rebecca Gonzalez, Western Center on Law and Poverty. We are the sponsor and strong supporter.

Thank you.

Good morning, Chair Members. Sam Nasher, on behalf of the Los Angeles County Office of Education in support.

Thank you. We have a motion and a second. Anyone wish to express opposition? Great. Thank you, Mr. Bryan. That enjoys a do pass recommendation. It is out on a roll call with Mathis and not voting. I believe we are now waiting for Ms. Lowenthal.

Mr. Lowenthal, apologies. Who I believe is on his way over making the long walk from the Capitol. Why don't we do add ons for the consent calendar?

Consent calendar. [Roll call]

While we're waiting for Mister Lowenthal, I'd like to dispense with the suspense calendar. Madam Secretary, would you please read the suspense calendar?

The following bills are all assembly bills, 1772 Ramos, 1789 Quirk-Silva, 1792 Rodriguez, 1793 Ta, 1794 McCarty, 1798 Papan, 1802 Jones-Sawyer, 1811 Alvarez, 1817 Alanis, 1833 Addis, 1838 Jackson, 1845 Alanis, 1851 Holden, 1861 Addis, 1872 Sanchez, 1877 Jackson, 1915 Arambula, 1933 Calderon, 1952 Dixon, 1962 Berman, 1968 Jackson, 2005 Ward, 2012 Lee, 2043 Boerner, 2045 Hoover, 2089 Holden, 2090 Irwin.

2124 Davies, 2133 Kalra, 2135 Schiavo, 2141 Gipson, 2142 Haney, 2145 Wilson, 2147 Mathis, 2148 Low, 2169 Bauer-Kahan, 2175 Lowenthal, 2181 Gipson, 2184 Davies, 2191 Santiago, 2196 Connolly, 2241 Alvarez, 2252 Mathis, 2313 Bennett, 2317 Stephanie Nguyen, 2322 Hart, 2357 Bains, 2360 Rendon, 2395 Quirk-Silva 2411 Wendy Carrillo, 2421 Low, 2432 Gabriel, 2436 Alanis, 2450 Aguiar-Curry, 2462 Calderon, 2494 Calderon, 2538 Grayson, 2540 Chen, 2584 Lee, 2594 Committee on Emergency Management, 2600 Calderon, 2606 Aguiar-Curry, 2669 Ting, 2673 McCarty, 2678 Wallis, 2690 Joe Patterson.

2709 Bonta, 2734 Connolly, 2738 Luz Rivas, 2852 Garcia, 2854 Irwin, 2943 Zbur, 2982 Reyes, 3013 Maienschein, 3031 Leem, 3073 Haney, 3097 Chen, 3140 Hoover, 3142 Jones-Sawyer, 3147 Garcia, and 3280 Committee on Judiciary.

The suspense calendar is deemed approved. Sorry, deemed read. Oh, sorry. Yes, deemed read. And the suspense calendar is deemed approved. You read, I'll approve. It's a good team. Okay, we are waiting for Mister Lowenthal.

Thank you, Mister Lowenthal. You are our final Bill presenter, and you will be presenting AB 3048.

Morning, Chair and Members. AB 3048 is a very simple bill. AB 3048 makes it easier for consumers to state their privacy preferences from the start by requiring web browsers to allow a user to exercise their opt-out rights at all businesses with which they interact online in a single step. Currently, three browser companies already implement easy to find opt-out preferences. They are Mozilla Firefox, DuckDuckGo, and Brave.

The other browser companies require either a third party add-on or involve a laborious process that most people don't have the technical ability or patience to go through. In the end, AB 3048 will ensure that an individual's right to privacy is upheld by requiring web browsers to offer easy to find, global opt-out settings so that anyone can stop the sale of their information by all businesses if they so choose. As the analysis states, the bill has minor absorbable cost to the CPPA. Thank you, and I ask for your aye vote. My witness today is Maureen Mahoney with the California Privacy Protection Agency.

Thank you. You have two minutes, please.

Chair and Members of the Committee, my name is Maureen Mahoney. I'm the Deputy Director of Policy and Legislation at the California Privacy Protection Agency. We're the proud sponsor of AB 3048, which would require all browsers to offer to consumers the option to use what's known as opt-out preference signals. So one of the most important aspects of the California Consumer Privacy Act is the existing requirement that businesses receiving these opt-out preference signals honor them as an opt-out of sale and sharing of their personal information.

So if you use a privacy-focused browser like Brave, DuckDuckGo, or Firefox, that lets you send these signals so that every time you go to a website, it's automatically getting this request opt-out. So you can see how it'd be much easier for consumers to exercise their preferences that way.

The problem is that major browser vendors like Google Chrome, Apple Safari, and Microsoft Edge don't offer native support for these signals. This bill seeks to address that, give consumers meaningful choice in the marketplace, and for these reasons, we respectfully ask for your support. Thank you.

Thank you. Do we have any additional witnesses that would like to express support? Any witnesses in opposition? We will bring it back to Committee. We have a motion and a second, and with that, Mr. Lowenthal, your bill enjoys a do pass recommendation. It is out on a B roll call. Thank you. And I'd now like to open up the hearing to comments made by members of the public on any bills not presented in the Committee today.

Please be sure to limit your comments to name, organization and your position on the bill. If there's anyone in the room who'd like to state their position on the bill, please approach the microphone now. Okay. And we will wait for Ms. Pellerin and Mr. Villapudua to add on to the consent calendar.

You want me to wait?

Sorry, we have a public comment.

Okay. I'm hoping I can address some of these bills. AB 1851 by Holden drinking water school sites, lead testing pilot program. And I'm speaking on behalf of Clean Earth for Kids, North County Equity and Justice, Interfaith Council for Environmental Justice, NCCCAESP Vax and Grandparents in Action. Also AB 1798.

In support, I assume in support.

I'm sorry.

That's okay. Thank you.

Papan, Department of Transportation. Contaminated stormwater runoff as it's threatened salmon and steelhead trout. And again in support. Clean Earth for Kids, North County Equity and Justice, Interfaith Council for Environmental Justice, NCCCAESP Vax, Grandparents in Action. And then also AB 2090 Erwin, Office of Farm to Fork. Addressing food deserts and transportation. Again in support. Clean Earth for kids, North County equity and Justice, Interfaith Council for Environmental Justice, NCCCAESP Vax, Grandparents in Action. I think that's it.

Thank you, ladies and gentlemen, for the hard work you do.

Thank you very much.