Senate Standing Committee on Rules

Alright. Well, good afternoon, ladies and gentlemen. We are grateful that each and every one of you are here. Thank you so much for taking time out of your busy schedules to be able to join us at the Senate Rules Committee for May 7th. Let's start up. Let's establish a quorum. Madam Secretary, can you please call the roll?

[ROLL CALL]. Quorum.

Quorum has been established. We're going to have board member aside if they- if she could please proceed here to the table. And to Madam Board Member and to Madam Director and to each and every one of you.

What we'd like to be able to do as the board member heads to the table is to take up some administrative items as we always do here at Senate Rules Committee. We do apologize. It will only take a couple of minutes at the chair's prerogative.

I also want to acknowledge Senator Isadore Hall, who is here today, who dedicated his life here in the states. And it's wonderful to see you, Senator, and we're grateful that you're here. Ladies and gentlemen, committee, what we'd like to be able to do is take up some of our administrative items.

The first item is item number two on today's agenda. That's governor's appointees not required to appear. Is there a motion to approve? We have a motion by Madam Vice Chair. We're looking for discussion or debate from committee. Last call for discussion or debate hearing. Seeing none. Madam Secretary, can you please call the roll?

[ROLL CALL]. Five to zero.

It's a 5, 0 vote, the motion passes. We're going to close the roll. Ladies and gentlemen, committee, we're now going to be moving on to item three. Item three, reference of bills to committee. We have a motion by Madam Vice Chair. Discussion or debate? Discussion or debate by the committee. Last call. Hearing, seeing none.

Madam Secretary, can you please call the roll?

[ROLL CALL] 5 to 0.

5 to 0 vote, we're going to close the roll. Thank you so much. We're now going to be moving on to floor acknowledgments. Floor Acknowledgments. Items 4 through 10. Is there a motion to approve? We have a motion by Madam Vice Chair. Discussion or debate from Committee. Last call for discussion or debate hearing. Seeing none.

Madam Secretary, can you please call the roll?

[Roll Call]

5 to 0 vote. Motion passes. We're going to close the roll. Hot day. We're coming back. We want to welcome Madam Board Member Hasid. It's so wonderful to see you. Thank you so much for taking time into your busy schedule and to be able to join us for this important discussion here today.

Madam Board Member, I'd like to go through kind of the ground rules as we move into discussion and debate with the Committee. First and foremost, we're going to turn it over to you. Three minute opening statement.

During that opening statement, we invite you to be able to acknowledge any friends, family who are here with you in the room today or watching online. That's always a really special part of the presentations. What we're then going to do is bring it back to the Committee for discussion, debate, any questions that they may have of you.

We'll then open it up for public comment and then move forward with a vote. It is wonderful to have you here. Madam Board Member, the floor is yours. You have three minutes and I'll give you a 30 second prompt. Thank you so much.

Thank you so much. Pro Tem Mcguire, it is an honor to be here and thank you to the Members of the Committee for the Opportunity to appear before you today. My name is Victoria Hassid and I am. I am humbled and privileged to have been reappointed to serve as the chair of the California Agricultural Labor Relations Board.

First, I would like to thank Governor Newsom and his team for putting their faith and trust in me to serve in this role. I also am very fortunate to have many friends, family and colleagues here today in the room and online.

I want to take a moment to thank and acknowledge my husband, Derek, my amazing daughter Olivia, my parents, my mom is here in the room, my wonderful in laws, Linda and Mike, my sister, and so many friends, colleagues and mentors. Specifically the Law Ladies, the Capitol Girls, the Blue Devils, and my study abroad crew.

You know who you are. It truly takes a village. I also am so thankful for my colleagues and the staff of the board. My fellow board Members are here today as well as some staff for their dedication and commitment to the work of the alrb.

It is an amazing place to work and I am so fortunate to serve among such knowledgeable and wonderful colleagues and staff. 50 years ago, California was the first state to extend labor relations protections to farm workers.

And while over a dozen states have passed some type of labor law statute for farm workers, no other state has an agency solely dedicated to protecting the labor rights of these workers.

As I stand before you today, I remain clear on my role as chair for the ALRB to adhere to and implement the provisions of the Agricultural Labor Relations act to further its goals and objectives.

My primary role is to adjudicate disputes before us fairly and swiftly and to ensure the protections of the act are fully realized and accessible for all farm workers.

Additionally, I aim to ensure we provide education and outreach for agricultural and cannabis workers, employers and the associations, community based organizations and unions, and that our outreach is both accessible and clear. I am also charged with ensuring the ALRB is a well run state organization.

My goal for the agency is to ensure we are an employer of choice for those who desire a career in public service and that we foster a culture of collaboration, first class public service innovation and inclusivity.

One of my primary aims has been to have the ALRB serve as a forum for issues impacting farm workers and center us as a place to discuss issues and initiatives that impact them.

I am proud to share that through the support of the Administration, the Legislature, my colleagues on the board and our amazing staff, I have delivered on those goals. But I believe there is still more we can and should do. Thank you for the opportunity to discuss this work with you today.

I am happy to answer any questions you may have, Madam Board Member.

Thank you. It's wonderful to have your daughter here. My goodness. I have a four year old and he would be running around like a hell yet. So she's amazing. Dang. Yes, that's what I'm saying. Putting us to shame actually. Comfortable? Yes, that's right. Thank you. What we'd like. That's right.

What we'd like to be able to do is open it up for questions, comments from the Committee at this time. We'd like to be able to see any individual who would like to be able to kick us off here today. Madam Majority Leader, the floor is yours.

Absolutely. And thank you so much, Mr. Pro Tem. And to our board Member Hasid, I just want to say thank you very much for your just really eloquent introduction of where you see centering people and farm workers in your work.

You'd mentioned to be the employer of choice, first class public service and again centering the people that you serve, which I really appreciate. Relative to the H2A visa program. How can the ALRB ensure that people with H2A visas are not exploited?

And can you tell me any more that you envision for the H2A program and how you'd be most effective in this space.

Thank you so much for the question. So we. Discussing issues around the H2A program has been a focus since I've been on the board. One of our roles, one of the roles that I've tried to have is to serve again as this forum.

So we had an informational panel about three years ago so the board could learn more about how the program works and hear different perspectives from both community based organizations as well as employers that utilize the program. It is an incredibly critical program, not just here in California, but across the nation.

It is administered federally and they allot a certain amount of visas that employers must apply to get that are then offered to workers on contract to come from other countries to live and work here temporarily. We have been supportive of, in more informal ways of having discussions, having dialogues around the program.

I had the opportunity to travel with Secretary Moss, Secretary Ross and Secretary Knox last year through some farm worker housing in the Salinas Monterey area. And we visited some employers who had specific H2A housing. The state has passed a Bill that took a few years to get through to provide information to workers about their rights.

But I still think there's more that we need to do. They're an incredibly isolated population. They are not always familiar with their labor rights here in California and previously the Wage and Hour Division, the Federal Wage and Hour Division, would host forums for employers and workers to try and provide more information.

So we have utilized opportunities that way and we're going to try and see if we can continue to do that in some way. I appreciate your answer.

Thank you. Thank you. I apologize. Session went very long the other day and I was not able to make our 3:30 or 4:00 clock meeting. So I do apologize because I think session lasted long. It did. It was long. So I couldn't floor. And that was a dig at the pro tem in case somebody didn't understand that.

So I do apologize for not having a meeting prior to. I know that you had reached out to the office because last Rules Committee hearing we had another Member of the ALRB present. And I'm not fond of the organization in any way, shape or form because of what you guys did to my farm workers.

Thousands of them were begging. They came to the Capitol, they marched and they weren't. They were real farmworkers. They went, the ones Bristol from other parts of the states. They made their way here on their own, you know, their own cars. They Trans.

They came here to fight for the decertification of a union that was 20 years old, that was never brought into the organization and then just 20 years later came back and said, hey, by the way, we're going to represent you. It was led by Sylvia Lopez, an indigenous little. She's like 4ft 3 inches tall.

She couldn't intimidate anybody if she wanted, wanted to. She talked to farm workers, they got all the signatures, they put it up for a vote.

And it was as if everything that we could see, including photographs of the chief Counsel's office having barbecues with the UFW and holding Sisa Pueda signs, who's supposed to be in a nonpartisan position.

And a fair balanced approach, including other photographs that we had with other Members of the alrb, you know, hanging out at bars and dinners with the UFW leaders. That's just unacceptable. Even if it's not something that is. That is demonstrates bias. It definitely has the appearance of bias.

And then to lock up those farmworkers ballots or request a second vote, you decertified the first vote. At the request of the ufw, they decertified that vote. And then the farm workers established a second vote under the direction of the dir, former Dir. Christine Baker, to go down and oversee it.

So she was there with a team of people to make sure there was no intimidation by these farm workers that were trying to get rid of that 20 year old union that never represented him or existed. And then they voted, oversaw by the Administration and the Department of Industrial Relations.

And then you guys locked up the ballots for three years, four years. I don't remember the total number of years.

I believe it was five years.

Five years locked up their ballots, denied them the right to have their votes counted for five years. And then when they fought it through the court battle and they won, the ufw lost by 93%. Why would that happen in an supposedly unbiased agency funded by the state taxpayers? Why would that happen?

And were you around during that time?

I was not at the ALRB during that part of the case. I was a dir, but I was not part of that. That over that initiative that when the special team, I should say that went down to observe the election.

Okay, so Grauen has minimized some of their stuff and sold off some of their properties because they just don't see it. Stone fruit peaches, all of that. Now we have the same thing that appears has happened going on at Wonderful.

Just taking on another large farming operation that provides free charter education to people that want it so that they can get their kids out of the horrific failing public school system. They have a Heart and a passion. So farm workers that work for the company have the option to go to that.

They get benefits, they get really good pay, they're getting the overtime, they have advancement notices. So if you're a farm worker, you could be a lead and you could be a supervisor and then you go into the corporate piece of it. So you have another good company that's going down the same path. And when the farm workers.

I don't understand why there's not. I don't understand why the appearance of fairness does not exist in your organization.

I'd like a chance to respond. Sure. Respectfully, Senator Grove, I do think we strive. One of our core values is fairness. Another is commitment to justice. We celebrate those and work on ways to model that every day. Not just myself, but my colleagues, but certainly as the chair of the board, I take great pride in doing that.

I do want to walk back and explain a little bit about the law. The workers at Wonderful that voted under the majority support process, which is colloquially known as card check, it's a different process than what was used in Garouan. So this is where workers are able to organize off site.

So they don't have what's a one day secret ballot election like you would have, perhaps in an election for your mayor or your elected representatives. They are able to gather support, typically through the use of cards, and submit them to the alrb, which then does a five day investigation as prescribed by the statute.

We then, based on the evidence presented, either certify or don't certify the union. In this case, UFW was certified as the representative for Wonderful. And then the employer has the opportunity under the statute to file objections, which Wonderful has done. And that administrative objections hearing is ongoing. There have been several different events that have elongated the hearing.

The employer has chosen, as is their right to file actions in state and civil court. And so there was a temporary, there was an injunction that we then had stayed to allow the administrative procedures, administrative proceedings, excuse me, to go through. So both the administrative and the civil litigation is ongoing in that matter.

So some of the farm workers are engaging the office. They were asked to sign a card. They didn't know what the card was for. There was no explanation. The way that our farm workers are attacked in this process is completely not right.

And I know there are people on this dais and people that don't agree with me, but if you're on the ground with them and you go talk to them, there are hundreds of workers that, you know, there's a few that are pushing and you know, they advocate for the ufw, for the union, but the majority of them don't want it.

And it's the same position that the ground farm workers took. It's a different process. And they're making it easier to mislead the farm workers or to get the vote certified because all they have to do is sign a card and they don't even know half the time what they're citing for. So I just.

And I realize that's not your fault. That's the statute or the, you know, the law that was passed that allows that to happen, but it just circumvents their rights. Just like several years ago when they were circumvented their rights about having two elections and then having their ballots locked up for five years.

Why don't you just count the ballots? But you weren't there. You were part of the other part of the dir, and I get it. But there's a huge heartburn for the alrb and I think that these farmworkers are protected under the regular DIR and labor standards enforcement, and they're like any other employer and employee.

And I don't think you guys should exist because I think you're tremendously biased in my own opinion.

I understand. With respect to the wonderful case right now there are allegations by both the union workers as well as the employer. So they're pending and being litigated. And we'll see where the evidence presents itself when a decision is before the board. I do want to get to the bias issue though.

The core of our act is to protect workers rights and voice and choice at work.

Whether they want a union, if they don't want a union, if they want a different union, if they are advocating collectively for better working conditions, regardless of if a union is there, which many of our cases are in that kind of what we call unrepresented category.

And so our charge is to always ensure we are administering the act, whether it be through the investigations process or the adjudications process, which is where I'm at, or through the elections, where workers have the freedom to choose what they want. That's our goal.

And then we go where the facts lead us, depending on if there's a dispute.

Do you think that goal was met when the farm workers voted twice to not certify that union and you guys blocked their votes?

Well, my understanding there was a certification, a decertification petition. So this is a minimal showing of interest for an election. And then there's the election and the Election results. You know, they at the end of the day spoke for themselves and were implementing, you know, what, how it finally resolved and what the courts dictated.

Five years of court battles to make a decision that you guys were supposed to make.

I can't speak, I mean I can't speak to the ins and outs. It was a very complex case.

And then last week they were telling us that the person that was up before us had last week was saying that, you know, we had these complaints against the employer and none of those complaints were founded. It just, to me it just seems like that you are an extension.

This organization, this agency is an extension of the UFW in order to entrap farm workers into doing something that they clearly don't want to do. So it's nothing against you. I read your bio. I think you're. I talked to Christine Baker. She speaks very highly of you. But it's just the organization that you're here to represent.

Thank you, Madam Vice Chair. We're going to turn it over to Senator Laird. Please.

Let me first. Thanks for meeting and I appreciate your service. I was going to change the subject to a couple of things and you mentioned in your opening the fact that now there's the jurisdiction over cannabis workers. How is that going and what are the issues that have been raised as you've moved into that area?

It's been interesting. Our primary jurisdiction under the Agricultural Labor Relations act is under cannabis cultivation workers. So it's just essentially they are ag workers, but in a very unique commodity. And we're finding, you know, they. We have had elections in those, in those cases, we've had charges in those cases.

They tend to be a harder to reach population for a variety of reasons.

And I think right now, given that it is legal at the state level but illegal at the federal level and there are possible immigration status issues among the workforce, it is I think going to be a more challenging place to enforce going forward in order to protect worker identity.

Additionally, we were given authority in 2022, I believe under AB 195, which was a budget Bill that made several reforms to the MCRSA act, including trying to close a loophole that had been passed in the initial wave of legislation where employers of a certain size have to have a labor peace agreement.

There were accusations that some employers, some licensees were signing labor peace agreements with non bona fide labor organizations. So now we have a new authority in the business and professions code where any claims of any kind of licensee. So not just cultivation, we've had dispensaries and whatnot.

If someone believes that a union is not a real union, they can bring that claim before us. And so we've had two decisions that were issued under that provision.

And it seems to me that just the category of cannabis workers would raise different safety issues, whether it's personal safety or some health and safety are those things that fall into your. That you've had to start to grapple with.

We have not had to grapple with that directly. We have worked with our sister agencies, both on traditional AG as well as cannabis, as well as the Department of Cannabis Control, on how to reach those workers and again, just kind of provide them General education and information. Cal OSHA is the lead on the health and safety piece.

But we do see when workers raise issues about health and safety, they may have a claim under Cal OSHA as well as under us if they're speaking on behalf of their crew.

I think one of the challenges in that industry is and where I think enforcement, you know, there have been a variety of stories in the press on it has been usually kind of the basic labor rights are almost sort of the least of the worries of what's going on in some of those truly illegal criminal operations.

And so there are other things that are taking priority. But certainly we do our best to try and work with the workers and the unions that are actively involved with those workers to let them know who we are and how we can help them.

And then the other thing I wanted to ask is the Legislature passed and the Governor signed AB 2183, which is card check in the elections. How is that being implemented? What has happened since that's gone into effect?

So that has been. That Bill has had a unique journey. There was a cleanup Bill passed through the budget in May of 2023, AB113. And then shortly after that, we had our first majority support election in, I guess it was the fall. Yes, fall of 2023.

And then we had four additional elections majority support petitions in the first eight months or so of 2025. Several of those are being litigated, as I discussed with your colleague. And then I have recently learned that several of those entities are now under union. That prevailed in. In those matters. So. And we also almost forgot to share.

We have implemented regulations. They were implemented about a month ago to help hopefully everyone kind of work through some of the newer provisions of the law.

Okay, thank you very much. I appreciate those responses.

Thank you so much, Senator. We're going to see if there's any additional discussion or debate from Committee all right here in C9. Thank you so much, Madam Board Member.

What we're going to do now is that we're going to open it up to each and every one of you, those who would like to be able to speak in support. Then we'll go to those who may want to speak in opposition. Those who want to speak in support.

We're going to ask you to please come forward to the podium. If you can come forward. Now, we're going to ask you to please state your first and last name, your organization and your position on the appointee. Damn that all at once. See, there we go. Here we go. Thank you. It is so good to see you. Floor is yours,

Mr. Chair. Members, Sara Flocks, . And we are here in support of the appointment and nomination. We've had the opportunity to work with Ms. Hasid through the Brown and the Newsom administrations, and we have found her very thoughtful and fair in her dealings with us.

And we wanted to state that we know she has the expertise, the experience, and as she just proved, the knowledge to be the chair of the alrb, which is an incredibly unique and important institution in the State of California and one of the few places that farm workers have in the nation to exercise their right to organize and collectively bargain.

So we support this appointment. Good to see you, Ms. Fox.

Thank you so much. Hey, good afternoon.

Hello. Good afternoon. Kristin Heidelbach here on behalf of UFCW Western States Council, echo the thoughts of my colleague at the Labor Fed. Sarah. Really appreciate the work of Ms. Hasid and cannabis. It's proven very helpful for those workers and in support, enthusiastically supports.

Thank you. Ms. Heidelbach, good to see you. Thank you so much. We're gonna do a last call for those who would like to be able to advance and support. Last call for those in support. If you could please come forward to the podium. We're now going to open it up to those who may be in opposition.

If you could please step forward to the podium. First and last name. Along with your organization, we're going to do a last call for those who may be in opposition. Let's bring it back to Committee, see if there's any remaining discussion or debate, please. Senator Laird.

Yes. I would move the confirmation of Ms. Hassid and that the nomination be forwarded to the Senate for floor for full confirmation.

We have a motion, a motion on the floor by Senator Laird. Final discussion or debate from Committee hearing, scene nine. Madam Secretary, can you please call the roll?

[Roll call]

That's currently 3-0 vote. We're going to keep the roll open for Madam Vice Chair. So we're going to put the appointment on call. Madam Board Member, Madam Chair, very grateful for your presentation today, your service to the people of California as well. Thank you so much.

And it's wonderful that you have your family here as well today. Thank you so much. Really grateful you're here. We'll take final vote here as soon as Madam Vice Chair returns. Thank you so much. Thank you. We're going to take a 30 second pause. A 30 second pause.

Then going to have Director Heller come on up and we're going to say thank you so much to Madam Board Member for her work. Thank you so much. Senator, it's wonderful to see you as always. Thank you so much, sir. It's great to have you in the Capitol. Thank you so much. 30 seconds.

We'll be right back with you.

We'll be reconvening in 10 seconds. Reconvening in 10 seconds. All right, ladies and gentlemen, Committee, and to all those who are joining us here today in the hearing room, we are going to be advancing Director Heller for potential confirmation of the Senate Rules Committee.

Director Heller, I want to take a moment to be able to say thank you know that this has been a heck of a process. And I also want to say thank you for all the work that you provided at the State of California. Obviously, you're on the front line of all refuge and recycling for the State of California, but I in particular want to say thank you for your work when it comes to wildfires.

the agency does first in when it comes to household hazardous debris. Some of the most stressful work, a lot of investment by the state within the agency, and we're really grateful for your leadership. I know that it's been a hell of a year. Let's just be honest. I see former Director here as well. I want to thank him for his work. But Madam Director, we welcome you. Quick run of show, three minutes for opening statement.

What we then will do is open it up for discussion, debate, questions from the Committee. Then we'll open up for public comment for those in support, those who may be in opposition. Madam Director, you will get a 30 second prompt once you get close to that three minutes. The floor is yours. And really good to see you today. Thank you so much. Please proceed.

Thank you, Pro Tem McGuire and esteemed Members of the Committee. I really appreciate the opportunity to be here today. I'd like to begin by acknowledging my husband and daughter, who are in the room, along with many of my colleagues and friends. And also would like to acknowledge my parents and friends and family that are tuning in online.

I want to recognize our incredible team at CalRecycle, many of whom I've had the privilege of working with at my almost eight years at the Department. I'm honored to have been appointed by Governor Newsom to serve as the Director of CalRecycle, and I'm grateful for the support of Secretary Garcia and her leadership team.

I've been a public servant for over 20 years. My parents both dedicated their life to education, and they instilled in me the values of service, curiosity, and integrity. These principles have guided me throughout my professional career. I began work my work at the US Environmental Protection Agency in Region 9 and worked in the Environmental justice office, supported the regional administrator, and managed zero waste programs all throughout the state.

I partnered with with communities and stakeholders across California to address our state's diverse environmental challenges and identify solutions. I've learned success requires early and meaningful engagement, collaborative problem solving, and transparent leadership.

These past eight years at CalRecycle have been the most rewarding of my career. As a member of the executive team, I helped build our disaster debris removal office, provided leadership and guidance during the COVID 19 pandemic, and established our Packaging Pollution Prevention and Producer Responsibility team, and have supported this first phase of their incredible work.

CalRecycle's portfolio is complex and it's growing. In recent years, California has passed landmark recycling legislation and we now stand at a pivotal moment to move our initiatives forward. As the fourth largest economy in the world, our actions to reduce waste, foster a circular economy, and protect communities and the environment will have a global impact.

With the support of CalRecycle's expert team, ongoing collaboration with stakeholders, and engagement with the Legislature, I'm committed to making thoughtful, transparent decisions, even when they're difficult ones. I'm excited to work with all of you alongside Californians to take on the challenges ahead and build a future without waste. Thank you for the opportunity to speak to you today, and I look forward to your questions.

Thank you so much, Madam Director. How old is your daughter?

5. Almost 6.

It is so good to see you. Thank you for being here. My goodness. That's what I'm saying. Exactly. With the indulgence of the Committee, I just would like to go through some items. Madam Director, I've had the opportunity to be able to sit down with you, and I greatly appreciate our conversations. Thank you so much. You have been always open and blunt, and you are a problem solver and I'm grateful for that.

I'd like to talk specifically about Senate Bill 54 that was passed by the Legislature, signed into law by Governor Newsom. In SB 54, as we all know, the landmark legislation to be able to reduce plastic pollution and address the plastic pollution crisis that we have here in California.

And obviously this is an issue for the rest of the planet. And what I would like to be able to do is go through the timeline of the revised regulations to be able to implement SB 54. And what I'd like to be able to do is walk through the revised timeline and then confirm dates here on the record with the Committee. And again, Madam Director, I so appreciate the opportunity to be able to sit down and have conversations on this really critical issue.

And look, I think we can both agree, Madam Director, you've been tip of the spear on this. This has been really important for you personally, and I'm grateful for that. I'd like to start walking through the timeline. There are five points which I'd like to be able to get your confirmation on the record. As we start the timeline, between now and the 23rd, the agency is going to finalize the new draft regulations.

Correct.

By May 27, the agency is going to host a public workshop on those draft regulations.

Correct.

After the 27th, you are going to be submitting a revised economic impact assessment by the end of June.

Yes.

By the final quarter of this year, the agency, pending the final OAL process, will be implementing the regs of SB 54.

Yes.

Finally, Senator Ben Allen is the author of this landmark legislation. There's been so many who have been part of this. Obviously, Senator Blakespear, the Governor, the Assembly, and very grateful, and your agency as well. And you're going to be working with the author, Senator Allen, as we move forward through the formal regulatory adoption process.

Absolutely. We had a great conversation on Monday, and I look forward to continued interactions with him as we move forward.

Thank you. And look, I think we can agree that this is critical for our environment, the climate crisis, candidly adoption of when it comes to our business community. And I think all of us working together, we're going to be able to get this damn thing done here by the final quarter.

Yes.

All right. That's what I would like to, that's what I wanted better do and make sure that we got that on the record here today. I may be back with some additional questions and comments, but I'd like to be able to see if there's any questions, comments by the Committee. I'm going to turn it over to Senator Laird.

Thank you. And I really appreciate what the Chair, the Pro Tem just did. And let me just ask a couple of follow up questions just so that we hit SB 54. And one is, you went through the timeline, but how are you going to make sure it adheres to the spirit and the letter of the law? How are we going to make sure that happens in this process?

Yeah. Thank you for that question, Senator. So we're using that last draft of the regulations as our template. We're building off of that. And really we have an eye on ensuring that any of the edits that we're making to the regulations are, we're looking through that lens of cost reductions as directed by the Governor's Office.

So staying within the four corners of statute is critically important for us. Ensuring that we achieve, that we have implementing regulations that drive us towards achieving those very important rates and dates of statute is also central for us. So where are those some opportunities to reduce costs by looking at...

And I'll list a few places in which we're looking right now. One thing that we heard we didn't get quite right is refill, reuse. So we're looking closely at that section of the regulations, identifying where we can edit or even remove some components of it. So we have something that's still implementable that meets the statutory requirements, but may cut costs and easier to implement for the regulated community. So that's the lens we're using as we're going through each of the articles, and our commitment is to stay completely aligned with the statutory requirements.

Great. I really appreciate that response. And then additionally, at one of the public meetings, there was some talk about some guidance documents and what are those and are those something that we will know about? How's that going to work?

Yeah, thank you for the question, Senator. And we will model the development of our guidance documents much off of how we did it for 1383, the Organics Waste Diversion Law. What we heard is we started to implement where there was a need for additional clarity outside of the regulatory process.

And what we were able to do was develop a number of guidance documents to post on our website quickly because we understood the regulated community needed those to be able to implement successfully. We've already started to hear of some places and where guidance documents will be helpful. One place that we're already working and hope to have a deliverable relatively soon is just the covered material categories and more description to understand which specific packages fall into which category.

So we will be working on that. And we'll also be working very closely with the producer responsibility organization Circular Action Alliance, since so much of the program is implemented by them as well. So ensuring that there isn't any duplication or places in which we can collaborate on some guidance documents that would be helpful for Californians and the regulated community.

That's very helpful. I appreciate that. Now, switching subjects, a couple of things. And I'm grateful for us getting a chance to meet at actually twice. We met during your prior iteration of potentially coming in front of the Committee. We talked about the Senate Bill last year on recycling propane canisters, and I know you have a budget change, a BCP in on it. If you could talk about how you're going to implement maybe your piece of that law.

Sure. Thank you, Senator. So in our budget change proposal, we've requested one senior environmental scientist and funding for a contract. And the contract is critically important for us to better understand the landscape of the single use propane cylinders that are generated right now and sold right now into the state to better understand their durability, the infrastructure in the state for processing them, and ultimately what's going to be needed for this program to be a success. There hasn't been comprehensive work done in California for us to understand that. So that'll be incredibly helpful for Californians and the regulated community, those that will be selling the tanks into the state, to better understand how it will work.

And just for the record, the budget change proposal is not General Fund?

Correct. Correct. It is not General Fund. And also...

Just in case anybody's on a Budget Committee that is sitting here.

Yes. And also included in that will be opportunities for technical assistance and education outreach as well, which is, of course, critically important.

Really appreciate that. And then my other question is the more global one about the Department. Because when share bill passed in the late 1980s and it was, let's divert 50% from landfills and raise the tipping fee and use that to go into recycling, we made great progress and we even upped the goal.

And then we've stepped back. And at the same time, when we're so successful in diverting stuff out of landfills, there's less tipping fees. So the money that was supporting some of the alternative programs isn't there in the same amount. Talk about sort of where we are and any progress we're making and how you see this going forward.

Yeah. Thank you for the question, Senator. Yeah. Charting progress with our various laws is a very interesting process because there's different performance standards that we look at depending on the program and the material type. But I know one that's very much of interest to many Californians is what's our recycling rate.

We looked at some preliminary data for 2024, and we think we're around 42%, which is better than where we were, but still not 50 or 75%. We do have, as mentioned, a lot of landmark legislation that we're in the early stages of implementing that will hopefully move this needle.

But concurrently, we are in the process of developing a zero waste plan that looks more systemically at our systems in California, what's working well, where there's opportunity for harmonization of programs. You know, we talk about extended producer responsibility a lot, and a key component of EPR is convenience.

And we need to make sure that there's convenient places for people to bring their material, but also convenient delivery of products and services into the state. So I'm optimistic that, you know, with the new legislation that we're implementing alongside thinking about our system differently, really looking at materials as resources, we're going to see that needle move and reach a higher recycling rate, hopefully in the not too distant future.

Well, that's great. I appreciate that response and look forward to working on that. And I'm not gonna... We'll see if somebody else asks about organics, but I have enjoyed working with you on that. I know we still have a lot more work to do and we've made some progress. So thank you. I look forward to supporting.

Thank you.

Thank you so much, Senator Laird. Madam Vice Chair.

Thank you, Mr. Pro Tem. Thank you for being here. I know you're highly respected and you have a lot of support based on the information that we've been able to gather on you. So I do, and I have a deep respect for Cal's Recycle. A lot of people get caught up in the blue bin and the bottles and the lids and things like that. But I want to talk about recycled metal, steel, cement, those things. You know, you gotta. If we're gonna rebuild LA, we're gonna have to have access to all of it. So what are your plans to make sure that some of those things that aren't normally talked about in this building...

Because your job is much more and much more than single use plastic bags or bottles in a blue bin. So we have to have building and construction material. And that also falls in your purview, especially with what's going on in Palisades. Everything that we're going to be facing in the next couple years. If LA ever releases a permit to rebuild, we'll start there. I think there's been four, and they were processed prior to the fire, so they don't have anything to do with the fires. But what's the plan for that? Because we're going to need that.

Yeah.

Okay. And do you have a whole department that takes care of that for you? Do they have a plan? How are we going to get those recycled materials to wherever we take them to get them ready to go again?

Really appreciate that question, Madam Vice Chair. And it's something that I think about a lot because of the amount of opportunity that we have in California to utilize, particularly when we're going through the process of taking down a building or even in the cleanups from the fires, an opportunity to recycle quite a bit of concrete and metal.

As you know, CalRecycle has been engaged with many of the devastating wildfires throughout the state, and our role is personal property debris removal. And we prioritize when we're working with Office of Emergency Services, our local partners, and the contractors, recycling of as much material as possible of what's safe to recycle.

So ensuring that those metals and that concrete is getting recycled here in California so that it can be utilized again in projects in California. But you bring up a good point about just the sheer demand that we're gonna see in Southern California and how can we really capitalize on the resources that we have here.

For CalRecycle, this is a pretty nascent issue. We do not have a whole, besides having our Debris Removal Operations Office which thinks about this, we don't have a whole branch or group that works on C and D. And we do know it's still a big part of what goes to the landfill. There is a lot of operations in the. Have really, really good C and D sorting to be able to utilize that material for reuse and recycling as much as possible. But it's certainly something that is worthy of much more attention.

And I think in our zero waste plan, it's one place that we're going to look. Understanding how significant it is in our disposal stream where there's quite a bit of opportunity. When we're thinking about implementation of the Organics Bill 1383, wood is a part of that.

So wood is another place where the Department has focused some energy, but you know, we've focusing more on the organics at the household and at the commercial level. So I think there's a lot of opportunity for utilizing, particularly from deconstruction, wood that's great for other construction projects. So these are areas that I would love to explore more. And one place is the zero waste plan, but also looking towards solutions moving forward.

Thank you. You mentioned that... Is there another agency that would be in charge of that heavy constructive metal? I mean, look at the building that we tore down here for the new annex. Right. So all of that metal and concrete had to go someplace. Are you not... Is your Department not in charge of that piece or is it another Department?

It's generally more managed at the local level.

Okay. And then they determine where it goes?

Well, it's the contractor themselves that will determine where the final disposition of those products are. It makes sense to recycle because, yeah, for environmental reasons, but also for economic reasons. There's quite a bit of value in that material. So they'll look for markets that are hopefully nearby because the closer markets are much more cost effective to get the material to and then identify if they can be reused or if they need to be processed into a new material to be utilized again.

And I apologize that I'm getting education in front of all these people. I apologize to all of you, but. So you monitor the blue bins and the recycle for the plastic bags, but CalRecycle does not monitor or take care of or administer or say, when you tear down that building or blow it up or use it in a film or whatever the case may be, we want that all recycled at this facility to be reused for, I don't know, whatever else comes next. That's not in your purview?

That is correct. I mean, there is incentives to jurisdictions to be able to recycle that material, but it's not within our purview as far as requiring that material to go to a certain place.

Is it in anybody's purview?

I will get back to you on that.

Thank you. Thank you very much. I appreciate your answer. I was just really curious about. I know we spend a lot of time, like I said, on the little blue bins and separating plastic and regular trash or food product. But the bottom line is that the big money and the big savings and the big issues that we face are, you know, fire damaged materials that we can salvage and recycle and what we do with those materials, and it creates a less expensive way to rebuild as well. So thank you.

Thank you for that perspective.

Just adding on to this. Madam Director, I think though, the agency is very much part of working with, if it's a federal incident like what we saw with EPA and then ongoing with the Corps, if you are lead, having those staging lots and working with the general that would then sell off eventually the scrap metal, etc.

Absolutely. For any debris removal activity, we prioritize highest and best use of materials, so those metals will get recycled, that concrete will get recycled, and when we do the hazard tree removal, we look for highest and best use of those trees as well.

Yeah, 100%. Thank you so much. Madam Majority Leader.

Thank you so very much. And appreciate your comments as well. I think the Pro Tem hit it correctly that I think after the frustration had ended and sort of looking at the timeline and seemingly an agreement to be able to continue to work with Senators Allen and Blakespear and others moving forward, I think we're in such a better place. So I appreciate that.

Just based off of that sort of a global question as well. I think Senator Laird asked the questions about just the, you know, additional guidance documents that you answered. But any other, I mean, open question here, just any other barriers that you see foresee in this process and how we can make this a little bit more seamless of a process, obviously with the environmental concerns, workability, affordability, and ensuring that this is implemented to the spirit of the law.

Thank you, Senator. Really appreciate that question. And it is something we think about a lot. You know, this is unprecedented. SB 54 is unprecedented. The lift is enormous and the opportunity is huge. So right now I'm not looking at barriers. I'm looking at paths forward and doing everything in my power and my team's power to charge forward with that path. We understand the importance of getting these regulations done for the regulated community, for certainty, for credibility, to show that California can lead here. And we're absolutely committed to doing that.

Concurrently, we're working on the needs assessment, which is required in the law for us to essentially develop a blueprint for this is what California looks like today as far as capacity, infrastructure, and this is where we need to go to achieve the rates and dates in statute.

So that's a really exciting piece of the project, the puzzle, the 54 puzzle, that we will be having more workshops and more opportunity engagement on. And I'm very optimistic at this point. We've had the privilege of two years of a process, one year informal, one year formal, where we learned so much in that process. So I'm optimistic that this round of regulations will be better, more streamlined and get us to where we need to go so that we can implement and start seeing success very soon.

Well, thank you very much and I appreciate you just answering the Pro Tem's timeline and ensuring that it's a public, that it's publicly noted that, you know, we are seeking that timeline and that there'll continue to be more engagement on this. So I appreciate that very much, and thank you for those comments. Just second question, similar to, you know, sort of what Senator Grove had been mentioning, LA fires. I am a Los Angeles County Member. I think obviously your engagement in other disasters is certainly appreciated.

And knowing all of the agency's work, the detailed work that goes in in engagement and recovery is certainly just, it's mind blowing to see that and to see that for ourselves in Los Angeles. We never in a million years thought we would have the wild fire of this magnitude. I would just also globally ask any lessons learned from LA fire recovery engagement? What do you foresee for future fires, which we know we'll unfortunately have?

Yeah, Senator, thank you for that question. And you know, my thoughts with, with your constituents who have been impacted. It was been absolutely devastating for the state. And you know, CalRecycle has cleaned up almost 22,000 properties in since 2007 when we were first mission tasked for debris removal.

And I would say with each incident we learn something new. We learn a way in which we could do something better. We also learn about the unique geographies in the state and understanding that an incident in Siskiyou County is going to look very different than an incident in urban LA County.

So I think what we've learned is the need to be flexible, the need to engage early with local government, with our Cal OES partners, with really anybody impacted to understand what those top line concerns are. You know, we do debris removal, so we come in a little bit later.

So having those conversations early and being at the table early helps us prepare and work with the local government so that when we come in and we're working with communities to get their right of entries, there's a really good understanding of our program and we're meeting people where they're at to be able to describe the program and the benefits of signing up for the state program.

As I'm sure you're aware, there's some people that decide to do it themselves, which is fine. But we want to make sure that those that make that choice have been informed as far as what the state can offer. So I would say moving forward and lessons learned is to not try to copy the way in which we've responded to one incident and paste it to the next incident, but instead to take to take the lessons that we've learned and incorporate them into a plan for the unique situation that a community faces when they have a catastrophic wildfire or other disaster.

Thank you. I really appreciate that approach because it's absolutely, certainly needed. And I want to say our Pro Tem led, I think two or three roundtables in Los Angeles County, in Altadena and then the City of Los Angeles, the Pacific Palisades, and want to thank you and Secretary Garcia as well for your engagement with the communities that are still going through recovery right now. So I appreciate those responses, and thank you.

Thank you so much, Madam Majority Leader. Thank you so much, Leader Jones. Thank you. Would like to be able to see any additional discussion or debate from Committee. All right. Hearing and seeing none. Two years in on this damn thing. Let's just bring it home, Madam Director, please. Thank you so much.

What we're going to do is that we're going to open it up for public comment. What we're going to respectfully request is that you state your first and last name and your organization. We know that there are quite a few. So we're going to ask you to state your first and last name, your organization, and your position on the appointee. Starting with support. Take it away. It's good to see you.

Thank you, Mr. Pro Tem and Members. Jennifer Fearing here today on behalf of Ocean Conservancy, Oceana, Monterey Bay Aquarium, and also me tooing for CALPIRG. We are so enthusiastic about Zoe's confirmation. She is experienced and uniquely qualified to lead CalRecycle at this important time.

Our is exception experiences with her and the Department primarily through the efforts to implement the world's strongest plastic pollution reduction law. We have found Ms. Heller and her team to be thoughtful, measured, fair, insightful, and creative. Lastly, I just want to urge that the Senate continue its strong leadership and accountability with the Department for ensuring that 54 is enacted as intended by the Legislature. Thank you.

I can't wait. Paula Treat on behalf of all of my clients, from tribes to plastic recyclers. In 50 years in politics, I've come before this Committee three times. I want to tell you that all appointments should strive to have Director Heller's attributes in 15 seconds or less. She's accessible, she's knowledgeable, she's wicked smart, as you saw. She's thoughtful, she's kind, she's respectful, and she's respected. And the Governor made an excellent choice. I urge you an aye vote.

Thank you, Treat. Appreciate it. We're going to remind folks first and last name and organization and the position on the appointee, please. Floor is yours, sir.

Good afternoon. Doug Kobold, Executive Director for the California Product Stewardship Council and also also Vice Chair for the SB 54 advisory board here in support of Ms. Heller to for this appointment. In my 30 plus years of waste and recycling experience, I find that she will absolutely do an excellent job. I really appreciate her approach, her visibility, her understanding, wanting to get to the bottom of each thing. And so I really have a lot of trust in her and so does my board. Thank you.

Very grateful. Thank you so much for being here today. Hey. Good afternoon.

Mr. Pro Tem, I will take your admonishment to speed this process along. There's a lot of people here. Greg Hurner for a number of clients, but in particular the Can Manufacturers Institute and the Carpet Cushion Council. I have actually the privilege of probably working across every CalRecycle program from debris removal to MRFs to everything else. And you described it perfectly. Knowledgeable, direct, and... Blunt, yes. There we go. But thank you very much and strongly support.

Thank you. It's good to have you here. Thank you so much. Good afternoon. Thank you so much for joining us.

Good afternoon. I'm Meg Snyder with Axiom Advisors on behalf of the Drug Takeback Solutions Foundation in strong support of Zoe Heller's confirmation. Thank you.

Very grateful for your comments. Good afternoon. Thank you so much for being here.

Good afternoon, Pro Tem and Members, Senators. Tim Carmichael with the California Council for Environmental and Economic Balance in strong support. And for time efficiency, I'll echo all of the attributes that Ms. Treat highlighted about Ms. Heller. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Carmichael. Appreciate you. Good afternoon.

Good afternoon. Dawn Koepke on behalf of the California Manufacturers and Technology Association, also in strong support of Director Heller. Thank you.

Thank you so much for your comments. Good afternoon.

Good afternoon. Julia Levin with the Bioenergy Association of California. Also speaking in support on behalf of CR&R Environmental Services, Raven SR, which is an organic waste to hydrogen company, and BEAM Circular, which is for the bioeconomy, agriculture, and manufacturing. All in very strong support. Echo all of the previous compliments. They're all deserved by Director Heller. And urge her confirmation. Thank you.

Thank you, Ms. Levin. Appreciate you. Good afternoon.

Thank you, Mr. Chair and Members. Jason Schmelzer here on behalf of Alameda County Waste Management Authority, StopWaste in strong support of the nominee. And also want to echo all of the wonderful things that have been said so far. Thank you.

Appreciate it. Thank you so much. Good afternoon.

Good afternoon. Kate Brandenburg on behalf of the Allan Company. We support the confirmation of Ms. Heller. And ditto all the comments. Thank you.

Thank you so much.

Mr. Chair and Members of the Committee. Louis Brown here today on behalf of the California Grocers Association, also Circular CRV Association, the first and only dealer formed cooperative in California. Thank you.

Mr. Brown, the Madam Vice Chair just provided a, I believe a high school photo of you in your FFA jacket. Looking good. Hi, Dale. And Louis Brown just turned beet red. All right, so there we go. All right. Thank you so much.

Follow that one.

Mr. Chairman.

Yeah. I can't. Other than to say John Moffatt here on behalf of Waste Management in support of the Director's confirmation.

John, it's good to see you. Thank you so much. Hey, Bryant.

Mr. Chair and Members, Jason Bryant on behalf of Western United Dairies. We're in support of the confirmation. Thank you.

Thank you so much. Hey. Hey. Good afternoon.

Mr. Chair and Members, Michael Caprio here representing Republic Services here in strong support of Director Heller's confirmation. Thank you.

It's good to see you, sir. Thank you. Good afternoon.

Hi. I am Garen Kazanjian with Recology and here in support of Director Heller's nomination.

Thank you so much. Good afternoon. Welcome.

Hi. My name is Krystal Raynes. I'm a Legislative Associate at Californians Against Waste, and I'm giving a comment in support of Director Heller's confirmation. I've also asked to express the support of Surfrider, Pacific Environment, Valley Improvement Projects, and the Natural Resource Defense Council, NRDC, who couldn't be here in person. Thank you.

Thank you so much. Very grateful. Hey. Hey. Good afternoon.

Mr. Chair, Members, my name is Scott Smithline. I'm here today speaking on behalf of myself in support of Director Heller. I had the privilege of working side by side with Director Heller for years during my tenure as Director. She is indeed a rare candidate. Urge your aye vote.

It's good to see you, Director Smithline. An amazing job with all issues of fire. So very grateful for you always. Thank you so much. Good to see, Mr. Director. Hey, good afternoon.

Mr. Chair and Members, Mike Villines on behalf of Dairy Institute in strong support of your nomination.

Thank you so much. Villines's in the house. Thank you. Good afternoon.

Good afternoon, Mr. Chair. Lindsay Gullahorn on behalf of the Resource Recovery Coalition of California, representing waste haulers, recyclers, and composters in California in strong support of Director Heller's confirmation.

Thank you for your comments. Talking on retail theft. I'm kidding. Oh my God. All of a sudden I just started to get to shakes.

I was going to tell you this is my new issue for the year, so I've moved on. Rachel Michelin, President and CEO for the California Retailers Association. I also have the privilege of representing retailers on the SB 54 Advisory Committee. As many of you know, I'm a problem solver and I am very excited at the opportunity to work with Director Heller. We've already had some conversations on some ideas to streamline a number of the programs. Because retail is a consumer facing industry. I think we're under every single stewardship and EPR program there is. And so strongly support her nomination and look forward to working with her in the future.

Thank you, Madam CEO. Good to see you. Hi. Good afternoon.

Thank you, Chair and Members. I'm Heidi Sanborn. I'm representing the National Stewardship Action Council. I used to be Advisor to the Chair of the old Waste Management Board. I've been doing this a long time and helped pass many of the EPR laws that are in CalRecycle's purview. And I just want to say there's nobody better to take the helm at this point in time than Zoe Heller, and we couldn't be more proud to support her. Thank you.

Thank you so much. Appreciate you. Hi, good afternoon.

Good afternoon. Reed Addis on behalf of People, Food, and Land Foundation in strong support. Excellent choice. We hope you confirmed today.

Thank you you so much. Good afternoon.

Good afternoon, Pro Tem. Adam Regele on behalf of the California Chamber of Commerce, echoing all the positive comments and urge a strong aye vote for the confirmation. Thank you.

Give our best to Barrera. Thank you so much. Good afternoon.

Good afternoon, Mr. Chair and fellow Senate Rules Committee Members. My name is Joe La Mariana. I am the Executive Director of RethinkWaste. RethinkWaste is a public agency on the San Francisco peninsula. We represent 11 jurisdictions and about 60% of San Mateo County's property, excuse me, residents.

We have a solid waste facility and we are regulated by about 15 to 16 governmental agencies. The lead agency is CalRecycle. And I could say Ms. Heller checks all the boxes for what we as the industry would look for in a seasoned, proven leader. So we vote a strong aye vote.

Thank you much. Good afternoon.

John Kennedy with the Rural County Representatives of California. Pleased to be here today in support. Thank you.

Thank you so much. Hi, good afternoon.

Hi. Good afternoon. I'm Tessa Nicholas. I am on the Executive Committee of the California Association of Local Conservation Corps, CALCC, representing 13 certified corps across the state, all providing paid job training and conservation and resource recovery to underserved communities and young people ages 18 to 26. I am here in support and representing all of the directors in support of Zoe Heller's confirmation. And we want to emphasize how grateful CALCC is for the ongoing partnership and the relationship with CalRecycle. We urge a vote on her behalf. Thank you.

Thank you so much. Very grateful you're here. Hi, good afternoon.

Good afternoon. David Creager here today for Waste Connections, also in support.

Thank you, David. Hi, good afternoon.

Hi. I'm Mandi Strella on behalf of CR&R Environmental Services, a Southern California based waste and recycling collection company serving more than 3 million people in Southern California. They echo the same sentiments that have already been mentioned here, and we urge support for her, Ms. Heller's, confirmation.

Thank you so much. Very grateful. Good afternoon.

Good afternoon, Chair and Members. Noam Elroi on behalf of the California Compost Coalition, a coalition of organics recyclers, and composters in strong support. Thank you.

Thank you so much. Good afternoon.

Good afternoon. Faith Conley with Redwood Materials in support.

Thanks, Faith. Hi, good afternoon.

Hey. Good afternoon, Chair. My name is Antoine Penn. I am the Recycling Coordinator with Civicorps Recycling in Oakland and in support of Zoe Heller.

Antoine, thank you so much for being here today. Good to see you. Hey. Good afternoon.

Good afternoon. My name is Hassan Johnson. I am the class B recycling intern driver with Civicorps, the local Conservation Corps in Oakland. I'm 20 years old. I've been with Civicorps a little over two years now. Being with the Corps, I've obtained my class B license and I've learned valuable flexibility, time management, and professional skills. I believe Zoe Heller is the right person to lead CalRecycle due to her commitment to the youth like myself, and I hope her Committee will take a vote to confirm her. Thank you.

Thank you so much, Mr. Johnson. Nice work. Thank you so much. Hi. Good afternoon.

Good afternoon. Hi. I'm here with the 5 Gyres Institute and also on behalf of of the Story of Stuff Project and here to urge a strong vote of support for the confirmation. Thank you very much.

Thank you so much. Good afternoon.

Hello. I'm Grant Readle. I'm an economist with Edgar and Associates. And on behalf of Marin Sanitary Services, a waste haul and recycler, I'd like to extend my full faith and support in Zoe Heller.

Thank you so much. Good afternoon, fellow Healdsburger.

Hello, fellow Healdsburger, Mr. Pro Tem and Members. I am Rachel Machi Wagoner. A little surreal to be here before you today. It's nice to see all of you again. I'm officially here in capacity as Executive Director for Circular Action Alliance. We are very much in support of Director Heller's nomination and appointment and look forward to a very collaborative relationship moving forward.

As the Director has stated, the implementation of SB 54 is critically important for California, and we look to forward to working with her on that and are very strongly in support. And as former Director, I had the incredible pleasure of working with Zoe, and she is an incredibly thoughtful and collaborative person and is a wonderful choice and we, I fully support her confirmation.

Thank you so much. Good to see you. Thank you. We're going to do a last call for those who may be in support. A last call for those who may be in support. If you could please come forward to the podium at this time. Seeing no one rise, we're now going to open it up to any individual who would like to speak in opposition. If you could please step forward at this time. Last call for opposition. Seeing no one rise, we're now going to bring it back to Committee. Any additional discussion, debate, or a motion?

I'd like to make a motion, Mr. Chair, for Zoe Heller to be moved to the Senate Floor. She had great support, but then she brought the big guns in when Rachel came to the microphone. So I strongly urge my colleagues to vote aye.

Thank you so much, Madam Vice Chair. Last call for discussion or debate on the dais. Seeing none. Madam Secretary, can you please call the roll?

[Roll Call] Five to zero.

It's a 5-0 vote. It has been approved. Next stop will be the Senate Floor. We look forward to working with you, especially this year, and getting the damn thing done. All right, thank you all very much. We're going to take a 30 second recess, and we'll be right back with you. 30 seconds.

All right, ladies and gentlemen, we're going to be lifting the call. Lifting the call on Madam Board Member, Board Member Hassid. Current vote is 3-0. Please call the absent Members.

[Roll Call] 3 to 2.

Final vote, 3-2. Motion passes. Next stop, Senate Floor. All right, ladies and gentlemen of Committee, this concludes today's agenda. I just want to say thank you to each and every one of you who stuck with us, and we'll be back at it next week. Thank you so much. We are now adjourned.