Assembly Floor

The Assembly is now in session. Assembly Member Dixon notices the absence of a quorum. The sergeant at arms will prepare the chamber and bring in the absent Members. The Clerk will call the roll.

[Roll Call]

Members, the Assembly is in session. Please report to the floor. It's now 9:16. Please report to the floor.

Members, please report to the floor. Staff watching, please ask your Member to report to the floor. We have business before us today, so please report to the floor so we can get started. 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 and the flag salute. The day's prayer will be offered by our Assembly chaplain, Imam Yasir Khan.

In the name of God, the most gracious, the most merciful, Almighty God. As we convene today, we seek your guidance and blessing. Grant us clarity to understand the matters at hand. Wisdom to make decisions that reflect your justice and compassion. To serve with sincerity.

Guide our discussions and actions so that they are marked by mutual respect and a commitment to the common good. Help us to find common ground and work together towards positive and meaningful outcomes. May our efforts be fruitful and our intentions pure, contributing to the well being of all those we serve. We place our trust in your divine wisdom and grace. Amen.

Thank you. Please join Assembly Member Jones Sawyer as he leads us in the pledge.

Put your right hand over your heart. Ready? Begin. I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America and to the republic for which it stands, one nation under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all.

Thank you, Mister Jones Sawyer. You may be seated. Reading to the previous day's journal.

Assembly Chamber of Sacramento Wednesday, August 72024 the Assembly met at 07:00 a.m.

the honorable mayor Curry moves and Mister Flora seconds that the reading of the previous day's 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 and 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 will be deemed read and printed in the journal. Members, we will now move to procedural motions. We get your attention to the majority leader, please get the attention to the majority leader, please, for her procedural motions. Madam Majority leader.

Good morning, Mister speaker. Lots of excitement in this room today. I request unanimous consent to suspend Assembly Rule 118 A to allow Speaker Reavis to have guests seated at Member desks. And in the rear of the chamber without objection.

Such shall be the order.

At the request of the author, please move the following bills to the inactive file. Item 76, SB 1134, Caballero. Item 227, SB 225, Caballero. Clerk will note, I'm giving a one. Day notice to remove item a, seven, SB 450 Atkins, at the request of. Assemblymember Wicks, Clerk will note I thank you.

As we move into our guest introductions and announcements, I just want to note today is national bacon Lovers Day, and for those who don't do that, it's National Lemonade Day as well. So to our guests and visitors today, first of all, if you're a guest, do not push the buttons. Please don't push any buttons.

Also, state law prohibits persons in the gallery from interfering with legislative proceedings or disrupting the orderly conduct of official business. Persons disrupting legislative proceedings are subject to removal, arrest, and or other appropriate legal remedies. Members, as a reminder, you have many bills on the Senate Floor without floor managers.

Please work with the Senate to identify floor managers so your bills can be taken up as soon as possible, and we'll ask Mister Zubair to make his way up here. Members, today we honor our colleagues whose tenure with the Assembly is ending. We will proceed alphabetically by last name until all departing Members have been honored.

Before we begin the tributes, our democratic caucus chair, Rick Zbur will deliver some opening remarks. Assemblymember Zebur, you are recognized.

Thank you Mister speaker. Members, as Democratic caucus chair, I am honored today to open this ceremony to officially recognize, thank, and celebrate the contributions of the Members of this body who are completing their service as Members of the Assembly this year. I believe that public service is a noble calling.

Today, we recognize the contributions of outgoing Members who have devoted their time, energy and talents to improving the lives of all Californians. To the departing Members of this body, we thank you for being part of a process that requires that we bring our best selves to work every day to address California's most pressing problems.

We thank you for opening your hearts to difficult conversations over the years. Sometimes working late at night or early in the morning, you helped others in this body learn and understand, and you listened and learned yourselves.

We thank you for bringing the views of the people you represent from across our beautiful and diverse state into our chamber and into our committees so that the perspectives of all Californians are heard. Each of you have brought unique skills, backgrounds, and lived experiences and goals to your work.

Each of you have made unique contributions to improving the lives of Californians and making our community stronger. Each of you have served your constituents, helping make sure that Californian's complex government works for the individuals you represent.

We join today in recognizing and celebrating your service, and we will hear about the unique contributions that you have made from the Members who have worked most closely with you. Your contributions have helped to create a stronger, safer California, one that is more just and equitable for the diverse communities that call California home.

Your Assembly family extends its sincere gratitude for your contributions, big and small over the years. I have no doubt that you will carry the same spirit of service into all your future endeavors, and I know that the Members of this body concur in that view.

We will miss you and wish you the very, very best as you enter the next chapter of your lives and career. Thank you.

Thank you Mister Zaburite. For each of our honorees, we will hear remarks from two previously designated Members, followed by remarks from the honorees. So there's only two. So don't raise your mic. If you want to add on, just do that privately later on. This might feel a little like speed dating.

The Senate convened their honorary yesterday at 02:00 they might still be going at this point, but we are asking our Members to limit their remarks to two minutes for the purpose of delivering their remarks to the outgoing Assembly Member.

So each Member will have two minutes to speak and then the Member themselves will get two minutes to speak. So we will start with Assemblymember Wendy Carillo.

Recognizing Assembly Member Carrillo is Assembly Member Ting, the first speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. It's my honor to rise from my fabulous colleague from LA. She came here as a labor leader, a DJ, and, of course, a hipster. More importantly, she came here as... No laughing. But more importantly, she came here to fight for her community, the community that she grew up in. For immigrants, for working people, for people who really traditionally haven't had much of a voice in this body. I'm going to personally treasure our time together, especially as we looked for the best fried chicken sandwich in Sacramento.

I'm still waiting to try your dad's fried rice. Our colleague told me her dad makes the best fried rice in LA, so I'm going to be the judge of that. But more importantly, I think about your body of work and all the work you did to fight for those communities, especially immigrants and working people, whether it was around Unemployment Insurance.

You were our Budget Chair during that horrific time during COVID when Unemployment Insurance was having a difficult time paying people. Numerous hearings you held, really making sure that you were holding that department, holding its feet to the fire. When I was going back and talking to budget staff, there was one particular hearing that you held, and it speaks poorly of us as a state, but that you had a room full of immigrants where you had to provide the Spanish translation, and you did so with amazing class and grace, but demonstrating that you were there for them.

You wanted to be their advocate and you also wanted to be their public official. You were there to hear what they had to say, but also to fight for them. That fight also stood when we were looking at the first iteration of the Film Tax Credit. You were that stalwart, making sure that diversity and equity were absolutely top of mind and making sure that that was on the table even as we were giving millions of dollars of tax credits. And of course, we worked hand in hand to make sure that there was major funding in affordable housing and homelessness.

That's something that you had talked about, how important it was for your city, how important it was for our state. You were there at the time when we really launched the work and to make sure that we were taking a much larger role. Prior to really Wendy taking over that committee chair, we had really gotten out of the affordable housing business. We were actually spending less money on affordable housing. And that's something that Wendy really made sure that she championed.

But just also thinking about two issues I was thinking about for you, that you really looked at that for people who don't have a voice. One was on that Medi-Cal asset test, making sure that folks, just because they all of a sudden get a car, just because all of a sudden they got a little bit of money from their relatives, didn't get them kicked out of Medi-Cal.

And that's something that's so important that we realize that it's so hard to get into many of our programs, but it's so easy to get kicked out. And that's something that you fought for, that you used your voice, your power, to really make sure that people stood up and fought for them.

And then going back and looking at the compensation victims for people who had forced sterilization and having gone through that awful, awful, traumatic situation. And many times it's these, we do these awful things as governments and we just said, we say we're sorry and we move on. And we know that that's not enough.

And I think you stood up and said that's not enough. Just to say we're sorry, our bad. That there has to be compensation, that there has to be amends, that there has to be something that really has to happen. And I think you, if you weren't there, that would never have happened.

If you weren't their voice, it would not have been done. And I go back and I'll just close on this last thing I remember. You know, with Members, we all have items that we fight for in the budget. But the one thing that stands out to me is the money you got for your hospital.

Because if it wasn't that, for that, it would have collapsed. It would have not been functioning. That's something that you were very focused on, that you worked with your leaders at home. But to make sure that that is where you put your resources, the money that you could find was really to make sure you were protecting your community. And so when I think of you, I will miss seeing you every day up here.

But I know that you're going to be home, you're going to be fighting for those same people you fought for here. You're going to be remembering all the immigrants and the working people that are in your community every day. They're going to be ready for you. They have a lot of things for you to do when you get home. And I can't wait to see what's next and to see what you're going to continue to do.

Thank you, Mr. Ting. Just as a level set, that was six minutes. So we asking two minutes, please. So we have 20 Members today. So Dr. Arambula, you're recognized.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker and Members. Now, Assembly Member Carrillo, you have to be careful of what you ask for, if you ask me to speak up, because you're not exactly sure what you're going to get. But today I'm going to tell you a little bit about your time here. And it started with challenging first steps.

For those of you that don't remember. There was Xavier Becerra, who had just been appointed as Attorney General, and there was an opening for a congressional seat that I think you placed fifth in, if I remember correctly, to our colleague here and your predecessor, Jimmy Gomez.

But it was in that subsequent race where you challenged and stood up and knew that you needed to do more, that we saw your true colors. Because you never gave in, sister. You stood up, and we got to see you as the true progressive champion that you are. Someone who stood up for immigrants rights, someone who stood up for health equity and for environmental justice. We saw your progressive ideals as a Budget Chair, as you stood up for those who are the most vulnerable.

I witnessed it firsthand as you stood shoulder to shoulder with me in the Health for All movement. None of us could have done this by ourselves, but we were able to expand healthcare access to a million people together. And I was there, as with you and others, we were able to turn the Latino Caucus into the Latina Caucus because of the growing number of women who are serving right here on our floor. But I also witnessed, as you are the first El Salvadorian in our state's history to serve on this floor.

And so it was in 2018 that I went with you and our Speaker Emeritus and our Caucus Chair and yourself to El Salvador. And there were memories I had on that trip as we went to the murder capital of the world. And what we saw was what was driving people here to our country. And what I witnessed is you standing up to the Speaker and to the President and speaking about what you wanted to, which was abortion. As a woman in those hallowed halls to make sure that your voice was heard, I was so proud of you, sister.

And it was there in France, as we were studying extreme heat in what was then the warmest year on record, that we went to a farmhouse in France with Olivier, and you and I had fish in this random farmhouse and we learned about urban greening and the importance, and I learned from you that you might not know the French word for cheers, but you do know the French word for fish.

And I was impressed with you. As we learned from Oscar Romero, who is the Archbishop from El Salvador, who reminds us that there are many things that can only be seen through the eyes of those who have cried. For those of us who have had our ups and downs. For those of us who will not be defined by our worst moments. It has been an honor to get to know you, my friend, and I look forward to what the future holds for you. Thank you, colleagues, as we help to bid farewell to Assembly Member Carrillo.

Thank you, Dr. Arambula. That was three and a half minutes. We're getting better here. So two minutes from Assembly Member Carrillo, please.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker and Members, distinguished guests, and those watching from home. As I stand before you today, I am filled with a deep sense of gratitude and reflection. My time in the California State Assembly has been one of the most profound experiences of my life. And now, as I prepare to step away from this role, I just want to share a few thoughts. First and foremost, I am grateful. Grateful for the opportunity to serve the community that I grew up in.

From East LA to Echo Park, to Northeast LA and South Glendale, and the people of the great State of California to represent their voices, to work alongside such dedicated and passionate group of Members and individuals of this institution. The Assembly is a place where ideas are exchanged, challenges are faced head on, and progress is made.

It has been an honor to be a part of this process. Throughout my time here, I have learned so much not only about governance and policy, but about myself. I have made mistakes, as we all do, but each misstep has been a lesson, pushing me to strive to be the best version of myself and have a deeper connection to the people that I serve. And alongside those learning curves, I am proud to say that we have also accomplished so many things.

Together, we have passed legislation and tackled difficult issues, got through the other side of a global pandemic, and worked to create a better future for Californians. The funding and resources, serving in this body, that I have been able to deliver to my district are seeds to a garden that will continue to bloom for years to come.

As President John F. Kennedy once said, let us not seek the Republican answer, or the Democratic answer, but the right answer. Let us not seek to fix the blame for the past. Let us accept our own responsibility for the future. Serving the people of California has been my greatest privilege.

The resilience, diversity, and hope have inspired me every day. I hope that in some small way I have been able to make a difference in their lives and in the future of our state. As I leave this role, I do so with the utmost confidence that the responsibility of caring for California is in good hands.

Members, each of you have demonstrated time and time again in your own way your unwavering commitment to ensuring that the 40 million people that call California home can be proud. And I have learned from each and every one of you. I trust that together you will continue to build a better future that reflects the best of our state. I am so deeply grateful for the incredible group of people I've had the pleasure of working with.

My colleagues, all of you, my team here in the Capitol and in the district who are here, previous Members of our team, our amazing Budget staff, and all of the amazing people that have encouraged me and offered me support and advice throughout this journey. Your wisdom, your guidance, and camaraderie have been invaluable.

And I will carry these memories with me always. As I close this chapter. I want to thank my family and friends, but I do so with a heart full of gratitude and commitment to continue learning and growing. It is a deep honor to be a formerly undocumented young child fleeing a civil war from El Salvador.

And to know that I was able to serve with all of you. Thank you for that immense privilege. To know that no matter where you come from, what you look like, what language you speak, we can absolutely create a California and a society and a nation that we can all be proud of. Thank you all so much.

Thank you, Assembly Member Carrillo. I apologize. I do feel a little bit like the teacher here. That was three and a half minutes, so that's 10 minutes for the first Member. Remember, two minutes for each Member speaking in the tribute and two minutes for the Member. Please, please do your best. We are now going to be honoring Assembly Member Cervantes. The first speaker for Assembly Member Cervantes is Assembly Member Garcia.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker and colleagues. It is with great honor to speak on behalf of our colleague, young woman here, who I refer to as a home girl, given that we come from the same part of the State of California. And as you all know, we're very proud to represent the Coachella Valley.

I want to welcome her family, her parents, wife, her beautiful three children, and sister to this amazing place that we call work, the California State Assembly floor. I want to talk to you about her leadership, not only how she gets here through hard work and dedication.

After graduating from UC Riverside and calling Riverside home, beginning to build a community there, a community where she provided service. Worked with past Legislator, our friend and colleague, Jose Medina, who helped kind of mentor and develop what ultimately became her District Director, who was in the best position to succeed him when she gets here.

For those of you who arrived before or after 2020, you have no idea how challenging this area for a Democrat to get elected would be and how challenging it would be to make sure that a Democrat would still be here today. And Sabrina demonstrated a tremendous amount of grit, tremendous amount of commitment, and demonstrated to be the fighter that we've all come to know here today. Sabrina remembers, and she shared with me a story about one of the most difficult positions to take politically on her first term here.

And that was to ensure that California had the adequate resources at the moment to build out the necessary infrastructure for our roads and our bridges that forever have been challenged. And it was Sabrina, the pressure was put on our new freshman colleague to take a really difficult vote, being one of the most focused and targeted Members of our caucus. And regardless of the political pressures, regardless of the political dynamics and potential ramifications that a vote on that issue could have, she stood tall.

She stood strong, not only side by side with all of those who took that tough vote, but for her constituents in her district to make sure that what she came to do was make those difficult decisions in order to bring back the necessary resources to her community to ensure that her representation would matter here and would matter to the people of Riverside County.

Fast forward. She has done an amazing job representing Riverside County, the communities of Jurupa, Riverside, many of those brand new communities that she gets to represent. And she has demonstrated tremendous, tremendous vision to also begin to foster new leadership in the region. But I want to talk a little bit now, as we get closer to our two minutes, about her as a mother...

30 seconds.

Her as a partner, her as a daughter. We all witnessed her go back and forth to the district as she was bearing those three beautiful children that are here with us today. And I don't know about any of you, but I remember watching her in the process of these children becoming, you know, ready to face this world that she was here every single day.

Working, going back and forth to the district to make sure that she was doing the work of the people in her district. And she demonstrated that there was no task too big, too big, or too small that ultimately would get in her way to do the work that she's done. It's been truly an honor to serve with Sabrina, who I've seen as a young woman grow up.

As many of you know, her father has been a mentor to many of us who are in politics in the Coachella Valley. And I am very grateful to him, to his daughter for being here and being such a good colleague, partner, friend, and sister that I can call my home girl. Sabrina Cervantes, thank you for your service to the State of California. We all owe you a great gratitude every time we cross a bridge, we go over a new road being built in California. It was you who helped us make that happen.

Thank you, Mr. Garcia. Just note that was five minutes. So, Mr. Ramos, you are recognized.

Well, thank you, Mr. Speaker. And today, it's an honor to speak on behalf of my friend Sabrina Cervantes and her family. Sabrina is a fighter in life. Sabrina has pushed for change in California on issues important to our state. She continues to raise a voice that has been silent in the state's history.

As Chair of the Latino Caucus, she has widened the area of farmworker rights, reduce financial barriers for financial aid, just to name a few of the accomplishments she has done. As a Member of the Select Committee on Native American Affairs, she has continued to stand firm.

Firm on bringing awareness to missing and murdered Native American people, bringing the true history of education to the forefront in k-12, and continuing to work on suicide prevention. A history and a legacy that's not only her own, but a legacy of her family's of standing with the California's first people.

Sabrina is a champion that has seen and lived through tough times, lived experiences that I know all too well. As a state that brought persecution to the states first people, we share that experience of acceptance of who we are as people. Sabrina has championed LGBTQ issues to show others that being who they are is a great gift that can be used to make a great change in the State of California. And because of Sabrina's work, she has paved the way for all of us to strive to make California aware that all...

All who belong and contribute to the success of our communities in the State of California. Showing that as people of all walks in life, that when we come together as one, we all make it a safe place to raise our children in a world that truly accepts us all for who we are. For that, I thank you, my friend, Sabrina Cervantes.

Thank you, Mr. Ramos. Assembly Member Cervantes, you are recognized.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I want to, first off, thank my colleagues, my friends, Assembly Members from Coachella and from Highland for such kind words. Thank you for your friendship. It has truly been an honor serving in this house with all of you. And with our colleagues who have served in the Legislature since I first got here in 2016. Now, it is my fervent hope that this is not the last you see me.

I do hope to be part of this Capitol community in 2025 and beyond. And while we are talking about years, let me say that this is such a privilege and a relief that I am part of this departing Member ceremony in 2024 and not earlier than that. When I first got here, many people assumed that I would last just one legislative session and that I would be forced to relinquish my seat and be gone in 2018.

It was such an experience to work hard to get here and to be sworn in as a Member in 2016 and then within just a few months, put it all back on the line to do the right thing and finally get the Inland Empire its fair share of resources that it deserves from Sacramento. We weathered the storm and we persevered.

And I couldn't have done it without many of you, many of my colleagues who are here on this floor, along with many members of your team who came out to Corona, to Riverside, Jurupa Valley, Eastvale, to come knock on doors and talk about the work that we are doing collectively for our working families.

Your team dedicated so much time and energy, and I want to thank you. While it may seem obvious, that experience showed me that as a Member, we are best served by simply listening to the people that we represent. It is my belief that our constituents are willing to continue to send us back and send us here to fight for them and their families when we do what we think is right and for their best interests, and that we take the time to also explain why we voted the way we do.

I want to say that it is a testament to the work of my team that I am still standing here now in my fourth legislative session. My team believed in me every step of the way. They believed in our ability to do right by the people of Western Riverside County. And for that, I am eternally grateful. To my Chief of Staff, Cesar, to my District Director, Rachel, and to every single person who have served on Team Cervantes in the Capitol and in the district office, you have my deepest thanks and appreciation.

While I may be leaving this Assembly floor, I look forward to seeing you all as we walk these hallowed halls together in the months and the years to come. I want to take a moment to thank my parents, my mother and my father who are here with me today, for being my support system, for helping me to teach me the importance of civic engagement and representing the communities that we come from.

I want to thank my sisters for being by my side and believing in my dreams and allowing me to show up as who I am. To my three beautiful, smart, kind kids, Julian, Noah, and Penelope, for being my inspiration and for serving as my daily reminder that we are ultimately here to make the world a better place for the generations to come.

And last, but certainly not least, to my amazing wife, Courtney, who has been my paragon of patience and of support, as I always am away from the family, traveling back and forth between home and Sacramento to do the people's work. For always being my soundboard, for being my top supporter and my partner in life. I love you. Thank you to each of you who has made a difference in my life and has made me a better representative.

Thank you, Assembly Member Cervantes. And now we will honor Assembly Member Megan Dahle. Speaking on behalf of Assembly Member Dahle is our Republican Leader, James Gallagher.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker and Members. I hope I can get through this okay. It's an honor to stand here and recognize the great service of Assemblywoman Megan Dahle, who I first met at a conference for rural counties with her husband when she was very pregnant with Roslyn.

And ever since then, I feel like I've had a great, amazing relationship with the Dahle family. And you really can't talk about Megan without talking about the Dahle family. They are an amazing group of people, and they've done all this together since day one, through local campaigns, through legislative campaigns, through a governor's campaign.

I've watched this family, and they are truly remarkable in the way that they work together and they make sure everything's taken care of. I think I'm okay sharing this story because I remember Brian sharing it with me from his first term when he was going back and forth from Bieber to Sacramento. It's a long drive.

As you guys know, we represent really big districts in the north. And Brian talking to the family, and it was hard. It was a hard time. But his kid saying, dad, don't worry about it. We can hang. I believe that was the right word. And they certainly have. And so I want to recognize that amazing family.

But also, Megan, along that journey, decided, hey, I'm going to step up and run. I could do this. And when she was elected, she broke the record for women serving in a Legislature. She actually was the one that, when she came in, it broke the previous record for the amount of women serving in this Legislature.

And I think she has lived up to that record in her time here. She instantly became the mother of our caucus, that's for sure. And what I would say is really the heart of our caucus. She's an encourager. And I mean that, like, in the truest sense of that word. It's not a yes person.

It's someone who will tell you exactly what you need to hear when you need to hear it, who isn't afraid to put you in a headlock. We joke about that, but actually, literally, I think she does sometimes. You know, but will tell you what you need to hear, and she pushes you to be better.

And I found that in my own experiences, as I've taken on this leadership role. She's been, you know, been there for me many times in that role. But I know for many people throughout the capitol community because I've heard so many different stories.

And I know I look around this room, people can attest that where Megan has been there for you. She's a strong woman of faith, and I've seen that time and time again, but not just in word in action, praying for people, showing up and caring for people when they're ill, when they're going through tough times.

And I know there's a lot of people that can probably attest to that in this capitol community. She once gave my wife a book, and I can't remember the exact title, but it was about being a lioness. And I think that's really true. I think that's who Megan, she is a lioness.

I mean, first of all, she will fight for her cubs and her kids, and she does every day. But she's there as a fighter for her family and for community and a protector. And she's been amazing in that role. She's empowered a whole lot of Republican women, both staff and electeds in this building.

I know a lot of people can attest to that. And starting the Republican Women Leadership Group and helping connect women and help with networking of women in this building. She's done an amazing job. She fights for her district. And you've seen her get results. Hospitals, healthcare, wildfire, small businesses.

She has amazing communications, the best, you know, in our caucus. And she actually, she doesn't brag a lot, but she does brag about this, that she has the best open rate of her emails, but that's true. She does. And she's constantly communicating with her district.

And she shared that and made our caucus better about how we reach out to our community, how we reach out to our constituents and keep them informed. Obviously, this was a very hard year, and it was really hard for us not having Megan with us, I can tell you.

I mean, I felt like we were without our rudder many times. But as much as it was hard for us, I know it was even harder for her because of who she is, because she's always, you know, caring for everybody else, you know, and maybe this was the first time that she had to be someone care for her.

And I again saw this family just step up, and starting with her husband, who, man, I don't know how you do it all, but you were there and I've, you were an amazing husband to your wife during that time. And each of you kids were amazing, how you stepped up in so many different ways. And I know that was hard for you. So hard for us, but I know, very tough for you.

But perhaps through all of this, as you're saying here today, and we couldn't have been more, it couldn't have been a more joyful day in this capitol when Megan came back here to us and stood on this floor, so many from across this room who came over and gave her words of comfort. And it was just great. It was a beautiful day. And I think it's a symbol, all of this, as terrible as that time has been. It's a symbol of resilience.

And I think of just like our district, who has been through a lot, and we've had to be there through a whole lot of adversity in our district, how we overcome and you overcame, and we saw the strength of family. We saw the power of prayer, the huge power of prayer, so many prayers that were prayed over her, and we saw God break through in big ways. And you are a miracle. But more so, you are a blessing to our caucus.

You have been a blessing to this institution and to so many Members that are part of this institution. But the good news is this isn't goodbye. I keep saying this is not departing because we are looking forward to your continued service and we are looking forward to calling you Senator Dahle and the continued service of you and your family. So thank you, Megan. We appreciate you, and Godspeed.

Thank you, Mr. Gallagher. Assembly Member Dahle.

Thank you so much. Thank you. My family and my staff. Speaking's hard, but I'm doing it.

Thank you, Assembly Member Dahle. And I just want to recognize Senator Dahle, former Assembly Member Dahle, joining her today. We will now hear remarks for Assembly Member Friedman. First to speak will be Assembly Member Pellerin.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker and Members. It's impossible to share with you all in two minutes everything I love and adore about my phenomenal seat mate, Laura Friedman. But here I go. She is wicked smart, compassionate, trustworthy, funny, a fashion icon, confident, loyal, edgy, a pool shark, loving, dedicated, caring, independent, brave, resilient, tenacious, thoughtful, courageous, creative, best thrift shopper ever. Warm, inclusive, industrious, conscientious, diligent. I guess I could have just said, Laura is brat.

More than any of that, Laura is a devoted mother and wife and my dear friend for life. That's a little poem. When I first met Laura, I was in awe and in fear. She spoke at a training on how to raise money for our campaigns. She was a master and had earned the title of top fundraiser in the Legislature, mainly from thousands of small donors. Her intensity was super scary. And then when I walked onto this green carpet on swearing in day, I discovered I was assigned a seat next to Laura. Yikes.

I was a little apprehensive, but my fear turned to revere as she took me under her wing and mentored me on the ins and outs of legislating, collaborating, and building relationships. Laura has an amazing journey in public service, which began long before her time in the Assembly and took her from working in the film industry to serving in Glendale City Council. I recently found out that she participated in a Congress competition as a young student. Clearly, Laura, you were destined to end up in Congress.

And of course, there was her impactive legislative work. When Laura became Chair of the Transportation Committee, it marked a change of course for transportation in California. Laura led the way in innovative planning for more livable, walkable communities.

In addition, she has championed policies aimed at reducing greenhouse gas emissions, promoting public transit, increasing housing supply, protecting tenants, ensuring that our communities are inclusive and vibrant, and advancing the use of clean energy. She is a ball of fire and energy.

You don't have to look any further than her daughter, Rachel, to know what inspires Laura to build a better tomorrow for everyone to thrive. Rachel, in this crazy world where time is especially precious and lives are immensely busy, please know that you are your mom's number one priority.

She loves you intensely and she is incredibly proud of you. So while she will be in DC, serving in Congress, working on policies to strengthen America and improve lives, and convincing her new colleagues to participate in a friendly game of billiards, she will always, always be in our hearts and we will remain in hers forever and always.

Thank you, Assembly Member Pellerin. Now to recognize Assembly Member Friedman, Assembly Member Reyes.

All right. She is all of that. She is all of that. Laura and I joined the Legislature in 2016 together. And when I met her, I thought, this is a strange one. How am I going to get to know her? She's smart. She knows all this stuff. She's been an elected official. Oh my goodness.

And we served on the, she was Chair of the Joint Committee on Rules, Subcommittee on Sexual Harassment Prevention and Response. This was during the me too movement. She took on that leadership role, and I said, oh, my goodness, I'm learning a whole lot from this woman. And I had the pleasure of being part of that.

And throughout the process, she stayed on task. What are we trying to do? We want to protect those who have been harassed, who filed their complaints, who were too afraid to file the complaints, and did such a magnificent, magnificent job. She made sure we rectified our own protocols and policies.

But when you think about it now, it really was a drastic change to what had been before. We now have what is a separate entity from our HR that provides separation and fundamentally changes how our Legislature handles harassment claims. This work has served as a model for other states and has continued to improve what we do here.

Laura was also Chair of two critical committees, Natural Resources and Transportation. And her passion showed through both. I loved when she would negotiate with some of you on your bills. Nope, you're taking that out. Nope, that's out. Okay, I'm gonna put this in. And I would just watch. I would just watch, and I would listen.

But her passion for sustainability, for moving to a zero emission future, creating more workable and walkable, livable communities, is so impressive. She doesn't just talk about bike lanes. She doesn't just talk about transit. She has made it her life's mission to make sure that we do leave a cleaner community for our Rachels of this world.

Now, as you might imagine, we didn't agree on everything, but I could never question Laura's passion. Now, in 2020, when we lost Sabrina as our roomie, we then had to find a new roomie. And that was not an easy task because we wanted somebody that we could live with, and we chose Laura.

That was the best choice we could have made. Laura has been the best roomie. I have learned, not just this tough Legislator side, but who she is as a mother, as a woman, as a wife, as a friend. And I'm just so proud that she is my friend and my roomie.

There were times when we would say, hey, we need to make some home cooked meal. I volunteer. I'll make the meal, but I don't want to clean up. Laura was always, she always took care of washing the dishes, so I was willing to cook and bake anything. And whenever Rachel would come over, we'd bake together.

There was one time when Laura was driving around and, yeah, she's a thrift store queen. But she was driving around, and we'd been talking about making a cherry pie, and she came home with a flat of cherries. We then worked to pit them. Well, I worked to pit them. We made cherry pies, and they were the best. And if any of you got to taste them, you know what I'm talking about. She always says that she's not, she doesn't know how to cook. I can tell you if you've ever tried her meatloaf, it is the absolute best.

You haven't, Guillaume? No. I love Guillaume. When Frank and Guillaume sit at these conferences that Laura and I go to, they just sit on the side and say, our women. Our women. But now your woman is going to DC. That's going to be a separate trip altogether, Guillaume. And we're going to look.

We look forward to joining you there. On another note, I also learned from Laura the more serious side. I learned from her what it was being a Jewish representative in this body.

And we had long conversations about that and her commitment to who she is and the struggles of the Jewish community throughout the years and history and bringing us to where we are today. And I've developed a stronger love for who she is in that regard, having her share that serious side about her.

I can't wait to see what happens in Washington DC when you're there. But I know that you're going to bring not only your serious side, but you're also going to bring your fun side. And whoever your roomies are there, we're looking forward to meeting them as well, too. Thank you so much, roomie. We love you.

Assembly Member Friedman, you are recognized.

Thank you. This is really hard for me. I mean, I feel a little embarrassed right now, in a good way. And I didn't prepare, as you can see. I think I scribbled a few things here.

I didn't prepare for this because I think I'm really in denial about leaving this place, this place that I love so much and my colleagues, who I love so much. This being a Legislator, being an Assembly Member, has been the utmost honor of my entire life.

And every single day that I walk into this building, and I mean every day, every single time I see this building, I get a thrill still. I get a thrill.

I can't believe that I have gotten, for the past eight years, the chance to work in this building and to do the incredible, impactful work that we all do every day. And I hope that every single one of you knows that every vote that you cast, every decision you make, impacts people's lives really profoundly.

You know, I have tried over the years to really, to legislate through listening. Listening to all of you and your different experiences.

And each one of you brings an incredible amount of experience that I don't have and that none of your other colleagues have, but also to listen to the people who are so often voiceless, the people who don't have the lobbyists, the people who aren't able to raise their own voices to advocate for themselves.

And I try every time I make a decision to center those people because they are the most vulnerable. You know, people sometimes have an impression of Sacramento politicians as being a certain way.

And I always tell people when they bring this up that Sacramento politicians are people who care deeply about their communities, who try to make the decisions that they think are the best for their communities and for the people of California. I am proud to call each and every one of you my friend and my colleague.

And I want to thank all of you, and also the staff and the sergeants, for the welcome and the care that you give to me and to my family. You know, my husband, Guillaume, when I'm gone during the week, he's a single dad, and it's hard for him.

And when he gets lost walking around the building, when he's up here, those few times, everyone's so wonderful about guiding him back to the right place, and they understand what he's going through. And my daughter Rachel, when I was first elected, she walked down this aisle with a binky in her mouth.

She was three years old, and I had been campaigning for two years when she was a little baby. This is all she's ever known, and that's a huge burden on a child, to have her mommy gone during the week, you know, to see me when I'm home, out at events every single night.

That's so hard for you, Rachel. And I hope that you'll look back and recognize that this is a way that we give back and that you've been a huge part of that service that we've done, and that I do this with love for you every day and a concern for your future.

And you're with me even when you're home. You're with me every single day. I remember when she was about five years old, and I was taking her home from daycare, and she looked at me in the rearview mirror, and she was all mad. And I said, what are you mad about?

And she said, not all mommies go to Sacramento. And it occurred to me that she thought that everyone's mommy went to Sacramento and that she really got the short end of the stick in this life. But I hope that she'll come to appreciate maybe that she's gotten to be a part of something really, really special.

You know, we all, we take a lot of credit as legislators for the things that we do, but it's not just us. You know, we all, as legislators, have a huge army of people who make everything that we do possible.

And I want to take a second to thank them, because they are really the, you know, anything that I've done that you dislike is probably partially because of them, and certainly anything that I've done that you think is positive is really completely because of my staff. So, I want to name my present and my former staff.

This is going to be in order of how long they've been with the team. First, my chief, Allison Ruff Sherman. You know, one of the saddest things for me about going to Congress is that Allison's not coming with me.

And I have a deep sense of fear because this is a person who handles everything around all of our offices seamlessly. She is truly the staff whisperer and the Member whisperer. One of the calmest people I've ever met and just one of the kindest and most dedicated people I've ever met. Thank you, Allison, for being my friend.

Jim Metropolis, my Leg. Director. Again, anything you don't like, his fault, anything you do like, definitely his fault. He's one of the smartest people I've ever met in my life. Someone who's never been afraid to tell me, what is it you want to do?

I don't think we should do that, and I want to thank him for that. And then I'm just going to go down the list. I'd love to talk about each and every one, but I know that I'm going to get stopped by the pro tem.

Tiffany Morrison, the OG scheduler, Blake Dellinger, Serogeny Lawl, Seamus Garrity, Victoria Deglochlian, Gerald Mendoza, Julia Kingsley, Liliana Udang, Maria Azlazian, Isaiah King, Jennifer Guzman, Alondra Lopez, Christopher Chatterdor, Sebastian Aguiar Teniero, Jenny Chang, Sebastian Lozano, Diane Reyna, Carrie West, Amanda Faisal, Anthony Mahoude, Jay Gima.

You are all part of, you know, everything that we've done here, and I couldn't have done any of it without each and every one of you. I want to thank you all from the bottom of my heart. The sergeants, the incredible staff, the Members.

Thank you for making these last eight years some of the best years of my life.

Thank you, Assembly Member Friedman. And now to pay tribute to Assembly Member. Garcia, the first speaker is Assembly Member Ramos.

Thank you, Mister Speaker, and it's an honor to be able to speak on your behalf. My brother, Eduardo Garcia, who shows great tenacity in all the work that he has done here in the State Capitol. Eduardo has led several big bills on climate, housing, and Internet infrastructure. Eduardo started working with tribes back as a staff and student.

He worked at the Torres Martinez Indian Reservation, where he learned Kaweah language and was introduced to the traditional bird songs of our people. He has always taken a hands-on approach to all that he does, as in the state and as the mayor of Coachella.

He carried that work ethic here to the State Assembly where his legacy, his legacy will show he was involved with major important pieces of legislation and ballot initiatives that were on the November ballots to create a better California. He has stood side by side with California's first people.

He stood side by side on issues, issues early on in his life that brought awareness around a federal law called Public Law 280 that stripped California tribes of their true policing authority.

Eduardo, at an early age, was engaged with hands-on ethics as he seen tribal police pulled over by law enforcement in the State of California and arrested for impersonating law enforcement officers in the State of California.

Eduardo is a true champion that continues to move forward with the work ethic and the tenacity to move forward on these bills here in the State of California. We have come a long way, but we still have a long way to go. And Eduardo will continue to have a legacy in the State of California.

My brother, Eduardo Garcia, has said he was the Native American champion before my election, which is true. Eduardo worked on many pieces of legislation for tribal communities, and he has continued to stand for tribal issues on housing, water, equal rights, and the return of Native American remains. Eduardo does and has a wealth of knowledge.

And most important, my brother here has a passion, a passion to use that knowledge to lift up a voice in our communities that has not had the opportunity to be heard. Eduardo is that voice for so many of us in the State of California.

I want to thank you, my dear and close friend Eduardo Garcia, for your commitment to be that voice for the diversity of the State of California.

Assembly Member Cervantes, you are recognized.

Thank you, Mister Speaker and Members, it is my distinct honor to speak about our Assembly colleague from Coachella, my good friend, Eduardo Garcia. As many of you know, I grew up in the Coachella Valley and so Eddie and I go way back. In fact, Eddie became the first elected mayor of the City of Coachella.

In many ways, we are all lesser for the fact that Eddie will no longer be a Member of this House, a member of our legislature. Yes, Eddie is very proud to represent the Coachella Valley in Imperial County.

He shows it in the swag I think that most of us have, whether it's wearing a CV hat or a jersey, a t-shirt, or the new hair comb he's passing around. His tireless advocacy on behalf of the community is known to all of us.

He represents one of the geographically larger districts in the Assembly, so he has to do a lot of work to show up in the communities that he represents. It is no wonder that his hashtag of choice on social media is Garcia on the go. Very fitting.

And as part of those duties, Eddie has been such a force representing the many Native American tribes that call his district home. Our first people have such a strong advocate at our state capitol in you. But besides uplifting and amplifying the voice of the people who sent him here to Sacramento, Eddie is a legislative workhorse.

I would challenge any of you to find a Legislator whose body of legislative work surpasses what Eddie has achieved in his 10 years of service in the Legislature. In particular, Eddy has become one of our state's most stout leaders on environmental issues.

As many of you know, early in his service in the Legislature, he worked on a big piece of legislation with former senator Fran Pavley on SB 32, which extended the California's cap and trade program in 2016. That was the beginning of Eddie's storied career as an advocate for environmental justice in this Legislature.

From the park bond to his work on the Salton Sea, he has walked the walk. And it is no small feat that someone who comes from our Latino community has been able to take on that role.

I predict that one day, when historians compile a list of the great environmentalists, lawmakers that this Legislature has produced, Eduardo Garcia's name will be part of that pantheon, along with icons like Fran Pavley and Byron Scherr.

My friend, you have more than fulfilled your oath of office, and we are all better Members of this body because we've served with you. It has been such an honor to not only call you a friend, but it's been an honor to serve with you.

And I know that your wife Stephanie, and your children have also endured a lot with you traveling back and forth, but I know they're equally as proud because you've been one of the strongest voices that our community has ever had. So, thank you for fighting for us every single day.

We will miss you, but I know your work continues. Congratulations, my friend.

Thank you, Assembly Member Cervantes. Assembly Member Garcia, you are recognized.

Thank you, Mister Speaker and colleagues. I am touched by the words of our colleagues, and I appreciate the tentative attention to all of you as I give my thank yous, my appreciations, my gratitude to have had the opportunity to serve in this great institution. I'll start by recognizing the two individuals who have just spoken.

You know, James, a colleague from Highland, when he heard that I told some of you that I was the James Ramos before James Ramos got here championing tribal issues, you better believe I got a call from him very quickly, and it got out there fast. And I said, it's just a. That. But we are proud. We are.

We've learned a tremendous amount from the arrival of our colleague from Highland, who has shed light on many issues that our first people face. That I have been nothing but a student when it comes to how much our colleague from Highland has contributed to this body, to this institution.

Institution to build on the work that has been done way before anyone got to this Legislature. But truly, it's been an honor calling you a friend and a colleague. And thank you so much to a colleague from the Riverside area. I mean, what can I say? Your father has been a mentor. And when I.

He says to me, Sabrina is running for the Assembly. I need you to be there and look out and look after and be supportive. It was not, you know, I don't even know why he asked, to be honest with you.

It was just natural that we were going to be there and make sure that your arrival was one which you felt like you were at home, but at the same time hit the ground running to do the work of the people that sent you here.

A lot has been said about the work that we get to do up here. You know, we show up with a mission, with a vision of what we want to do. And circumstances bring us into certain dynamics and issues that come before us.

And before you know it, you are consumed by a specific area of work that you cling on to. And you recognize how significant it is, not just to the state, but you begin to kind of intersect it with the issues that impact our community, and you run with it.

You know, when I got to sit down in front of Jerry Brown, I told him the Salton Sea was a climate change issue. He scratched his head. What are you talking about? And I kind of broke it down to him in terms of the water, the air quality, what have you. And it clicked.

And since then, that issue has been front and Center for the State of California. Not because I brought this issue to you all and this is a project or an issue that's important to me, but because it's important to State of California in the context that we framed it in.

And that's just an example of how we've thread the needle on issues that are relevant to our border communities, from Calexico all the way down to the Palo Verde communities in the San Bernardino needles area to make sure that the issues that were important to the folks that we represent fell within the context of these larger policy conversations and so that we wouldn't leave those communities behind.

That's been the strategy. That's been the way that we've been able to fulfill two very basic principles that I tell our constituents back home. A Legislator's job is of course, serve the constituent services, but pass good policy and bring home the money. Pass good policy and bring home the money.

And I hope that our constituents feel that we've fulfilled that two very basic requirements of what our job is up here. Transition to thanking the team. And the first team that I think deserves recognition and, you know, tremendous amount of gratitude is Team Garcia.

And although we may think Team Garcia is our legislative team, our district team, Team Garcia is my mother, my father, my wife, my children, my mother-in-law, you know, Steve Brown, if you're listening, our neighbor and his wife who have been our core supporting cast that have allowed me to be here every Monday through Thursday for the last 10 years and not home where a lot of things have happened, a lot of things are going on and we just have not been there to be directly engaged and involved.

So, for that, I'm grateful that they've given me the opportunity to do what I'm passionate about and that's serve, legislate, build relationships, and try to make our communities a better place. So, to my Team Garcia at home, los quiero mucho, thank you for allowing me this opportunity to come up here for the last 10 years.

I know that there's been a lot that we've missed, a lot that's happened. But Garcia, hashtag Garcia's going home is now, you know, the new message. To the team here, Team Garcia, our capital team, our district team, you've all done an amazing job shepherding our ideas, our innovation. And we've done it together.

We've done it together and you've built your own trajectories in the district, here in the Capitol that you're all going to do great things. I would like to name them all, but I will miss someone, and they will be mad and then, you know, there goes this moment, right?

I want to, though, recognize the leader of the team who has been with us since day one. And the comments will be about him, but they're reflective of everybody on our legislative team in the district and here in the Capitol. Our Chief of Staff, Carlos Gonzalez, who's been with us since day one.

We were colleagues for our predecessor in the district office, making $32,000 as field reps, if he recalls. And we said to each other, hey, we're going to give this a shot. I said, and you're going to go up with me to Sacramento. And he says to me, well, what am I going to do up there?

I said, I don't know. I said, I always see assembly members and they always have a person right there next to them. And you can be that person. He said, well, what's my title going to be? I said, I don't know. We'll figure it out when we get there. We'll figure it out.

I said, and he's my witness. I said, you don't have a girlfriend, a boyfriend, you don't have kids, you're not married. I said, you're going to Sacramento with me, man. And he took the leap of faith and like the rest of the team, they took the leap of faith to work with us and go on this journey.

The work of our chief has been to build a team to keep everyone coordinating and collaborating. And he's done an amazing job. And I want to recognize him for his dedication to me, to us, to our community, to the State of California.

But again, it's reflective of every single person who has worked on our team to make our tenure here in the California State Legislature the most impactful one that we could possibly make it in the 10 years that we've been here. There are a lot of things that I will miss, a lot of you that I will miss.

There are a lot of things that we won't miss, like waking up at five in the morning every Monday morning to come here.

But I am truly excited for what lies ahead, not just here and the work that you all have moving forward, but also what lies ahead for us and the possibilities of continuing to collaborate and coordinate to make the State of California a great state.

On behalf of my family, the Garcias, on behalf of our team, the legislative team Garcia, thank you all. To the constituents who sent us here, I hope you have absolutely no regrets of giving us your vote of confidence five times to represent you here in this amazing place called the California State Legislature.

And just one more to the family, to my mother, to my wife, to kids, to our supporting cast. I can't thank you enough for putting up with us being gone for 10 years. I got here in 2014, you know, a little smaller, little kind of full of energy.

And I was carrying a six-month-old little girl sitting up in the front over there. And not once did I think that those days, those weeks, those months, and years would go by as fast as they have. And so, we've got some work to do and it's not in the Legislature anymore.

It's at home to catch up, to reintroduce ourselves, and say we're home. We're here to work. We're here to serve. And that's what our mission is moving forward. But I'll conclude with this.

It's been an honor serving with all of you and it's truly been a blessing to be able to call the California State Legislature and the California State Assembly my job, my work because it didn't feel like work to me.

We had a lot of fun and we had a lot of good things that came out of here thanks to all of your support and your help. Muchisimas gracias. Los quiero mucho. And at the end, Garcia on the go. Is Garcia's gonna go? Thank you again.

Thank you, Assembly Member Garcia. And now to honor Assembly Member Grayson. The first speaker is Assembly Member Low.

Thank you very much, Mister speaker and colleagues, for allowing me an opportunity to say very few words to Assembly Member Tim Grayson, who, by the way, his staff said, please. Very, very short. He doesn't like to be highlighted, but that shows his type of humility.

But for those of you who may not be as familiar, our dear friend Tim Grayson is a man of deep faith.

As a volunteer chaplain in the Police Department, as a former mayor of Concord and Council Member, I got to know him specifically as the past chair of the Lgbt legislative caucus, in which we were advancing a number of different issues and seeing that many in the evangelical community were opposed to some of the priorities of the Lgbt caucus, took intentionality, to build bridges, to be able to speak the type of language with those of deep faith who share in the love and basic humanity.

And my friend Tim Grayson helps us as a community, helped us as a state, build bridges, build collaboration from deep empathy and grace, understanding that there are different lived experiences, but yet, how can we come to commonality? How can we find common ground?

And of course, that was so instrumental to me and to so many that now lives in the legislation that we see as law and proposed this coming November as well. That is the character of Tim Grayson. A man of grace, empathy, and deep faith.

And of course, we most know him also as the chair of the Banking and Finance Committee, advancing and being ahead of his time, advancing laws on cryptocurrency and regulation, being active in the technology and innovation caucus, and actually, speaking of tech, permission to use a Prop, Mister speaker? Without objection.

Hey, Siri, which Member of the California State Legislature in the Assembly, during his period of time, prioritized housing support for first time responders, established first of its kind regulatory and banking protections, helped secure over $200 million through the budget process directly to his district and beyond, while also maintaining time to uplift the voices of the most vulnerable in advocating for those with special needs, supporting the Special Olympics, and while also doing so, finding time to keep his cool, and finding time to ride his motorcycle.

Okay, no, I'm not gonna do that with my hair. You get the point. Hey, Siri, who is that person?

It's Tim Grayson.

Our dear friend. We know that you've decided on your own to walk the red carpet, but please be reminded the carpet or the grass in that case is greener on this side. Thank you very much for your service. We look forward to seeing you on the other side.

Thank you Mister Low. Assembly Member Wilson, you are recognized.

Thank you, Mister speaker. Good morning Members. It is my honor to rise to give honor to the service of assemblymember Tim Grayson. I want to start by expressing my deep gratitude to Tim. Since I joined the Assembly, Tim has grown to become more than just a colleague. He's grown to be my friend.

We've been seatmates since the start of this session, my first full term. From these seats, we've encouraged one another, we've prayed for one another, we've laughed, we've even shared a tear or two. We've discussed Bill's. He's changed my mind. I've changed his.

In the most challenging season of my life, Tim was there to ensure my voice was heard on this floor. I will always be grateful to him for that. It is why, when I think of Tim, the words of Prophet Isaiah come to mind. A generous man devises generous things. It is out the abundance of his heart.

Tim is generous with his time, his talent and treasure. Our districts are neighbors, and it's been a privilege to work closely with Tim on issues that affect our communities. I've known him since my days as a local leader. It's been incredible to have a front row seat to the impact he's had, both locally and statewide.

While Tim Grayson's legislative achievements are numerous, what stands out most is how he has always led with unwavering integrity and a deep sense of purpose, putting the people of his district and California first in every decision. His selflessness and dedication to people have always shown through.

While Tim is leaving the Assembly, I'm excited that he's not going too far. I look forward to continuing to be his legislative neighbor and continuing our work together. His transition to the Senate will undoubtedly yield the same result. A great benefit to the people of California.

I'm eager to see all that he will accomplish in this next chapter. Tim, your leadership and friendship have meant so much to me and to everyone. Though we'll miss having you as part of the Assembly, we know you'll continue doing great things. Because the path of the just is like the shining sun that shines ever brighter.

Until the perfect day. Colleagues, join me in thanking Assemblymember Tim Grayson for his time on our green carpet.

Assemblymember Grayson, I sort of expect you to roar in here at this point.

That would have been nice. A good Harley ride is refreshing. I do thank my brother and sister in the Assembly here. And then also my. I want to give a special shout out to my twin sister, Blanca, or from Baldwin park, and she has been wonderful.

I thank God for the grace that he has given me to work in this place that sometimes seems impossible. However, the successes that I've experienced were made possible by some of the most extraordinary individuals, both from the district and from the capital side. And that is the tenacious, hardworking folks, hardest working I've ever known.

And that is team Grayson and staff from both the capitol and from the district. Smart they are. The work ethic is second to none, and they are truly masters at their field of expertise. And what they have done is made me, in many cases, look good.

And otherwise, if it was left up to me, it wouldn't have been the same image. And so I'm so thankful for the staff. But also while here, for the years that I've been here, my family has been able to make achievements that are far more worthy of praise than my work here.

For instance, my son has now become an active firefighter for Contra Costa County. My daughter, who was in high school when I got here, has graduated from UC Davis with her bachelor's and now is finishing up her masters of social work from USC.

And then, most notably, my wife has just finished her doctorate program in psychology with an emphasis in trauma for first responders. She does make me call her Doctor Grayson now. And, honey, would you pass the bread? Doctor Grayson? And so they, throughout all of that, they have extended, extended, unwavering support for me and my work here.

And then the constituents and their vote of confidence to continue to bring me back here is humbling beyond anything that I can measure or articulate and describe.

I do want to bring special note to leadership and thank Speaker Emeritus Anthony Rendon for his leadership here when I was here and given me opportunities otherwise, I would have not had. And then also to thank our current speaker, Speaker Rivas, for his extraordinary leadership as well.

And just a fine, fine example to be able to follow with that, I would also like to thank each and every one of you, each and every one of you, for blessing me and my life with your partnership, your friendship, and most of all, your patience.

Your patience in the sense of allowing me to continue to strive every day to become a better Legislator and first and foremost, to become a better person. So may God bless each and every one of you. Thank you.

Thank you, Assembly Member Grayson. And now to honor Assemblymember Holden, our first speaker will be Assemblymember Reyes.

Thank you, Mister speaker, Members, it is my absolute honor to rise today on behalf of my friend, Chris Holden. Since 2012, Chris has proudly represented what is now the 41st Assembly District with unwavering dedication to his constituents and to this Legislature. From the moment he entered the Assembly, Chris was eager to tackle major issues facing our state.

His work on dual enrollment has been transformative in the education space, creating opportunities for countless students to get a Head Start to their futures. His commitment to criminal justice reform and his relentless push for a more economical and cleaner California have left an indelible mark on our communities and set a high standard for public service.

Chris has had the chance to serve in several critical roles during his time in the Legislature, serving as then majority leader, appropriations chair, and chair to critical policies, critical policy committees like utilities and energy and communications and conveyance.

I had the privilege of working closely with him as a Member of the AB 901 conference Committee, which he co chaired. And we worked hard to address the utility liability crisis and began to address the wildfire issues that we continue to wrestle with today.

These leadership positions were impressive, and I believe he received them not just because he's crisp, but because he's trustworthy. He's good to his core and has always had his constituents and the people of California at the forefront of everything that he does. Chris embodies a true moral compass.

He has an exceptional ability to bring people together, fostering collaboration, and guiding us to focus on effective solutions. One of the greatest skills one can have is being a leader amongst leaders. Here we are. And I believe, Chris, that you have shown your rare ability to do that through a steady hand and a kind heart.

Now, on a personal note, we had the pleasure of going on a trip to Pakistan. And it was a wonderful trip. A very small delegation, and there were some political. There was political turmoil that you may have all heard about during that time just two years ago.

But we left with a blessing of our chief sergeant and everybody else. But while we were there, we had the privilege of meeting with then prime minister Sharif, but also former prime minister Khan. The political turmoil there, Melanie, you'll agree. Melanie, his wife, will agree that this was a difficult time. Right, babes?

And as we went through that, we accepted to speak at a press conference. I know. Why did we do it? We did it, right? But we did. We did. We did a press conference. And within minutes, we started receiving calls from chief sergeant and from everybody else saying, you're coming home now. And we did.

We packed up and left a day early. That was okay. We had a great experience. A great, great place to be during that time. Chris, I want to thank you for your outstanding service, your guidance and your friendship.

As you embark on this next chapter of your journey, know that your legacy of dedication and integrity will continue to inspire us all. I want to wish you the best of luck. I want you to know that we're all better for having met you. And I'm glad to call you my friend.

Members, please join me in a round of applause to Assembly Member Chris Holden.

Assembly Member Ting. You are recognized.

Thank you, Mister speaker. You know, when I think of Chris Holden, a couple words come to mind. Statesman, humble team player. You put the honorable into honorable. And I always think of you as Mister Pasadena. So I knew that if the Cal Bears ever went to the Rose bowl, you'd be the first person I would call.

I don't think that's ever going to happen in my lifetime for all of us bears. But we could all hope springs eternal. I think about who I would like during this 12 year journey.

Who I look up to as a Legislator, who I think about, who else is tackling the hardest issues in the state, who is also focused on their community. And of course, coming from Pasadena, that's always first and foremost what you think about and who you want to deliver.

So I remember in one of my first years as budget chair, when the state finally had a little bit of money and we finally were starting to consider doing Members requests, one of my favorite and earliest requests came from you for the Pasadena Playhouse.

And I remember that request, and I was scratching my head and it's like, why should we give money to this playhouse? Because we're going to get every playhouse request up and down the state. And he's like, well, this is not just any ordinary playhouse. This is the. This is the official state playhouse.

And I'm thinking, okay, it's the official state playhouse. How do we know that? He's like, well, I have, you know, Chris is like a magician. He pulls a rabbit out of his hat and says, here, I got, I got this resolution dedicating the Pasadena playhouse as the state's official playhouse. So if you think I'm.

You have the state's official playhouse, you're wrong. It's the Pasadena playhouse. So, of course we had to support the Pasadena Playhouse. It's the state's official's playhouse. And we absolutely have been honored to continue to support Pasadena. But on top of that, every year I remember Chris would be coming, as well as a lot of other Members.

But Chris would always be dogged about this, talking constantly about the gold line. And I know there's a number of gold line Members in this house, but it would absolutely be something that was top of mind, especially after LA got the Olympics. Like, we have to Fund this gold line. It's gotta be a major priority.

Of course, you know, Pasadena was well served already by a line, but he never forgot the other part of his eastern district that he knew he absolutely had to go take care of. Further out in San Bernardino.

When I think about you as a Legislator, I look at you and you are someone who's never shied away from tackling the toughest issues.

Our colleague from Colton kind of just talked about it, but you are someone who absolutely always was there at the most cutting edge, when there were issues that needed to be talked about, when there were issues that looked like they were impossible to go do.

Whether it's talking about some issues we've championed and we don't always get everything done, but you have pushed that discussion so that this body will be tackling those issues, whether it's on solitary confinement. I think about your impact on corporate boards.

What has happened now because of what your work has done on corporate boards, and making sure that we're diversifying not just this body, not just our government, but really how companies operate in this state. When I think about your dogged fight for youth in transportation, we are very lucky in San Francisco. We have youth transportation.

But for you, that was never enough. That's. You continue to fight for the developmental disabled community. That's something that you continue to push and constantly advocate for. And the list just goes on and on and on.

I can think about your fast food worker legislation, your advocacy for franchisees, whenever you would lift your mic and talk about your bills because end of session is kind of chaotic. But I'd sit here and I'd go, wow, that's a great Bill.

I'm glad somebody is doing it and I'm sure that 40 million Californians are really glad that you are doing it. Lastly, thank you for your friendship. I mean, it's been 12 years you've been one of those people that I know I've relied on for advice, for counsel, most importantly for support and friendship. That friendship doesn't end today.

Doesn't end ever. And I just want to tell you from the bottom of my heart, I just really, really appreciate that in just 12 phenomenal years of being able to hear, to serve with you. So with that, I ask again, all of us to congratulate and thank Chris Holden.

Thank you, Assemblymember Ting, Assemblymember Holden, your departing remarks.

Well, thank you to all of you, but a special thank you to Phil and Eloise. You delivered it just like I wrote it.

Let me just say that it is an honor, and that can never be understated in terms of what it means to stand on this floor and represent not only our district, but the entire State of California. But I could not do this job if it were not for Melanie.

If Melanie said, you know what, six years, you're done, then we may not have been able to do all of the other things that we were able to do, because I think, like all of you, we all know how important family is. This is a very important job, but it ain't that important.

And we represent people who rely on us to listen to them. And so I say thank you to all of my constituents in the 41st Assembly District. It was only through their willingness to punch the little number by my name and allow me to continue to serve. I've enjoyed it.

I have an amazing staff, and I have so many people after 12 years that I can call out. But let me just say for my Chief of Staff, Willie Armstrong, by calling you out, Willie, it's covering everybody. Kathryn Del Rosario, my district Director.

Thank you, Kathryn, and everyone that worked along with Katherine, because like many of you during the pandemic, this was an even tougher job, and it was the difficult staff that was fielding all of those calls.

And I cannot thank you enough for being responsive to these constituents that we call our neighbors and being able to respond to their needs and to address their issues in a timely way. I got to tell you, that's what helps us get reelected.

Boots on the ground, responding to those calls that come into the district office that don't have anything to do with writing a Bill, but making a call connecting constituents to where services are available to them that they're looking for. So I'm honored.

I'm honored that John Perez, Anthony Rendon, Tony Atkins, and Robert Rivas have been amazing speakers to be able to serve under. You know, this is a very important place that we are able to do the people's business. And I remember when I first came in, there was a chief Clerk named Dawson Wilson.

Now we have an amazing chief Clerk and Sue Parker. And when you look at her staff, you see California. But I remember Dotson telling me, he said, not just me, but all the Members who will remember that time. How privileged we should be to be in these seats.

3815 people have been Assembly Members in the history of California. That's a really small universe of people and a very exclusive group of people who have stepped into this very awesome job. And so I really appreciate all of you. I appreciate my brothers and sisters with the California Legislative Black Caucus.

Thank you for allowing me to serve as your chair in 2017 and 2018. It is a caucus that has a legacy of an amazing roll call of Members who are still serving in amazing ways today. Willie Brown, Nate Holden. You know, I can't tell those two apart, but I think one's tall, one's short.

But anyway, the fact of the matter is that it's a caucus that embraces legacy. And I've learned so much from being a part of them. And so, as this is, we still got time on the clock. We still got another week to power through the work of the people.

But I am truly humbled and honored to be able to call all of you friend. And I will leave you with one grace. You all come up here and we see you as our colleagues, but you also carry a lot of weight and responsibility.

And so you may not always come up here in the best of mood individually. We may not always like each other's bills. We may not like one aspect or another of. So there's things that create heaviness. There's pressures. Some you can talk about and some you cannot, but pressures nonetheless. And yet you're here powering through.

Give each other grace. Give the person standing at the podium the rostrum. Give them grace. Give your seatmate. Give them grace. Give the person on the other side of the aisle. Give them grace.

Because we're all here trying to do the best we can as human beings representing very diverse communities, almost so much so that it doesn't necessarily represent all of, of California. And that's real. We give you grace to represent the people you were elected to come here and serve.

So as you move forward, as we move forward, we're only caretakers. Honor this house and continue to serve with honor and distinction the people of this great state.

Thank you, Assembly Member Holden. We will now honor Assemblymember Jones Sawyer, starting with our first speaker, Assemblymember Bryan.

Thank you, Mister Speaker. Colleagues, sit tight. I got about 10 minutes and could go for significantly longer for our friend Reginald Byron Jones Sawyer Sr. Or Reggie five names, as some folks called him. Mister Bradford. You know, Reggie and I actually have a lot of differences. We're not supposed to love each other.

I eat my soul food at dueling's on Crenshaw. He goes to fixin's in LA live. I wear a blue flag for UCLA. He wears a red flag for USC. I didn't pledge Greek. And he is an unwaveringly proud capper with the cane to prove it and a shimmy if you ask him.

But the thing that brought Reggie and I close was a set of shared values, a commitment to justice. And I admired that from afar for a long time. When he fought for the youth development grants, reinvestment grants here in California, $50 million. I was in graduate school taking notes.

He might not remember this, but he actually used to come to UCLA every so often and teach students, and I was in those classrooms.

He was actually the first phone call I ever made when I thought about running for office, because I thought if there's somebody that I would have something in common with, it would be this man who's been fighting for justice for the last decade in the hardest Committee in this body.

I know we all believe the issues we face are the most challenging issues, but Reggie faced the most difficult, most politicized, most harmful issues of the state. As chair of our Public Safety Committee and the State of California owes you a debt of gratitude. I certainly do.

In spending time serving with Reggie, I got to learn a lot about what drove him, what drives him, what made him this way. I think it always starts with family and his uncle, a member of the Little Rock nine. My parents live in Little Rock.

When I go visit them, I drive by Central High School and I think of the history of integration and protest and legacy that our colleague comes from. On a personal level, Reggie has meant a lot to me and my family.

January of last year, we're out in south central somewhere, and he runs up to me and he takes his jacket off and he throws it over me. And I thought maybe he just thought I needed to get better tailored or something because, you know, Reggie's got suits. And I was like, I don't understand.

He's like, let me see you turn around in it. Stick your arms out. I'm like, this is goofy. I don't understand what you're doing. Two weeks later, it was my birthday, and Mara had two new suits for me, and she needed Reggie to find out my size.

When Mara's up here, if she's ever at events and I'm not around, the chair she goes to look for is the one next to Reggie. And that's because you have a spirit of kindness and joy and an infectious laugh. A lot of us are fun. Reggie is more fun.

And if you were a member of the Sheraton caucus, you knew that. You know that Reggie is fun. He's kind, he's humble, he's grateful, he's the best of South Central. It has been my privilege, it has been our privilege to serve alongside you. California is better because of your service. Thank you for letting me honor you today.

Thank you. Assemblymember Bryan. Assembly Member Bonta, you are recognized for your remarks.

Thank you. Speaker and Members, I am honored to be able to rise in honor of our wonderful Reginald Byron Jones Sawyer Sr, or Uncle Reggie, as my daughter calls him. I've known Reggie for 12 years.

I had the honor of being one of those people who would sit next to him while I was just a plus one and had the honor of serving with you for the last three. Was your biggest fan, and still am.

I got to see the work that you did, particularly in your seven years as the public safety chair and your several years as the chair of the Assembly budget Subcommitee. And all we need to say about that work is that you fundamentally changed the conversation in California about what justice means. And sometimes you did that alone.

Sometimes you had the courage to stand and rise and be the singular voice of reason when we wanted to and needed to hear what it meant to talk about rehabilitation and reentry and the balancing and support of victims, while also recognizing that we needed to end the legacy of mass incarceration.

And you took hits for that, hits that cost you politically, personally. And for that, we as a body should be incredibly grateful. The State of California will understand and know that legacy forever.

Now, you also had the good foresight to be able to usher in a whole new body of law around legalizing the cannabis industry, recognizing that in California we needed to seek equity in all aspects of our work and that shining a light and legalizing that industry would lead to equity for so many who were incarcerated and so many who have been deprived of being able to have the economic growth that they deserve in that industry.

And for that, you leave a legacy here in California. And there have also been some fun ones like the care and phone calls where people were using the 911 system to target innocent black and brown people, that is your legacy.

Now, most recently, you stepped up to the plate one more time to make sure that this state would be able to reconcile California's history and acknowledge its legacy of slavery.

You served for two years, two tireless years on the reparations task force, and that work, again will leave an indelible, unforgettable, undeniable legacy for the State of California, where we get to think about, through your authoring of legislation, a formal apology for slavery.

And that we will have a plaque displaying that apology for all to see permanently displayed in the Capitol building. Now, it might not be in the swing space on the fifth floor, but it will be here in the Capitol building.

You, sir, are a Legislator that has shown that a lawmaker is about being not only someone who passes laws, but someone who perseveres, someone who recognizes that we need to ensure that we are taking care of those who come after us.

And when I say those who come after us, I'm not talking about your incredible representation of your district, because that is true. I'm talking about us here. I'm talking about the fact that you or somebody who will take somebody out on the portico and say, stay true.

I'm talking about the fact that you are somebody who brings together the black caucus with your wisdom and your guidance. I'm talking about somebody who established the progressive caucus and made us the force that we are today. You, Mister Reginald Byron Jones Sawyer, are somebody that I hold very, very dear.

And I, like the rest of us, know that your steps here, your stylish steps here on the green carpet for the past 12 years have fundamentally changed the fabric of this institution in California. Thank you.

Thank you. Assemblymember Bonta. Assemblymember Jones Sawyer. You are recognized for your departing remarks.

So first I would like to thank my colleagues from Oakland and Los Angeles, especially since I wanted two individuals that after I leave, there will people who will continue things that I've started and then take it to the next level.

And so I wanted to make sure we had two people that represented everything that I've been working on for the last 12 years. And there's two things that probably one of the most important people in this building that have always meant to me is, which is my staff.

And there's two things that my staff said that I said to them that I'll tell you what I said at the end when I first got here, I have a staff member that's indicative that's representative of everybody, because I'm not going to name everyone, but that's Daysha Austin, who's been with me when I opened my office and probably with me when I closed my office.

But my staff is here in the back right now, and I think they're incredibly one of the most professional, the brightest, and the most able staff in this building.

And what I will ask you not to do is when they say that they are team Jones-Sawyer, and they will always be Team Jones-Sawyer, that just means they're loyal. That don't mean they may not be loyal to you, so don't.

When you think about hiring, some people understand that they're probably the most dedicated, most loyal people in this building, and I will stack them up against anyone else. Now, lately, people have been saying I've been a leader in public safety and some other things, and I never. I never wanted to be a leader.

It was my grandmother and my mother who saw something in me that I never did understand.

And when I was in school having a really, really, really good time, and I was flunking out of school, and they sat me down and told me that I should not squander this education, that I need to do things, it was my grandmother who I think saw that I would be on this floor one day in 1980.

I think she saw the future, a future that I-there's absolutely no way I would know that I would be here now. But those ladies didn't know. And he instilled in me that not only do I need to get here, but I need to do more than just be here.

When I first got elected, the three speakers that I spoke to, Brown, Wesson and Mayor Bass, they told me, don't be a backbencher. Don't go up there and just sit and go to the, go to the parties and look good and go to all the functions and the fundraisers. Do something significant. Don't be a backbencher.

And I work really hard every day to do something more significant than anyone else had ever been before because I stand on the shoulders of a lot of people. I literally stand on the shoulders of a lot of people. I'm having trouble standing now because of a new knee.

But I will tell you, there are a lot of people that you don't see in front of me that are standing in back of me that have held me up and propelled me, whether it was with the California Democratic Party and going from new Frontier Democratic Club, being President, pushing me up to be President, push me up to be the highest ranking African American in the Democratic Party. It was my SEIU brothers and sisters who had me be a Vice President in SEIU and I'm a manager in the City of LA.

So I was a part of a manager unit, not wanting to be part of union, but they taught me why it was so important. And SEIU has stood with me every step of the way in my progress, moving up.

Every member that you see in purple and gold have always propelled and pushed me forward. To my CLBC brothers and sisters who let me be chair for this body, who entrusted in me that we would do great things and be able to make sure that we represented all African Americans and made sure that we protect them.

As this state has not been always kind to us, to my progressive brothers and sisters who at a time where Lorena and I, Lorena was sitting right over there and someone said, you know, the mods don't let people know who they are. And we said, we're progressive. We don't give a damn.

We went around and took a every progressive's name on this floor and within a half hour we had 35 Members of this body sign their name on a document that said they were proud progressives.

And ever since then we've been able to stand up and let people know that we're in this building because it was at that time we were all just kind of scattered. To my public safety family and the people out there who have been pushing for changes in public safety.

Look, if you want to blame anybody for why I got so involved in public safety, you need to blame John Perez. Because when I got here I wanted to do real estate and be able to do things with our state real estate to create, generate revenue.

And I even have a slogan, M.O.R.E, Maximizing Our Real Estate. And I told John Perez, I want to be chair of sub four. And he told me I was going to be chair of sub five. And I said, "no, I want to be chair of sub four",

"You can be chair of sub nothing or you can be chair of sub five", that's John Perez and that's how I got involved. But it was Willie Brown who told me that no matter what you get, make the best of it. You know that thing about making lemonade out of lemons?

And so at that time, the judicial system was very punitive on a lot of people of color. Within this period of time.

We're now at a point where people don't want judges to actually make decisions on people because they think they're too lenient when in fact, we've created a whole system where people can now go to diversion programs and change their lives, but most important, get second chances.

That's all I did, and I did it through the budget, because someone like Willie Brown told me, you can do things in any Committee that you have more than anything else. And then finally, on my family, my son Evan was about this tall when I first got here.

Evan's like 6'3, and he couldn't be here today because he's in his last year. Senior year in college in Colorado. My daughter just became a principal, and my son is on his way to becoming a principal. I'm so proud of my children.

And if you know anything about when I started in here, it was two things I've always wanted to do to make sure at the time, had a son and a daughter. When I first had them, it was keep my daughter off the pole and keep my son off the pipe.

I've done an extremely good job at doing both. And if you don't understand that, that is South Central Los Angeles wisdom right there. Now, my son wants to be an engineer. But most important, I'm going to be extremely proud of the fact that I can take care of my family in ways that nobody will let it understand.

Are you still trying to catch up on the pole and the pipe? Huh? Say it one more time.

But also my partner life, Maria, who was with me when I first got elected and made sure that not only I could get here as I left at four or 5'oclock in the morning every Monday to come up here to do our legislation, but most important, to make sure things at home, as you all know, those of us that travel far to make sure that things at home were safe, sane and sound.

And so I owe her a greater gratitude to making sure that my home life when I got home was the one where I could serve here and do my full attention without worrying about what's going on at home. And so I am, like everybody else that you'll hear today, I'm extremely grateful for this opportunity to serve.

And as my grandmother and mother told me, you never know what the next step is. I don't know what the next step is.

Now, I told you two things that my staff told me just recently about when I first got elected and when I first got elected, they say I said I had two things, two things that I want to make sure happened that when I left here on my 12th year, it would get done.

You know what those two things were in 2012? They claimed that I said, and I don't remember. But you know what? I'm going to claim it, because they said, I said it, that Marijuana would be legal and that we would close a prison. And I think we've done both. Thank you.

Thank you. Assemblymember Jones-Sawyer.

We'll now honor Assembly Member Low, starting with our first speaker, Assembly Member Irwin.

Evan.

Assembly Member Irwin, you are now recognized for your remarks.

That's what I was waiting for. No, I'm just kidding. Well, as you've heard from so many folks that spoke today, we are really privileged to be serving in this body. We are really privileged to be serving constituents in our districts, and we are privileged that we get to pass bills that. That better the lives of Californians.

And, of course, often are modeled elsewhere throughout the state. This is an opportunity of a lifetime. But with the ups, meeting, all these great people being able to pass legislation, there's also the downs. We just had appropriations last week, and who knows what bills the Governor is going to veto?

And maybe you didn't get on the committee that you wanted. So, I would say that the most critical thing here in the Legislature is the relationships that you make and the friendships that you make along the way.

And it really is true gold when those friendships go beyond work and those friendships go beyond our time here in the State Legislature. I met Evan right after the primary in 2014. He was one of the ones that was sent to the one line, not the line where all the targets went. And so we.

We got to speak briefly there, but all those folks that were safely in their seats got put on a bus and had to drive through the State of California. Evan among them, Mister Holden also. And they came to Thousand Oaks and walked up and down the hills of Thousand Oaks to make sure that I was elected.

And funny, in that 2014 year, the only Democrat west of the Mississippi. And it's really because of the incredible work of all my colleagues here. And since.

Well, and then, of course, when we were sworn in, his mom and my mom were in line at the Sheraton, getting ready to go to swearing in, and they had a nice little conversation. And that was really the start of our friendship.

And since that time, my husband and I joke that I spend way more time with Evan than I do with him. And Phil Ting says he's like my work husband most days. It's.

We start with, well, back in the first few years, walking around the Capitol with the class of 2014, and did that three loops, and then construction started, and we've done spinning and pilates. We used to go to Body Pump with Mayor Gloria. And nowadays Evan picks me and Blanca up for Orange Theory.

And it always starts the same way. I'm complaining about a bill or a policy, and then he's like, woman, every time I pick you up, those birds are shitting on the car. Oh, excuse me. I didn't mean to say. So, that's how our days start. And often it's the crows. The crows over. Yeah, pooping, I meant.

And our day very often ends with, we're going out in the middle of nowhere to get a foot massage and dinner. So that's something that has really helped me get through. Evan is smart and kind and hardworking and generous, and he has a heart of gold. And he's always really embarrassed when I'm so direct.

And you can see that right here, he has more friends and more relationships than anybody I know. And that's because he works so hard at maintaining those relationships, constantly calling folks, checking in with them, making sure that he knows all the new senators.

And he's probably best friends with the florist, because I'm sure he sends everybody flowers on their birthday. As a former staffer, he has helped so many of us navigate so often when we're elected, we really don't know how things work here in the capitol. He's a very kind son.

He has taken both his mom and dad on vacations all over the world. He's a dedicated brother, and he cherishes and adores his boyfriend, Mark, who was sitting here a few moments ago. Oh, he's right there. I was. And he's made a big impact in the capitol, and I don't.

I know we could talk about bills and ballot measures, but I'll talk about a few other things that were also very impactful. He founded the Tech Caucus. There was no conversation with Silicon Valley here in California 10 years ago.

And as you see this year, with 50 bills on AIs, it has been really important to have those conversations, and he facilitated it. He also artfully balanced the different interests in BNP in his years as Chair of BNP. But I think, probably most importantly is his chairing of the API and LGBTQ Caucus.

He worked really hard to raise funds to increase representation up here in the Legislature, and I think that's just so important for Californians to see. This guy is so driven. I'm not sure how many of you know that he was 23. Most of our kids are graduating from college.

He was 23 when he was elected to the Campbell City Council. And in 2009, he was the youngest mayor, the youngest API mayor, and the youngest LGBT mayor in the entire country. And since he's been on that political radar, he has inspired so many LGBT kids, API kids, and just young people in general.

I can't tell you the number of interns that have come through my office and told me how they felt like they could get involved with politics because they saw Evan Low involved in politics, and that's down in Thousand Oaks. And they were most impressed that I actually knew him. You are an incredible role model.

In 2016, he was featured in the New Yorker magazine as the potential future bench of the Democratic Party. And he was. He was there with Stacey Abrams and Pete Buttigieg. So, we are still expecting great things from you. And I think it's extremely fitting that in when he was mayor of Campbell, Proposition Eight passed.

And now in his last year in the State Legislature, he is going to get rid of the last vestiges of that proposition. So, my friend, I am looking forward to seeing where your congressional career goes. I appreciate all your service to the people of California, to your district, but most of all, I appreciate your friendship.

Thank you, Assembly Member Irwin. Assembly Member Gipson, you are recognized.

Thank you very much, Madam Speaker and Members. I'm not sure what else I can add that hasn't already been said about my friend. First of all, let me say that I am indeed grateful and honored that you asked me to stand on this floor and say some words about you.

You see, many of you may not know that when elected in 2014 was not Evans and our first encounter. We've been knowing each other since we were both council Members. He in the City of Campbell, and I'm in the City of Carson.

I was elected in 2005 to the Carson City Council, and he was elected in 2006, being the youngest, not only mayor LGBTQ in the state in terms of elected office on the city level. But you've been a drum major.

Even in our days when we were youngsters in YEO, which stands for young elected officials, you were there making a difference, not knowing our paths. And I remember in 2013 where he called me, or I called him, I can't remember which one, Mark, but we called each other, and he said, guess what I'm doing?

I said, I got to tell you what I'm doing. And he said that I'm getting ready to run for the California State Assembly. And I said, I'm getting ready to run for the California State Assembly. Then we began to talk about, you know, our campaign consultants.

He said his campaign consultant was Josh Pilliam, and my campaign consultant was Josh Pilliam as well. So, our path was destined to connect over so many great things. But I never thought we were elected on this green carpet. Served and elected in 2014 to class 2014, that I thought that we would leave at the same time.

But destiny would have it to say that your commitment to your district, your commitment as a public servant, Evan, had to be shared with a larger district. And I've always said, speak those things as though they were, because I'm, you know, a church boy growing up. And he said, don't say that.

And I said, I'll speak it into existence, that I believe that your future is going to be brighter than it is right now. I remember colleagues back in. Back in 2018, a tough time. Evan doesn't carry small bills. He carried tough bills because his job was to make and change the trajectory this state before he leaves.

And you've done that. In 2018, he authored Assembly Bill 2943. 2943 he presented this bill in 42. The big bill, whatever room that was in the Capitol, 4200. It was about conversion therapy. He stood in that room. Hundreds of people lined up in opposition of your work, and he told the narrative that he had to experience it.

He wanted to make sure that no one else experienced what he went through, because he realized that he was not a mistake. Let me say that again. He realized that he was not a mistake. He was born to be the person he is today, in all of your greatness.

So, he stood there, and I watched it from my office. He took the bullets. He took the stripes. He took the criticism. He took the frowns and the death threats that went along with the job because he dared to stand up to making sure that no other boy or girl had to experience conversion therapy in this state.

That's what you did, man. You made a difference. And I could not sit in my office and just allow them to take darts. So, what did I do? I walked to that room, and I stood by him to let him know that you are not alone.

And when it was all over and we had the votes, and he walked out the side door, and he just broke down and cried. He broke down and cried. No one told us that this road would be easy, Evan, but we have to take it on, because that's our responsibility, is to fight for the least of these.

So now every young boy and girl never have to experience conversion therapy in the State of California because you lived, because you mattered, because you made a damn bit of difference in the lives of the people of the State of California. You did that. And I am convinced.

I am absolutely convinced that, one, you do this because, one, it's part of who you are, but also as part of you, is your family, which is your first ministry. I saw when everyone heard that your brother was in a situation as a police officer.

And I tried to call you as much as I could just to find out how he was doing, but also how you were doing. And then he finally texted me and said, I'm all right and my brother's all right and his partner is going to be better.

And you were able to just show your humility, but also your measure to never forgetting about your family. And so, my friend, as you leave this carpet and this building, you will go to another building and another carpet, and you will speak boldness and you will speak truth to power, even in Washington, DC.

And I know that you will. I know when I turn on the channel, the news, that somewhere on CNN, you will be speaking on behalf of the people you represent in Congress, speaking truth to power, trying to make sure that no one ever have to feel guilty who God created them to be.

But stand boldly because you dare to make a difference in the people's lives. And let me simply say this, the best is still yet to come.

Thank you, Assembly Member Gipson. Assembly Member Lowe, you are recognized for your departing remarks.

Thank you very much to our classmates, Miss Irwin and Mister Gibson. We all know that you come in together, strong with a class and you build those bonds and those relationships. And to my work wife, oftentimes people said the odd couple, like, what is that? That is such an odd couple.

When we show up to get a massage together, same room, couples room, we've actually done that before. You build meaningful relationships, and I always remember that very much. So, to Miss Irwin and Mister Gipson, thank you very much for your solidarity as classmates and coming in and going through these experiences together.

I also want to recognize my partner, Mark Bibera, who has also joined me here today. He is a pharmacist in oncology, dealing with cancer patients. And as many of you know, oftentimes when you're dealing with personal experiences, you come home, as you've heard before, ragged and just stressed out.

And of course, many times I'll come home and said, oh, my bill died and I'm stressed, I'm arguing. And I asked him, how was your day? And he replies, oh, I lost a patient today. And that's of course, very humbling experience to recognize. And of course, I immediately reply, I'll get dinner tonight.

But we all have our rock stars at the home as well and keeping us grounded and committed. And so, thank you very much for allowing me to see you, sometimes once every two weeks. But you provided the opportunity to be able to serve the people of the State of California.

I also want to thank; I see our capitol and district staff that are also here. My District Director, who has been with me since day one, an entire 10 years of the California State Legislature, Patrick Ahrens. You may be familiar with that name in the coming future.

And also, Gina Frisbee, my Chief of Staff, who has also been with me during the entire duration of this time in 10 years. My Chief of Staff and District Director, and my very capable team as well, in the Capitol and district. And thank you very much for your service and also coming here as well.

I also want to thank the desk staff and the sergeants and everyone that makes this institution run. And I can't tell you how appreciative and grateful I am every single time. As we all know, there are constituents that we bring up here, and it's their first time, and they're in awe of this institution.

And just imagine and capturing that moment in which they're walking on the carpet, opening up in this incredible palatial building, and they see their name on the reader board because David and the desk staff quickly puts it up. Do I have the right spelling, Mister Low? Is this exactly how you want to see it?

And that picture to them is golden. But we must not lose sight of what that means for everyday Californians, inspiring them and reminding them, that at California, we work for them, and that this institution is the people's house. But it's also about that feeling and sentiment. And so, thank you again for making all of the desk staff.

By the way, you have terrible poker faces, because I listen to floor speeches and I look at your faces too, and you're very human in that capacity.

Nonetheless, thank you very much for helping us run. To my Republican colleagues, as we think about what's going on in this week and in this period of time, we have an incredible opportunity to talk about what politics is like in the largest state Legislature in the country. We are a nation-state, the fifth-largest economy in the world.

And yet, when people ask me, what are Republicans like in the California State Legislature? And I would tell them the truth, they are kind individuals, well-intentioned, and the institution is set up as so we can agree to disagree. But also, you've opened up your hearts as well.

And I've visited you in your districts, broken bread, have lunch, learned about your children, what motivates you. I know that you have reciprocated in the best extent possible, as we sit on committees together, talking about various pieces of legislation. And I hope that we can continue to advance that at the federal level as well.

So let us be reminded about the importance of partnership over partisanship where possible. This concludes my 18th year working in the California State Legislature, two years as a Senate staffer, and now as a Member of the Legislature. And this is all possible because of the people that we work for, our constituents.

And so, to the people who I work for and represent, thank you very much for your commitment and allowing me the privilege and opportunity to serve the people of the State of California.

And in this capacity, of course, I've served as Chair of the API Asian Pacific Islander Legislative Caucus, in which members of the Asian American community typically don't get into politics. They are doctors or lawyers, and oftentimes in this capacity building on Asian American representation as lawyers.

And we are able to say, why just become a lawyer and interpret the law when you can actually make the law? And helping to getting more Asian Americans elected to public office.

And of course, within the LGBT community, understanding that there have been over 500 pieces of anti-LGBTQ legislative proposals across this country, and yet we are providing the blueprint of demonstrating love and humanity. And so, I conclude by saying this. While other states are making it harder to love, I've authored Proposition Three into the California Constitution.

Very cutesy. When other states are putting up barriers to voting, I chose to listen to young voters, empower them, give them voice, let them vote at 17 and a half. Very mindful, very considerate. While others are being. Hmm, what's the word? Weird.

By storming the Capitol, by supporting insurrectionists, I'm joined by colleagues who are working in getting people elected, turning protest energy into electoral energy, focused on what can be unburdened by what has been. Very demure. In closing, we don't all fall from a coconut tree. So, respect your staff, support your constituents, and love yourself. Brat.

Thank you, Assembly Member Low.

We'll now honor Assemblymember Maienschein, starting with our first speaker, Assembly Member Mccarty. Assemblymember Mccarty, you are recognized.

Thank you, Madam Speaker. It's my honor to get up and to recognize and to attribute. Our 12 year colleague in the State Assembly came as a new era of assemblymember and served with distinction and has been my seatmate for half of my term here five years. You're making me nervous. You're standing up? Yes.

Can you sit down for a little bit? And as my seatmate, we bicker a lot like Jackie and Evan. We're always in fights over here. This is just normal here. So Brian represents, I think, what we all strive to be, a leader who makes a difference but also has courage and conviction.

His votes, your record here and your journey. As many of you know, he came up here as a moderate Republican and he leaves as a moderate Democrat. But your values haven't changed. I told you, when you change parties, it's not going to be that complicated because your votes have always been the same.

Choice issues, environment, Lgbt issues, taxes, public safety. Most of your votes hadn't changed in your view. The party and the leadership had changed and made it something that you could not be with anymore. So you made some tough choices to change parties and it was hard on your family.

You got threats not just to take you out, but to take you out. And that wasn't easy, but you always took the tough votes here.

I remember when you were early on in your career, there was a really tough vote that Tony Atkins wanted to make this change on housing policy and have a fee to create a Fund to build affordable housing. The Bill was dead.

And you put up your mic and like, zero, my God, he's going to speak on this and vote like his career is over. People said no. You voted your convictions and the people back home trusted you. And when you became a Democrat, you asked the speaker, Rendon, to have me as your seatmate.

You're like, what could go wrong? My red button doesn't work. It barely works. And I'm supposed to advise you on what to do. But I always, I think, gave you good advice. And every once in a while, people came around with little vote cards, said, Maienschein, go up on my Bill.

And he'd say, there's all these other people here who aren't voting on it and they're not targets, and you're coming to me. And then he'd look over at me and he said, effort. He said, what's the right thing to do? I said, well, it's a tough vote. You know, I'm not sure if you'll back home, but.

And he'd more than likely make a tough choice because you said that it's more important than always coming back here. It's doing what you believe in.

So I met you about 10 years ago, and it was right after the legislative softball game, which by the way, he did win the MVP last night, the only three time mvp of the legislative softball game. He won at fair and square after the game about 10 years ago.

We were here the next day and I'm like, we should have a bipartisan team that plays in a city rec league with Republicans and Democrats. Isn't that a crazy idea? And you're like, no, let's do it. So the next year we did it. And it was amazing.

And to my younger colleagues, I will say that I had some Republicans on that team and I got votes for bills and I would have never gotten votes for bills because I hung out with people on the other side. And so we had this really fun run for five years.

We went out there and had the opportunity to play legislative softball. And we always cherish our bipartisan team. A game here we play over at Rayleigh Field. And so that's something that I'll always remember about you. But I know you have your daughters here with you, the Maienschein crew and your lovely wife Ellie.

And when I met you, your girls were younger and you were a single dad and you had to fly home, miss games and it was hard on you. And I saw it. And I'm a girl dad too. My life is much easier. I can walk home to my house in 35 minutes. I never have to miss games.

But you did. But you always made sure that you had their back. So I know that you are super well liked here. Everybody likes you. I know it was tough on some of your people across the aisle when you made that switch, but everybody respects you here.

And that's, I think the measures, long after we're gone, what are people going to think about you? People thought you were a good person. You left your mark. You wrote important bills, legal issues, public health issues, conservatorship reform. You made a difference. And public service has been your calling. You're not done.

You're going to go back home and serve yourself of San Diego as a city attorney representing the people, being the people's attorney for the second largest city in California. Continue to make a difference and make your family proud. Thank you.

Thank you. Mister Mccarty, Mister Ting, you are recognized.

Thank you Mister speaker. I'll piggyback off my colleague from Sacramento's comments. I mean I'm so glad to see your daughter's here. And just so you know, Taylor and Brenna, your dad is first and foremost a girl dad. Even before the three time mvp softball championship I kind of think he actually ran for the Assembly so he could play softball.

But it's just a secret suspicion, but I'm not sure. But first and foremost he was a girl dad. That was. He would give everything else out for that. His schedule revolved around your schedule as best he could. All his flights home.

I mean he'd always be the first one here on Thursday because he's trying to get to his 11:00 a.m. flight to San Diego because he wanted to get home to you. That was the priority. Most of the time that we would spend together in talking.

A lot of times colleagues get together, we talk bills, you talk about what's happening in the Capitol. I think when Brian and I, we together, it's almost always talking about family, talking about my girls, your girls, talking about really what's most important in our lives. And I think that was really what bonded us.

And Ellie, he is so thankful to be with you. I just want to tell you that he is, and that's the word he uses, thankful, gratitude. And this is, you know, this job is tough on a family. It is tough. But Brian always, he's got to come from the farthest, one of the farthest parts of the state.

But Brian always, always made it work. That was something, that was completely one of his priorities. He was, you know, as our colleague mentioned, he's a City Council Member, you're the first Commissioner on homelessness.

So when you got up here championing issues around medi Cal, really championing issues around human services, that was something that you led with, that was something that you really brought to your heart with. And going back to, I think what our colleague from Sacramento talked about, it takes incredible courage to stand up for what you believe in.

For me, I would say it's a little bit easier in my district. I think our colleague from Sacramento's district, we just keep hitting the green button. It's kind of, you know, that's what people at home kind of send us up here to do.

You have to think a lot more about the nuances, you have to think a lot more about how you're going to vote. San Diego has changed, you haven't changed at all, but the city has changed the politics and demographics have changed.

And when you made your decision to switch parties, even our Governor, I can't say what the Governor said exactly, but even our Governor said it showed a huge amount of guts. And I don't think that any of us can truly appreciate that, the kind of courage it takes.

I mean, you know, we heard about our colleague from Riverside. I remember that vote. I think a lot of people that night, we thought we were going to lose people. Their careers were ending. I'm sure that you debated long and hard.

You sat with your family, not just the four of you, but really everybody, your extended family, your parents, about how big.

It's not a small decision, it's a huge decision in the impact it would have on your life and the fact that you were able to do it, to go through it and come out of the other side.

And like our colleagues said, your votes didn't change, your policy positions didn't change, but somehow you had to go do this. And this was what you needed to do for yourself, for your staff, really, for your community. It's more courage than, frankly, I can imagine myself.

And so I have a huge amount of respect for you, for your ability to show your guts. I'm just very thankful also to call you a dear friend.

And the times that we have been able to spend together and really share and not really talk about what we're doing at work, but really just share about what's most important to us, really, which is going on, what's going on at home. So again, we know that you have bigger things to do.

I know San Diego can't wait to have you back. I know your family can't wait to have you back. I will miss you. It just means I'll have to make more trips down to San Diego. But again, thank you for the friendship.

Thank you. Mister Ting, Mister Maienschein. You are recognized.

Well, thank you very much. Thank you to my colleagues here today. And thank you to. To Mister Ting and Mister Mccarty for your very kind words. This has been a great experience. You know, every single time I walk out, walk into these, look at these columns, I think, I can't believe I'm here. I really can't.

I'm like, what am I doing here? I see my name up there and I'm still. I'm 12 years in. And still this morning when I looked up there, I'm like, wow, that's some Maienschein guy is here. That's cool. It's been such a tremendous honor. And I just want to make sure I don't forget things. I am feeling.

It's kind of all hitting me right now. But, you know, sometimes, you know, some people don't go through one tough election. I've been through three. It's a little bit of work to do that, and I'm proud of being able to do that.

I am proud that I did have the courage of my convictions and wondering where that was going to go and to see things that had changed around me that I didn't feel I could any longer be a part of and wanted to change. I want to thank all the people who stood by me right outside there.

And you guys remember that day, probably a lot of you, when you all stood by my side. I see the nods, how much that meant standing up there, not knowing what was going to happen next. I'm proud that I'm the first person that did change parties and get elected.

That's something that I'll always be able to carry with me. But it wouldn't have happened without the love and the support and the welcoming of so many people in this room. And I have that picture up. It will always be up.

And seeing the smiles on your faces and the welcoming that you gave me will never be forgotten. I want to thank my constituents, of course, who sent me up here, who wanted me to do the work, who didn't care that the letter changed next to my name.

But they wanted me to come up here because they felt they could trust me to vote for them. And I hope I've made them proud by doing that.

I think about the bills that I've done, a whole lot of areas that were important to me, whether it's mental health, homelessness, all those that we've gotten to get done and to do the work of the people of California.

I would be remiss, of course, if I didn't say how much I've loved helping to run legislative softball with my buddy. He's right. You know, it's funny. When I switched parties, they said, this is going to be very difficult, of course, and I didn't ask for anything.

When I switched parties, the only thing I did ask for is could I just pick who I sit by? And they said, okay. And then I said, Mister McCartye? And the speaker said, are you sure? And I was sure. And he did always have my back. You're right.

It was easy when he walked away to help him with the voting because his red button doesn't work. But he always advised me and was sound advice for me and sound friend. We do bicker periodically, that's true, but we're usually bickering over how we're going to try to advantage our team in the legislative softball game.

Been our most heated arguments where one of us have had to walk away before we'd say something we regret to one another. But that's been great fun here and it was great fun that we set up this softball league and a lot of us got to get out there and do something outside of here.

I want to thank my staff who's here and all my staff who've been with me since the beginning. I had great staff and this work wouldn't have gotten done. I want to recognize a couple people in particular.

A lot of people don't know where their best friend even is from when they were 12 years old, but I know where mine is and he's in the office next to mine. So thank you, Lance. While it's true Lance is my right hand man, Shana Ezell is my left handed woman.

I look forward to the next 25 years with Shana. I want to recognize Sarah, too, for Oe Landuras, for always having my back and all my great staff who are here in support.

I want to thank the San Diego contingent, Chris and Tasha and Aquila and David for making those airplane rides at least a little bit better and for the bonding that we've gotten to do at the airport as we raced home.

I look forward to now being able to call you up with Bill ideas and I hope you'll be responsive to those and all the friends that I've made here, all of you, you're all welcome in San Diego.

What I'm going to take away from this is all the great work that we've gotten to do together and all the time that we spend together up here, away from our families, away from our homes. I want to thank you for that, for making this, you know, you don't get to pick who you get elected with.

All 80 of us come from somewhere and we're all very different. I mean, look at us, right? But we, I've gotten to come together with, with you all and make these lifelong relationships. Will always remember the time that we had.

I know I will always remember the time that I have with each, each and every one of you. I did. I'm going to try to get through this. I started as a single dad and I'm ending with a wife. So I did pretty good, huh? I don't see anyone else here saying that. So I got you there.

But it's not just a wife. That it's Ellie. Your kindness, your decency, your strength. It's the best thing that's happened to me. So thank you. And to my girls. Not always easy being a single dad, but we did it together. It's been a great honor to be an Assembly Member, but the bigger honor is being your dad.

And I'm so grateful for the young women that you are, the characteristics that you have. And if I've done nothing else in my life, raising you has been the best thing that I've ever done. So thank you. Thank you all for this great honor.

Thank you. Assembly Member Maienschein. Majority Leader Aguiar-Curry, you are recognized for your procedural motion.

Good afternoon. The Senate has returned SB 552 and SB 1155 to the Assembly. I request unanimous consent to rescind the action whereby on August 152024 SB 552, Newman, and SB 115 Hurtado were read a third time, passed, and sent to the Senate. Please order the bills back to the third reading.

Without objection. Such shall be the order. Just a status update, folks. Here we have done 10 adjournments in memory. We have eight more to go, so we will now move on to tribute to Mister Mathis. First speaker is Mister Bryant. Mister Bryan. Maybe Mister Bryan might come back to the chamber, please.

In the absence of Mister Bryan, we'll move to Mister Flora, who is going to be Mister Mathis's second speaker.

Thank you. Mister speaker, it's my privilege to rise and present this eulogy to our colleague. As a young freshman, when I came in, there was a pretty big piece of legislation that our colleague semomir Cervantes referenced earlier. And it was a big Bill. It was a big Bill that took a lot of courage.

And for a young Member, there was a time that it was stressful, and you were kind of that stall worth that I could talk to when I was losing my mind about. The conversations were being had on just different events. But I've always appreciated about you. The other thing I want to just briefly mention as well.

Some woman Pellerin, when she came up here, has started championing mental health. A couple years ago, after she gave her speech, you opened up on this floor in a very different way than I've ever heard you talk about it before.

And I think the two of you have really highlighted a conversation that has needed to be done in a long time. And so I really appreciate. Appreciate your openness, your honesty. Though we haven't always agreed, and that's okay. It's called life, right? I mean, General Patton says everybody's agreeing and somebody's not thinking right.

But you and I have been always able to bounce things off of each other. And I've always appreciated your counsel. I've always appreciated you as a friend. And you have another skill set that nobody else on this floor has. You can take a 22nd conversation and turn it into 30 minutes better than anybody. Brother, I love you.

Look forward to whatever you got in the future. So God bless you, bud.

Thank you. Thank you Mister sending Member Gallagher, are you going to stand in for Mister Bryan and tribute to Mister Mathis?

Yeah. Thank you Mister speaker and Members. And it's an honor to be able to stand up for my colleague who we came in together, Assemblyman Mathis 2014 class. It was, you know, they didn't expect it right? And Devon was always really proud of the fact that they didn't expect him to be here, that he was the underdog.

And he will tell you, and it's true that he outworks just about anybody. And he loves actually being that underdog and defying those odds. And we've seen him do that here in the Legislature.

And I just want to highlight a lot of the work that he has done over the years, certainly on veterans issues, and standing up for our veterans, making sure they have the things they need, the resources they need, but also on the issues of mental health.

And we heard his speech last week, which was very touching and powerful. And there's been many times that Devin has connected in that way and really made our policy. He's brought it home to people and how it affects people.

He's also been a huge advocate for our rural parts of our state and ensuring that we get the investments and infrastructure that we need. So very, very proud to have served with him. I've heard his heart many times, you know, both just on one on one conversations, but also, you know, in committees.

And I think it's made a big difference here in this building. And so I see that my colleague here has just shown up. So I'm going to end here and just say, brother, Godspeed. Thank you for all that you've done for our caucus and the Member that you've been here.

And I know good things that come in the future. Thank you.

Mister Gallagher, Mister Bryan, you are recognized.

Thank you Mister speaker and colleagues. I promised I'd be quick, Devin, really, I just wanted you to get three speakers. The first person I met when I got on this floor was Mister Mathis. I was standing here during House of origin.

I had no staff, we were voting on hundreds of bills I had just won a special election and he was standing right next to me trying to get to know me. It was a terrible time to try to get to know me because I didn't know what I was doing. But I was really grateful for that outreach.

And the more I got to talk to Devin the more he reminded me of some Members of my own family. My brother served two tourists in Iraq.

So for our brother Mister Mathis coming in with a purple heart, a war hero, a millennial, a young guy, I've just greatly enjoyed your friendship and your collegiate spirit here on the floor. Serving with you in the natural resource space has been a joy.

Thank you for all that you've brought to this body and thank you for letting me honor you today.

Thank you. Mister Mathis. Bryan. Mister Mathis. You are recognized. You're killing me smalls.

There's so many things I think it goes back to.

Yeah. Being the underdog. When I first won, I wasn't the guy. 22,000 versus 280 beating the Congressman's District Director. I remember talking to my family, you know, and there's plenty of jokes, you know, I was at a family barbecue, but my family's like, dude, what are you doing? We are not one of those families.

And I was like, not yet. And for my family listed at home, you all know who you are, and you all know that you're all part of women's Republicans now, too. For me, this. Just this journey in life. I remember growing up just a dirt poor kid. Everybody at school got my name wrong.

It was Devon Matias from Isa Poros. I was like, no, it's Devon Mathis. Joined the military, got injured, came home. I was like, what do I do now? I started college in 2008 during the recession. And then we saw the droughts hit, and my hometown was the city without water.

And I was taken back because I was like, this is California. And when we think about it, we brag about it a lot. We're a nation state. We're the fifth most powerful economy on the planet. And I had friends with no water, third world conditions.

We had kids going to a church parking lot to take showers and brush their teeth here in this state. And we worked like hell to get that fixed with some of our colleagues from down south. I mean, this was.

We worked on this for three years to develop a grant loan program to develop everything to get water to people, not just in my district, but to make sure it would never happen again anywhere in our state.

As my hulk Hogan to my randy Savage, my buddy Heath Flora here mentioned a very big Bill that came up dealing with climate change, dealing with the green economy, dealing with, how do we make this work, not just across the state, but how do we make this work in rural communities like mine line?

How do we have this add up and make sense? And we worked on that. I remember getting phone calls from the Governor and being like, hey, when can you get up here? I want to talk to you. And being blown away, that little old me was being called. We've spent 10 years just looking at.

For me, the perspective has always been, what am I doing to help the other guys like me, the other people like me, my friends, my neighbors that are just in the struggle, that are working the job, that are trying to get by, that are trying to raise their kids, that are trying to do the best they can.

And we always said in my elections, people over politics, if you go back and you look at my races. And I won't bore you with the details, but there are many times where I stood against my own party on votes that I believe are right.

And I think history shows that they were right to stand up and go, what do we do to protect our local economy? What do we do to protect the valley? Because there are very, very few valley San Joaquin Valley Members here, and we have to work bipartisanly.

Many of you know, I'm a Kenneth Mattie alumni, and I'm thankful for that time and for the Mattie legacy of bipartisanship.

And I think that helped me along the way because I don't think I came up here, you know, and I said this, I think my first campaign, nobody goes to work and goes, hey, man, are you a Democrat or a Republican? Can I work with you? You just got to work to work to get the job done.

We live in a State of 40 million people, and there's 80 of us, and I'm just one guy. And I think for a lot of us leaving, it's the nostalgia. It's like my name's on that board. Like, God, why, out of all the people, why did you pick me to get here?

Because God knows you could have picked somebody else. And I'm thankful for that. And it's been a learning experience every step of the way. And I want to thank God. I want to thank my family. I want to thank my wife, my kids. My kids have sacrificed a lot. Missed games.

Everybody's like, why aren't you running for reelection, dude, you got one more. And I'm like, dude, I want to be home with my kids. I've missed enough games. I've missed enough dad time. It's time to shift gears. Doesn't mean I'm going away. I'll still be a pain in your butts. I'll still be around.

But if I can leave anything with all of you, it's don't get too caught up, especially in these election years in the party Kool Aid either way. I think one of the greatest things about this Assembly floor, and I was shocked by it when I first got elected, because we're so used to the talking heads.

A lot of them came from my district, my area. That the idea of Democrats and Republicans working together, it was like, okay, yeah, I learned this in college, but is this real?

And I want to thank each of you who has helped me get bills across the line, that has spent the time listening to me turn two minute talks into 30 minutes speeches. But it's important that we're able to have that camaraderie.

It's important for the public, for the state to realize that we can work together and tackle some of the strongest and hardest issues. And with that, I'm going to shut up and put my mic down. And thank you all, and thank everybody for the opportunity to serve with you.

And just encourage all of you to don't ever stop learning and don't ever think that just because it's this way, the lights on. He's probably trying to cut me off anyway.

Absolutely not.

No, I'm kidding. Come on, guys. But I also. I want to thank my staff, all the staff here. We've done some crazy bills. We've done a lot of things, and these people make it happen.

And it's, you know, one of the things that I always ask people when I bring them up here, I always ask them, why is the carpet green? And it's because we're the House of Commons, we're the commoners. We're the ones that are supposed to be closest with the public.

So remember that when you go home, remember that your job is back to the people. It's not to the party, it's to the people. And regardless of what party you are, if you're doing your job and representing the people, that's why we're here. So stick with that and you guys will do fine. Thank you.

Thank you, Mister Mathis. I'd like to recognize the majority leader for her motion.

Members hello, members. There are 14 bills with pending floor amendments that have approval of both caucuses to adopt by a single voice vote. I would ask the reading Clerk to read the bills with amendments and that we adopt those amendments by voice vote.

Clerk will read.

Senate Bill 898 with amendments by Assemblymember Aguiar Al-Curry. Assembly Bill 2656 with amendments by Assemblymember Ramos. Senate Bill 940 with amendments by Assemblymember Haney. Senate Bill 900 with amendments by Assemblymember Valencia. Senate Bill 1300 with amendments by Assemblymember Jackson. Senate Bill 1001 with amendments by Assemblymember Grayson. Senate Bill 1067 with amendments by Assemblymember Jackson. Senate Bill 1336 with amendments by Assemblymember Pacheco. Senate Bill 1053 with amendments by Assemblymember Bauer-Kahan. Senate Bill 963 with amendments by Assemblymember Wicks. Senate Bill 908 with amendments by Assemblymember Arambula.

Senate Bill 1184 with amendments by Assemblymember Maienschein. Senate Bill 819 with amendments by Assemblymember Flora, and Senate Bill 931 with amendments by Assemblymember Ramos.

All those in favor of adopting the amendments say aye, opposed say no. The ayes have it. The bills are out to print. Amendments are adopted. Bills are out to print and back on file. Just to note, we have four members who have, will be doing, will be doing their tributes next week.

So we will have, we will be moving on now to Mister Patterson, the first speaker for Mister Patterson will be Mister Gallagher.

All right, thank you Mister speaker, Members. It's an honor to be able to recognize the service of Assemblyman Jim Patterson. When I first came into the Assembly, class of 2014, as we were just talking about with Devin, I think we were one of the largest Republican classes at the time that had come in.

And I got to meet Jim Patterson for the first time. And it was a memorable conversation in which immediately, and Jim is very much has been this, I think throughout his tenure here has been someone who wants to help impart wisdom, who wants to leave things better than he came into them.

And I think has done that in every office that he has been in. As many of you know, he has a lot of experience in public service. But I can remember that first conversation where he talked about being happy warriors and it stuck with me for a long time.

And well, of course Jim has a great radio voice, everyone knows that. And obviously he's been in radio, but he has a very calm, his voice is very calming and it's very energetic.

And so he would talk and he would talk about how we need to become, you know, learn to be happy warriors in the way that Reagan was right. And it was something that always stuck with me as we started out our tenure here.

He was class of 2012, so he was part of the first class that had the 12 year terms and he is completing that 12 years. Not a whole lot of members that have done that. I know we have a few here that we're recognizing today, but that has served the full 12 years here in the Assembly.

And during that time, I think you've seen Jim, you've seen Jim be a champion for so many different things. One that, the first one that comes to mind is oversight and accountability in government.

And I think that came from being a big city mayor, from having been the Mayor of Fresno and his time there and saying, ensuring that government is working right for the people. When we say that we're doing things, how is that being spent? How is that being implemented?

His work on calling out, for example, the high speed rail and what was going on with that, it was huge. You know, that was a huge part of, I think calling that out and really holding people to account for what was going on, you know, with that project. And that continued in many other ways,

aspects where he was calling out EDD during COVID when we saw what EDD was not doing, how it was not serving people. The voice of Jim Patterson was very loud and clear in all of our oversight hearings, in all of his service. And he served on so many different committees in his time here.

The expertise that he has on energy, for instance, on water issues, on wildfire. And I think some of the greatest work that we did together was working so much to making sure that we had that funding to do the prevention, to get out there into our forests and do the wildfire prevention fuels reduction work.

Jim was a huge part of that, I think. But one of the biggest signature things that he brought to this Legislature, and I think you all are very familiar with it, was Gavin's law that he worked so hard to pass.

Had a few different attempts at it, but finally got that through this Legislature, ensuring that we had more penalties and accountability for those who had been involved with fatal hit and run accidents.

And this also led, as you know, to the yellow alerts, that now we have these yellow alerts so that people can be on notice when these terrible incidents occur, and we can bring accountability to those who carelessly and recklessly ruin people's lives.

It was Jim's foresight in 2023 that led to the allocation of over $7.5 million in state funding for fentanyl overdose prevention, a critical step in addressing, you know, this crisis. On transportation and infrastructure

You know, it's Jim's determination to improve public safety on our roads, where he secured full funding for a dangerous stretch of Highway 41, made a difference, you know, in his community, preventing further tragedies on this dangerous stretch of highway. And, of course, we've all heard his heart for adoption, and he's done a lot on that front.

And we've heard many of the stories, obviously, BJ, and his story has come up many times on this floor. But you hear that with Jim when he's talking about that and when he's talking about his children, the great pride that he takes.

And also, I think what you see is that Jim and Sharon, they've been a team throughout all this time, and when they couldn't have children initially and wanting that so badly for their marriage and for their family, and they persisted, and how adoption really made that happen for them. And you can hear the joy and

In his voice, and you can hear his heart for how you wanted to connect families and continue that. And again, not just in word but actually in action.

And working with local groups and community groups over the years, I also got to bring up, and I almost forgotten this would have been really bad is his commitment to the Developmentally Disabled Community.

And that came out of his work as a local mayor, as an Assemblyman, going and visiting these groups and spending time with them and seeing what was really needed. And him along with several members in this body, really being strong voices for ensuring that we got the vital and critical funding for the DD community.

You know, Jim has been a champion on that. I mean there's so many different things I could go through, but Jim's service has certainly, I think, left a mark on this body, on the State of California. And brother, it's been great to serve with you, to learn from you.

I've learned a lot from you and your experience, your wealth of experience that you brought to this table. And I think there's many that have benefited from that. And I'm thankful for Sharon. You know, who I know has just been a, you know, amazing wife who's, who's dealt with a whole lot, you know, 57 years. 57 years.

That's, you know, that's amazing, you know, and it's something that should be, you know, very much celebrated. He will, he keeps trying to sell me his boat because while he was here, he finally sold it. Okay, good. It is a great boat. And while he was here, he would stay on that boat.

Took us out a few times on the Sacramento river. And of course his love and passion of flying that he will continue in the next phase, the next phase of this life in the service of Jim Patterson. Thank you sir. Well done.

Thank you Mister Gallagher, Assemblymember Davies, you are recognized.

Thank you Mister speaker. members, I have the honor of recognizing our great colleague from Fresno, a semi Member Jim Patterson. Elected in 2012. Jim has been a source of knowledge and advice for a lot of the Members, not just in our caucus, but in this building.

Pulling back the curtain a little bit into the fun world of Republican caucus politics, you can always count on Jim to ask the fundamental questions of how will a certain policy affect Californians.

Like myself Jim served as a mayor of his beloved City of Fresno and I know I'm not alone in seeing the pride exude every time he talks about how his community he represents shaped his views. In caucus lunch, Jim is known as the voice of reason. If we need someone to give us the honest truth our caucus knows

the man from Fresno is the guide to go to. Here in the Legislature Jim has served as the Vice Chair of utilities and energy committees for a number of years and he will tell you one of the things he is most proud of is being a staunch defender and advocate for California's ratepayers.

If you look at the bills Jim has done, you can tell giving a voice to those who don't have one is his core focus of the measures he has done and gotten into law.

Whether it's helping human trafficked victims with AB 262, helping reduce deaths related to fentanyl with AB 2365 or making it easier for deaf individuals to be eligible for state programs with AB 1514, Jim puts together common sense policies that are truly meant to help the most vulnerable of our state. Flying is a longtime passion of Jim's.

He earned his private pilot's license in 1968. Since then he has logged nearly 1500 hours of flight time for business purposes as well as just for fun. He has flown a wide range of airplanes including a Cessna 210, the twin Bonanza, B 50 and the Citaba. I'm not sure if I'm saying that right. Citavri. There we go.

There you go. Seven GC AA. When I think about the emotional stories Jim tells us about his son BJ, you can see a twinkle in his eye about how proud he is of him and how far he has come.

Jim has spent most of his professional career as a businessman and Broadcast Executive, owning and operating radio stations in California and Idaho. Jim, we will miss you next session. It's just not going to be the same. I wish you all the best returning home to Fresno and spending time with your family.

You've left your mark not only in the Republican caucus but in the Legislature as well. God bless you and please don't be a stranger. We expect to see you back. And Mister speaker, I would like to yield my time to a man that always has something to say for us. Thank you.

Thank you Assemblymember Davies. Assembly Member Jim Patterson. You are recognized.

Thank you. Well, I haven't passed away yet, just no departure. So look. 12 years went like that. I can't believe that it's been 12 years. When I was first elected, my oldest grandson Noah brought him to the floor and I've got a delightful picture with he and his sister. He was that tall little guy. I called him Noah boy.

Well now I have to call him Noah man. He's that tall now. And he is in training now to be a commercial pilot. So we share aviation, the fun of it. And to have your grandson learning and enjoying something that his papa learned a long time ago and enjoys means the world to me.

It's drawing us closer all the time. I think, as I have thought about moving on, I want to leave you with a couple of, call it words of wisdom, if you will. We have to be careful about the motives that we bring.

It is so easy to be in this chamber with your name up there, to think more of you, than you do of why you're here and the people we serve. I have a pastor friend who's now on the coast. I think I might have mentioned this before, and he was an inspiration to me over the years.

And when he would go into a pulpit, he would have a plaque behind the pulpit that he could see when he entered it and to speak to the congregation. And it was, is this a grand performance or an act of love?

That is a reminder that, yes, we need to be good at what we do, but we don't do it alone. We're not going to get all puffed up in thinking that we can handle it all.

And I think that's an important thing, to be careful, not to let this building and being one of, what, 3500 people since 1849 that have served in the California Legislature. And so that keeps you focused. It also keeps you humble, and it reminds you of the reason you're here in the first place.

Our leader touched on a couple of things, and I want to touch on two of them. Obviously, adoption is close to our family. It is close to my heart. And I actually think I was put here for that purpose when I got elected the first time.

I was walking up the steps of the west side of the Capitol and there was a big adoption celebration. And I walked up to the person in charge, I handed him my card and I said, I'm an adoptive dad. I love what you're doing. Oh, we're glad you came.

We just lost the member who was an adoptive dad to lead the efforts of adoption legislation. Well, will you do it? Of course. And I was looking over the listing of the adoption legislation that we've done over the years. We had significant legislation in 2012, 2014, 2016, 2018. And what were we trying to do?

Make adoption less complicated, help make family formations much stronger, and rationalize adoption practice with adoption law. And it's been a joy, and I want to thank every member here. The other one of the things that, that I've been working on is human trafficking.

And I've mentioned this on the floor before, but I was Mayor of Fresno, had a Police Chief that really wanted to change the dynamic of sex trafficking on our streets in Fresno.

And they determined that they were going to use their arrest authority not to put the victim, who's been drugged and beaten and scared to death, in a county cell. No. What do they do in Fresno? They bring them to a safe house that is run by breaking the chains. And I've supported that organization.

That organization also led to the vacature Bill that was mentioned. I got to know several of the victims, and one of them, Ariel, had studied to be an EMT, got all the certifications, could not get a job because of her criminal record. And it took a long, long time to try to clear all of that.

Well, we passed a very good Bill that says you can petition the court. They have to act in 90 days to vacate. And these are. These are nonviolent, you know, I mean, victims were forced to do a lot of things, and it ends up on their record.

And with breaking the chains, I saw so many of these victims turning their lives around, moving in a new direction. And Ariel was one of them that touched me deeply. And she couldn't get a job because she had a record.

Well, today, many of the victims at breaking the chains, and we have found a number of lawyers in Fresno that are willing to pro bono their appeals, are actually getting free from that old life that has stopped them from the new life.

And as they have been released from those chains, they now have the opportunity of having a clear record. And part of the Bill also said that the courts had an obligation to notify that all of this has been vacated from the listing of places where they would bank and keep that.

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You know, I think part of what moves me with sex trafficked kids, with adoptive children, and with the fentanyl that was mentioned, $7.5 million going to Central California, Southern California, and Northern California for fentanyl overdose rescue teams. I'm very grateful for all the votes we asked for $3 million. The Governor gave us 7.5.

I think all of that stems from the fact that my three kids are adopted and why foster care kids and others touch me. I feel paternalistic to kids, fatherly to them, because I have three. And I tell each of them, you know, you're not my child biologically, but I love you as much as if you were.

And that's the God honest truth. Also, you know, I've often said I'm a man of faith, and, you know, I.

20 seconds.

6:8 is a particular significant verse that has guided me in my life through the broadcast years, through the mayor, years and up here, what does the lord require of you? To do justice, to love mercy and to walk humbly with God.

It's pretty good advice when you're in a place like this dealing with the complexities that we deal with. And like our leader said, Sharon's been a wonderful gift. We met at 16, married at 19, 57 years. I've been away from her and from my kids and grandkids too long.

I'm ready to come home and I'm joyfully looking forward to spending time with them that I spent up here. I don't regret it, but I'm glad to be going home and thank you for the opportunity of serving with you.

Moving now to our tribute for Assemblymember Reyes, Assemblymember Gipson will be the first speaker. You are recognized Mister Gipson.

Thank you very much Mister speaker. members, let me turn this way. I want to say to my colleague, Eloise Gomez Reyes, it was an honor for me to receive your phone call, realizing that you could have asked anyone among this floor to elevate your work,