Assembly Floor

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

[Roll Call]

Members, a quorum is present. I ask you to return to your desk for today's prayer. We ask our guests and visitors in the rear of the chamber and in the gallery to please stand for the prayer. Assemblymember Harbideian will offer today's prayer. Assemblymember Harabediann.

Let us take a moment to reflect. Today we honor the generations of Asian American and Pacific Islander Californians whose courage, culture and contributions have shaped the story of this state, not as guests, but as builders of its very foundation. We remember those who came before us, who crossed oceans and borders carrying their families, their traditions, their dreams.

Many were met with closed doors and heavy burdens, yet still they built, they resisted, they endured. Their stories are not side notes in California's history. They are central chapters. And their legacy reminds us that progress is never given.

It is earned, often at great cost, and passed down with hope for those who came before, for those standing now, for those rising still, we give thanks. May we be worthy of that legacy. May we lead with humility, listen with intention and legislate with courage. May we confront injustice not just with words, but with action.

And may this chamber always be a place where every community sees itself reflected in the laws we pass and the future we shape. Amen.

We ask our guests and visitors to remain standing and join us in the flag salute. Assemblymember Caloza will lead us in the pledge.

Members and guests, happy Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month. Please join me in the Pledge of Allegiance. Put your right hand over your heart and begin. I pledge allegiance.

Indivisible, with liberty and justice for all. You may be seated. To our guests and visitors today state law prohibits persons in the gallery from interfering with legislative proceedings or disrupting the orderly conduct of official business. Persons disrupting legislative proceedings are subject to removal, arrest or other appropriate legal remedies.

Members, we will now move on to the Assembly's Asian American Pacific Islander Heritage Month ceremony. Without objection, guests will be allowed on the floor for our ceremony. We will now take up File Item 49, House Resolution 35, by Assemblymember Fong. The Clerk will read.

House Resolution Number 35, by Assemblymember Fong and others, relative to the Asian and Pacific Islander American Heritage Month.

Assemblymember Fong, you may open on the measure.

Good afternoon, Madam Speaker and Members. I rise today to present HR 35, designating the month of May as Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month. Asian Americans, Native Hawaiians, and Pacific Islanders have a long history in this country and particularly in California.

From tremendous sacrifices in building the transcontinental railroad, to serving in our military, to contributions in all walks of life—in public safety, health care, business, science, agriculture, labor, government, and more. Despite the contributions, AAPIs often are not seen and treated as part of this country.

From the incarceration of Japanese Americans in World War II to the Chinese Exclusion Act of 1882, to more recently, when AAPIs were targets of hate during the COVID-19 pandemic. California is home to 7.3 Asian American Pacific Islander Americans. More than any other state. We also have the most number of AAPI elected officials.

California just elected our first Filipina and Tongan Americans in the State Assembly and our first Filipino American in the State Senate. AAPI Heritage Month allows us to celebrate and highlight the diversity and history of our communities, as well as celebrate the diverse cultures, history, stories, accomplishments, and contributions made by AA and HPIs throughout our state.

On this resolution, I respectfully ask for an "Aye" vote. Thank you.

Thank you, Assemblymember Fong. Next, we'll have Assemblymember Quirk-Silva.

Thank you, Madam Speaker and Members. Colleagues, I rise today on behalf of the California Latino Legislative Caucus in strong support of House Resolution 35, which recognizes May as Asian and Pacific Islander American Heritage Month. Asian and Pacific Islander Americans represent approximately 16% of California's population and remain one of the fastest growing communities in our state.

Today, California is home to nearly one third of the entire Asian and Pacific Islander population in the United States. In my district, which includes Buena Park, Fullerton, Artesia, Cypress, and La Palma, and Cerritos, Artesia, Americans and South Asian communities include a vast number of Korean Americans, South Asian Americans, Vietnamese, Filipinos, and many other Asian heritage.

These communities have built thriving businesses in vibrant cultural spaces. The story of Asian Pacific Islander American communities reflects the broader American journey. It is a story of perseverance through hardship, of families building future, in the face of exclusion, and of communities turning challenge into opportunity.

Members, in this time, as we see such a divided America, as we see so many immigrants being targeted and literally ripped away from their families, this is a time to celebrate those cherished stories of people coming, whether by foot or by boat, to America, for that American dream.

It's a time that we need to highlight the atrocities that we see happening to those who build our community. Those who not only build our communities in agriculture, those who build our communities in construction, those who work in our restaurants, those who do the hospitality.

These are the people who are working on our communities and should be celebrated. It is the story that echoes the experience of many immigrant families that match the Latino story, that match those stories that now, yes, now, so many immigrants face fear. Will they see their mothers again? Will they see their fathers?

Will they come home to nobody? And yes, this is a celebration. But it's also the story of immigrants who so often build America and so often are the targets. Recent research shows that over the last two decades, the number of Americans who identify as both Latino and Asian or Pacific Islander has more than doubled.

That growth tells a powerful story about who we are and who we are becoming. The California Latino Legislative Caucus proudly under—honors—these achievements and legacy of Asian and Pacific Islanders. We celebrate their cultural strength, their civic leadership, and their enduring contributions to the life of California. I respectfully ask for your "Aye" vote on HR 35.

Thank you, Assemblymember Quirk-Silva. Assemblymember Lee, you are now recognized.

Thank you, Madam Speaker and Members. I rise today on behalf of the California Legislative LGBTQ Caucus and as a proud Member of that caucus and the Asian American Pacific Islander Caucus, in strong support of HR 35. California is home to one of the largest and most diverse AAPI populations in the nation.

The contributions of Asian Americans, specifically from the LGBTQ-plus community, have profoundly shaped our Golden State. Asian American and Pacific Islander LGBTQ people have been part of our country's history for generations, even though our stories have been marginalized or erased.

California, with its large AAPI population and queer activism has led from the early gay liberation movements in San Francisco to contemporary trans and queer activism now throughout the state. We're incredibly lucky to have a rich and strong community of activists.

Many of us, including myself, refer to our history as a means of motivation and inspiration for the work that we do. Dr. Margaret Chung, the first American born Chinese female physician, not only established one of San Francisco Chinatown's earliest medical clinics but also served as a mother figure to thousands of World War II veterans, while quietly living in same sex relationships.

Rose Bamberger, a Filipina from San Francisco, co-founded the Daughters of Bilitis, which started as a social club and quickly became the nation's first lesbian rights organization. In 2006, Kim Koko Iwamoto was elected to the Hawaii Board of Education, becoming the first out transgender person to win a statewide office in the United States of America.

Here in our own Legislature, our colleague from Yolo has made history as the first Filipino American to serve in the California State Senate, and his leadership continues to inspire and uplift our AAPI queer community.

Asian American and Pacific Islander LGBTQ activists, leaders—activists and leaders—are at the forefront of movements for social justice, advocating for inclusion and equity. As we celebrate AAPI Heritage Month, we must commit to building inclusion in every space, especially in spaces of power, influence, and decision making. Thank you.

And on behalf of the LGBTQ-plus Caucus, I respectfully ask for your "Aye" vote of HR 35.

Thank you, Assemblymember Lee. Assemblymember Ramos, you are now recognized.

Thank you, Madam Speaker. On behalf of the Native American Legislative Caucus, I rise in support of this measure recognizing May 2025 as Asian and Pacific Islander American Heritage Month and commend Asian and Pacific Islanders for their many contributions to California, also sharing their rich culture with each and every one of us here in California.

We are home to more than 7 million Asian and Pacific Islanders.

In 1965, Filipino union Members in California started the historic Delano Grape strike and asked Cesar Chavez mostly Latino union to join their picket lines in what is still today a model of solidarity between all of us for change here in our State of California against great persecution.

Our brothers and sisters continue to show their resiliency against all these areas through persecution, showing the resiliency of their people in areas that affect each and every one of us. As they served unselfishly to protect our nation during times of war.

Even as their loyalty was being questioned and their families were being interned, they still stood with us to stand with us. Showing the resiliency of their people. Their diversity, culture and talents help to make California not only a global economic power, but also a global creative force.

We are fortunate to have our brothers and sisters standing with us side by side. And as the Native American Legislative Caucus know that we stand side by side with you, we ask for an aye vote.

Thank you, Assemblymember Ramos. Assemblymember Ahrens, you are now recognized.

Thank you, Madam Speaker. I rise today on behalf of the California Legislative Jewish Caucus in support of HR35 to recognize May as AAPI Heritage Month. Today, we recognize more than 30 diverse ancestries and encompass the that encompass Asian and Pacific American community and their history, achievements and contributions.

In California, these ancestries are present in the 7 million Asian and Pacific Islander Members of our community.

There are so many diverse Asian American communities with many different experiences and this month is a time to celebrate the diverse cultures of these AAPI communities and recognize their enduring contributions in art, business, education, entertainment, fashion, the humanities, law, medicine, science, sports, technology, and of course, government.

While this month is a time for celebration, we also cannot forget that Asian and Pacific Islander Americans have endured exclusion, discrimination and xenophobia in some of the darkest times in our history. This is unfortunately an experience shared across diverse communities and is also shared by the Jewish community as well.

And as we all know too well, threats to the Asian and Pacific Islander community are not limited to our past, but remain pervasive today and we must continue to speak out against the violence and racism that this community has faced and continues to face in all of our districts.

We are currently also in the middle of Jewish American Heritage Month Month and we share more than just a month. However, our ancestors and families share a great history with our Asian and Pacific American neighbors of working hard for America and support important progressive values.

And today our communities face similar threats of violence and bigotry and ignorance and we support each other through our hardest moments and we will continue to do so as partners in the march towards Justice.

The Jewish community stands in solidarity with the AAPI community in the fight against hatred and intolerance and we are proud to recognize this month as Asian and Pacific Islander Heritage Month. And on behalf of the Jewish Caucus, I urge your aye vote. Thank you.

Thank you, Assemblymember Ahrens. Assemblymember Mark Gonzalez, you are now recognized.

Thank you, Madam Speaker. I also rise in support of HR35, which recognizes May 2025 as Asian Pacific Islander Heritage Month. I am proud to represent the 54th Assembly District which has one of the highest AAPI populations in the state.

It is home to several historically recognized AAPI communities including Chinatown, Koreatown, Little Tokyo, Little Bangladesh and Historic Filipino Town. The contributions of Asian Pacific Islander American community are invaluable to our state. They have transcended barriers and reshaped our communities for the better. From education to advocacy to arts to sports, politics and beyond.

So I'm honored to stand on this floor and recognize and acknowledge their achievements. I also want to note as a point of personal privilege that one third of my staff are aapi. Thank you to my colleague from Alhambra and the AAPI Sisters, brothers and siblings for bringing this resolution forward.

Let us continue to uplift, celebrate and protect the voices stories, legacies of the AAPI community. Not just this month, but every day. I respectfully ask for your aye vote.

Thank you, Assembly Member Mark Gonzalez. Next. Assembly Member Ransom. You're recognized.

Thank you, Madam Speaker. Members, I rise on behalf of the California Legislative Black Caucus to stand in strong support of HR35, recognizing the month of May as Asian and Pacific Islander American Heritage Month. California's strength lies in its diversity and and the Asian and Pacific Islander American community has been integral to our state's history and our progress.

From building the transcontinental railroad to leading in the fields like technology, education and the arts. Their contributions are both profound and enduring. I represent a district with vibrant, diverse and resilient Asian and Pacific Islander communities with a deeply rooted history in our region. We are home of the early Japanese and Chinese immigration for agricultural investments.

In Stockton, we are home of one of the largest Cambodian American communities in the nation. Approximately 9,000 Cambodian Americans reside in Stockton, enriching our city with the cultural resilience. Stockton also has a powerful legacy of Filipino American history through Little Manila, which was once the largest Filipino community outside of the Philippines.

This community has a rich history of advocacy and activism, fighting for justice as well as labor and civil rights. Stockton is also the home of the first Sikh Gurdwara in the United States, established in 1912. And Stockton is currently the home of 4,500 Sikh residents, making it one of the largest Punjabi Sikh communities in California.

These stories are a testament of the enduring spirit of those who have overcome adversity to build a better future for themselves and for their families. As we celebrate this month, let us also acknowledge the challenges that are faced by the AAPI community, including historical injustices and the ongoing discrimination that we must all stand against.

The California Legislative Black Caucus stands in solidarity, recognizing that the fight for equity and justice is a shared journey that we continue on. We urge our colleagues to support HR35 and to join us in honoring the invaluable contribution of Asian and Pacific Islander Americans. Thank you. And I strongly support and request your aye vote. Thank you.

Thank you. Member Assembly Member Ransom, Assembly Member Jeff Gonzalez, you are now recognized.

Thank you, Madam Speaker. Today I rise in support of my community. We have a diverse community in Riverside, Imperial and San Bernardino counties. And this weekend I had the opportunity to hang out with a whole bunch of moms from everywhere.

And it was just so interesting to see the moms with their kids just in action, you know, no matter how old or how young those kids might be, a mom will always be a mom. As we see right here with my colleague, she will always be a mom. But I want to highlight two. Two pieces.

Number one, in Mexicali, just right across the border in Mexico. That city was founded by Chinese Americans. And you go into Mexicali and it is. It's just amazing to see the culture there. And when you talk about the traditional food, it's Chinese food in Mexico. So it was just.

It was fun to see, but it was also interesting to understand that culture. And then secondly, I had the opportunity to meet with Peggy Price, supervisor of Imperial county, and she is the first Asian American woman to sit on the Imperial County Board of Supervisors.

So on behalf of my community, for those trailblazers, for those moms throughout all of the world and throughout all of California, I stand not only in support of HR35, but in support of those amazing moms who not only sit here with us today, but sit out there always looking out for us.

Thank you, Assemblymember Jeff Gonzalez. Assemblymember Tangipa, you are now recognized.

Malolale Talofa, Kiora La Roana. Hello to all of you. And it is an honor to rise in support for this resolution as a first Polynesian American elected to the state Legislature. I think about where my family came from and the island of Niwa Topo Tapu, where my mom was born.

And for her to sit here on this floor today, coming from that island shows just how special it is. I joined a lot of my Hmong colleagues in Fresno just last week to honor a lot of them.

And they stated one of the most beautiful things I have ever heard, as they had stated that they may be 100% Hmong. They wanted everybody to know that they are also 100% American. And I stand here before you 100% Tongan, 100% Polynesian, and 100% American.

And my mother gets to say the same thing because about a year and a half ago, I was able to get her green card and legal residency to be and to say that she is 100% American. So I get to ask you to vote EO, which is how you say yes in tongan, and support HR35. Thank you.

Thank you, Assemblymember Tangipa. Assemblymember Nguyen, you are recognized.

Thank you, Madam Chair. You know, I would say that maybe 30 years ago, we talked about API Heritage Month. As I was a kid, we were known for a few things, none of which I was good at. Math, tennis, piano, Straight A's in school and sitting there, being a good Asian kid.

We have come such a long way, as I hear from our Native American Caucus Members, our LGBT Caucus Members, our Jewish Caucus Members, our Latino Caucus Members, our Black Caucus Members, and that we didn't get to where we're at today by ourselves.

That we relied on our brothers and sisters to help us get to where we're at, but to also recognize the struggles that we had to endure, just like all of you, to get where we're at.

Our legislative caucus is 15 strong and for the first time ever, five women represented in the Legislature for the first time time ever. Which means that we get to come to this floor and share our stories.

Which means that we get to come to this floor and walk our honorees down this aisle so that you can hear about the amazing things they've done in our community, and not just the Asian Pacific Islander community, but in all communities. Because, you see, we have so many similarities.

We have so many struggles and so many barriers, but we see each other as one. We call you our brothers and sisters, Our children call you auntie and uncles. We are a family, and we have to come on this floor and make decisions that make the state a better place.

We get to bring people on this floor to see the amazing work that we'll do. And I'll take the opportunity to highlight my honoree, Chrissy Teigen, who has been recognized in time magazine as 100 most influential people. And she's done more than what you've read in all of social media. She uses her voice to elevate our community.

She uses her voice to fight against social justice. She uses her voice and her talents and her experience and the things that we love most more than anything, and that is food. Having their number one bestseller cookbook. But also, as my colleague from Indio mentioned, mothers.

She is a mother of four amazing children that I had the opportunity to get on the floor and play with with the cars, Legos, and some hello Kitty toys. And I'd like to take the time to recognize Miles, Luna, Etsy, and Wren up here.

See, as a mother, while she is out there using her voice to elevate our communities, she's also a mother that brings her children along to see the amazing work that we get to do here on this floor.

So I ask you all for your support on HR35, not just on behalf of the API community, but on behalf of all of us. Because it took every single one of you, every single one of your community. And recognizing in support of us for us to be here. Thank you.

Thank you Assembly Member Nguyen seeing and hearing no further debate at this time. Assembly Member Fong, you may close.

Thank you so much to all my colleagues and Members for their uplifting comments on HR35 celebrating contributions of Asian Americans, Pacific Islanders to our great state and to our nation. I asked for an aye vote on HR35 and congratulations again to all our honorees. And I ask the first rope open be open for co authors. Thank you.

Thank you. The first roll is now open for co author all Members who all Members vote who desire to vote. All Members vote who desire to vote. All Members vote Desire to vote. Remember, this is for co authors. We'll wait for Assemblymember Berner. The Clerk will now close the roll. There are 71 co authors.

Without objection, we will now take a voice vote on the resolution. All all those in favor say aye. All those opposed say no. The ayes have it. The resolution is adopted. For the 2025 Assembly observance of Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage month, we recognize 14 distinguished honorees for their invaluable contributions to our state and country.

Assemblymember Fong, you are recognized for your introductory remarks.

Thank you so much, Madam Speaker. In celebration of AAPI Heritage Month, please enjoy the gift on your desk and a program highlighting the individuals who are recognizing this year. Congratulations again to all our honorees. Thank you so much, Madam Speaker.

I'm appointing an escort Committee to bring our honorees onto the floor for our ceremonies. Members, you Members should retire to the rear of the chamber as I call your name. Assemblymembers Fong, Li, Chen, Caloza, Ta Bains, Tangipa, Patel, Muratsuchi, Kalra, Harabedian and Nguyen, and Senators Wahab and Cabaldon.

I ask that Speaker Rivas and Republican Leader Gallagher move to the front center aisle to receive our honorees.

Members, it is now time to introduce and welcome our 2025 honorees. The Clerk will read.

Escorted by Assemblymember Fong is Chen Suen, the first AAPI Fire Chief for the City of Arcadia. Born in Taiwan, Chief Suen has worked for the Arcadia Fire Department for over 20 years. During the Los Angeles fires in January, he displayed strong leadership as Arcadia firefighters battled both the Eden and Palisades fire.

On top of his public service, Chief Suen is also a part time instructor at several colleges as well as an internee with expertise in workplace investigations. Please welcome Chen Suen.

Escorted by Assemblymember Nguyen is Chrissy Teigen, a New York Times number one best selling cookbook author and TV personality. In 2016, Ms. Teigen released Recipe for all the food you'd want to eat which debuted number one on the New York Times bestseller list.

In 2019, Ms. Teigen was included on Time Magazine's annual list of the 100 most influential people as well as the Hollywood Reporter's 20 most powerful players in food media. She has been a voice for social justice and reproductive rights and has campaigned across the country to enshrine abortion rights in state constitutions. She also actively supports the fight to raise minimum wage. Please welcome Chrissy Teigen.

Escorted by Assemblymember Lee and Senator Wahab is Maliha Noamani, a dedicated advocate for social and economic justice. As a leader at SEIU 2015, she has worked tirelessly to uplift the voices of caregivers and ensure they receive the dignity and respect they deserve.

She has consistently championed human rights, women's empowerment and immigrant justice through grassroots organizing and community engagement. Please welcome Maliha Noamani.

Escorted by Assemblymember Chen is Daniel Ding. Mr. Ding is the founder of the Law Office of Daniel Ding. He has dedicated his career to advocating for the rights and well being of Asian-Americans.

He also actively engages in community outreach, providing educational resources and support to empower individuals within the Asian-American community. Please welcome Daniel Ding.

Escorted by Assembly Caloza and Senator Cabaldon is Eva Garcia. Ms. Garcia proudly serves as the President of the Women's Council of Realtors of Solano and a statewide ambassador for the organization.

During the pandemic she was instrumental in organizing PPE donations in partnership with the Napa City Council and has continued weekly food deliveries to local veterans and seniors. Please welcome Eva Garcia.

Escorted by Assemblymember Ta is Dr. Kao Minhung, a distinguished dentist, musician, martial artist and community leader. He has contributed to the Vietnamese American cultural experience through the release of several albums and cofounded a cultural club for artists. He has actively supported youth development through a free talent development program offering vocal and dance lessons. Please welcome Dr. Kao Minhung.

Escorted by Cemember Kalra is Queenie Nguyen Truong Truong. Ms. Truong is the founder, President and Executive producer of Ms. Vietnam California. Ms. Vietnam California has become one of the most prestigious, longest running continuous Vietnamese cultural pageants for the past 35 years.

She works closely with other community organizations and leaders to highlight the strength, beauty and resilience of both Vietnamese American and AAPI heritage. Please welcome Queenie Nguyen Truong Truong.

Escorted by Assemblymember Bains is Dr. Brian Komoto. Dr. Komoto has dedicated over 40 years to improving health care and meeting the needs of the medically underserved in Delano and Kern Counties.

He and his wife Mary founded the Komoto Family Foundation and the Affordable Meds Program, saving patients millions of dollars and helping them cover high medication costs and co pays. Please welcome Dr. Brian Komoto.

Escorted by a simile Member Tangipa is Leo Kaho Kuma. Mr. Kuma is the Artistic Director and Co-Owner of No Te Here O Te Hiroa, the Polynesian Club from Fresno. For over 20 years he has led the studio's international award winning Tahitian drummers as well as the male dancers of all ages while performing the very exciting Samoan Fire Knife dance. Please welcome Leo Kaho Kuma.

Escorted by Assemblymember Lee is Dr. Annie V. Lam. Dr. Lam is a nationally recognized leadership strategist with over 15 years of experience advancing equity and building leadership pipelines across sectors. The daughter of Chinese refugees from Vietnam, she began her career in the California State Assembly, later creating the state's first API Legislative Staff Academy. Please welcome Dr. Annie V. Lam.

Escorted by Assemblymember Caloza is Lisa Liu, a four time Emmy winning producer of Shows that Redefine News. For 20 years, Ms. Liu excelled in senior positions on news magazines all over the world.

Her list of world exclusives includes some of the most famous and notorious figures in modern history. O.J. Simpson, Robert Oswald, the Beverly Hills Madam, Charles Manson, among others. Please welcome Lisa Liu.

Escorted by Assemblymember Patel is Karen Leilani Parlan. An accomplished social worker dedicated to improving the lives of children, families and vulnerable populations.

As a Member of the Hui O Hawaii Club in San Diego, the Council for Native Hawaiian Advancement and a cultural mentor for the Kailua Canoe Club. She considers it her mission to build a future so her children can feel safe to express their cultural and personal beliefs without prejudice. Please welcome Karen Leilani Parlan.

Escorted by Assemblymember Muratsuchi is Kailyn and Kristin Tang on behalf of their grandfather, Dr. Kanji Sahara, who passed away in February. Dr. Sahara was born in Hiroshima, Japan and raised in Los Angeles until his family was incarcerated in 1942 in the Santa Anita Assembly Center in California and the Jerome and Roar concentration camps in Arkansas.

He was passionate about educating people on the injustices he endured during incarceration. His final project was obtaining funding for a monument to be built in Torrance. Please welcome Kailyn and Kristen Tang.

Escorted by Assemblymember Harabedian is Chien Yu, an outstanding Member of the Pasadena Fire Department for nearly 20 years. Mr. Yu sprang into action as the East Eden fire engulfed large parts of his community on January 7th. Despite having to evacuate his family as his own house burned down, he continued battling the blaze and was able to save the lives and properties of many of his neighbors. Please welcome Chien Yu.

On behalf of Chair Fong and the Members of the California Asian American and Pacific Islander Legislative Caucus, thank you for helping us celebrate this year's remarkable honorees. Members, to learn more about these distinguished individuals, please read their full biographies in the program found on your desks. This concludes our celebration.

As our honorees exit the Chamber, let's give them another round of applause.

Reading of the previous day's Journal Assembly.

Assembly Chamber of Sacramento Thursday, May 1, 2025. The Assembly met at 9 a.m. The Honorable Josh Lowenthal, Speaker Pro Tempore of the Assembly presiding, Chief Clerk Sue Parker at the desk, Reading Clerk David A. Bowman reading.

Majority Leader Aguiar-Curry moves and Mr. Flora seconds that the reading of the previous day's journal be dispensed with. Presentations and petitions. There are none. Introduction and reference of bills will be deferred. Reports of committees will be deemed read and amendments deemed adopted. Messages from the Governor? There are none. Messages from the Senate? There are none.

Moving to motions and resolutions. The absences for the day for personal business: Assemblymember Stephanie. Madam Majority Leader, you are recognized for your procedural motions.

Good afternoon, Madam Chair. I request unanimous consent to suspend Assembly Rule 45.5 to allow Assemblymembers Petrie-Norris and Wallace to speak on an adjournment in memory today.

Without objections. That shall be the order.

I request unanimous consent to suspend Assembly Rule 118A to allow Assemblymember Fong to have guests on the floor. Assembly Member Togapa to have a guest seated at his desk. Assemblymember Soria to have guests at the rear of the chamber today.

Pursuant to Assembly Rule 96. I request unanimous consent to re-refer AB715 Zbur from the Judiciary to the Education Committee.

Without objection, such shall be the order.

Without objection, such shall be the order.

There is a Rules Committee resolution at the desk to suspend Joint Rule 61. I ask that we go on to that item now.

The Clerk will read.

Resolved that Joint Rule 61A be suspended to permit the Committee on Education to meet, consider, and report Assembly Bill 715 for further action.

Members, this Joint Rule suspension is not debatable. It takes 54 votes. The Clerk will open the roll. All Members vote who desire to vote. All Members vote who desire to vote. All Members vote who desire to vote. The Clerk will close the roll and tally the votes. Ayes 58. Joint Rule 61 is suspended.

Majority Leader, you are recognized.

I request unanimous consent to suspend Joint Rule 62A, the file notice requirement to allow the Education Committee to hear AB715 Zbur at their hearing on Wednesday, May 14.

Without objection, such shall be the order.

Moving to guest introductions. Assemblymember Tangipa, you are recognized for your introduction.

I'll make this fairly quick, so I had the honor to bring my mother to join me on the floor and she just wanted to say hello.

Assemblymember Alanis, you're recognized for your guest introduction.

Thank you, Madam Speaker. Colleagues, today I would like to recognize 10 outstanding students from the Thomas Downey High School from my district in Modesto. These students participated in the Tax Literacy Ambassador Cohort through Stanislaus County's United Way. Collectively, these students helped prepare nearly 600 tax returns for local residents without any cost.

Their work helped restore over $900,000 to the community members. In addition to helping families file their taxes, these students help empower their peers through financial literacy training and education. These future leaders have demonstrated diligence, community service and well rounded knowledge of personal finance.

I am encouraged to see our younger generations learning about microeconomics and using the knowledge to serve their community. To each of you up in the gallery, thank you for your service and I look forward to seeing how this work shapes your career paths and lives in the future.

Members, please help me welcome these students from Thomas Downey High School. Thank you.

Moving on to business on the daily file. Second reading. Clerk will read.

Assembly Bill 656, 1197, 1374, 379, 391, 760,1026, 1334, 1223, 456 with amendments, 334 with amendments, 649 with amendments, and Senate Bill 49.

All bills will be deemed read and all amendments will be deemed adopted. Assembly third reading. Assemblymember Soria. Pardon me.

File item 23, AB 2 by Assembly Member Lowenthal. The Clerk will read.

Assembly Bill 2. By Assembly Member Lowenthal and others and as related to social media platforms.

Assemblymember Lowenthal, you are recognized.

Yes, thank you, Madam Speaker, and thank you, Members. We're going to kick this off today with a big one. I have a question for you Members.

For those of you who flew here today on an airplane, did you worry that the plane that you were on would function as it's supposed to, that the landing gear would work, that the exit doors would work?

For those of you who drove here today, do you feel confident that the airbags in your car would deploy in a collision?

For the parents that are here today, when your child puts on a bicycle helmet, gets in a car seat, uses toys, aren't you confident that the safety standards not only come first, but have been rigorously tested and transparently reported upon by manufacturers? I am.

Because I know that duty of care standards are bedrock in the product development cycle of everything that our kids use.

Everything that is, except for the one product that they use the most. The product that they're spending five hours a day on, and that one product that is empirically having disastrous impacts on their mental health and on their development. And that product is social media.

So today I'm pleased to present AB 2, which will hold social media platforms accountable for the harm they cause to children and teenagers. This legislation sets damage levels that can be meted out only if a court imposes financial responsibility on large social media companies when their own negligence has been proven.

That duty of care that would put these companies on par with every other consumer product that our children use, I find myself compelled as a parent and as a Legislator to bring this piece of legislation back.

Because despite this legislation's diligent efforts to thoughtfully address the harms and negative impacts that social media platforms have on the mental health and well being of children and teens. We are struggling to hold the platforms accountable through regulation. Children, parents, researchers, doctors, regulators and lawmakers alike have clearly delineated the problem.

Social media platforms are causing untold harm to our kids across the aisle and across the world. We all know that these platforms are harmful and addictive, particularly while the brain is developing. But our pleas for social media platforms to self regulate have gone unanswered.

Our attempts to regulate the platforms are being challenged by the platforms and their trade associations in the courts, and the public is demanding action. And this is why AB 2 is is so critically important. Unfortunately and incredulously, social media platforms continue to deny that their algorithms and design features are contributing to these harms.

In fact, some platforms seem to be flagrantly ignoring the problem that we have identified by actively rolling back what little safeguards they previously offered. And their approach of deny and fight in court is only hardening our resolve. And why is that?

Because no parent or school would suggest to a child that anorexia is a good weight loss solution, that steroids are a good way to build muscle and get fit, that driving at dangerous speeds is a good way to impress your friends, and that it's safe, that choking yourself until you pass out was a good idea, or that self harm or suicide were good ways to deal with depression.

Social media platforms are not exercising ordinary care. Their proprietary algorithms and design features are fully capable of stronger safety, but without facing duty of care financial liabilities. They drive children and teens to harmful content, encouraging them to engage in dangerous and sometimes life threatening behavior.

And all of us have heard those stories, many of whom by parents testifying before us in Committee. AB 2 will hold social media platforms accountable to their failure to exercise ordinary care that results in harm to a minor. It does not change California's underlying law or the burden of proof in court.

AB 2 applies appropriate financial incentives and accountability to prompt just a handful of companies who are earning billions of dollars off our children, who are not actually the end users but are productized to be more careful and responsible partner when it comes to our kids.

We should feel just as confident that our kids will be safe when using social media as we feel when they're using any other product. And if they're harmed while using that product, the company that produced it is held accountable. Thank you and I respectfully ask for your aye vote.

Thank you Assemblymember Lowenthal. Assemblymember Pellerin, you are recognized.

Thank you Madam Speaker and Members. I rise today as a proud co author of AB 2. I have two children who are now adults, but I remember that navigating those early years with with nascent social media was hard enough.

In my conversations about mental health, I frequently remark on how challenging it must be to raise children or teenagers in this day and age where children are getting access to social media before they've learned about mentally healthy habits or fully developed their self esteem.

As my colleague from Long Beach mentioned, we know that these sites view our time and attention as a commodity. So they designed their platforms to be addictive. We have heard the testimony of parents. Who have lost their children to suicide. Because of the overwhelming impact of social media.

We have also heard testimony from social media companies who argue that they are taking ordinary care and skill with our children and that this Bill will just open them up to increased financial liabilities. I strongly disagree. If they are not found to be liable under existing California standards for negligence. They won't be financial liable under this Bill.

But we have seen time and time again that social media is harming our children's mental health and the companies are not doing enough. I suspect they would do more if inaction impacted their bottom line. I respectfully ask for your aye vote on AB 2.

Thank you, Assemblymember Patterson, you are recognized.

Great. Thank you, Madam Speaker. I rise today as a joint author of AB 2. I appreciate my friend and colleague from Long Beach for the invitation to work on this important issue with him.

I first became interested in this topic when a neighbor of mine, Zach Didier, obtained what he thought was Percocet off a social media platform where a complete stranger was able to message him. Unfortunately, the Percocet was actually fentanyl. Zach died just days after Christmas in 2020.

Just this past weekend there was an opinion piece in CalMatters, where one minor girl was searching for ways to get in shape during COVID. Something many of us tried to do when we were stuck at home.

The author states that within days this young lady was flooded with pro anorexia posts and extreme diet tips, such as how to stay under 500 calories a day and how to be thin enough to fit in a baby swing. This wasn't something the lady searched for. This was the algorithm sent her this information.

I also remember coming across a social media page where a lady was openly selling drugs online. A friend of mine reported it to the platform. The response it received was that it didn't violate any terms. So I took a picture of the shipping label and sent it to a friend at the FBI.

I also contacted the platform through my office and, I will give credit, the platform then took it down. But you shouldn't have to be a Legislator to flag obviously dangerous activity online. Now you might ask, what about parents? What role do they have? Come on now.

You teach your child the risks, but you can't be with them at all moments. Just as you can't be with your child when he or she is driving erratically or or attempting to buy alcohol. But if the store does sell alcohol to the minor, they are responsible and the law does hold them accountable.

Just as I feel like the algorithms are responsible for serving a young lady. Obviously posts on extreme weight loss fads leading to anorexia. For the past three years I've had the opportunity to sit on the Privacy and Consumer Protection Committee. Here are some things I've noticed. On some platforms you can change your age.

You could be a kid today and an adult tomorrow. Meaning you go from seeing Peppa the Pig to seeing adult entertainment. We have technology to serve these ads and posts on a person's interest, but not the technology to make simple connections that the user is a minor. I don't believe that for one second.

Why do some platforms choose to invest heavily on sending ads and developing algorithms to ensure kids are able to get their hands on drugs and and become inflicted with eating disorders but not as much investment on making the obvious connection to the user being a minor. Is the user friends mostly with children?

What other data does the company collect that makes it clear that these people are minors? I believe these companies can invest in perfecting their technology just as they have invested in serving ads and dangerous algorithms. They can do the same on keeping our children safe. In fact, many of them already have.

It's not perfect, but just some examples. Google has invested in this technology and will be rolling out technology to infer a user as a child, even if they lie about their age. And again, I think there could be some improvements.

But I have been impressed with a suite of products released recently by Meta that will note that no doubt is a step in the right direction. But it's my view these changes are occurring because of the California State Legislature and we're demanding it. But it's not just us, it's parents are demanding it.

As a parent myself of four kids, I won't even let my children touch social media until I know that the algorithms that are serving aren't going to give them drugs and isn't going to lead to anorexia. This is obviously a very controversial topic. We all use social media. I use it every day. It's a great product.

But you can't say that these huge technology companies with the smartest people in the world can't design their algorithms in a way to the same way to keep certain products away from from children as they send products to children. So with that I respectfully ask for an aye vote.

Thank you Assemblymember Bauer-Kahan, you are recognized.

Thank you Madam Speaker and Members, I rise in support of AB 2 as well. I often say in Privacy Committee that I think we have no higher calling than protecting California's children. And I think that's what the author here is doing. I wanted to note that just this morning out of Energy and Commerce.

In Washington, the budget reconciliation Bill contained language that would preempt every state, including the State of California, from enforcing any laws regulating artificial intelligence systems. To be clear, an algorithm in social media is an artificial intelligence system.

So what is happening right now in Washington, and to be clear, has happened not just under the current Administration, but since Section 230 is, Washington has failed to protect America's children.

And the states have stepped up, both red states and blue states, to say that our children deserve products that are safe and that will not feed them the dangerous content that our colleague from Rocklin, I believe, just spoke about. And so I think this is really important because this puts the power back into the hands of parents.

It puts the power back into the hands of the people who are harmed by these products. And if this law passes in Washington, that is what will be necessary to protect California's children from the harm that is ending up with kids suffering in ways that all of us would have thought unimaginable a decade ago.

And with that, I respectfully ask for your aye vote.

Assemblymember Hoover, you're recognized.

Thank you. Five hours per day. That's the latest Gallup polling that American teenagers spend on social media. It is no wonder. And when you look at the actual research, what has happened since the prevalence of social media has increased since the early 2010s, that we've seen increases in rates of mental health issues, increases in suicide.

In fact, suicide for young girls today. Is at the highest point than ever previously recorded. And so much of it, I mean, there's a lot of factors involved. This is why I worked with my colleague from Long beach on the phone Free Schools Act. That's why we are working on different policies in this building every year.

But the reality is that at the end of the day, we have to be able to hold people accountable for the harms that they are causing. And so I realize that this issue can be a little tougher for some of the folks on my side of the aisle, but I would just encourage.

An I vote on AB 2 today. So, that we can stop the harms that are being caused to our children, particularly our daughters and young girls. Thank you.

Assemblymember Lowenthal, would you like to close?

Yes. Members, I just want to say how proud I am to be a part of this group and especially want to say to all the parents that are here, you know, it is a joy that we can look past the subterfuge and to do what's best for our kids.

I'm so proud to be joint authored with a Member from Rockland. I want to thank the Member from Folsom, the Member from Orinda, the Member from Santa Cruz. It's no mistake that this is an across the aisle issue.

It's no mistake that there are very very few issues as a matter of fact that we can lead in California and know that the rest of the country will be supporting us in driving this legislation. This is the place to do this and this is the time to do this and I respectfully ask for your aye vote.

All debate having ceased, the Clerk will open the roll. All those vote who desire to vote. All those vote who desire to vote. All those vote who desire to vote. The Clerk will close the roll and tally the votes. Ayes, 59. Nos zero. Measure passes. Next item is item number 24, AB 1109 by Assemblymember Kalra. The Clerk will read.

Assembly Bill 1109. By Assemblymember Kalra and others in accolating to privilege.

Assemblymember Kalra, you're recognized.

Thank you, Madam Speaker. AB 1109 would establish an evidentiary privilege to prohibit the disclosure of confidential communications between an employee and their union representative. Privilege is an exclusionary rule of evidence that protects certain classes of communications from disclosure to opposing parties and and entry into evidence in legal proceedings. The California Evidence Code currently contains a.

Number of specific privileges for certain communications. Just as the doctor and patient privilege is designed to foster open and honest communication between a patient and their physician and attorney client privileges to help the attorney best represent their client, AB 1109 seeks to encourage open and honest communication between a representative employee and their union agent and help the union to best protect their workers.

In instances where an employee faces adversarial grievance or disciplinary proceedings, the representative employee should be free to discuss these sensitive matters with the union agent openly and in confidence. In order to permit the union agent to best represent the employee, the union rep notes or specific responses in advising the worker should not be subject to subpoena.

The privilege of AB 1109 would create is evidentiary in nature may only be invoked in formal judicial, administrative, or arbitration proceedings. At least two other states, Illinois and Maryland, have enacted legislation establishing privilege for communications between an employee and their union representative.

Additionally, the state of Alaska has established such a privilege for public employees through a court decision. To be clear, nothing in this bill would prohibit employers from interviewing employees, witnesses to an incident, or union reps. But by allowing evidentiary privilege between workers and union representatives, we can help ensure.

The safe, private, and full disclosure of workplace concerns and needs. These communications focus on workers rights and support California's fair employment standards. Respectfully ask for an I vote.

Seeing and hearing no further debate, the clerk will open the roll. All those vote who desire to vote. All those vote who desire to vote. All those vote who desire to vote. The clerk will close the roll and tally the votes. I, 45. No, 4. The measure passes. File item 28. AB 562 by Assemblymember Solache. The clerk will read.

Assembly Bill 562 by Assemblymember Solache and others relating to foster care.

Assemblymember Solache, you are recognized.

Thank you. Good afternoon, Madam Speaker and members, I rise to present AB 562 which will help improve outcomes for our state's foster youth. One of the best things we could do for our foster children is to place them with their family whenever it's safe to do so. Unfortunately, we only succeed in placing foster.

Children with relatives about a third of the time and county placement rates are very inconsistent. AB 562 proposes yearly family finding check ins for counties that are not reaching the state average of placing foster youth with family members to help identify areas where they can prove these rates small. Best practice changes can help increase these.

Numbers of children placed with their families. Children in the foster system deserve the best efforts to ensure safety, placement, stability, and keep families together when possible. AB 562 will help improve outcomes and ease transitions for children and and families. I would like to thank the bill's joint author from Los Angeles for his leadership supporting foster youth.

I respectfully asked for an I vote. Thank you.

Thank you, Assemblymember. Assemblymember Bryan, you're recognized.

Thank you. Madam Speaker and colleagues, I rise as a proud joint author of AB 562. This is an effort we've been trying for multiple years and I want to thank my colleague from Linwood for coming up and having the courage to keep this fight going forward. Respectfully, yes for your I vote.

Seeing and hearing no further debate, the clerk will open the roll. All those vote who desire to vote. All those vote who desire to vote. All those vote who desire to vote. The clerk will close the roll and tally the votes. I, 70. No, 0. The measure passes. File item 33, AB 518 by Assembly Member Ward. The clerk will read.

Assembly Bill 518 by Assembly Member Ward and others and relating to land use.

Assemblymember Ward, you are recognized.

Thank you, Madam Speaker. Members, here to present AB 518. The Low Impact Camping Areas Act of 2025. Outdoor recreation hit a record high in 2022, with more than 19 million Californians going outside, providing an estimated $74 billion for the state's outdoor recreation economy. However, nearly half of the campers report difficulty finding and booking available campsites statewide.

Pair this with some of the federal risks that we have to public lands funding, California fears losing over 4000 campsites which could be closed this summer. Meanwhile, farmers, ranchers and rural landowners across the state are struggling with some of the increased costs of land ownership in California.

And so they are turning to this opportunity where landowners could look to set up campsites on their property in a low impact form to be able to share it with the public. But they are often barred or find difficulty doing so because we face a self imposed bureaucratic barrier.

With a lengthy permitting system at the state level, which can cost nearly $100,000, the process of getting a permit through the California Department of Community Housing Development, in addition to local land use permits from the county, can take years and cost thousands of dollars.

So AB 518, which is the Low Impact Camping Areas Act, would streamline the permitting process for low impact camping areas, or LICAs, or commercially available campgrounds, which are approved by and meet all requirements by local governments. LICAs are typically small rural properties located on at least 2 acres with no more than 9 available campsites.

They are authorized by county ordinance. 50 out of 58 of our counties do already authorize LICAs, and they address issues at the county level, including health and safety, land use, and other permit conditions.

Low impact camping will help Californians meet at school to provide affordable access to the outdoors, conserve land and biodiversity, expand rural economies, and supplement incomes for farmers and ranchers. We are continuing to work on any of the opposition points with issues concerning with RVs. And with that, I respectfully ask for your I vote.

Assemblymember Gallagher, you're recognized.

Yeah, thank you. Madam Speaker. Members, I do rise with concerns on this bill. I voted against it in committee. And my concern I'll start with, you know, our rural and our agricultural areas, I think, need to remain rural and agricultural.

And I don't know that always that camping is consistent, you know, with an agricultural lifestyle and with the work that is done on farms, for instance. You know, what if we are. We do have to do sprays at times. We do have to do, you know, different activities that bring that require dust.

You know, is there going to be complaints? You know, this is an agricultural area, so that needs to be prevalent and not be interrupted.

And then the other thing I have some concerns about, certainly I think this could be used in a very good way to bring people out into rural areas and have that experience and seeing what that's like. But there could also be bad actors who decide to stay longer than they're supposed to.

And we already have other legislation this year that's trying to get at the issue of squatters. I think we certainly need to make sure we're doing things on that side so that if people stay past the 14 days in this bill, you can remove them quickly.

It's hard not to talk about this without the other low impact campers that we have in many of our communities. Homeless encampments that are popping up all over and we're talking about how do we deal with those?

Does this open up an avenue in rural California for even more encampments that can pose both a danger to those folks themselves, but also to the surrounding communities and is maybe not compatible with the agricultural nature of that area? You know, there have been rural counties who've expressed concerns with this and how this gets carried out.

I, I do think that we need to also talk about RVs, you know, and on, on the properties. How is blackwater gonna get disposed of properly? Many of these places probably don't have hookups. So if we're bringing in RVs, campers that have sewage, how's that sewage going to get disposed of?

Certainly I hope it's not in these rural areas without any kind of ability to deal with that and make sure that it's dealt with without becoming a hazard. So, I mean, these are things I think we do need to think through on this bill.

And so I would like, you know, maybe the author can address that on his close, how we maybe can begin that discussion, because I do think there needs to be a little bit more work on this bill. I'm not necessarily calling for an opposed to this bill, but I just think it needs more time.

Seeing and hearing no further debate. Assembly Member Ward, would you like to close?

Thank you, Madam Speaker.

Yes, I appreciate our colleague from Nicholas in Yuba City raising some of these issues because it's thought they are thoughtful ones and ones that we have thought through as we've been working with both stakeholders that are interested in this issue, but also some of those that raise some of those very same concerns that that were raised here.

We do see this as an economic benefit to rural counties and again, an option for people to be able to use their property a little bit more creatively, where you would hope to be able to welcome people to many of those communities.

They otherwise might just pass by to be able to experience the grandeur and the beauty that they have on a lot of these lands and be able to have recreational opportunities for themselves and their families. On the issues of squatters and encampments, LICAs already are subject to a maximum of a 14 day stay.

So all of this is regulated through counties which are the harbinger of the permitting processes which do among other things, limit these to 14 days stay. So this won't be something that will get into that six month time zone where issues of squatters rights do come into play.

We are continuing and will continue to work on issues of RV possibly setting a potential limit of their but other issues that you raise where RVs come into play on what to deal with blackwater again are managed through the health and safety codes with our respective counties that are issuing this permit.

All that AB 518 does, this is going on today and hopefully is something that more and more people are coming to learn about as they're planning out their summer activities as well.

But all AB 518 would do is say we don't need to do this redundant review and this redundant secondary analysis by HCD which can add years of onto the process because the counties already have the first shot to say whether it's going to happen or not happen and what the conditions are on a given property for it to be able to happen.

As I mentioned, 50 out of our 58 counties do authorize this. I think we heard through committee Solano is not one of those counties. I'm not sure about Yuba county, but we do know that this is widely of interest in many of our counties.

We are trying to remove that redundancy for checking a lot of the very same things that counties are already subject to be checking at the county level and they are doing so today.

We see this as an opportunity to speed this up for those that want to avail themselves of the land owners land owners that want to avail themselves of this opportunity. And for all these reasons and our continue work on this bill, I respectfully ask for your I vote.

Thank you Assembly Member. All debate having ceased, the clerk will open the roll. All those vote who desire to vote. All those vote who desire to vote. All those vote who desire to vote. The clerk will close the roll and tally the votes. I, 55. No, 0. The measure passes. Returning to file item 14 through 22.

We will pass and retain 24 through 27. Pass and retain 29 through 32. Pass and retain 34 through 38. Pass and retain. Bringing us to item number 39, AB 409 by Assembly Member Arambula. The clerk will read.

Assembly Bill 409 by Assembly Member Arambula and acclaim to open the meetings.

Assembly Member Arambula, you're recognized.

Thank you, Madam Speaker and Members. Students should be able to participate in. Their student body associations free from threat to threats to their safety, to their privacy or to accessibility. AB 409 will modernize the Brown act. For student body associations on community college campuses.

I would ask for an aye vote as it's time for us to modernize this act to better reflect modern times and new challenges which are faced by our students. I respectfully ask for an aye vote.

Seeing and hearing no further debate, the Clerk will open the roll. All those vote who desire to vote. All those vote who desire to vote. All those vote who desire to vote. The Clerk will close the roll and tally the votes. Ayes 55, no 6. The measure passes. Will pass and retain on items 40 through 42.

Bringing us to item number 43, AB 668 by Assemblymember Lowenthal.

The Clerk will read Assembly Bill 668. By Assemblymember Lowenthal and others. An act relating to alcoholic beverages.

Assemblymember Lowenthal, you are recognized.

Thank you, Madam Speaker. Members, I'm pleased to present AB 668, a bill that seeks to address the ongoing issue of drink spiking, commonly known as roofing. Roofing refers to the unsolicited drugging of someone's drink. While this on its own is a horrible act, we know that it is rarely an independent crime.

Rather, it is done to enable the perpetrator to more easily commit further horrific acts such as rape and sexual assault. While this elusive crime can take place anywhere, it is most common in crowded and hectic environments where alcohol beverages are being sold and recreational drugs consumed.

As many of you know, I've worked extensively in this space over the past few years. I've introduced a number of bills to address this often under reported epidemic.

What this bill does is it takes preventative measures that have been previously applied to type 48 licensed establishments which are bars and nightclubs by pass legislation and it now extends those to California's large music festivals.

Specifically, AB 668 ensures that at these festivals they must display the availability of drink spiking test strips and they must have drink lids for patrons if they ask for them.

And also establishes reporting requirements for the unfortunate event that if a person has had their drink spiked in order to ensure that they get the help that they need and they do not fall victim to the further crimes that too often follow.

These simple measures will provide a lever of security to further ensure the safety of the participants of so many festivals that take place here in California.

Further, it will allow for the peace of mind for our festival goers so that they can better enjoy themselves knowing that there are steps being taken to prevent them from being unwillingly drugged and taken advantage of. This bill has received unanimous bipartisan support and I respectfully ask for your aye vote.

Thank you Assembly Member. Seeing and hearing no further debates, the Clerk will open the roll. All those vote who desire to vote. All those vote who desire to vote. All those vote who desire to vote. The Clerk will close the roll and tally the votes. Ayes 72 no 0 the measure passes. File item 44.

Pass and retain item 45 pass and retain item 46. AB 348 by Assembly Member krell.

The Clerk will read Assembly Bill 348. By Assemblymember Crell and applicants of Behavioral Health.

Assemblymember Crell, you are recognized.

Thank you, Madam Chair and Members of the Assembly, I am pleased to present you with AB 348 today. AB 348 prioritizes California's most vulnerable populations that desperately need access to the whatever it takes care.

Known as Full service partnerships, or FSPs, this bill streamlines access for SFP programs by establishing eligibility criteria for those in high need populations across all counties in California. Individuals that have a serious mental illness, are experiencing homelessness, incarceration or or involuntary. Hospitalizations would be presumed eligible, thus alleviating. Delays and disruption to their access for care.

This bill is sponsored by the Steinberg Institute, the Big City mayors, the California Behavioral Health Association, and has support of the California State Association of Psychiatrists, the National alliance on Mental Illness. This is a bill with bipartisan support and I respectfully ask for your aye vote today.

Thank you Assemblymembers. Seeing and hearing no further debate, the Clerk will open the roll. All those vote who desire to vote. All those vote who desire to vote. All those vote who desire to vote. The Clerk will close the roll and tally the votes.

Aye 69 no 0 the measure passes item 47 pass and retain item 48 pass and retain item 49. We've already completed item 5080663 by Assemblymember McKinner.

The Clerk will read Assembly Bill 663. By Assembly McKinner and acclaim to greenhouse gases and declaring the urgency thereof to take effect immediately.

Assemblymember McKinner, you are recognized.

Mr. Speaker and members, AB 663 would establish state standards for recapturing of hydrofluorocarbons or HFC gases. HFC leaks from air conditioning and refrigerator units are a major source of harmful short term climate pollutants.

It is estimated that an average grocery store refrigerator system leaking 25% of its total refrigerated charge results in an average of 1780 metric tons of carbon dioxide equivalent or emissions from nearly 400 passenger cars.

Properly reclaimed HFC gases can be treated and reused to help avoid the production of new HFCs while also restoring older refrigerant units to higher levels of efficiency. AB 663 creates a process of properly capturing HFCs and further our collective work to remove short term climate pollutants from the environment. I respectfully ask for your aye vote thank you.

Seeing and hearing no further debate, the Clerk will open the roll. All members vote who desire to vote. All those vote who desire to vote. All those vote who desire to vote. The Clerk will close the roll and tally the votes. Ayes 71, noes zero on the urgency. Ayes 71, noes zero on the measure.

The measure passes. Item 51 pass and retain, item 52 pass and retain, item 53. AB 574 by Mark- Assemblymember Mark Gonzalez the Clerk will read.

Assembly Bill 574 by Assemblymember Mark Gonzalez and Aqua Lanta Healthcare Coverage.

Assembly Member Gonzalez, you're recognized.

Thank you, Madam Speaker. Rise to present AB 574, which allows patients to access up to 12 medically necessary physical therapy sessions without prior authorization for a new episode of care. AB 574 ensures that patients can get critically early treatment without unnecessary barriers, helping them recover faster and avoid worsening health conditions.

Prior authorization requirements currently create delays that make it harder for patients to access the care they urgently need, often prolonging pain and dependence on medications like painkillers. These delays are harmful, particularly for patients suffering from chronic conditions who may experience worsened outcomes while they wait for approvals. This bill had bipartisan and unanimous support in committee.

AB 5774 is our promise that healing California begins with compassion and not paperwork. By removing needless de- delays, we turn those barriers into bridges. We transform waiting rooms into recovery rooms and pain into progress. Let's stand together for early patient in need, ensuring care comes swiftly and hope for patient reigns. And I'll point a personal privilege.

When my mom had her stroke about three years ago, we got two authorizations. One was just a checkup. The second one was just to say she can do therapy. And then we had to come back and wait two more weeks to get another authorization- authorization.

So that time is critical for folks to get the- the physical therapy that they need instead of waiting for a relentless paperwork that never comes through or fax machines. And so much for it. So I respectfully ask for your aye vote.

Thank you, assemblymember. All debate having ceased, the Clerk will open the roll. All those vote who desire to vote. All those vote who desire to vote. All those vote who desire to vote. The Clerk will close the roll and tally the votes. Ayes 68. Noes 0. The measure passes. Item 54, pass and retain. Item 55,

AB 712 by Assemblymember Wicks, the Clerk will read.

Assembly Bill 712. By Assemblymember Wicks and acclaim to housing.

Assemblymember Wicks, you are recognized.

Thank you, Madam Speaker and members. As you all know, in recent years, we have passed numerous statutes and laws making it easier to build housing in California. But for these laws to be effective, they have to be enforceable. And there have to be consequences when they are broken.

Unfortunately, most state housing law, with the notable exception of the Housing Accountability Act, are difficult to enforce, which means the violations go unpunished. This ultimately impedes our ability to build the necessary housing that we need. The purpose of this bill is to help ensure public agencies comply with state housing law.

It would do so by increasing penalties against public agencies that violate the rights established by state housing law. I would also end the practice of public agencies asking housing development applicants to indemnify the local government against the lawsuits when that agency violates the applicant's rights. With that, respectfully ask for an aye vote.

Seeing and hearing no further debates, the Clerk will open the roll. All those vote who desire to vote. All those vote who desire to vote. All those vote who desire to vote.

The Clerk will close the roll and tally the votes. Ayes 57. Nos 1. The measure passes. Item 56 pass and retain. Item 57, AB 943 by Assemblymember Michelle Rodriguez, the Clerk will read.

Assembly Bill 943 by Assemblymember Michelle Rodriguez and accolades to insurance.

Assemblymember Rodriguez, you are recognized.

Thank you Madam Speaker and members for the opportunity to present AB Assembly Bill 943. California's current insurance pre licensee requirements create unnecessary barriers to economic self reliance. Practically- Particularly for individuals from economically disadvantaged backgrounds.

The rigid 20 hour line specific instruction mandate disproportionately affects aspiring insurance professionals who face financial hardships or time constraints. An analysis of leading curriculum materials reveals that approximately 35% of the content is redundant, adding time and cost burdens without improving competency. These insufficiencies hinder workforce entry and limit opportunities for economic mobility in the insurance sector.

Assembly Bill 943 streamlines pre licensing education by removing time based requirements per insurance line while retaining general hours of ethics and code study. Key benefits include increased accessibility, enhanced workforce development and alignment with national best practices.

By adopting AB 943, California can support more diverse and economically self sufficient insurance workforce, empowering individuals to build sustainable careers while continuing to uphold consumer protections and professional accountability. This bill passed anonymously through committee with bipartisan support. Thank you and I respectfully ask for an aye vote on AB 943.

Thank you Assemblymember. Seeing and hearing no further debate, the Clerk will open the roll. All those vote who desire to vote. All those vote who desire to vote. All those vote who desire to vote. The Clerk will close the roll and tally the votes. Aye 63, noes 0. The measure passes. Item 58 through 62,

we will pass and retain. Item 63 AB 87 by Assemblymember Boerner.

The clerk will read.

Assembly Bill 87 by Assembly Member Boerner an act relating to housing.

Assemblymember Boerner, you are recognized.

Good afternoon Madam Speaker. Members AB87 is a Tasha B special. I introduced AB87 to clarify that density bonus law is being used for residential purposes in my district. A project application was submitted that allowed the development to exceed the city's height limit.

A proposed 238 foot tower adding 139 hotel rooms and only 10 affordable units. The state's density bonus laws were intended to contribute to affordable housing, not to expand hotels. AB87 would ensure that concessions gained through the construction of housing cannot be used on hotels. This bill has no opposition as received bipartisan support.

I respectfully ask for your Aye vote.

Seeing and hearing no further debate. The clerk will open the roll. All Members vote who desire to vote. All those vote who desire to vote. All those vote who desire to vote. The clerk will close the roll and tally the votes.

Aye, 63. No, 0. The measure passes, will pass and retain on items 64 through 66, bringing us to item 67, HR 37 by Assembly Member Soria.

The Clerk will read.

House Resolution 37 by Assemblymember Soria relative to Childhood Apraxia of speech.

Assemblymember Soria, you're recognized.

Thank you, Madam Speaker. Today I rise as a proud author of House Resolution 37 to recognize May 14 as Apraxia Awareness Day in the State of California.

Some of you may not know what Apraxia is, and I'll admit I didn't either until it hit close to home. Apraxia is a neurological disorder caused by abnormalities or damage to the brain. It affects a person's ability to plan and execute purposeful movements, simple things many of us take for granted.

Tasks like tying shoelaces, buttoning a shirt, or picking up a pencil can become daily challenges. There are different types of apraxia, but today I want to focus on childhood apraxia of speech, a rare motor speech disorder that makes it difficult for children to speak clearly and consistently.

Unlike a typical speech delay, children with apraxia know what they want to say, but their brain has trouble coordinating the muscle movements needed to speak those words. These children require intensive, frequent and highly individualized therapy. They may also need occupational and physical therapy, early intervention programs, and ongoing support at home and in school.

And for me, this issue is not just about policy. It's deeply personal. My beautiful 7 year old niece, Areli Soya Bedoya, who is here with me today, was diagnosed with childhood apraxia at just 2 years old. Areli lives with her parents, my sister Perla and brother in law Ezekiel, in Lindsay, a small rural community in Tulare County.

Like many rural communities, Lindsay families face serious barriers to accessing services. There is a shortage of speech therapists in the Central Valley.

In fact, my sister and her husband have had spent years driving over an hour each way to Fresno just to make sure Areli could receive the care she needs to thrive. Until finally they were able to secure services three minutes closer to home.

As I say this, I reflect on the fact that there are probably other Arelis that don't have the families with the ability to do anything extra due to the hardships of traveling far for additional services or lack of insurance and thus go without getting the therapies they desperately need. Through incredible sacrifice they've paid.

My sister and her brother in law have paid out of pocket for private speech therapy services that are not fully covered by insurance. And thanks to funding from the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act, Areli received speech therapy at school three times a week.

This has made an enormous difference in her progress, but it also wasn't easy to make sure the school district followed her IEP. One would think they would follow it. I applaud my sister's effort and her fight to not just make sure Areli got what she deserved, but also other kids didn't have the same struggles.

And now, as you guys all know, federal funding is under threat and if the Trump Administration has its way, its children like Areli living in rural towns, born into working class families facing steep odds who will pay the price. We cannot let that happen. Let me be clear. This funding is not optional.

These services are not luxuries for Areli and for thousands of children across California, they are lifelines. Today I stand not just as an Assemblywoman, but as a Tia, an auntie, as an advocate for children like Areli and for families who are doing everything they can with the limited resources. Areli is here with me today.

She is brave, she is joyful, and she is finding her voice one word at a time. I also want to uplift today the nonprofits and organizations that provide hope, education and community like Apraxia Kids. Their advocacy has brought families together, spread awareness, and push for policy change at every level.

As we celebrate this awareness day, I urge my colleagues to remember this when we cut services for children with developmental disorders, we are cutting off their potential. When we invest in them, we are investing in the future of California.

We must continue to fight for state and federal investments in special education and therapy services, especially in rural communities. We must recognize that access to care is not equal and rural families deserve the same support as everyone else.

Today, I ask that we stand with the children who are fighting to speak, stand with the parents who never give up, and stand with Areli. I respectfully ask for your aye vote on HR 37. And please, Madam Speaker, if we can open the first roll call for co authors. Thank you.

Thank you, Assemblymember. The Clerk will open the roll for co authors. All Members vote who desire to vote. All Members vote who desire to vote. Members, this is for co authors. All Members vote who desire to vote. The Clerk will close the roll. There are 72 Co authors added without objection.

We will now take a voice vote on the resolution. All those in favor say aye, oppose, say no. The ayes have it. The resolution is adopted. Assemblymember Soria, you are recognized for your guest introduction.

Thank you, Madam Speaker. I want to take a personal moment of privilege to introduce my niece, Areli Soya Bedoya, who Is here with me along with my sister Perla and her husband Ezekiel. We have also Mateo, Lucas, Simon and Anai.

They've traveled here all the way from Tulare County, my home county, and I just want to welcome them to Sacramento to the State Capitol, and just want to wish Areli the best as she continues to discover her voice one word at a time. Welcome to Sacramento.

Up next we have file item 68, AB 523 by Assemblymember Irwin. The Clerk will read.

Assembly Bill 523 by Assemblymember Irwin and accolading to Metropolitan Water Districts.

Assemblymember Irwin, you are recognized.

Good afternoon, Madam Speaker. AB 523 will allow member agencies represented by only one Director on the Metropolitan Water District Board of Directors, the ability to designate a proxy representative for the purpose of participating in a board meeting when the member agencies appointed representative will be absent.

This proxy voting model is supported by a majority of the metropolitan member agencies as well as the Met Board Chair. Thank you and I respectfully ask for your aye vote.

Thank you, assemblymembers. Seeing and hearing no further debate, the Clerk will open the roll. All those vote who desire to vote. All those vote who desire to vote. All those vote who desire to vote. The Clerk will close the roll and tally the votes. Ayes 62, noes one. The measure passes. Item 69 and 70,

pass and retain. Item 71, AB 769 by Assemblymember Wilson.

The Clerk will read.

Assembly Bill 769 by Assemblymember Wilson an act relating to Parks.

Assemblymember Wilson, you are recognized.

Thank you. Good afternoon, Members. I am pleased to present AB769, a bill to modernize and clean up the section of the Public Resources Code governing Regional Park Districts, Park and Open Space Districts and Open Space Districts.

The East Bay Regional Park District, along with similar agencies, play a critical role in preserving natural spaces while also providing valuable recreational opportunities for millions of Californians.

In particular, East Bay RPD contains 73 regional parks, covers over 125,000 acres with 1,300 miles of trails and 55 miles of shoreline, serving both Alameda County and Contra Costa counties with roughly 30 million visits a year.

However, existing applicable provisions in the PRC code are increasingly outdated and do not fully address the current demands of land management, governance or sustainable environmental practices over time. The need for more efficient Administration is. Excuse me, efficient administrative processes have become much more pronounced. This bill proposes changes aims to address those issues through select updates.

These updates will enhance governance, ensure adaptability and safeguard the long term sustainability of regional park closers. With that, I respectfully ask for your Aye vote.

Thank you Assembly Members. Seeing and hearing no further debates. The clerk will open the roll. All those vote who desire to vote. All those vote who desire to vote. All those vote who desire to vote. The clerk will close the roll and tally the votes. Aye, 68. No, 0. The measure passes.

Item 72 and 73 pass and retain item 74 AB771 by Assemblymember Macedo.

The Clerk will read.

Assembly Bill 771 by Assemblymember Macedo and accolade in the secure transactions.

Assemblymember Macedo, you're recognized.

Thank you, Madam Speaker. Good afternoon, colleagues. I rise today to present Assembly Bill 771. AB 771 is a technical bill that will fix California's Uniform Commercial Code, bringing us in line with the vast majority of other states and reducing unnecessary red tape for borrowers and lenders.

Under current law, a mortgage or deed of trust can only serve as a fixture filing if the debtor's name exactly matches their California ID. If the name does not match precisely, for example, due to a missing middle initial, lenders are forced to file a separate financing statement, creating duplicative paperwork and added costs.

This bill makes a technical but impactful change. It allows a mortgage or deed of trust to serve as a fixture filing without requiring an exact ID name match. This small fix will eliminate redundant filings and unnecessary fees, reduce administrative burdens for lenders and title companies, and improve consistency for businesses operating in multiple states.

I respectfully ask for your aye vote.

Seeing and hearing no debates.

The Clerk will open the roll. All those vote who desire to vote. All those vote who desire to vote. All those vote who desire to vote. The Clerk will close the roll and tally the votes. Ayes 69, noes 0. The measure passes. Item 75 pass and retain. Item 76, AB 1416 by Assemblymember Ta. The Clerk will read.

Assembly Bill 1416 by Assemblymember Ta an accolade to taxation

Assemblymember Ta, you're recognized.

Thank you, Madam Speaker.

AB 1416 would allow individuals who request an installment plan from their county tax collector before a state emergency to qualify for one year deferral for their delinquent property tax. Currently, properties owners are required to pay their property tax on time.

If an owner fails to pay on time, the unpaid portion will be considered delinquent and incur a 10% penalty charge there's a current plan in place in which homeowner can pay an assessment over four years, but only if the request has been approved.

AB 1416 would fix this oversight to ensure all Californian homes are protected in the event that an individual requests an installment plan during an emergency, the last thing a homeowner wants to do is return to their home being sold because that request was not acknowledged. I request I respectfully ask Aye vote.

Thank you Assemblymember. Seeing and hearing no further debate. The clerk will open the roll. All those vote who desire to vote. All those vote who desire to vote. All those vote who desire to vote. The clerk will close the roll and tally the votes. Aye, 66. Nos, 0. The measure passes file item 77 AB446 by Assemblymember Ward.

The clerk will read.

Assembly Bill 446 by Assembly Member Ward and others and act relating to consumer protection.

Assemblymember Ward, you are recognized.

Thank you Madam Speaker. Members, I'm here Today to present AB446, the surveillance pricing Protection act. And it begs the first question that probably comes across most of your minds as I talked about this bill to individuals or in Committee. What is surveillance pricing?

Well, this is really a newer phenomenon in how we relate with consumers and where a practice of companies deciding to be able to charge you differently a certain price based on who you are based on your personal characteristics.

It's often tied to to your cell phone, to your home computer's IP address and using your own personal information to decide what price you should pay for a given good.

In December of 2024, Consumer Watchdog published an article exposing businesses for aggressively engaging in the practice of surveillance pricing using personal information to the consumer to increase the price of goods based on their individual data profile.

Hats off to investigative journalists who really grabbed onto this and began to be able to expose more and more instances because because you don't even know that this is happening to you until you start to poke around and look at different situations through different computers or different cell phones that somebody might be paying a different price for the same good or service.

This could be true depending on the zip code that you live in because maybe you have a zip code with high Asian density households and if you want to buy an educational tool as Princeton Review often does, you'll pay more for that because it is presumed that Asian parents want to pay more for their kids to go to college and for low income mothers who set up basically the algorithm characterizes you as having a profile of being a mom because you're constantly buying Diapers, you're constantly buying formula.

And so the next time that you run out and you need to overnight those diapers or formulas, it's going to hike up the price for you. You wouldn't know that until you called your friend across town and said how much do you see on this website for that? You're just going to assume that that's the prices.

Because we all assume as consumers that the same price that we see on the shelves or on the screen is the same price that everybody is paying. Now. You pair this with company's existing ability to collect and analyze massive amounts of consumer data. The installation of facial recognition and electronic shelving labels.

This gives company the abilities to change prices in real time according to a consumer's individualized data profile. I believe that this is predatory, it's discriminatory and it violates a public trust at a time when consumers are already stretched thin and, and don't deserve to be unwittingly exploited.

Additionally, evidence of surveillance pricing is also suggesting that it disproportionately affects lower income individuals, rural constituents and those with fewer shopping alternatives. Ensuring fairness in pricing prevents a new form of digital exploitation. Nobody wants to be unfairly charged higher prices due to their actual or perceived characteristics.

Now we have as California, some of the strongest privacy laws in the country to give consumers control over your data. But this emergency practice appears to exist through loopholes which allow companies to charge different prices based on their data.

So AB446, the surveillance pricing protection act, will prohibit the practice of surveillance pricing by making it unlawful for businesses to use your personal data when charging different prices for the same product or service, whether online or during in store checkout. And just so I can be absolutely clear that this isn't theoretical and it's certainly not hysterical.

And is this kind of incidental and sort of randomly happening? Absolutely not. The FTC actually subpoenaed information to understand what was going on around the practice of surveillance pricing nationally. And of course we all know the status of the FTC's operations today.

And because of that we were able to actually seek some of those information from documents which were subpoenaed that literally said that you could use algorithmic based price discrimination to be able to increase your profits 2 to 8% above what you would normally charge at the store or online here today.

So this is intentional and this is coming off of the back of all of our consumers, your constituents. And if you signed up for this session to take the oath of office on the hope that you were going to lower the cost of living for your constituents. This Bill with your aye vote will do that.

With that, I respectfully ask for your Aye vote.

Thank you, Assemblymember. Assemblymember Zbur, you are recognized.

Thank you, Madam Speaker, Members, I rise today in support of AB446 and I want to thank our colleague from San Diego for bringing this bill.

This bill tackles an important issue, surveillance pricing, which is the use of real time data such as browsing history, demographics, voting history and other things to set individual prices which could be used in ways that are harmful to consumers and discriminatory.

That said, this is a complicated issue and I know that there are issues remain related to the bill's potential impact on the ability to offer discounts and reward and loyalty programs which are also good for consumers.

I know that the author has made some amendments and has indicated his commitment to continue working with the opponents on these issues. And with that I recommend an Aye vote.

Assemblymember Bauer=-Kahan, you are recognized.

Thank you, Madam Speaker and Members, I rise in support of AB446 and want to commend the author for his work on the discount programs.

The goal of this bill is to ensure that Californians are not being gouged on characteristics because now with your phone and with your tracking, they can know if you're a single mom who desperately needs diapers and so they're going to charge you twice as much for those diapers as someone who maybe isn't as desperate for that good.

And that, my friends, is part of what is causing an affordability crisis in California. The author has already, as he noted, taken amendments to ensure that all discounts can be taken. The amendments proposed by the opposition would allow for them to artificially inflate the prices and then discount from there pricing differently based on the groups.

He is not taking those amendments because that would gut the bill, but he has done yeoman's work to make sure that that the things each and every one of us enjoy in our discount programs remain beneficial to consumers.

And I know that to the extent that those amendments do not fully address the concerns, he will continue to work on that in the Senate. And with that I respectfully ask for an Aye vote.

Seeing and hearing no further debate. Assembly Member Ward, would you like to close?

Thank you, Madam Speaker. I appreciate our colleagues from Los Angeles and from Orinda that had a chance to be able to vet this in Committee. We had a robust assignment discussion there. And of course I always continue to work with bonafide interests in their in seeking some of those amendments.

And some of those amendments are literally in print. You might have received some literature that's saying that they're not. It's literally in print right in front of you that this would not apply to areas of loyalty programs or discounts or memberships. And I'm always open.

But if I could build on our colleague from Orinda and what she was saying, it's not the idea that some of these proposals or other potential amendments out there could actually raise the price and then subject you to a discount. The end result is the same. They're raising the cost of goods or services for everybody.

And should you discover that you luckily fall in one category, only then would you receive a discount. It's a back end. It's a runaround to the same end which we're trying to be able to prevent here, is to keep the cost of goods or services low for Californians. With that, I respectfully ask for your Aye vote.

All debate having ceased. The clerk will open the roll. All those vote who desire to vote. All those vote who desire to vote.

All those vote who desire to vote. The Clerk will close the roll and tally the votes. Ayes 44, noes 16. The measure passes. Item 78 through 81, pass and retain. Item 82, AB 412 by Assemblymember Bauer-Kahan. The Clerk will read.

Assembly Bill 412 by Assemblymember Bauer-Kahan and others. An act relating to artificial intelligence.

Assemblymember Bauer-Kahan, you are recognized.

Thank you, Madam Speaker and members. AB 412 is a transparency bill. This is an important bill that will allow copyright holders to have transparency around their rights.

And it is critically important to ensure that, especially those of you from Los Angeles who are experiencing the benefits of our creative economy every single day, that the rights holders are protected in the AI age by knowing how these models are trained on their data. With that, I respectfully ask for an aye vote.

Seeing and hearing no further debate, the Clerk will open the roll. All those vote who desire to vote. All those vote who desire to vote. All those vote who desire to vote. The Clerk will close the roll and tally the votes. Ayes 42, noes 13 the measure passes. Item 83-85, pass and retain. Item 86,

AB 54 by Assemblymember Krell. The Clerk will read.

Assembly Bill 54 by Assemblymember Krell and others an act relating to reproductive health.

Assemblymember Krell, you are recognized.

Good afternoon, Madam Chair and members. I'm pleased to present you Assembly Bill 54. As you all know, constitutional rights are only as good as our access to them. This simple bill will ensure that all patients and providers in California have access to medication abortion. I respectfully ask for your aye vote.

Assemblymember Zbur, you are recognized.

Thank you, Madam Speaker, members, I rise in strong support and as a proud co author of AB 54. This legislation is essential as we look to maintain access to critical reproductive health that provide protection to those who assist with associated services.

In addition to my role here in the legislature, I serve on the board of Planned Parenthood Los Angeles and know full well that abortion care and medication is under attack. This is an important bill and I respectfully ask for your aye vote.

Thank you. Assemblymember Sharp-Collins, you are recognized.

Good afternoon, Madam Speaker. I am proud to stand as a co author of this crucial legislation that protects access to medication abortion in California. Colleagues, we- we continue to be at a crossroads in our state's history. The fundamental right to reproductive health care is under unprecedented attacks across our nation.

And the opponents of the reproductive freedom are at our doorsteps. The threat to our right to choose, the threats to our health care providers to even offer the reproductive health care keeps on coming.

When I first got to Sacramento, because before day one and before I was even sworn in, this was one of the first things that I agreed to sign onto because I knew that this is a space that needed my overall support and it truly needed my voice.

I too served on the board of Planned Parenthood in San Diego for years, and I have seen the burdens placed onto women when it comes to the reproductive health. I have seen the shame. I have seen the stigma and barriers that we face seeking health care. Fear should not be a part of anyone's health care experience.

I knew that we need to be active and we need to be loud and united in this fight. The protections in this bill strengthens California's commitment to reproductive health care. And this legislation is a legal shield for access to medication, abortion.

We need to trust our health care providers to provide accessible, affordable, and most importantly, safe reproductive health care. At the end of the day, we have the right to make this decision for ourselves and we have a constitutional right to choose. And today California needs us to protect that right. So I urge an aye vote on AB 54.

Thank you.

All debate having ceased, the Clerk will open the roll. All those vote who desire to vote. All those vote who desire to vote. All those vote who desire to vote. The Clerk will close the roll and tally the votes. Ayes 52, noes 8. The measure passes. Item 87, pass and retain. Item 88, AB 539 by Assemblymember Schiavo. The Clerk will read.

Assembly Bill 539 by Assemblymember Schiavo an act relating to healthcare coverage.

Assembly Member Schiavo, you're recognized.

Thank you, Madam Speaker. Members, I rise to present AB 539, the timely care Act. This act is about putting patients where they belong, at the center of care. Doctors across the state are sounding the alarm about prior authorization being a barrier to timely and consistent care.

The current system of prior authorizations is not just inefficient, it's harmful. It's so burdensome that some patients give up treatment altogether. That's not just a bureaucratic issue. It's a health crisis. We must and can do better.

This bill will eliminate unnecessary red tape and help ensure patients get the care they need when they need it by extending the duration of approved prior authorizations to one year or the duration of the physician's prescribed treatment. It's a common sense change that will have real human impact.

And the public is fed up and ready for us to act at the end of the day. The Timely Care Act is about making sure that when someone is sick, the system helps them heal instead of standing in their way. For all of the patients who have suffered needless delays to their care, I respectfully request your.

Aye vote on AB539.

Thank you, Assemblymember. Seeing and hearing no further debate. The clerk will open the roll. All those vote who desire to vote. All those vote who desire to vote. All those vote who desire to vote. The clerk will close the roll and tally the votes. Aye's 53. No's, 1. The measure passes. Item 89 through 93.

Pass and retain item 94. AB 1008 by Assemblymember Addis.

Addis. The Clerk will read.

Assembly Bill 1008 by Assemblymember Addis an act relating to alcoholic beverages.

Assemblymember Addis, you are recognized.

Thank you, Madam Speaker.

I rise to present AB 1008, which will make a modest increase to the number of alcohol licenses available in San Luis Obispo County. And I respectfully request your aye vote.

Seeing and hearing no further debate, the Clerk will open the roll. All those vote who desire to vote. All those vote who desire to vote. All those vote who desire to vote. The Clerk will close the roll and tally the votes. Ayes 68, noes zero. The measure passes. File item 95, AD 1075 by Assemblymember Bryan.

The Clerk will read.

Assembly Bill 1075 by Assemblymember Bryan and others, an act relating to fire protection.

Assemblymember Bryan, you're recognized.

Thank you. Madam Speaker and colleagues, today I rise to present AB 1075, a common sense bill that will require private fire protection resources to coordinate with acting incident commanders of an active fire before tapping into public water sources.