Senate Floor

Mr. Secretary, can you please call the roll?

[Roll Call]

Thank you, Mr. Secretary. Members, a quorum is present. I'm going to try to get through this without getting emotional. You know, before we to start today's session, I want to take a moment.

I think we all want to take a moment to acknowledge our friends, our family, neighbors who are being impacted by the horrific wildfires raging across Southern California even as we speak. You know, plain and simple, this has been a hellish week for the Golden State.

And words simply cannot express our absolute shock, horror and sorrow surrounding the devastation that we see day in and day out. You know, so many of us in these chambers have experienced wildfires that have decimated our communities, that have sent thousands of residents on the run and upended lives.

And so many of us in these chambers have rebuilt communities from the ground up. And this is exactly what we're going to do in LA County. I think the residents of LA County need to hear the State Senate loud and clear. We have your back and we're with you every step of the way during recovery.

We are with you every step of the way during rebuild. But first and foremost, we have to get these damn fires out. The State of California is working around the clock to fight these fires, deploying every available resource from every corner of this great state. And we're not stopping at our borders.

Hundreds of firefighters from across the west right now, right now are on the move and on the road to help us in one of our darkest times, just as we've done for them. Wildfire season after wildfire season. And you know what? This is who America is. Helping neighbors. Helping neighbors in our greatest time in need.

I think as a Senate, we need to express our deepest gratitude and appreciation to the thousands and thousands of firefighters, law enforcement personnel and first responders who are running into these fires. We owe them the greatest debt of gratitude.

Can we please give them a round of applause and say thank you for your service and thank you for protecting our communities. On behalf of the entire Senate, and in particular the Los Angeles County delegation, we want to say thank you to you, thank you to you for your leadership in these challenging times.

We want to send prayers to the impacted communities, the first responders, to all of those who have lost their homes, their schools, their places of worship and their business to this horrific firestorm. And I think that we can make this promise here today, like we've done before. We will get through this together. We're going to rebuild.

And in the meantime, we're going to come together for one another in this incredibly challenging time. Because that's when we. When we, as Californians, shine the brightest. Ladies and gentlemen in the gallery, I'm going to ask each of you to please stand.

To all those in the chambers who are sitting, I'm going to ask you to please stand. This is the official day of mourning for President Jimmy Carter. Here in the United States of America. The California State Senate comes together to be able to honor President Carter.

I'd like to be able to pause for a moment of silence in memory of his life and legacy. You know, President Carter led our country and his life with compassion and dignity. He was a Navy veteran, a farmer, and a loyal public service servant. What's more, he was a devoted husband and a loving father.

And after he left public office, he dedicated himself to working for our country through diplomacy and serving others. Through his humanitarian work President Carter leaves behind a legacy of kindness, a legacy of humility and peace. We are indebted to his service and are holding his family close in our hearts.

Ladies, gentlemen of the Senate and to all the guests, let us take a moment of silence for President Carter. Thank you. May his memory forever be a blessing. Ladies and gentlemen of the Senate and those in the gallery, gonna ask you to continue standing.

We're gonna be led in prayer this morning by our chaplain, Sister Michelle Gorman, after which, we're gonna ask you to continue to stand for our nation's Pledge of Allegiance. Sister.

So we gather in the presence of our God and in the presence of each other. From the book of Wisdom, Chapter 3. The souls of the just are in the hand of God. No torment shall touch them now.

Gracious and merciful God, on this day of mourning for President Jimmy Carter, we pray in gratitude for the witness of his life he lived with generosity, courage, integrity and joy. He loved his God and he loved his neighbor.

May each one of us honor his memory by taking inspiration from his dedication to all, regardless of race or creed. May we act courageously to continue his work for the good of humanity by encouraging love, mercy and justice in all that we do.

And may he now rest in your loving embrace, along with the love of his life. Rosalyn, we ask this in your name. Amen. And we will continue our prayers for those affected by the fires in Los Angeles.

Sister. Thank you. Members, please join us and the Pledge of Allegiance. I pledge. Senators, to all those in the gallery. Thank you. You may be seated. Give us 60 seconds as we're going to be transitioning to Senator Caballero as our presiding officer for the day.

Good morning, Members. We're going to continue with our business of the day, starting with privileges of the floor. Members, I'd like to direct your attention to the gallery. I'd like to introduce Supervisor from Madera, Leticia Gonzalez. If you could stand and wave. Thank you very much. We're very honored to have her here today. Rural counties are meeting.

So for those of you that represent rural counties, having our supervisors visit is a great honor. Senator Valladares, the floor is yours. You have an introduction as well?

Hello, colleagues. I'd just like to welcome some amazing community Members from the Acton area. The Baker family, small business owners with their children. Four children.

Welcome to the Senate chambers. We're honored to have you here. Members, we're going to move on to. Messages from the Governor will be deemed read. Messages from the Assembly will be deemed read. Reports of Committee will be deemed read. Motions, resolutions and notices. Are there any motions, resolutions or notices saying. None.

We'll move on to introduction and first reading of bills which will be deemed read. At this time, the regular session will stand in recess and the first extraordinary session will be convened.

The prayer and the pledge will be deemed complete and we'll move on to the next order of business which will be to take up SRX1 1 by Senator Wiener without reference to file. Senator Wiener is prepared. Secretary, please read

Senate Resolution 1 by Senator Wiener relative to the standing rules of the Senate for the 2025-26 first extraordinary session.

Senator, the floor is yours.

Thank you, Madam President. Colleagues, SR 1 will establish the Budget and Fiscal Review Committee as a standing Committee for the first extraordinary session to allow us to process the important legislation that is moving forward. I respectfully ask for an aye vote.

Very, very good Senate. Senator Jones.

Thank you, Madam President. Members, I rise in opposition to this resolution. This is an unnecessary and wasteful spending of valuable tax dollars. I'd like to ask my colleagues a pretty simple. What I think is a simple question. What's the difference between a California taxpayer and a federal taxpayer?

We're going to take this extraordinary effort to spend California tax dollars to sue the Federal Government. Well, I would Propose to you that they're the very same people. So we're going to waste California taxpayer money suing federal taxpayers who are the same people? This makes no sense to me. This is a tone deaf. We should be focusing.

Instead of focusing on suing the Administration that hasn't even done anything yet in the midst of a catastrophic wildfire in LA, we shouldn't be focusing on Trump proofing California. We should be focusing on fireproofing California. Keep in mind, the Trump Administration provided California with substantial aid the last time he was in office.

$18.5 billion for disasters. Now look, this President may say a lot of crazy things, but at the end of the day, his Administration helped California when we needed it most. The idea of using state resources, starting first with $25 million, but it'll be more to fight the Federal Government in California is crazy for sure. Using valuable tax dollars to pay private law firms over $1,600 an hour is extremely wasteful.

The whole special session is just a blank check for Newsom to run for President and Bonta to run for Governor. I urge you no vote on this resolution and let's get back to work for fixing California for all of Californians. Thank you.

Is there any further discussion or debate? Any further discussion or debate? Senator Wiener.

Thank you very much, Madam President. Just to be clear, this resolution is about forming the Budget and Fiscal Review Committee, not the special session. But given some of the comments that were made, I do just want to note a few things. I actually do think it's important for California to stand up for our values and for California residents.

If we, we have a new Administration that has vowed to, to target this state, to eliminate health care access, that has vowed to target the state around education funding, that has vowed to deport more than 1 million, more than 1 million California residents. So should we be prepared for that? Absolutely.

I also just want to say, yes, we did get disaster relief in the last Trump Administration, but we also know that he was prepared to withhold wildfire disaster relief from California to withhold it.

And that's what he wanted to do until he was informed that the geography of those particular fires impacted communities that had voted for Donald Trump. So then he released it. So we are dealing with a very dangerous situation for California. We need to be fully prepared. And I respectfully ask for an aye vote.

Madam Secretary, please call the roll. Mr. Secretary.

[Roll Call]

Please call the absent Members.

[Roll Call]

Ayes 24, no 9. The resolution is adopted. At this time, we'll move to motions and resolutions for Senator Gonzalez, who is recognized.

Thank you, Madam President. Members, I move the adoption of amendments for bills that cross the desk on Friday, Saturday and Sunday, January 10th, 11th and 12th, these amendments will be adopted and published. I respectfully ask for an aye vote.

So, Members, we're going to have some construction going on, so we'll have to talk loud so we can hear you. We want this building finished sometime in this decade. So, Senator Niello, the floor is yours. And our apologies, this was not orchestrated to start when you're going to speak.

Sure, sure. And can you promise us that it will be completed within this decade?

Now, that's another story.

I'm somewhat doubtful, but thank you. Madam President, question of the maker of the motion. Can you tell us which bills and what amendments are being contemplated?

Thank you, Ma.... Through the President at this time. This is a motion to be able to allow the amendments to move through through the weekend. This allows the process for the public to be able to see what the bills look like. And right now, the bills are being amended as appropriate to Senator Weiner's Bill, providing more capacity for the DOJ and providing more opportunity for local legal defense as well. But they're still being negotiated at this time.

And will any Members of the minority party be involved in those discussions?

You are involved in them now, so thank you very much.

This is something that I have said obviously many times before, and I could bring, I guess, a recording of past comments that might elevate above this background noise. But this is just another example of the opaque process that we have with. Regard to our budget process here now in the Senate.

When I was here before in the Assembly, it was a bit different. And so because of the lack of. Transparency, I urge a no vote.

Any further discussion or debate seeing none. Senator Gonzalez.

I want to thank again my colleague from the other side of the aisle. Again, this provides more transparency for allowing these bills and this motion to this Bill to be amended through the weekend. So with that I urge an aye vote

Senator Gonzalez urges an aye vote Senator Neal or Niello a no vote. Please call the roll.

[Roll Call]

Please call the absent Members.

[Roll Call]

Ayes. 24, nos. 9. The motion carries. There is no further business. The first extraordinary session will stand in recess upon call of the President pro Tempor and we will reconvene back into regular session. We're going to return to motions and resolutions at this time. If you could take your seats.

If you're standing, we're going to move on to the adjourn in memories. And we're going to start with Senator Ashby. And again, we're going to have to speak up because the noise will continue.

All right, thank you, colleagues and Madam President. I rise today to adjourn in memory of William Thomas Couch, who passed away in August. William, affectionately known as Tom by his friends and family, is the father of beloved Senate staff Member Sarah Couch, who serves as Chief of Staff to Senator Ochoa Bogh.

Sarah's father, Tom, was born on January 81948 in Merced, California, to his parents, John and Joanne. Tom pursued engineering studies at the University of Texas at Austin and completed his studies at Sacramento State, leading to a successful career as a structural engineer and later as an engineered Wood salesman.

Tom had a passion for blending work with joy, which included golfing across the country and nine annual snowmobiling trips to Yellowstone National Park. In 1972, Tom met Patty, and it was love at first sight. They were engaged two weeks later, married within three months, and went on to have four children. Together they built a beautiful life.

In his later years, Tom cherished spending time with his children and grandchildren and traveling with the love of his life. He often said, I have a great life and I would not change a thing. Yesterday would have been his 77th birthday. On behalf of the California State Senate, I offer my condolences to Tom's family.

His wife, Patty, his. His sister Joanne, his children, Michael, Lisa, John, and of course, Our very own Sarah and the grandchildren, Audrey, Ben, Julia, Zachary, Annabelle and Jack. Members, please join me in adjourning in his memory.

Please bring his name forward to the desk so that the Senate may appropriately memorialize him. And our condolences to the the family, Senator Cortese.

Thank you, Madam President. I'm asking that we adjourn in memory today for the Reverend Jethro Moore ii, somebody that most of the people in our community who knew him well referred to as Jeff. Jeff Moore, he was. To say he was a community advocate in the San Jose area would be a dramatic understatement.

And it's impossible in any kind of adjournment comments really to capture his work on the civil rights side in terms of education and any number of things that he made major changes in in our community. Although he was born in Norfolk, Virginia, he came to San Jose as a youth and lived in the neighborhood within a mile of my own house and went to the neighborhood high school, Silver Creek High School.

And I want to note, because he's probably listening, the Reverend, he was a lifelong Raiders fan and part of that was at the Silver Creek High School mascot was the Raiders. They wore the same uniforms and so on.

And of course, when that team, professional team was in Oakland, many, many people all the way through Santa Clara County were fans like Jeff. He went on to Evergreen Valley College, also in the same neighborhood, to get his Associate of Arts degree.

But then he went on to get his Bachelor of Science degree in Bible and Theology, Management and Ethics from the San Jose Christian College. He was a pastor of more than one congregation in the San Jose area and a good one, a dedicated one. He was also, during that time, during his adult life, a liaison.

And he held other roles on behalf or of as an employee of the east side Union High School District, which is a district, the largest High School District in Northern California, with about 25,000 students. I got to know him again there after our interactions at as youth playing pickup football games on the weekends.

I got to interact with him when I was a trustee of that school of that school district. Some years later. I got to know him even better when I joined the San Jose City Council because by that time Jeff had dedicated every other ounce of free time that he had to the San Jose's NAACP chapter.

He led it for decades, became the first Vice President of the California Hawaii Chapter of the NAACP. He helped keep our county and the wider Bay Area accountable for the historic injustices being repeated within our government systems, particularly a couple of recent accomplishments of his that really didn't. He didn't receive very much personal credit for.

Was making Santa Clara County the first county in the nation to adopt the paid Juneteenth holiday for its employees. And keep in mind, Santa Clara County had 25,000 employees and another 20, nearly 25,000 IHSS workers.

He came into my office one day as a county supervisor and put a big document on my desk, sat down for a moment and said, read this. I'm going to come back and ask you what you think of it later. That's how Jeff was. It didn't matter if you were his friend or not.

He was demanding in that way. And he did come back. And I hadn't read it yet. I had the best intentions. But that time he sat down at my desk and he questioned me as to why I didn't think it was important enough to pay attention to.

It was a document that argued that counties like ours should not have a box on employment applications that asked whether or not someone had a criminal record. Ban the box. And he said, this needs to be done now. You need to eliminate that.

And if somebody's in a sensitive area and they're accepted for a job, go ahead and run a background check. But you shouldn't be eliminating and screening people out. Most people in this room know about that issue.

Well, I told him we'd go to the Board of Supervisors, put it on the agenda, and I'm sure we can get it approved. But it was handled administratively as a result of his request. The county Executive said, I can change the applications right now. I don't need the Board of Supervisors approval.

A couple years later, Jeff was challenged. NAACP presidents are elected, of course, by their own Members. And he was challenged. One year he had an opponent walks into my office and he says, Dave, I need you to write me a letter to say some of the things I've done. I said, why?

He said, because I've never told people about ban the box. I've never gone back to any NAACP and taking credit for things like the Juneteenth holiday. That's the kind of person he was. Sort of a demanding person, but with this presence of humility all the time, where he kind of refused to take credit himself for things.

And I hope today is just an opportunity here, us representing in the Senate chambers, all the people in the State of California, to really give him a little bit of that credit that he never took for himself.

I was down in Los Angeles for the last California Hawaii NAACP chapter luncheon, which is an annual event he was there, of course, quietly in the background. I was one of the speakers on the agenda. And I made a note to self to make sure to acknowledge him. And I forgot. And it happens sometimes.

It just got off my script, got off my notes, was in a hurry and I walked out and I was looking for him, and he had already moved on to another room. And I said to myself, that's okay. I see Jeff all the time. I'll have many, many opportunities to acknowledge him. You know my old saying, the next time, I'll do it twice from the stage. Well, I never got to see him again. And it's heartbreaking to me.

Heartbreaking to a lot of people in Santa Clara County, including those that are Members of the Black Leadership Kitchen Cabinet in our county, those who served with him when he was a Member of the San Jose Public Safety Advisory Board, where he was fierce in terms of pursuing DWB issues, which were very problematic in our county and in the City of San Jose for a number of years.

And he succeeded in changing the rules. He was on a number of other boards and commissions. That's why I say it's be an understatement to say he was an advocate in our community. It's part of his family upbringing. And I want to emphasize that. His brother Rodney was also a great civil rights leader.

Served with me on a school board for some time, was an attorney, and then later headed up the Black Bar, as we call it, the National Bar. I know for Rodney this is a tremendous personal loss. The two grew up again playing sports together. You know, literally, I knew them.

I saw them right down the street, was fortunate enough to served professionally with them as colleagues or alongside of them later on. So the loss for their family is devastating, really devastating. Jeff was 66 years old. It was unexpected that we would lose him.

As I alluded to earlier, he's also survived by his wife, Audrey Hill, his two sons, one of them his namesake, Jeffrey Xeon Moore III and Josiah Javon Moore. I know all of our hearts go out to his family, including those who didn't get a chance to know him personally. Great loss for our community. And I'd ask the Senate to adjourn in his memory today.

Thank you, Senator. Please accept the Senate's condolences for a loss of a good friend and a community leader. If you could bring his name forward to the desk so that he can be appropriately memorialized. Senator Wiener.

Thank you, Madam President. Colleagues, it is with great sadness that I rise to ask that the Senate adjourn in memory of Dr. Louis Chi Wu, an entrepreneur and an advocate for education, Healthcare and community development who passed away at the age of 95. Dr. Lui was born in China and from childhood was marked by adversity and instability.

The Japanese occupation of Hong Kong during World War II disrupted his early education and forced him to grow up very quickly, taking on responsibilities to help his family survive. The challenging years of his adolescence instilled in him a drive and resourcefulness that later helped him become a successful entrepreneur.

Beyond his business achievements, Dr. Lui established a reputation as a global philanthropist committed to improving social mobility. In 2015, he established the LUI Che Woo Prize for World Civilization, a prestigious international award aimed at recognizing and rewarding individuals and organizations that contribute to the advancement of civilization civilization. The prize focuses on promoting positive energy, sustainable development and the enhancement of human welfare.

Through this initiative, he sought to inspire others to contribute to a more harmonious and sustainable world. Dr. Lui's philanthropy extended to educational institutions, healthcare organizations and community development. He donated generously to Stanford Medical center, other hospitals, cultural institutions in the Bay Area, reflecting his belief in the transformative power of education and health care.

His contributions have supported the construction of facilities, scholarships for students and research initiatives, leaving a lasting impact. Dr. Lui's Life was a testament to the idea that success is not merely measured by financial achievement achievements, but by the ability to give back and create change.

During the 1980s and 90s, he focused on the hotel business and property development. His companies partnered with internationally known hotel brands such as InterContinental, Marriott, Marriott, Sheridan, Hilton and others while training local management talent. He owned property and operating rights to nearly 20 hotels in the U.S.

making him one of the top 12 hotel owners in the country. I'd like to express my sympathies to Dr. Lui's family and particularly to my friends and constituents, Lawrence and Goretti. Louie, I ask that you join me in adjourning the Senate in his memory. Thank you.

Please bring his name forward to the desk so that he may be appropriately memorialized and express our condolences from the Senate. Senate Senator Seyarto.

Thank you, Madam President. Members, today I rise to ask that we adjourn in the memory of Adam Bouvet. He was a business owner and a pillar of his community and Murrieta and also a friend. Adam Bouvet was the co owner of the Mill Restaurant in Murrieta and the Bouvet Group at Exit Realty, both of which he worked alongside his wife, Tracy.

In addition to his business endeavors, he served as a board Member of Oak Grove Center for At Risk and Special youth needs, our special needs youths and a past board Member of the Murietta Wildemar Chamber of Commerce and Safe Family Justice Centers. He volunteered his time and services to countless community efforts and to the City of Murrieta.

Since the mill is located in downtown Murrieta, he was particularly passionate about ensuring its vitality. And one thing I can say about his restaurant is it's one of the first restaurants that was available to go to in Murrieta after we moved in and the city incorporated and that was in 1991.

Adam became a chef there and later on became a co owner and a few years later he married Tracy. And after he married Tracy, you could see that he really caught his stride and was making huge gains not just in the community and recognition for his own recognition, but he made strides in helping everybody with his success through his success.

So Adam tragically died in October of 2024 while he was visiting his daughter and grandchildren in Texas. And his wife was with him when he died and she described what happened and essentially a car veered out of control and was headed towards them as they were walking on the sidewalk.

And Adam was able to push his granddaughter, his great granddaughter, and I'm sorry, his daughter and great granddaughter out of the way along with his wife, but unfortunately was not able to get out of the way himself. He is survived by his wife, three children, seven grandchildren, his parents and two brothers.

Members, thank you for the opportunity to speak and I would like to ask that you please join me in adjourning in memory of a great Member of our community, Adam Bovet, and a beloved Member of my friends, my circle of friends. Thank you.

Senator, please accept our condolences for the loss of a good friend and if you could bring his name forward to the desk so that we can appropriately memorialize him, that would be great. Members, there are no further adjourned memories, but Members, there are rumors that the Jones family will be growing. Leader Jones. We hear there's some sleepless nights ahead.

President and Members Yes, Tuesday was a very exciting day in the Jones family, by extension of my wife's family also her grandmother, Dody Grant in Gibson's British Columbia celebrated her 104th birthday on Tuesday. And on that same very on that very Same day at 1:43, 1:45 in the afternoon, Vincent Peter Turner was welcomed into the world.

Our first grandchild and grandson. So our daughter and son in law are doing great. Baby is doing great. Eight pounds 11 ounces. He's one week overdue. So he's already showing his stubbornness and 21 and a half inches long. So thank you, Madam President. Thank you, Members. It's pretty cool. Thank you.

Congratulations. Congratulations. Well, congratulations from the Senate for both accomplishments. 104 years old is. Is incredible. So if there's no other business, Senator McGuire, the desk is clear.

Thank you so much, Madam President. To each of the Senators who represent LA County, thank you for your leadership. We're going to be thinking about you this weekend, thinking about the residents who are impacted by these devastating fires.

And again, I'll say it one more time, we have your back and we'll be working with you on recovery and rebuild in the weeks and months to come. And congratulations, Leader Jones. It's amazing news. My goodness. And beautiful pictures, by the way. So congrats.

The next floor session, Members, is scheduled for Monday, January 13th at 2:00pm Have a good weekend. Senate will recess until 3:00pm, 3:30pm, at which time the adjournment motion will be made. We will reconvene Monday, January 13,2025 at 2:00pm Have a good weekend, everybody.