Senate Floor

[Roll Call]

A quorum is present. Members, we're going to get started. Would you all rise along with our guests? Beyond the rail would be led to this morning in prayer by Sister Michelle Gorman. After which, please remain standing for the Pledge of Allegiance.

Let us pray in the presence of our God and each other. According to Vaclav Havel, hope is an orientation of the heart. It transcends the world that is immediately experienced and is anchored somewhere beyond its horizons. O God, in whom we hope, we ask your continued blessings on our efforts. To transform the lives of those who.

Look to us for leadership, justice and ongoing solutions to the challenges of our times. Give us the strength to accomplish the seemingly impossible with limited time, energy and resources. Help us to be especially sensitive to. To the needs of those on the margins, those who are vulnerable, those who are close to despair.

May all we do today engender hope in our communities. For as Harvey Milk once said, the. Important thing is not that we can. Live on hope alone. But that without it, life is not worth living. And so we continue to hope in your providence and in our ability to bring hope to many. Amen.

Please place your right hand over your heart. I pledge allegiance. Member, we'll be starting with some privileges of the floor. We have two special guests, two introductions today. Senator Niello. Senator, our introductions are going to be from the majority leader's desk. Senator Niello, the floor is yours.

Thank you, Madam President. This morning. Today we're going to recognize and celebrate excellence. The Jesuit High School cross country team state champions. They won the California Interscholastic Federation SAC Joaquin Boys Cross Country Section finals. Before capturing the state championship back in November. And. And this brings home the team's 10th state championship.

Finishing its season ranked 11 in the entire country. We have with us this morning the team and their coach, Isaac Abbott. Lucas Alberts, Chase Chessman, Drake Hoferer, Kyle Jackery, Raphael Jobson, Navin Cadell, Matthew Ogilvie, Ryan Tate. And also their coach, Walt Lang. Now, four of these young men ran in the five kilometer course.

And each of them ran and a sub five minute mile. Five kilometers is a little over three miles. For those of you that might be challenged with that measurement system, but anybody that runs sub five minutes for a mile, for multiple miles is indeed very impressive.

So their coach now, Walt Lang, has been the head coach of the Jesuit cross country team since 1971. Back when I was in grammar school. Just joking. But this year, this year, Coach Lang received the Joe Newton Award for lifetime achievement in cross country coaching.

And lifetime achievement as in he's been the recipient of numerous awards and honors throughout his coaching career, including the California Coach of the Year by the California Coaches Association in 1981, the National Cross Country Boys Coach of the Year by the National High School Coaches Association in 2010.

And he was bestowed with the CIF Model Coach Award in 20. He was a track star himself in high school as well as college, graduating from Loyola Marymount. So please join me in congratulating excellence on the part of cross country sports.

Senator, we have two other Members who'd like to speak on this item first, before we congratulate your guests, Senator Grove.

Thank you, Madam President. Today I rise in and want to congratulate this extraordinary team, Jesuit High School, for their 10 state championship for cross country, its dedicated leadership, talented coaches, and the exceptional young men. On this remarkable achievement, I can personally attest to the incredible dedication, perseverance of these athletes.

Seven days a week they put in the work. Logging 60 miles, training in the heat, braving the rain and pushing themselves to the limit, never giving up a minute to challenge themselves for their success. You may be wondering why a state Senator from Kern County is standing up and honoring a team from Sacramento.

Well, one of these individuals I have known for 13 years, you know him as Lucas Albers. But he will forever be known by me as Luki. He is my Chief of Staff's incredible, extraordinary, kind, brilliant, talented, hard working and dedicated to his mom and family son. And so I have a point of personal privilege.

I know you guys are all outstanding athletes, but my favorite is right there in the front row holding that resolution. So congratulations, Luki. All your hard work has paid off and you are part of an extraordinary team. Well, many students enjoy sleeping in during the summer months.

Often I would hear Lindsay tell me stories about how Lukie got up at 5 o'clock in the morning to go run the miles that he needed. And he told me that all of his team Members do that. You went before school, after school, you took on the challenges.

And that just shows the extraordinary perseverance that you have to be the great team. And carrying that trophy right there today. Beyond the athletic achievements, I also Know that you are required because I again have my Chief of Staff in my office.

That you are required to maintain a certain grade point average and none of you have failed. That you are academic achievement scholars. And that speaks speaks to a testament of your dedication to your higher education and where you want to go in your future. Most importantly, you embody Jesuits philosophy of being men for others.

These young men give back to their community through volunteer work and exemplify kindness, sportsmanship and unwavering support for their peers. Coach Walt Lang is a true legend in the running community. Which was said by my colleague from Sacramento. He's built a nationally recognized program. Program and stands among the best in the country.

Jesuits cross country program thrives under the strong leadership and unwavering support of the athletic Director, Hank Weinberger and the principal, Dr. Wood. Their dedication ensures that these student athletes have the resources and encouragement they need to excel. I never imagined, being from Kern, county, that you would ever take a title from the original Mcfarland runners.

Where Coach White and a lot of the original Mcfarland runners still reside in our community and have been an asset to the strength and resilience of our community in a small farming town called Mcfarland. But here we are today. So I say congratulations to all of you, the entire team, but especially my buddy Luky. Congratulations, my friend.

Thank you, Senator. Senator Ashby, you're recognized.

I can't fix that. Luke. I'm so sorry. You're going to have to live with that for the rest of your life. But clearly she thinks the world of you and that is wonderful. I want to tell my colleagues that Jesuit is a school that draws from the region. So it sits in Senator Nilo's district.

And he has a long and storied relationship with Jesuit. But I am certain that there are students probably in this group, but also at the school from not only my district, but from the center, from West Sacs district, from the Senator from Jackson's district, from the Senator from Bieber's district.

Because Jesuit is a school that pools from all around. And I am mom of a Christian brothers young man. So it pains me to say to you. Your Christian brother, Sue. Are you hiding blue underneath that Jesuit shirt? Congratulations. That's great. I like you better already.

I want to say congratulations so much to you and thank you for making the region look good. Thanks for standing out for your. The whole area. And we're very, very proud of you.

Senator Niello, we're going to kick it back to you. Or I can ask for the congratulations if you wish.

Clearly by the additional comments from the floor. This team is impressive, is a perfect example of excellence and fulfills the mission of Jesuit to excel and serve the community.

State Senate, please welcome and congratulate the champions. After Senator Niello takes his photo, I welcome any other Member who wishes to join the group photo. Jesuit, I want you to know that we're all wearing red for you today.

We'll be coming back to business in 30 seconds. All right, Members, we're back. We are now going to turn to Senator Ashby for her introduction.

Thank you, Madam President. I rise to recognize CASA Appreciation Day. CASA, of course, being the court appointed special advocates who play a significant role in the child welfare and juvenile justice system.

They are community volunteers who receive professional training and are committed to advocating for the rights and needs of children as they move through our juvenile justice system.

By working one on one with youth, Casa volunteers assess their needs, connect with families and loved ones, and most importantly, provide judges with well informed recommendations regarding the best interest of the children. CASA volunteers remain by the side of a child throughout the court process. Which of course can be scary for anyone of any age.

But imagine being in first grade and facing a judge. In 2023, more than 8,000 CASA volunteers supported over 11,000 children. Together, these volunteers contributed 380,000 hours towards accompanying youth through our judicial proceedings in California alone. Every day, Casa volunteers provide compassionate advocacy, ensuring that youth are heard and prioritized and that their best interests are represented in court.

I am very appreciative of the work that CASA volunteers do, as I am sure all of you are as well. Every day they ensure that youth feel supported. And it is my honor to introduce four individuals whose dedication and advocacy have made a lasting impact in the lives of youth here in California.

Standing with me here today are four leaders from California's Casa Association. Sharon Lawrence, who is the Chief Executive Officer. Connie Hoang, who is the Chief Philanthropy officer. Carol Noreen, the Executive Director and Kelly Donato, Associate Director. Also joining us today in the gallery are community advocates from Sacramento Placer and Yolo County Casa programs. Members, please join me in welcoming the court appointed special advocates to the California State Senate Floor.

A warm welcome to our CASA guests. Group photo if any Member wishes to join. All right. Messages from the Governor will be deemed read. Messages from the Assembly will be deemed read. Reports of Committee will be deemed read. Under motions and resolutions and notices, we have no business introduction and first reading of bills will be deemed read. Our meat of the day is consideration of the daily file.

We have file item Four under governor's appointment. Senator Laird is prepared. Secretary, please read. Secretary does not need to read anything. Senator Laird, please proceed.

Thank you. Thank you, Madam President. Final item 4 is the confirmation of Francisco Silva as a Member of the Health Facilities Financing Authority. He's the President and CEO of the California Primary Care Association. He was first appointed in 2020. He was approved by the Rules Committee on January 29th. I respectfully asked for an aye vote.

I see no mics up on this item. Secretary, please call the roll.

[Roll Call]

Okay. Ayes, 28, noes. A appointment is confirmed. Moving on to Senate, third reading. We have one item. Senator Laird is also in charge of this item. Secretary, please read.

Senate Concurrent Resolution 3 by Senator Laird relative to the Safe Drinking Water Act.

Thank you very much. Madam President. I rise today to present Senate Concurrent Resolution 3, which commemorates the 50th anniversary of the federal Safe Drinking Water Act. The act was signed into law in late 1974, making December 16, 2024 the 50th anniversary of this important act.

California has made significant progress since the enactment of the act to ensure that safe drinking water is accessible to Californians. And we remain steadfast in the commitment to enhance drinking water safety and accessibility across the state.

I know that in my district there are a couple of incidents, such as the grant to the City of Santa Cruz to improve the pipeline into the city and provide access. And we are working to protect the disadvantaged community of San Lucas in Monterey County, to make sure everybody in that community has safe drinking water.

The act is a basis for that. And so, While we celebrate 50 years and all we've achieved, we must remind be reminded that we still have work to do. We have a million Californians who are challenged with safe drinking water.

So this really deals with the fact that we're going to have to deal with microplastics, pfas, the impacts of climate change, and our work in drinking water. Is not finished. But we can celebrate great progress in the 50 years with that. I respectfully ask for an aye vote.

Any Member wishes to speak on this item, I'm seeing none. Secretary, please call the roll.

[Roll Call]

Ayes 33 No's 0. Resolution is adopted. Moving on to the special consent calendar, we have two items. Item 17 and 18. Would any Member wish to take an item off the consent calendar? I'm seeing none. Secretary, please read both items.

Assembly Concurrent Resolution 7. Assembly Concurrent Resolution 9.

Secretary, please call the roll on the first item.

[Roll Call]

[Roll Call]

Please call the absent Members.

[Roll Call]

We're going to call the absent Members one more time.

[Roll Call]

Ayes.

[Roll Call]

Ayes 37 No's 0. The consent calendar is adopted. Members, we're going to go back to motions and resolutions. This is our time for our aims, respectfully asking that all conversations be removed off the floor so that we can pay attention to our three members.

Colleagues, we're going to ask during this time that if you could take your conversations off the floor. Our pro tem is kicking us off with our adjourn in memories. Mr. Pro Tem.

Thank you so much, Madam President. I raised today to join in memory of former Assemblywoman Patty Berg. If you didn't know Assemblywoman Berg, you knew of her. She was a Tremendous force for progress, for doing good, and for change. And the Golden State, especially on the north coast.

You know, when Patty was first elected to the Assembly in 2002 her district covered a lot of the same territory that the Senate district I so proudly represent. And when you come up to our neck of the woods in the north coast, you can trace the imprints that she has left on countless communities and organizations.

She worked for the Humboldt County Health Department and helped develop the state's first comprehensive family life and sex education curriculum, which then became a national model. Patti was a staunch supporter of reproductive rights, and she never backed down, never backed down for expanded access for rural reproductive health care.

And when Patti was first elected to the Assembly, she made sure to move with purpose her entire tenure. While serving as chair of the Legislative Women's Caucus, she was a champion for working families. And one of Patty's most significant contributions for the Golden State was making sure that California's older adults felt seen, heard, and appreciated.

She had a landmark piece of legislation while she served the people of California, and that was her Death and Dignity Act, which allowed terminally ill patients to receive aid in dying. The new law laid groundwork for the End of Life Options Act, which was signed into law in 2015. And that's the thing with legends.

They're never truly gone. For years to come, Californians will continue to build off the legacy that Patty leaves behind. She's going to be deeply missed here in this building, up on the north coast, and her service and legacy will live on here in the Capitol.

Madam President, I would now like to turn it over to the Senator from Santa Cruz for his tribute.

Senator Laird.

Thank you very much. Madam President. I served the same six years as Patty Berg in the Assembly, and I really congratulate the pro tem for his comments. And I think if any of you knew Patty, it is hard to truly capture her spirit. She had just endless phrases.

Every time she saw my spouse, she would go: "Oh, sweet babe" And that he came to love for it. If you ever were doing something that she either didn't like or she really wanted to counsel you on, she would sit next to you on the floor and she would go, girlfriend. And then go right into it.

She was one of the best dressed Members of the Assembly. There was a time when we chose a speaker and somebody committed to her who they were voting for and then voted for somebody else. And her conversation with them, she would not let them go.

She would not let them move until they sort of copped that they had made a commitment and they had broken it. She was just right on it. It was said she really did. The precursor of the End of Life Options Act.

She was involved in the first master plan for aging in her county and brought that to the state. But as the pro tem knows, when you live five hours from the Capitol, it led to all these consequences. She would go to Sonoma for the weekend and come back here. Mendocino for the weekend and come back here.

There were times when she would not be home for three or four weeks because it was too far. And she might call and say, I need to talk to you. I'll be driving the next five hours. I'll be in cell reception this hour. I'll be out this hour. I'll be back in this hour. And catch me.

And it was a tribute to one time there was a flight periodically from San Francisco to Arcada. So she would fly from Sacramento to San Francisco, wait for the flight, catch it to Arcada, and what happened? The flight to Arcada was canceled and she was stuck in San Francisco.

And it is not appropriate on the Senate Floor to describe the comments she made when that happened. And the last thing I would say, and the pro tem mentioned it. She was so committed to equity for women in the legislature. When she was elected to the Assembly, I think there were 20 women out of 80.

She worked to endorse people, to engage after she left. She did trainings, she did support. She would reach out and ask people to run. She would support them while they ran. And I think it is so tough to lose her.

But the one good thing is she lived long enough to see what happened in this last election and to see that there was equity for women in this body. It was something that really mattered to her.

So it is sad to lose her, but is a pleasure to be able to talk about her because she was just a unique person, person that made a difference in the lives of people around her, her community and around the state. And she will truly be missed.

Thank you, Senator. Senator Niello, you're recognized.

Thank you, Madam President. I served with and got to know Patty Berg when I was in the Assembly, as my friend from Santa Cruz has articulated. And both he and our colleague from Healdsburg has have more than adequately described Patty Berg and her positive attributes.

From my personal perspective, she was just a friendly, smiling person and I just personally liked her a lot and I think everybody else did. Everybody else did. Also, I was not aware that she had passed away. I'm very saddened by that.

Thank you, Mr. Pro Tem. And to the other Senators who provided an extra story on the Member. And while the other House has forever memorialized her memory, please bring her name forward so that the Assembly Member may be memorialized in our house. Senator McNerney.

I thank the President. Senators, I rise today to adjourn in memory for a friend, Marty Cheek, who passed away suddenly on September 9, 2024 at the age of 57. Marty was a close friend.

His profession was journalism, but his love of storytelling and his desire for world peace and his plan, his detailed plan for world peace went way beyond anything that a reporter would do.

In 2008, Marty and I wrote a book called Clean Energy Nation, and it was actually translated into Chinese, Clean Energy Nation, in Chinese, that extolls the benefits of transitioning away from, as he put it, the tyranny of fossil fuels. Marty wrote most of the book.

I filled in some technical details and showed how things were done in Congress. But Marty made the book interesting by telling stories of big dreams, such as President Eisenhower's dream and the fulfillment of that dream in creating an interstate highway system.

He used the publisher's advance for the book to buy a statue of John Muir and donated that statue to the University of the Pacific in Stockton, California, which is my district.

After writing and publishing Clean Energy Nation, up until his untimely death, Marty would contact me from time to time to go over his plans and how we would implement world peace. And his enthusiasm was just absolutely infectious. You couldn't hardly help get behind Marty on these issues.

He worked for a newspaper, the Morgan Hill Times, but it was too constraining. He wanted to tell stories about positive things that were taking place in his beloved Morgan Hill. So he broke away from the newspaper and started a publication called Morgan Hill Life that focused on what was happening in and around Morgan Hill.

People responded to this, and Morgan Hill Life thrived. My wife Mary and I first met Marty at a large political rally with Bill Clinton in 2006. Morgan Hill was in my congressional district.

Marty spoke to Mary on the phone, and she told him to jump up and down and scream so that she could recognize him because we hadn't seen him before. Well, sure enough, at the rally, you could see somebody in the back with a hat on, jumping up and down, and it was clearly Marty.

We really hit it off. And he was always there for me, including what the Russian author Solzhenitsyn said; "A friend will argue" Marty was a valuable person. Thank you. And now I want to yield the floor to the Senator from Santa Cruz.

Senator Laird.

Thank you, Madam President. I appreciate the chance to comment because until last December, I represented Morgan Hill for 10 years, and I knew Marty very well. I'm surprised he had to be asked to jump up and down because that was in his DNA.

And he was everywhere he was, whether it was the Times or Morgan Hill life. He covered everything with gusto. He was at most events. And last, he wrote once a very long profile of me.

And I knew it was well read because everybody came up and was asking me questions about the esoteric things he got out of me to put into the profile. So I knew people were reading it. But when looking last night for the profile, what did I discover?

He wrote a column that was an open letter to me in 2022 asking me to commit to work with him to achieve world peace by Christmas Day, December 2040. So it is not a misrepresentation that he was committed to world peace. And I know that there are friends and family Members here.

I wish he was here because I don't know why he picked Christmas 2040. I would like to understand why that was the appropriate deadline for world peace. But he truly was in the fabric of the Morgan Hill community, and he will be missed.

Thank you, Senator. Please bring your dear friend's name forward so that we may properly memorialize him.

Right. And I'd like the Senate to recognize Marty's partner in crime, Lori Allen, in the galley.

Our condolences to your family, Senator Wiener.

Thank you very much, Madam President. Colleagues. Colleagues. It's with great sadness that I rise to ask that the Senate adjourn in memory of Dennis Kelly, the longtime President of United Education of San Francisco, who passed away in November at the age of 80. Dennis was a longtime high school English teacher.

He became very active in the labor movement, and he was a dedicated leader for decades at the local, state and national union levels for really about half a century, fighting for teachers for students and for public education generally.

He joined the San Francisco Federation of Teachers Executive board in 1971 and played a pivotal role in the 1989 merger with the San Francisco Educational Association, thus forming United Educators of San Francisco UESF. Dennis served as union secretary for 26 years and as President from 2003 to 2015.

He also served on the American Federation of Teacher Executive Council from 2008-16. Dennis championed many causes, including advocating for housing for San Francisco educators. Dennis had artistic talents as well. When people thought that Dennis was furiously taking notes during union meetings, more than likely he was actually capturing people's likenesses in strikingly accurate caricatures.

In retirement, Dennis continued to be a mentor for union Members and officers throughout the country. AFT assigned him during his retirement to help restructure the teachers union in Orange County, Florida. He remained a union historian and parliamentarian at California Federation of Teacher Convention.

Known for his strong leadership and his biting sense of humor, he will be remembered for his unwavering dedication to the labor movement, fierce commitment to justice for educators and students, and his lasting impact on California's labor movement and beyond. He is survived by his wife, Henny, and his children Edith and Nathaniel.

Please join me in adjourning the Senate in memory of Dennis Kelly.

Thank you, Senator Wiener, for sharing this story with us. Please bring Dennis's name forward so that the Senate may memorialize him under Committee announcement. Senator Wiener, we're going to turn it back to you.

Thank you, Madam President. Colleagues, the Budget and Fiscal Review Committee will commence promptly after adjournment of the Senate in room 1200 for an informational hearing on transportation funding.

If there is no other business, Senator Mcguire, the desk is clear.

Madam President. Very efficient today. My goodness. Thank you so much, Senators. Hope you have a wonderful weekend. The next floor session is scheduled for Monday, February 10th, Valentine's Day week next week, February 10th at 2pm

The Senate will be in recess until 3:30pm at which time the adjournment motion will be made. We will reconvene Monday, February 10th, 2025 at 2:00pm have a great weekend.