Senate Standing Committee on Rules

Again, welcome to the Senate Rules Committee. I'm going to say it one more time. Do apologize about starting a bit late. Thank you all for your patience, and we're grateful that you're here with us today. This is the April 23rd edition. We're going to get us started. Madam Secretary, can you please call the roll?

[Roll Call]

Quorum has been established. Mr. Laird will be coming in from Committee, and we have some Members that are going to be going out to Committee. During this time, we're going to invite Madam Director to please come to the table. And, Madam Director, what we're going to need to do.

And to each of you who are here today and watching online, we're going to need to work through some of our administrative business today. It should take us just a few minutes, and we'll get straight to our agenda, which is Madam Director from the Department of Conservation.

What we're going to do is move forward on our housekeeping, our administrative items. First and foremost, we have three potential appointees from the Student Aid Commission. This is Governor. Appointees not required to appear. Items 2B through D. Is there a motion?

So moved, sir.

We have a motion by Madam Vice Chair. Discussion or debate? Last call for discussion or debate hearing. Seeing none. Madam Secretary, can you please call the roll?

[Roll Call]

Four votes. We're gonna keep that roll open and allow Senator Laird to be able to add on. We're now gonna be moving on to. To item number three. Reference of bills to Committee. Is there a motion?

We have a motion by Madam Vice Chair. We'd like to see if there's discussion or debate. Last call for discussion or debate hearing. Seeing no one rise, we are going to call the roll. Madam Secretary.

So moved.

[Roll Call]

4-0vote. That motion is on call. That item is on call. We're now going to be moving on to floor. Acknowledgments. Items 4 through 14. Senate Floor Acknowledgments. We'd like to see if there's a motion. We have a motion by Madam Vice Chair. We'd like to see if there's discussion or debate from Committee. Last call.

Discussion or debate from Committee. Mr. Laird. We're on floor. Acknowledgments. One of the most exciting parts of Today. Hot dam. There we go. Madam Secretary, can you please call the roll?

[Roll Call]

That's a 6-0 vote since you voted twice. I'm kidding. 5-0 vote. We're now going to close the roll.

We're going to do the budget. I see.

There we go. Exactly. Madam Secretary, what I'm going to do is before we go to Madam Director and I apologize. Why don't we close the roll? Our administrative items. We're going to go back to our administrative calendar here today. Let's start with Governor appointees. Current vote is 40. Madam Secretary, please call the absent Members.

[Roll Call]

5-0 vote. That motion passes for closing the item. We're now going to be moving on to Bill referrals. Current vote is 40 on Bill referrals. Current vote is 4-0. Madam Secretary, can you please call the absent Members?

[Roll Call]

50 vote. We're going to close the roll. Motion passes. All right, thank you so much, ladies and gentlemen, Committee and Madam Director, we want to welcome you to Senate Rules Committee. You have dedicated your life to state service and to the people of California. We're forever grateful for that.

It is wonderful to be able to have you in front of us here today on an expanded and much larger and impactful role. And it's pretty dang exciting. It's wonderful that you have a group of supporters who are here today. We'd like to just do a quick run of show about leading into your testimony.

About three minutes for your testimony. We'll give you a 30 second heads up as you get close to that three minutes during your testimony. We're going to invite you to be able to acknowledge any loved ones who are with you or watching online, any friends or family.

And then we're going to open it up for discussion and any debate from Committee. Madam Director, again, we are so appreciative that you're here. The floor is yours. You have three minutes for opening testimony.

Thank you. Good afternoon, Chair Mcguire, Vice Chair Grove. And esteemed Members, I am humbled to be here before you today. First, I would like to acknowledge my husband and colleagues who are here with me. My husband, Danny is here. My dear friend and mentor and our former state controller, Betty Yee is also here.

And my amazing colleagues at the Department of Conservation and others watching online. Unfortunately, my three kids, Noah, Emma and Harrison, could not be here today because of their school commitments. I want to thank Governor Newsom for appointing me to be Director of the Department.

I worked with Governor Newsom as then Lieutenant Governor for eight years at the State Lands Commission.

During my time leading the Commission staff, we prioritized climate resiliency, sustainable economic development, equitable and inclusive decision making, and collaborative partnerships in all areas of the Commission's work, including public land and resource management, oil and gas and geothermal development, and decommissioning the energy transition and environmental protection.

My experience at the Commission was not confined to just the Commission's specific jurisdiction. As Executive Officer for over 12 years, I served on the California Coastal Commission, the San Francisco Bay Conservation and Development Commission, the Baldwin Hills Conservancy Board, the San Joaquin River Conservancy Board, and the Lower American River Conservancy Advisory Board.

I am grateful for your consideration that my expertise and experience leading the Commission is now the right fit to lead the Department.

I've been at the Department for about four and a half months now and I am deeply impressed by the scope of our responsibilities and even more impressed by our team, their expertise, their thoughtfulness, their dedication and commitment to public service. I'm very honored and proud to be part of this team.

While I began my public service career over 25 years ago, my love of service actually started with my mom.

As a child and young adult, I watched her grow and dedicate her career at the Employment Development Department, helping high schoolers throughout the Bay Area get their first jobs and mentor and advise them on how to start and build their careers.

Upon reflection, public service, connecting with communities and families and believing in the future of California became part of my DNA. My professional journey started with the state in 1999 as an entry level analyst for the State Lands Commission. I ended up going to law school at night while working full time.

After graduating and passing the bar, I transferred to the Commission's legal division as attorney. I became Chief Counsel in 2010 and Executive Officer in 2012. During that time I was blessed with my three kids who are now a senior at SAC State, about ready to graduate, a high school junior and an eighth grader.

During that same decade, while raising my family, going to law school and growing in my career, I was also the caregiver to my parents who both had terminal diseases. My mom had brain cancer, my dad had early onset dementia.

Through these formative years, I shared a lived experience that instilled in me leadership, values of empathy, a grind mentality, work ethic, the ability to constantly reevaluate competing priorities based on changing circumstances, community connection and accountability and what it means to truly listen and seek to understand the unique experience every person has in finding common ground. Thank you.

And that is how I lead. I consider myself a servient leader. My job at the Department is to efficiently and effectively implement the laws the Legislature passes, advance the governor's policies and priorities, empower the expert doc team and be transparent and accountable on all of these efforts.

In closing, I want to extend my deepest gratitude for your time, energy and attention today. I know how incredibly busy you all are. I look forward to answering your questions to the best of my ability. Thank you.

Madam Director. Thank you so much. Grateful for that very personal testimony. And anytime we have Madam Comptroller in the House, it is always a good day. So it's wonderful to see you. Thank you so much. We'd like to be able to open it up for any questions, comments from the Committee at this time. We're going to start with Madam Vice Chair. Floor is yours.

Thank you, Mr. President. Since the former Secretary of Natural Resources is eating right now, I will take the lead. It's been a busy day. I'm sure he hasn't. I'm eating chocolate, he's eating a sandwich. Thank you. It was a pleasure to meet with you. I really appreciated your responses.

Obviously, because of the district I represent, I'm very leery of anybody at CALGEM and Department of Conservation. But I appreciate you spending time with me, I really do. I want to focus a little bit on the last announcement that Valero announced the restructure and cease refining in Benicia. PBF is hanging on by a thread.

Since 2020, we've lost over a quarter of our refinery capacity, which eliminates our supply or reduces our supply. And obviously when you have a lower supply, higher demand costs go up. I know that refineries are not right in your purview, but even though it's not like in CalGems, you guys focus on upstream.

I just am curious about what your thoughts are and if you have any solutions that might possibly be available that you've thought of. Again, I know it's not in your purview and if it's not something you're doing, that's fine. I just was curious if you had any thoughts on how we curtail that loss of our refinery capacity.

Thank you for that question. That is a critically important question to be asking at this time. And I am deeply concerned about what is happening within the entire oil and gas ecosystem. You are right to point out that conservation in CALGEM is really focused on upstream production. But.

And that is One critical part of the entire energy ecosystem. With that said, I am part of a, as Director of the Department of Conservation, part of a multi agency effort to better understand that entire ecosystem and really look at all the different aspects relating to our supply and demand as we move through towards our transition over the next couple of decades.

Towards that end, working extremely closely with Vice Chair Gunda, the Energy Commission, my counterparts at the Air Resources Board at the PUC under the leadership of Secretary Crowfoot and Secretary Garcia.

As part of that, I am laser focused on CalGEM's jurisdiction over the upstream portion of production, particularly working through our processes to ensure that we are as consistent and predictable and legally durable in the processing of those permits. It is well known that our permitting numbers have declined over time and there's multiple reasons for that.

But we are focused on becoming more efficient and effective in those processes. And that's one of my biggest priorities as Director.

Thank you. Representing the state's largest oil and gas county. Well, it used to be because we can't get permits. But in the nation, if you can bring back some type of predictability, we will give you a crown queen of calgem because that has not happened in almost a decade.

And there's no rhyme or reason why some permits are approved and some one are. When they're in the same field, on the same water aquifer, under the same seat, CEQA processes. It's just like one staff handled 1 and 1 staff handled the other.

So if you can bring back some type of consistency and predictability based on the legislative actions that are passed here, I realize that you're under that authority. That would be really, really good. Obviously you mentioned that oil and gas production has slowed because of the permits.

There were 84 oil permits issued last year approved drilling, NOI permits, drilling and from 2,664 in the previous year. Excuse me. Yes, when? No, actually a few years ago when Governor Newsom was reelected, so. But we are importing more fuel, more crude oil, which is going across our ecosystem. The supply chain is extended.

There's risk when it comes to ships bringing us, you know, oil from foreign countries. There's also risk because California is the fifth largest economy and our buying power is being used for, I'm going to say evil in the world when we support countries like Russia, Iraq, Iran and places like that.

And when you look at the ecosystem, California is the number one purchaser of Ecuadorian or Brazilian rainforest crude oil. And in the Central Valley, which I've invited you to and I hope you come, go ahead and comment. There is a huge difference. Like we don't have a rainforest, we're not invading, invading indigenous, you know, Indian territory.

We're not. There's all these things that, that we don't do and we do it very, very well. We capture our own gas, we use that gas in the projects that we have on the field so that we can provide our own fuel.

We have no open air flaming like they do in Iraq, which we decided in the 1950s in California that it was a cancer causing agent and we would not do it anymore. So we do it the best in the world, but yet we're punitively punished by policy.

And I do believe that CalGEM has the opportunity and has the responsibility of issuing permits and they just are not. It's like a lack of due process.

You go through the WellStar program, you submit your application and the law says in A code, section 5903, I think says that if you don't get a response within 10 days, then that well is deemed approved. But now the Calgem or the WellStar application will just send a notice thank you for your email or your submission.

And then they wait years for another communication. Do you have a solution or is it not within your purview? And I hope you get what that means that we are going to be able to produce more energy here instead of importing fuel from foreign countries that are hostile to us.

I think all the observations that you just reflected are really important conversations to be had. That is exactly the conversations that all of our state energy agencies are having through those roundtable discussions that I referenced earlier through the task force. What I can say and speak to is the permitting process under CalGEM's purview.

And I can't speak to all the examples that you laid out in terms of the delays. But what I can say is I am committed to ensuring that process is as transparent and as I said, consistent and predictable as possible moving forward.

And so I'm diving in pretty deep with our state oil and gas supervisor and our entire DOC leadership team to understand all the different elements associated with those process delays. Thank you.

And then. Just a comment, just a comment. And then I'll turn it back over to the chair. We have a pipeline problem that's going to affect pipeline workers, refinery problem that's going to protect, you know, that's going to hurt refinery workers.

Those refineries shutting down will hurt every single Californian who uses fuel to put gas in their car. It will not Only hurt us, but it will hurt New Mexico, Arizona and Nevada as well because we are the western region supplier for those states. So it will have a negative impact on those states as well as ours.

And again, representing Kern county have a solution. All those pipelines they originate in Kern to go to those refineries. If you could put fuel in those crude in those pipelines from Kern, you would solve that problem like that. Just saying.

Thank you so much, Madam Vice Chair. We're going to go to Senator Caballero, then Senator Laird. Thank you so much.

Thank you, Mr. Chair. Got to break up the fight over there. Let me just say that I'm really happy you're here. Thank you so much for taking on a big task. And let me just say that you're here with Madam Controller, then you're good.

In my book, as far as I'm concerned, your job is really to oversee and to regulate to a certain extent the extraction of materials in the state and then also to be a good steward of the land and everything else.

And so it's a balancing and I think that my colleague from Kern County exemplifies the kind of the challenges between an area that, that has been extracting oil and has good paying jobs, quite frankly, jobs that don't ask you what your background is, but will put you to work and you can earn a good salary.

Part of the challenge. I represent part of the Central Valley that grows substantial amount of agriculture and with declining water supplies and sigma, the area is going to be negatively affected. Somewhere between half a million to a million acres will be put out of production.

So what is happening really rapidly is the push to install solar energy on land that will necessarily not get water because of where it's located. And again, it's another extraction from the valley. There is no benefit in terms of lower energy costs to people living in the valley. The jobs are low wage temporary jobs.

The properties are being encircled by chain link fences, something that agriculture is prohibited from doing because it constrains wildlife corridors and has a negative impact on the environment. Yet, yet solar can do it. And it also is an immediate decrease in revenue to local government because ag land is taxed, property pays property tax and solar does not.

So when you look at the rate that the issues that are created, it's wildlife corridors are impacted significantly. If you go out and you take a look at some of the solar that's come in and I'm all for solar, but with a plan and no one has a plan.

Kern county has rapidly been installing solar and so they're the largest solar and the largest oil producing, which is interesting. And then it's a devaluation of the land in the Central Valley and the huge loss of jobs.

And so a big issue for me has been bringing in new technology that provides an opportunity to create a synergy between new technology that has the ability to create energy, create really good jobs, utilize solar as part of the circle.

And so one of the bills I worked on along with Senator Skinner is SB905, which is the carbon capture. That Bill required the creation of a, for lack of a better word, it's a partnership between a number of agencies to create the Geologic Carbon Sequestration Group.

And I wondered if you could tell us a little bit about the progress, because I've heard from CARB that they've had some issues with staffing because their BCP was not put in the budget right afterward. After. See, there are a lot of ways to kill something, right?

First is you don't like the Bill and you fight against it. And then when that ends up passing and the Governor signs it, you sigh and then you go after the budget. And so I think that's what happened to them. But I wondered if you could talk a little bit about that particular collaborative effort between the different entities that are part of it.

Yeah, certainly. Real quick. I just want to acknowledge the challenges and opportunities that you were reflecting on, particularly for the Central Valley, and the importance of really smart and intentional planning as well as balancing among competing priorities.

That's something that during my time at the State Lands Commission, through land and resource management, with a lot of different competing priorities coming before the mission, really teasing out and understanding what those competing priorities are and balancing them not just focused in on one resource protection or extraction, but the entire impact of land use decisions and resource decisions.

So everything that you reflected on really resonates with me in terms of the challenges and the opportunities in terms of SB905 and that work. That's a Bill that I worked on in terms of the implementation as part of the State Lands Commission and then as part of Conservation.

Now it's our California Geological Survey and our really expert geologists that are leading the working group to really understand the geological structures associated with carbon capture and sequestration and developing models in conjunction with other expertise experts to help inform CARB's and other agencies efforts on really building out those opportunities to ensure that we're doing it technologically correct as well as making sure that we understand the geological structures in a way that then helps inform safety of Communities and adjacent residences.

So that work is progressing really well and we hope to have some. Something deliverable along those lines later this year.

That's great. That's pretty. I'm glad to hear that because that's expeditious. And the other part that we're trying to get right is the pipeline safety because that's going to be really critically important to moving the carbon once it's captured. Right now we're moving it in trucks, and that's not the most environmentally protective way to do it.

It just doesn't work as well. One other question that I have is I had a. I guess let me start by saying by asking if you're familiar with land banking. I was told it was called land banking, but I haven't been able to track down exactly where it's located other than Fish and Wildlife, maybe.

I'm definitely not an expert on that. But yes, I've heard the concept. And it's. As with any labeling, it depends on how you define it.

Well, that's maybe what the problem is. So let me just say that I had the opportunity to go out to a ranching establishment in the foothills. And I want to say it was in Merced County, was fairly isolated. It was a large piece of land in the thousands of acres.

And what was unique about it is it was really. It's totally undeveloped is what it amounts to. They're running cattle on it, on parts of it. And the cattle are moved during the winter months because there are vernal pools, what they're trying to do there.

There was mining on it way back in the day, which in the 1800s. So there was stream bed alterations, which frankly, we don't want to come back, I think. But it's possible to mine there if the owner wanted to.

And there's land that has been subdivided closer to residential areas and has been subdivided for kind of mini mansion lots. And again, they're not interested in developing that unless there's nothing else they can do. In other words, they're trying to keep a majority of the land in a trust, a family trust. And they're looking.

They're looking at land banking as a mitigation for Caltrans. The bank would be Caltrans mitigation for work that they're doing. And according to them, they've got all the biological studies. But Fish and Wildlife has a quarter of a person working on this, the concept. And it's not really. They just don't.

Haven't been able to move it fast enough. And so the ranchers getting frustrated, but there's interest in other ranching establishments. In other words, this is how we keep from going all solar and creating economic opportunities that are a little bit different in rural California. So if you can answer that, fine. Now that's fine.

But I wanted to put that on your radar because I'm very familiar with the money that comes through the Affordable Housing Sustainable Communities Grant program, that. The SALT program. Senator, I was going to call you Secretary, but Senator Laird and I both sat on the Strategic Growth Council when that was all being developed.

And it's a blunt tool. It provides an easement for maybe 40 acres at a time. This is. We're talking 1,000 acres that would be kept permanently as long as there's a banking mechanism to continue using the proceeds of the money that's banked to support ranches that then can keep the natural environment in.

And those vernal pools are really incredible. We drove out in a vehicle, four wheeled vehicle. And it was. The area was beautiful and the kinds of wildlife that you saw out there was really incredible. Not very far from civilization, but really protected.

And they're frustrated because it's taken years and they're being asked to do a new biological study. And every time you do one of those, they're fairly expensive. Yeah, yeah.

I thank you for sharing that particular situation. I am hesitant to get in to opine on the specifics. I think that conservation has a number of different programs that would be worth exploring, including the Salk program. But I also heard some of the challenges associated with that.

So I commit to you that we will follow up with you in your office so we can dig in a little deeper with our experts at DOC to understand the entire situation and try to figure out a path forward.

Because in terms of the values and the priorities of keeping prime agricultural land in place for the future is something that is a significant priority for us.

That's great. I just want to do as well. Thank you for that. I appreciate it. A shout out to. A number of staff Members have gone to forums in the Central Valley where we've been talking about hydrogen carbon capture utilizing, creating biogas out of dairy digesters. And so I really want to commend.

I didn't realize that DOC was as involved as it was with with at least looking and exploring the possibilities of. Of alternative energy sources that are beneficial to the environment, beneficial to the economy, and then create opportunities to use land in a different way. So. So shout out to them. Thank you so much.

Thank you. I share that same impression of our experts. Yeah.

Excellent. Thank you, Mr. Chair, for that.

Thank you, Madam Senator. We're going to turn it over to Senator Laird, please.

Thank you. Yeah. The reason there was a kerfuffle over here that the one statistic that got left out, that was left out is if Kern county were a state, it would be the fourth largest oil producing state in the United States. She just didn't get all the way down the list. I really appreciated the chance to meet.

I appreciate your willingness to serve. It's always exciting when there's a former lifeguard from the San Luis Port district that's getting appointed to state office. That is a good thing. And I wanted to talk about some of the things that my colleagues have taken care of.

So I thought I'd sort of follow up on one and ask about another because on the. For Senator Caballero, it's. We are lucky. It was really small when we were there, but the Sustainable Ag Land Conservation Program is now up to 70 million a year and is doing tens of thousands of acres across the state. So.

And I was just going to ask, because you have a whole resource, whatever it's called, a land resources part of the Department. How's that working? How are you linking all these things? Because that was new compared to what's left of the Williamson act, having been there for decades. So how's that going and sound? All working together.

Yeah. Thank you for that question. That program of conservations, Conservation, the Division of Land and Resource Protection Division. In all honesty, I. I did not have a lot of visibility into that program before I started conservation. So my learning curve is pretty much straight up and down. But that is one program.

In terms of all the different grant administrative programs that we offer through dlrp.

That program is run incredibly efficiently and effectively with a really core value of customer service, the way that they connect with communities and potential grantees and walk through the different elements of how to apply for grants through that the various programs and really work with applicants, I think is a great model for the state.

And you're right to point out the significant progress of the Salk program. Also, the Multi Benefit Land Program grant program is also one that has been extremely successful. I was just in your district last Friday celebrating the Beach Ranch acquisition of which conservation through the Multi Benefit Land Program contributed.

The impact in terms of the size of the program, both in terms of the monies available and also the staff, the impact that they're having across the state, including through developing capacity in regional communities for wildfire prevention and resilience. It's pretty impressive.

And so like I said, I am just starting to crack the surface on all of those different grant programs. But I am just as impressed as you are. And I think especially through Prop 4 and how the Legislature decides to move forward with appropriation, there's a lot of opportunities to make a big difference.

And thanks for mentioning the Beach Ranch project because it's the mouth of the Pajaro river and actually there's a certain element of floodplain to it and it's just, you know, the alternative was taking ag land or doing that. And they figured out a way, in a great conservation way to do that.

Yeah, sorry I was out of state. The other thing I thought I'd ask about is the Surface Mining and Reclamation Act, Smara. And it is unique in that it's sort of decentralized and the local agencies. I suspect that former Supervisor Mcguire might have actually been part of an agency that was a lead.

So the state provides some General direction and sort of accountability, but it's really the locals that do it. And there were the reforms that sort of strengthened that and I've lost track five or six or so seven years ago. How's that going and what do you see your role sort of as the state lead on?

Yeah, you described the SMARA program and the implementation by the state very accurately. It is really focused on empowering local governments in terms of the regulation of the operation of surface mining. Department of Conservation. And I do have my Division Chief here in the.

In the audience, so I hope I don't say anything too out of line, but. And this is an area that I'm also have a pretty steep learning curve on in terms of smara. But we serve as a backstop in terms of enforcement and oversight and advice with local governments and operators.

And that in my opinion, based on what I know so far, is working fairly well. I think our team is a great resource for local governments and operators. I think there's going to be a lot of opportunity and challenges. SMARA is coming up on its 50th anniversary.

So like any law that's been in place for that length of time, it's always good to reevaluate and see what's working and what's not.

Particularly as we look towards what the states demands are for aggregate and other materials that are mined under smara, particularly as we're looking to rebuild Los Angeles and some of our affordable housing goals, there's going to be a lot of opportunities to make sure that we continue to improve on that effort.

Well, thank you. And I meant to mention that I worked with you a lot in your prior incarnation, and that gives me great comfort in supporting you, so.

Thanks for your willingness to serve.

Thank you.

Thank you so much to the Senators. Before we go to public comment, we'd like to be able to see if there's any additional comment, any discussion, seeing none. What we'd like to be able to do is open it up for those who would like to comment in support of Madam Director.

What we're going to do is we're going to start out with Madam Controller, and then what we'll do is have each and every one proceed. Madam Controller, we'll have two minutes, then we're going to respectfully request that others have 30 seconds. And if you don't mind, first and last name and organization.

Madam Controller, it is so wonderful to have you in Committee. Once a controller, always a controller, and do incredible work. And we're so grateful that you're in Committee, would spend so much time with us today.

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Thank you. Good afternoon, Mr. Chairman, Members, it's really an honor to be here and just provide some testimony and support of Director Lucchesi's confirmation. I, in my prior capacity as controller, certainly with Ms. Lucchesi on the State Lands Commission as its Member, alternating chair in every other year for eight years.

And I can tell you what you have before you and who you have before you is really not just a fine public servant, but someone who really has the state's interest at heart and at the end of the day, someone who truly wants to serve and make improvements in people's lives.

The questions I heard today among all of you with respect to the issues that affect some in your particular district, but really for the State of California is something that I witness Ms. Lucchesi really tackle as the Executive officer of the State Lands Commission.

The Commission, as you know, had broad jurisdiction with respect to the lands under our management and jurisdiction.

And it's really hard not to have really a broad expanse in terms of how we manage those lands and both economically as well as what is the most environmentally responsible and also as we're looking at the factors and the conditions and the mandates and directives that are certainly right in front of us that we're trying to achieve.

Ms. Lucchesi is a stakeholder driven leader and that's very rare to find in state government where someone is just willing to be out front to meet with stakeholders, to know that there are for any issue, there's an array of interests that need to come together.

And when I first joined the Commission, we did not have a strategic plan for the State Lands Commission, believe it or not, over the course of its history, it never developed a strategic plan, and that was our first order of business. And through that process, with Ms.

Lucchesi help and the Executive team there, the Commission really has been operating with a strategic plan that really marks the work of what the Commission does relative to its outreach. I think one of the hallmarks of Ms. Casey's leadership is her commitment to public education.

So much of what we do in government is just very little known, and yet it has tremendous impact to the public.

And so to be able to go out in the field, to meet with stakeholders, to understand that technical assistance is not sitting behind a desk and waiting for people to answer questions, but that we are proactive about how we share information, really makes a difference in terms of how we get cooperation, how we can really have faith in our collaborative efforts, and also be sure that we are ending up with the best product that we can in terms of how we move forward.

This is a very challenging area of what we're going to be tackling over the next few decades. Certainly, the oil transition is something that is going to have impact on almost every Californian, and for several of you here on this Committee, very personal to you and certainly to your constituents in your district.

But I can assure you that under Ms. Lucchesi leadership, nobody will be without a voice in this process. Not only will she be in your districts, but we will be sure that those interests are invited to the table so that we understand just what is at stake for them.

And I think oftentimes when we talk about these transitions, we tend to think that these happen overnight, but it is really an intensive beginning of a process of planning to understand what the intended and unintended consequences are, and to also really consult with some of the experts that are already in the field and not to let that go.

Many of the experts that are going to help us with the transition are in the oil and gas industry themselves.

And so to know that we can have those conversations with the experts about how we move forward, I think is what gives me just tremendous confidence that Director Lucchese is the right leader for this position for this time.

We miss her state lands, for sure, but everything that you are hearing from her, everything that I am telling you, I know it sounds too good to be true, but I'm here to tell you it's true.

You have a phenomenal leader who has been someone who's been effective, who has really never wavered in terms of engaging different constituencies, and more importantly, someone who is just always committed to keeping her word.

And I just wanted to say to all of you, I hope that you will take that under consideration as you consider her confirmation before the California State Senate. And I do respectfully request your confirmation recommendation. Thank you very much.

Thank you so much. And again, we are so appreciative of your time and thank you for being here today. Madam Controller, welcome.

Good afternoon. Erik Turner, on behalf of the California Construction and Industrial Materials Association, here to voice our support for the Director's appointment and would respectfully request her confirmation by the Committee today. And we look forward to working with the Department under her leadership. Thank you.

Good afternoon. Abigail Smet, representing the Land Trust of Santa Cruz County and the Conservation Fund today. We work primarily with the Department on the Conservation side of things and use programs like the Multi Benefit Land Repurposing Program and the Sustainable Agricultural Lands Conservation Program to make sure we're helping reach the state's climate goals like 30 by 30.

And we are here to strongly support the appointment of the Director today and look forward to working with her in the future.

Santa Cruz in the House. Thank you so much. Very grateful. We're going to see if there's anyone else who would like to be able to speak in support. If you could please come forward. There we go. Last call, please. We're now going to look to those who may be rising in opposition. If you could please come forward.

We're looking for those in opposition. We're going to do a last call for opposition. We're going to bring it back to Committee. Final questions, comments, concerns.

I'd like to move the nominee to the full Senate Floor for a vote.

We have a motion on the floor by Madam Vice Chair. Any additional discussion or debate hearing? Seeing none. Madam Secretary, can you please call the roll?

[Roll Call]

That's a 4-0 vote. We're going to keep that motion open temporarily. Madam Director, Congratulations. We know that we need to get Senator Jones on board here. Next stop will be the Senate Floor. And again, beautiful words today. On behalf of yourself, with those who are in support, thank you again for your service to the people of California.

Give her a round of applause, please. Thank you so much. What we're going to do is we're going to take a brief recess. We're going to see if we can round up Leader Jones before we go into closed session. So give us a couple of minutes, folks.

Can mingle and give us a couple minutes before we go into closed session. My understanding is that Leader Jones is hoofing it over to Committee.

zero, let's get a video.

So we're going to talk really slow because I was told he's almost here. Michael, I'm going to have you just. Someone want to poke their head out of the.

All right, Madam Secretary, we currently have a 4-0 vote, a 4-0 vote in front of the Committee for the Director of the Department of Conservation. Madam Secretary, can you please call the absent Members?

[Roll Call]

5 to 0 vote. That motion passes. We're closing it down. All right, ladies and gentlemen, thank you all for being here today. We are going to be now adjourning into our closed session. This will conclude our open session of the Senate Rules Committee for Wednesday, April 23rd.