Assembly Standing Committee on Local Government

I would like to remind the public that for this and future hearings, testimony will be in person, as we are no longer using a moderated telephone service. We also accept written testimony through the position letter portal on the Committee's website. I would also like to go over our ground rules for appropriate conduct.

The Assembly has experienced a number of disruptions to Committee and floor proceedings in the last few years. Conduct that disrupts, disturbs, or otherwise impedes the orderly conduct of the hearing is prohibited.

Such conduct may include talking or making loud noises from the audience, uttering loud, threatening or abusive language, speaking longer that the time allotted extended discussion of matters not related to the subject of the hearing or Bill, and any other disruptive acts. To address this in any disruptive conduct, I will take the following steps.

If an individual disrupts our hearing process, I will direct them to stop and warn them that continued disruption may result in removal from the Capitol building. I will also document on the record the individual involved in the nature of this drafted conduct. I may temporarily receive the hearing.

If the conduct does not stop, I will request the assistance of the sergeants in escorting individuals from the Capitol building. We have six items on the agenda for this afternoon. Five of these items are proposed for consent. Item two, SB 994, by Senator Roth. Item three, SB 1048, by Senator Jones.

Item four, SB 1515, by the Senate Local Government Committee item five, SB 1516, by the local Senate Local Government Committee and item six, SB 1517, by the Senate Local Government Committee. We will hear all our bills in order shown on our agenda.

Unless otherwise noted, we will take up to two primary witnesses in support and up to two primary witnesses in opposition. These witnesses will have three minutes each to provide their testimony. All subsequent witnesses should state their name, their organization and their position on the Bill.

I would also like to take a moment to wish our Committee secretary, Marissa Lanchester, a very happy birthday today. Thank you for being here on your birthday. And we still don't have a quorum, but we can start as a Subcommitee.

And the first item on the agenda is SB 739 by Senator Ashby. Construction manager at-risk construction contracts: City of Elk Grove: zoo project. Whenever you're ready

Thank you so much for having us Assemblymember Carillo.

Go ahead.

Okay. We are honored to be here today. And if my smile is a little bigger than usual, it's because I love it when I have so many people from my district who get to come and be a part of the proceedings and see how things work here. And because this project is near and dear to my heart, has been for a long time, and is a really special opportunity, I'm here to present SB 739, which would allow the City of Elk Grove to utilize a construction manager at-risk construction contracts form for the Sacramento region's new zoo in Elk Grove.

Thank you. And good afternoon, everyone. Good afternoon, Chair Carrillo and Vice Chair Waldron and Committee Members. My name is Bobbie Singh-Allen. I'm the proud mayor of the City of Elk Grove. And, you know, instead of rehashing some of the very compelling points that the Senator made, I want to highlight a few things that are so important for not only the City of Elk Grove, but our greater region. This will be the first time in 37 years that a new zoo would be built in the United States.

Under a typical delivery process, a city is required to complete all construction drawings and bids and an entire project as a comprehensive package which extends design time and construction duration and ultimately costs. However, a construction manager at-risk model allows a city to hire a construction manager earlier in the process and then streamline the delivery methodology and then therefore reduce the costing of the project and in particular, take some of the costing in stages.

SB 739 seeks to allow the City of Elk Grove to utilize a CMAR model during the construction of a much beloved and long awaited zoo project. Utilizing this model from the onset of this project will help further align the design and construction and will help local dollars go farther in service to our community.

SB 739 is a critical step. In fact, it's necessary in order for this project to move forward and bring an extraordinary economic and academic opportunity to Senate District Eight. I have two all star witnesses with me today. First of all, some of you may know Mayor Bobbie Singh-Allen, who is our much beloved mayor of the City of Elk Grove. And also with us today is my personal friend, Jason Jacobs, who runs the Sacramento Zoo. This is his vision. Largely, we're just believers in his vision, and we're here to talk to you about that today.

Thank you. Please proceed with your first witness.

So this is not only a game changer for the City of Elk Grove, but is an important and invaluable asset to the greater Sacramento region. And as the Senator so rightly stated, under normal delivery processes, the city would need to complete all construction drawings and bid the work as a comprehensive package. The key components of this legislation allows for the streamlining of this process, which is very important. We are a general law city. We are not a charter city. So this is important for us for that streamlining process.

The construction of the new zoo will generate not only short term economic impact from its construction, but would also deliver ongoing economic benefits that would support our greater region. The project is estimated to produce 2400 construction jobs and has a $249 million total economic impact for the first five years. This is a transformative project, a project that we are very proud of. The city has a community workforce training agreement with our local union trades. The new zoo project would be subject to this very important agreement. And most importantly, Senate Bill 739 would not create any burden to the State of California. I respectfully ask for your aye vote this afternoon. Thank you.

Thank you for that. Before we proceed with your second witness, we just reached a quorum. So I am going to ask the secretary to call roll so we can establish the quorum.

[Roll Call].

We have established a quorum. Second principal witness, please proceed.

Thank you. Good afternoon and thank you for your time. My name is Jason Jacobs, and I serve as the Executive Director of the Sacramento Zoological Society. Many animals that we care for, such as lions, giraffe, and the okapi, look up what an okapi is. They're pretty cool. Good to hear that. As well as local California species like western pond turtles, are all facing tremendous challenges. Accredited zoos provide a vital service not only for wildlife, but also people. Zoos contribute resources for wildlife conservation, as well as caring for populations of rare and endangered species. Zoological parks also serve as cornerstones for our community.

With incredible educational experiences. The new regional zoo, located in Elk Grove, will serve as a conduit between people and wildlife. The current zoo sees over half a million people. Even with a limited footprint and no parking, the new zoo will be capable of hosting well over a million visitors per year. While serving a crucial role in conservation and education. This is shaping the foundation of our youth with STEM education programs. Most of our visitors will never get the opportunity to travel to far off areas like Africa, let alone see a grizzly bear in our state.

However, the residents of the greater Sacramento region will be able to voyage to Elk Grove to partake in a walking safari, where they'll see the site sounds flora and fauna of the African bush. Future phases would concentrate on animals from California and regions of Australasia. The new zoo is a complex project that requires specialized habitats for thousands of animals, running the gamut from a meerkat, which is only about one and a half pounds, to a two and a half ton rhinoceros, which is incidentally the largest resident of your districts.

Everyone's district. SB 739, proposed by Senator Ashby, would expedite this process and allow our community to enjoy an incredible regional zoological park that would be designed for the benefit of both people and animals. We thank Senator Ashby for her support on this project. We thank you for your time listening to this project.

Thank you. Are there any other witnesses in the room that want to be on the records in support of this measure? Please specify your name, affiliation, and position on the Bill.

Mister Chair and Members. Mike Monaghan, on behalf of the State Building Trades in strong support.

Good afternoon. Kevin Ferreira, Executive Director of the Sacramento-Sierra's Building and Construction Trades Council, and we are in strong support.

Chris Lee, on behalf of the Sacramento Area Council of Governments, in support.

Greg Fishman, representing Sacramento Regional Transit, also in very strong support.

Anthony Viscuso, Local 16 Heat and Frost Insulators, Business Agent. And we are also in strong support. Thank you.

Thank you. Not seeing anyone else, are there any principal witnesses in opposition of this Bill? Seeing none, I take it back to the Committee Members. Committee Members, anybody wants to make comments, ask questions? Okay, no comment. Assemblymember.

Thank you, Mister Chair. Thank you for bringing this forward, Senator. I just have one very quick question, because I've been very supportive over the years of design build. Construction manager at-risk, is that similar to that? It would appear to be similar.

It is very similar.

Okay.

Yes. In the City of Sacramento, where I come from, we're able to do it already because we're a charter city, but because they're not a chartered city, they have to ask us for permission. Allows them to move through the process in phases, allowing them to fund in phases, which makes it possible for a smaller city.

And it makes it a lot more efficient and more cost effective and reduces error when there's a discrepancy between the design and the build portion. So.

It's a lot more nimble process, actually.

Fully support it. Thank you.

Thank you.

Assemblymember Ramos.

Yeah, just a quick question. As far as the rescue and rehab, does it also provide those types of services for some of the animals that are out in the wild?

So the second phase, we are looking at a rescue and rehabilitation Center for California wildlife, especially for burn victim wildlife. But many of the species we have are already perilously endangered. We manage the largest population of thick billed parrots, for instance, in the United States and the world, it's a species extinct, practically extinct. So zoos are very much rehabilitation rescue centers by the very virtue of our missions.

Assemblymember, one thing I learned from our zoo Executive Director a long time ago was he always says this, and I repeat it every time I talk about this project. If we didn't have modern day zoos, we would have to create them because of what's happening in our environment, because of extinction, because of threats to extinction.

What this project seeks to do is balance out academia. We're lucky in this region to have UC Davis, and UC Davis is world renowned for their work around animals and veterinary services, and they are a partner to this project in full support. You can see in the future that this discussion around the health of animals and around flora and fauna health, then relates to the health of people. It's called one health, the whole study of it. And Davis, UC Davis is at the forefront of that effort, and this zoo will be a partner to all of that.

Well, thank you. I just wanted to make sure that traditional animals from here that need that service would also be something that the zoo would provide for. Thank you so much.

Absolutely.

Anybody else.

Assemblymember Ramos, if I may. I know that something that's very important for you is part of the indigenous community is the Wilton Rancheria is in strong support, and they are a partner in our second phase of the project to also be mindful and respectful of our indigenous peoples and reflect that in the building.

Thank you so much for that.

Thank you. Anybody else? Nobody else? I do have a question. At full completion of the zoo, will it be larger than the LA Zoo.

Acreage wise, No. But the LA Zoo. You're asking a person who has been to over 250 zoos that the LA Zoo, the majority, a big part of their acreage is hillside, so it would be about the size of the LA Zoo. If you exclude the hillsides that they don't use.

Well, that will create a healthy competition between LA Zoo.

I'm LA Zoo alumni.

That's great.

Would you like to close, Senator Ashby.

We will strive to beat LA. In every way possible. Chairman, I ask for your aye vote. Thank you so much.

Thank you, Senator Ashby. And you've accepted the amendment on the Bill?

We have accepted the amendments. Thank you to your Committee.

Thank you for your work and the work of your staff on this measure. The amendment today is for the purpose of adding an emergency clause. I will be supporting the Bill today. The motion is due passed as amended. Secretary, please call the roll.

Motion is due passed as amended to the Floor. [Roll Call].

The vote is eight to zero. The Bill is out. Congratulations.

Thank you.

Thank you, colleagues, so much.

Thank you everyone.

Thank you. And with that, we're gonna go back to the consent calendar. We have a motion. A second, Madam Secretary. Please call the roll on the consent calendar.

[Consent Calendar]

The vote is a zero. Thank you all for coming. I leave the roll open for a couple of minutes to see if any other Members are going to be add on. Okay, we're going to call the roll on the items that are left. Madam Secretary will please call the roll for consent calendar and the item on the edge agenda that was heard.

[Roll Call]

The vote is now 90. The Bill is out.

[Roll Call]

The bills are out 9-0. Thank you, Assembly.... And with that, we're going to close the meeting for today.