Assembly Floor

The Assembly is now in session. Members, Majority Leader Aguilar Curry notices an absence of a quorum. Sergeant at arms will prepare the chamber and bring in the absence Members. The Clerk will call the roll.

[Roll Call]

Members, a quorum is present. We ask our guests and visitors in the rear of the chamber and in the gallery to please stand for the prayer in flag sloop. The day's prayer will be offered by Assembly chaplain Imam Yaser Khan. Imam.

In the name of God, the most gracious, the most merciful, gracious God, you are the hope of all creation. Through your love and mercy, you give us life and freedom. You bless us with an abundance of resources. You invite us to faith.

We thank you and pray that you will guide us in the work we are assigned to do. Govern our thoughts with liberty and justice for all. Make us mindful of the needs of all people. Today we pray for our nation, our state, and this body. Turn our hearts to you that we may serve this day with compassion, justice, courage and peace. Amen.

Thank you, mom. Yes, sir. Connan Members leading us in the flag salute pledge would be Assembly Member Matt Haney.

I pledge allegiance to the flag.

Reading of the previous day's journal.

Assembly Chamber Sacramento Thursday, May 22024 the Assembly met at 09:00 a.m. the Honorable Jim woods, speaker pro tempore of the Assembly,.

... moves Mister Flora seconds that the reading of the previous state journal be dispensed with. Presentations and petitions there are none. Introduction and reference of bills will be deferred. Reports of committees will be deemed read in amendments deemed adopted. Messages from the Governor, there are none. Messages from the Senate, there are none.

Moving to motions and resolutions, the absences for the day shall be deemed read and printed in the journal. Majority Leader Aguiar Curry, you are recognized for your procedural motion.

Good morning, Madam Speaker. I request unanimous consent to suspend Assembly Rule 45.5 to allow Assembly Members McKinnor, Santiago and Low to speak on an adjournment in memory today.

Without objection, such shall be the order.

I request unanimous consent to suspend Assembly Rule 118 A to allow Assembly Member McKinnor to have a guest in the rear of the chamber today.

Without objection, such shall be the order.

At the request of the author, please move item 12 AB 2648 Bennett to the inactive file.

The Clerk will note. Moving to business on the daily file. Members, we are going to pass temporarily on item number four and item number five taking us to item number 6, 2460.

The Clerk will read

Assembly Bill 2460 by Assembly Member Ta in accolade to common interest developments.

Assembly Member Ta, you may open.

Thank you Madam Speaker and Members AB 2460 make technical verification request by the Administration to my AB 1455 from last year. I respectfully ask for your aye vote.

Seeing no others wishing to speak, the Clerk will open the roll. All those votes who desire to vote. All those votes who desire to vote. All those votes who desire to vote. The Clerk will close the roll. Ayes 42 Noes 1, Measure passes. We are going to pass temporarily on items number seven.

8, 9, 10, 11, 13, 14, 15 and taking us to item number 16, AB 2304. The Clerk will read.

Assembly Bill 2304 by Assemblymember Lee in accolade to civil actions.

Assemblymember Lee, you may open.

Thank you, Madam Speaker. Under current law, when a landlord takes a tenant into the eviction process, the court record is is masked unless the landlord prevails within 60 days. If the tenant prevails or the case is drawn, then the record remains massed.

If the landlord prevails, then the record may be released and the tenant will likely end up with a mark on their credit record. This bill extends those protections to mobile home park tenants. The bill was recently amended this week to remove opposition. So I respectfully ask for your aye vote.

Seeing no others wishing to speak, the Clerk will open the roll. All those votes who desire to vote. All those votes who desire to vote. All those vote who desire to vote. All those votes who desire to vote. Mister Lee moves the call. Members, we're going to take us to file item number 11. AB 2319.

The Clerk will read.

Assembly Bill 2319 by Assemblymember Wilson and others enact relating to maternal health.

Assemblymember Wilson, you may open.

Good morning Madam Speaker. Members, I am out of breath. I am pleased to present AB 2319, a Bill that aims to reduce the alarming and disproportionate maternal mortality rate of Black women and other pregnant persons of color by ensuring successful implementation of FB 464 by then Senator Mitchell, the California Dignity and Pregnancy and Childbirth Act of 2019.

A recent study by the California Department of Public Health found that women of color, in particular Black women, die of pregnancy related complications at much higher rates than white women in California. This disparity exists across all income levels. Evidence suggests one key cause of this disparity is the implicit bias of healthcare providers.

A provider's level of bias, whether conscious or unconscious, can influence their interactions with patients and their diagnosis and treatment of the patient's pain and can undermine patients' trust and engagement in care.

A DOJ investigation revealed that there is a need for an enforcement mechanism, public transparency of compliance data, firm compliance deadlines, and additional specificity and clarity so that facilities are better equipped to know which providers need to be trained. AB 2319 accomplishes this goal.

Members, with your aye vote, you will help birthing people of color across the state. Thank you. And I respectfully ask for your aye vote.

Doctor Weber, you are recognized.

Thank you, Madam Speaker. Good morning, Members. I rise as a proud joint author of AB 3919. We are unfortunately facing a serious maternal crisis in this state, a crisis that is impacting Black and Brown women significantly.

Not only are expectant mothers finding it more difficult to find a health facility that offer labor and delivery services, but when they are able to find a facility that is accessible, the medical staff, nurses, or physicians may not have the background or knowledge to properly serve their needs.

We've heard several stories over the years of Black women being ignored during their labor and delivery process. Last year, April Valentine died at Centinela Hospital in Inglewood due to a blood clot that formed in her leg and traveled to her lung.

Miss Valentine had complained of numbness and swelling in her legs at least 10 times over 15 hours, complaints that were not properly assessed. In 2017, Serena Williams also suffered a pulmonary embolism during her delivery process. She later shared that she was an excruciating excruciating pain, had trouble breathing, and had a numb leg.

Yet no one on the medical team was listening. I mention the story of a celebrity athlete not because her health and well being is of greater importance than anyone else's health, but because this highlights the fact that race and racism many times supersedes other factors like economic status or education level.

AB 2319 is an important measure to ensure that anyone who interacts with perinatal patients receives implicit bias training. Implicit bias affects how we perceive the pain and needs of others, how we prioritize the care, and can significantly and has significantly impacted health outcomes. For these reasons, I respectfully ask for your aye vote on AB 2319. Thank you.

Seeing no others wishing to speak, Assemblymember Wilson, your closing remarks?

Yes. I would like to thank my colleague from San Diego as a joint co author, the only board certified OB/GYN in the Legislature, as well as all members of the Black Caucus who signed on in support or signed on as co authors in support of this vital legislation.

I strongly urge an aye vote from my colleagues on AB 2319.

The Clerk will open the roll. All those votes who desire to vote. All those votes who desire to vote. All those votes who desire to vote. The Clerk will close the roll. Ayes 47, noes 0. Measure passes.

Members, we're going to lift the call on file item number 16, AB 2304. Lee, the Clerk will post. The Clerk will close the rule. Ayes 43, Noes 9, measure passes. Okay, we're going to move to item number 21, ACR 187.

The Clerk will read

Assembly Concurrent Resolution 187 by Assembly Member Chen relative to Schizophrenia Awareness Day.

Assembly Member Chen, you may open.

Thank you, Madam Speaker and Members for allowing me to present this resolution. Schizophrenia is a serious mental health condition and one of the top 15 leading causes of disability worldwide. Schizophrenia affects about 24 million people in the world and about 330,000 people in California, the highest number of affected individuals of any state in the country.

Because of the limited advancements in serious mental health conditioned treatments, people living with serious and disabling mental health conditions such as schizophrenia, need access to new and vital medications, therapeutic treatments and recovery support services that could enable individuals to better, more fulfill lives.

It is important that the body increases awareness of mental health conditions that, absent early and effective intervention, are often severely debilitating, impacting the person, their families and their loved ones. That is why I am proposing the Legislature to proclaim May 24, 2024 as Schizophrenia Awareness Day. Thank you, and I respect the ask for your aye vote.

And I also ask that the roll call be open for co authors, Madam Speaker.

Seeing no others wishing to speak. Oh, my apologies, Assembly Member Davies, you are recognized.

Thank you, Madam Speaker. I want to thank my colleague from your, Belinda, for bringing this up. I had a sister in law who was manic depressive schizophrenia, and it was really great to see that she was getting the treatment that she needed.

And it's so important that when we look for mental health and the budget this year, I think it's really important that we realize that this is a huge issue. And so I'm also asking that we think twice about the budget and we make sure that we've got funding for health, mental health.

I asked for an aye vote for ACR 187.

Seeing no others wishing to speak, Assembly Member Chen, your closing remarks.

I respectfully ask for an aye vote.

The Clerk will open the roll. This is for co authors. All those votes who desire to vote. All those votes who desire to vote. This is for co authors. All those votes who desire to vote? The Clerk will close a roll. There are 57 co authors added. Without objection. We will take a voice vote on this.

All those in favor indicate by saying aye. Opposed say no. The ayes have it. Resolution is adopted. We are going to item number five, AB 234.

The Clerk will read

Assembly Bill 2347 by Assembly Member Kalra in accolade to summary proceedings.

Assembly Member Kalra, you may open.

Thank you, Madam Speaker. AB 2347 will provide tools for tenants to better exercise their due process rights and add clarity for landlords in eviction cases. Because the response period is uniquely short, proper notice is critical. Unfortunately, landlords and process servers claim proper service in some cases even though none occurred. It's known generically as sewer service.

There is not only a major violation of tenants constitutional rights, but the result is the extreme consequence of tenants losing their homes. This gainsmanship with sewer service may occur because under existing law, a landlord is not required to file proof of service prior to requesting a default judgment in order removing the tenant from their home.

Filing proof of service with the court before a default is entered provides defendants and their attorneys with information about what service is alleged and permits them to challenge the service if it is invalid.

They could then work under the response timelines to seek advice, take time off work, file childcare, et cetera, and go to court to file an answer.

I really want to thank the California Apartment Association for working so closely with us and as a result, we adopted amendments that aligned the timeline for filing a juvenile and motion to strike with the motion to quash bringing them to neutral. Those are all like fancy legal terms.

What it basically means is that we came to an agreement on a timeline that works for all sides. We didn't come to that agreement until Monday at 05:30 p.m. so that's why we couldn't hear the bill until 05:30 p.m. yesterday.

So I'm here before you today asking for your aye vote because AB 2347 does seek to create a fairer process, prevent landlords and process service from circumventing the proper service of tenants, and adding greater clarity for landlords as well in the process. Respectfully ask for your aye vote.

Seeing no others wishing to speak, the Clerk will open the roll. All those votes who desire to vote, all those votes who desire to vote, all those votes who desire to vote. The Clerk will close the roll. Ayes 43 Noes 9, measure passes. Members, members, members, the quorum call is still in place.

Please give your respectful attention to those who are granted prior permission to speak on an adjournment in memory. Assemblymember McKinnor, you are recognized.

Madam Speaker and Members, I rise to adjourn in memory of John Vigna. John tragically passed away on April 29, 2024. John was born in Reading, California. At only 18, John launched a campaign for the Reading City Council, winning more than 3500 votes and the respect of many in the community.

John left Redding to attend Sacramento State University, where he studied political science. John's journey to Sacramento connected him to the young Democrats and many of the friends who now mourn his death. John was an incredible leader and soon rose within the young Democrats, including being elected President in 2013.

John was an amazing orator and an even more prestigious writer. John's ability to communicate via the written word was one of his finest gifts in both his professional life as the communications Director for Speaker John A.

Perez, former BoE Member Fiona Ma, and when we worked together at the California Democratic Party, John carried with him an undeniable talent. His ability to communicate complex issues and policies and make people feel seen, heard, and connected will be among the many things we will miss about John. John posed an incredible wit and intelligence.

He used these gifts to help others throughout his life. He put these gifts to work in a life of public service. John's intelligence was also displayed for the world to see on the television show Jeopardy. And everyone who knew John knew he would win.

While many knew John in his professional capacity, his family and friends will remember the incredible human he was and had such a welcoming heart. I asked the State Assembly to adjourn in his memory, and his family is in the back of the chamber. His mom, his dad, and his sister and former speaker John A. Perez.

Assemblymember Santiago, you are recognized.

Thank you, Madam Speaker, Members, friends, and the family for John Vigna. For those of you who worked with him, he only had one name. It was called Vigna. That was, it didn't have a first name. It was just Vigna.

The one thing that I, the one thing I continue to think about when I remember John Vigna was a smile. And anybody who worked around him would remember that little smile he would give when the world would be crashing and there was a crisis or an enormous task ahead of us.

And he would always kind of, like, smile like it was going to be, okay, I'm going to take care of this. Remember that little, teeny little smile? And you would think about everything falling apart, and he always had it together. He always had it together.

And he always kind of figured out a way to fight forward on that. But I also want to talk about Vigna, who cared about people. At the time, I worked for Speaker Perez, who was sitting in the back, and we had a city called Maywood who had terrible water. And this had been a decades fight.

And everybody knew John, sorry, Mister Vigna, as the guy who was the Democratic Party politics guy, fought incredibly hard for LGBTQ issues. Young dems all the way. But he never lost sight of people. And I remember consistently in these conversations, he would always want to figure out how to clean up the water in Maywood.

For those who don't know what it was. They had brown water. It was toxic, and it was his passion to do this. And then he always also cared about pets, animals, stuff that matters to people. There was always a.

You know, some of us, and most of you maybe have read the book, but when I think about John Vigna, I always think about thinking about Rage for Justice.

A person who got up every morning, who loved life to his fullest, came to work, fought really hard for people, but then had this rage for justice, no matter what it was.

Whether you were sitting around, grabbing a cup of coffee on the phone, talking about a press release, or figuring out how to take some of the most complex issues that we work on up here and explain them to people at home in a way they can understand, because it's oftentimes lost. Right.

We do a lot of amazing work, but people have to understand it. He was always that one guy who could sit in a room and go, I know what you're trying to do. You know, here's what you're doing for people, and here's how we're going to write it down, and here's how it can be explained.

And I remember this very clearly with the middle class scholarship on something that changed hundreds of thousands of families lives in California, giving them the ability to get an education at a discounted rate. And he was very simple. And to say, well, it's a middle class scholarship. Here's what it is.

And, you know, anybody who understands, I have a hard time with these things, right? Because I googled kind of a quote, and Nicole Curran, who was a close friend of his, we're trying to think about, what would you say? Right.

And I don't know who wrote the quote, so forgive me for not knowing, but you got to kind of sum it up. You know, there's. So if I plagiarize, I plagiarize, right? Here you go. Yeah, but I think he'd be okay with that. No, he would not be okay with that.

Anybody who knows him would not be okay with that. But he'd probably call me out on it. But something that came up that kind of summed it all up. There's hundreds of languages around the world, but a smile speaks them all.

That's kind of what I think about when I think about Vigna, that anybody who knew him would understand. What I'm talking about. He's just an amazing person with a big heart. And again, I quote, I just love the phrase a rage for justice. And it didn't matter who.

Whether it was water in a neighborhood, whether it was LGBTQ issues, women's right to choose, young dems, or whatever it was before him, you knew. You knew that justice pumped through his heart.

Thank you.

Assembly Member Low. You are recognized.

Thank you very much. I joined my colleagues also in the acknowledgement of an incredible public servant to our Assembly family. Colleagues.

As we head back to our homes after a long week, we remember also the importance of what this Assembly family is about, that we were duly elected as Members, but so many make up the Assembly family and the public service of the State of California, and John was the embodiment of that under the leadership of Speaker emeritus John Perez as his press secretary.

A period of time in which I was a legislative staffer, and my memory of John was at numerous conventions, eating pizza, dry pizza, soggy pizza, greasy pizza, on the floor of conventions. As young Democrats, so many of us got our start as public servants in advocacy and grassroots.

Many of us have had our experiences in this way that's no different from that of John as well, too. And so, as we reflect whether or not you knew John personally or not, this is an individual who helps make this institution what it is.

And we are living on the foundation of so many countless individuals who have contributed to this public service. And so these conversations, these reflections live on in all of us, and specifically to John's beautiful family who are here.

Please know that we are in solidarity and thank you with deep appreciation and love, grace, and empathy, knowing that nothing that can be said will ease the pain and suffering. But please know that many of us will reflect on the service of your family and of your beautiful so, I will not forget.

Please join me in acknowledging the memory and incredible service and legacy of our Assembly family member John Vigna.

And Members, once again, on behalf of Assembly Member McKinnor, please welcome, friends and family of John Vigna, as well as our former Speaker Perez in the rear of the chamber. On behalf of all of us here in the Assembly, we send our deepest condolences.

Members, I ask that you please bring the name to the desk to be printed in the journal. All requests to adjourn and memory will be deemed read and printed in the journal. Moving back to the file, we are going to start with file item number 19 AB 2235.

The Clerk will read.

Assembly Bill 2235 by Assemblymember Lowenthal, enact relating to public contracts.

Assemblymember Lowenthal, you may open.

Thank you, Madam Speaker and Members. I am so pleased to rise to speak in favor of AB 2235 to present the Bill, because this Bill is about the future.

And lo and behold, a bit of our future is actually watching Us up in the gallery from McGaugh Elementary, including my daughter, Violet Lowenthal. Speaker and Members, this Bill is about the future. The Port of Long Beach is embarking on an ambitious plan to build the largest offshore wind turbine facility at any US port.

This facility will help California meet its goal of producing 25 gigawatts of offshore wind power by 2045 and help lower the national cost of offshore wind power by 70% by 2035.

Offshore wind will play a critical role in California's renewable energy portfolio, helping California achieve its SB 100 goals while delivering the renewable energy to support decarbonization across multiple sectors, including the Port of Long Beach transition to zero emissions.

AB 2235 provides for an expressibility for the City of Long Beach to procure contracts specifically related to the Pier Wind Project and describes the project delivery methods by which those contracts can be procured.

AB 2235 also provides specific requirements for business entities entering into contracts for the Pier Wind Project relating to bonding, a skilled and trained workforce, and insurance. AB 2235 has enjoyed bipartisan support.

I'm very happy to announce that we've been able to work out a deal between the ILWU and the state building trades, and we'll be taking those amendments in the Senate. Members, thank you and I ask for your aye vote.

Seeing no others wishing to speak, the Clerk will open the roll. All those votes who desire to vote. All those votes who desire to vote. All those votes who desire to vote. The Clerk will close the roll.

Ayes 61, noes zero. Measure passes. And Members, on behalf of Assemblymember Lowenthal, please welcome the McGaugh Elementary fourth grade class located in the gallery, including Rick Larson, teacher, and Assemblymember Lowenthal's daughter, Violet. Moving on to file item number 10, AB 2019, the Clerk will read Assembly.

Bill 2019 by Assembly Member Hoover and others in accolade to school attendance.

Assembly Member Hoover, you may open.

Thank you, Madam Chair. AB 2019 will help dual enrollment programs by giving certainty to students in school and early and middle college programs to maximize funding and access to classes. I respectfully ask for an aye vote.

Seeing no others wishing to speak, the Clerk will open the roll. All those votes who desire to vote, all those votes who desire to vote, all those votes who desire to vote, the Clerk will close the roll. Ayes 62 Noes 0, measure passes. We are going to take up file item number nine, ACR 198.

The Clerk will read Assembly Concurrent Resolution 198 by Assembly Member Villa Pudua relative to Small Business Month.

Assemblymember Villapudua, you may open.

Thank you Madam Speaker. Today I rise for the Assembly Resolution 198 to declare may small business month. California consistently ranks among the top 10 economies worldwide.

As of 2023, California has a thriving community, over 4 million small businesses contributing to the workforce of over 7,000,001.6 million of small businesses are owned by women and minorities and over 2 million are under veterans ownership. 43.2% of the state's 186 billion in exports supports 583,000 jobs and come from small firms here in California.

Highlighting the diversity of small businesses in California during small business month showcases the resilience and the economic significance of mom and pops and the innovation of startups across the state serving a vital pillars in our communities.

As a state, we need to contribute to support our small businesses by supporting and protecting state programs like tap small businesses technical Assistance program which supports hundreds of thousands of entrepreneurs seeking to contribute to the economic growth of our state.

As chair of jobs in the economy, jetty acknowledging me as business month reaffirms the Legislator dedication to support small businesses in California, I respectfully request the first row to be open as co authors and respectfully ask for an aye vote.

Seeing no others wishing to speak, the Clerk will open the roll for co authors. Members, this is for co authors. All those votes who desire to vote. All those votes who desire to vote, this is for co authors. All those vote to desire to vote, the Clerk will close the roll.

There are 64 co authors added without objection. We will take a voice vote. All those in favor indicate by saying aye. Opposed say no. The ayes have it. The resolution is adopted. Moving to announcements. Session schedule is as follows. Monday, May 27 Memorial Day observed Tuesday, May 28 floor session at 01:00 p.m.

all other items remaining will be passed and retained. All motion shall be continued. Seeing and hearing no further business, I am ready to entertain a motion to adjourn. Miss Aguirre Curry moves Mister Flora seconds that this house stand adjourned until Tuesday, May 28 at 01:00 p.m. the quorum call is lifted and the house is adjourned. Thank you.

It.