Senate Floor

Secretary will call the row.

[Roll Call]

A quorum is present. Would the Members please return to their desk and please rise. Will the guests beyond the railing please rise? This morning will be led in prayer by Sister Michelle Gorman, after which, please remain standing for the Pledge of Allegiance.

We gather in God's presence, God of the generations. When we set our hands to labor, thinking that we work alone, remind us. That we carry on our lips the. Words of prophets, in our veins the blood of martyrs, in our eyes, the. Mystic'S visions, and in our hands, the strength of thousands.

Gracious God, be with us this day. Amen.

Please join me in the pledge. I pledge allegiance. Moving into privileges of the floor. One outstanding privilege item. It's Senator Dave Cortese's birthday. Happy birthday, Senator. In the back, over there. Messages from the Governor will be deemed read, messages from the Assembly will be deemed read. Reports of Committee will be deemed read and amendments adopted.

Moving onto motions, resolutions and notices. Senator Choi, you are recognized.

Thank you. Madam President, I'm making a motion to withdraw SB 405 from the State Elections Committee to the Senate Floor. I make the motion myself to withdraw. This common sense measure that protects the. Constitutional right of local governments to require. Proof of identification to vote, because I was not given the courtesy of a.

Motion by my Democratic colleagues in Senate Elections Committee to have a vote on SB405. I request an Aye vote on this motion.

Senator Gonzalez, you're recognized on this item.

Madam President and Members, I'm requesting a no vote.

Senator Gonzalez is requesting a no vote. Senator Choi is requesting an aye vote. Secretary, please call the roll on the motion.

[Roll Call]

Please call the absten Members.

[Roll Call]

Aye, 7. Nos, 26. The motion fails. Moving into the meeting part consideration of the daily file for Senate third reading. We're kicking off with file item 21. Senator Limon.

Secretary, please read.

Senate Bill 825 by Senator Limon an act relating to finance.

Senator Limon.

Thank you, Madam President and colleagues, I rise to present SB825 to ensure our state financial regulator has the necessary enforcement authority to uphold the consumer financial protection laws we already have in the books. This ill does not create any new obligations or expectations or expectations for financial institution, rather allows DFPI to enforce existing ones.

I respectfully ask for an Aye vote.

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

[Roll Call]

Please call the absent Members.

[Roll Call]

Senator Limon moves a call. Moving on to file item 28. Senator Niello, he is now ready to go.

Secretary, please read.

Senate Bill 788 by Senator Niello. And that relates to business.

Senator Niello,

I was so exhausted from yesterday, I just had hesitated a moment. Thank you. Madam President, I rise to present SB 788 by explanation. Current law requires tax preparers to register with the California Tax Education Council, but exempts certified public accountants, or CPAs, active state bar Members and financial institutions and their employees.

There is a gray area in the law for out of state CPAs and CPA firms that are currently under the oversight of the California Board of Accountancy, but licensed in another state or jurisdiction.

SB788 clarifies that CPAs and CPA firms, including their employees, are not subject to the requirements under the California Tax Education Council, but instead are licensed and regulated by the California Board of Accountancy. I respectfully request an aye vote.

Thank you, Senator. No discussion on this item. Secretary, please call the roll.

[Roll Call]

Please call the absent Members. Senator o' Neill moves to call. Senator Blakespear is ready for file. Item 37. Secretary, please.

Senate Bill 16 by Senator Blakespear an act relating to homelessness.

Senator.

Yes. Thank you, Madam President. Hello, colleagues. I rise today to present SB16. This bill will direct the State Department of Housing and Community Development, or HCD, to conduct an assessment and develop a strategy for ending the state's unsheltered homelessness crisis in the next 10 years.

Now, I'd like to remind this body that last night we had a great discussion on the floor when the good Senator for Menlo Park presented a bill that required any city that was seeking HAPP funding to provide the goal of getting to unsheltered street homelessness and the tools they were using to get there.

Now, this bill applies to HCD, so it says that the entire state needs to have a goal of getting to unsheltered street homelessness in the next 10 years.

So as part of that strategy, having HCD require will set forth recommended key actions that state and local governments should take to create the tools necessary to achieve functional zero in unsheltered street homelessness. So we know with homelessness that we do not lack compassion, but what we need is a strategy.

We need a goal and a strategy that is coordinated, that is long term, that is based in evidence, that has sustained investment, and that most importantly, has political will to. To get to functional zero. So SB16 will task HCD with doing exactly that.

Assessing the current landscape, producing a roadmap, setting the goal to get to functional zero on street homelessness. And with that, I respectfully ask for your aye vote.

Senator Becker, you're recognized on this item.

Yeah. Just for a moment to thank my colleague Francinese for bringing this measure. Very much aligned with the discussion we had last night. As she mentioned, just like we need, cities have to have a plan.

And we're now seeing cities step forward with plan to the state needs to have a plan with focus on getting to functional zero unsheltered homelessness for the state. I strongly support this bill and urge an Aye vote.

Senator Blake. Blakespear. You may close. Thank you.

I appreciate my colleagues support and I urge and Aye vote.

Colleagues, we're going to be putting the items moving forward on call after the first round. Please do not scream out your vote. We'll come to you once we reopen the call. Secretary, please call the roll.

[Roll Call]

Senator Blakespear moves on call. Senator Caballero, you have five alarm 39.

Secretary, please read.

Senate Bill 72 by Senator Caballero an act relating to water.

Senator.

Thank you very much. Madam President. I'm pleased to present SB 72, a bill to modernize the California Water Plan to reflect the state's new climate reality and to establish long term water supply targets that when met, will ensure sufficient high quality water for all beneficial uses in the state and will ensure a drought proof future.

The California Water Plan is the state's strategic plan for sustainably managing and developing water resources for current and future needs and is updated every five years to provide key opportunities to inform decision makers about water management and California's water future. Major revisions to the Water Plan have not been made for 20 years.

During those 20 years, extreme weather patterns caused by climate change has profoundly impacted water supply in the state for virtually all beneficial uses. SB72 would set an interim target of 9 million acre feet of additional water by 2040 while the Department of Water Resources develops a longer term target for 2050.

Research supports these targets and estimates a shortfall in California's future water supply between 4.6 and 9 million acre feet annually by 2050 Members. What this means is is that it is predicted. All the models show that we are likely to lose all of the snowpack in the Sierras in the next 10 to 15 years.

When that happens, we are going to have a shortfall of water that drains into our lakes and rivers and we need to prepare for it. We need to know where we're taking water from, where we're moving it to and whether there's other. Well, whether there's other alternatives.

Members this equates to 50 to 90% of California's urban water use or between 1.5 and 3 million acres of irrigated farmland would be affected. As our population continues to grow, it is critical to develop a plan.

Amendments specifically address the Delta Counties Coalition concerns to ensure regional discussions of water needs and captures and that we capture all beneficial uses water in water plants Update an updated approach guided by state policy must be implemented to meet this challenge.

Without clearly defined water supply targets and strategic planning to achieve those targets, the state will continue to experience devastating water shortages. SB72 identifies the targets for California to keep to help us to avoid water scarcity and to ensure a drought proof future. I respectfully ask for your aye vote.

Senator Seyarto.

Thank you Madam President. I rise as a co author on this bill. This is a bill that should have been passed last year and somehow got lost. We've lost a year in trying to plan for how much water we are going to need in the future and that is not the way to address our water issues.

So this bill helps us address our water issues for the future. It gives us an idea how much water we are going to need and then we are going to have to come up with the ideas about how and the ways of how to do that.

And so I would encourage an Aye vote on this on this important bill. It's something we need to get done this year. We can't keep kicking the can down the road on this. Thank you and thank the author for bringing the bill back and having the perseverance to continue to get this done. Thank you.

Senator Caballero, you may close.

I want to thank my my colleague from Murrieta for his continued to support on this bill. Members I was going to bring in an example of some of the cloudy dirty water in my district that has been identified as potable water but is disgusting looking. We've got to do better.

We have communities that are running out of water. We need a plan and that plan should tell us how we will spend precious limited resources in the state. I respectfully ask for your Aye vote.

Secretary, please call the roll.

Allen. Aye. Alvarado. Gill. Aye. Archuleta. Aye. Araguin. Aye. Ashby. Aye. Becker. Aye. Blakespear. Aye. Cabaldin. Aye. Caballero. Aye. Cervantes. Aye. Choi. Aye. Cortese. Aye. Dali. Durazo. Gonzalez. I Grayson. Grove. Hurtado. Grove. I. Hurtado. Jones. I. Laird, I. Limon, I. Mcguire. McNerney. I. Menjibar, I. Niello. I. Ochoabog, I. Padilla, I. Perez. Aye. Reyes. Richardson. Aye. Rubio. Aye. Sierto.

Senator Caballero moves on call. The next three up are going to be the Senator Padilla show file item 4148 and 56.

Secretary, please read.

Senate Bill 243 by Senator Padilla, an act relating to artificial intelligence.

Senator.

Thank you, Madam President. Members, I rise to present SB243. As we well know, artificial intelligence technology and deployment is advancing rapidly and being deployed in a number of many different forms. One is AI companion chatbots, which are then prominently understood to be marketed to folks as a companion to deal with issues of loneliness and stress.

Anecdotal and scholarly evidence clearly shows that chat bots do not cure loneliness and that to the contrary, some of that evidence can show they're a dangerous catalyst for bad outcomes. There have been a number of studies and a number of sad instances, including encouraging users to take their own life and in some cases successfully.

This bill would implement common sense guardrails in a window of opportunity that we can't let slip by us to make sure that users know they are in fact speaking with an artificial intelligence algorithm.

That there are protocols and links to assistance and intervention resources for people in distress, people in behavioral and mental distress, and certainly minors who are most susceptible to suggestion. It would require reporting to the Legislature again, common sense guardrails before the window of opportunity slips by. To protect the most vulnerable among us.

I would respectfully ask for an Aye vote.

Senator Dr. Weber Pierson you are recognized.

Thank you, Madam President. esteemed Members, today I rise as a proud co author of SB243 because I believe that we have a responsibility to safeguard not just the physical health of our children, but their emotional and well being as well.

As artificial intelligence becomes increasingly integrated into our daily lives, we must be mindful of how it impacts those who who are still developing the tools to navigate the world. Our youth. SB243 aims to grow to address a growing concern, the unchecked influence of AI chatbots on our young minds. These chat boxes are no longer niche tools.

They are widespread, accessible and already being used by kids from everything from casual conversation to to emotional support. While some may see this as harmless, the truth is much more complicated. These bots are designed to be engaging and responsive. But they can also be manipulative, habit forming, and emotionally misleading.

Children are especially impressionable when they interact with a chatbot that gives them constant affirmation or mimics emotional understanding. It can create a sense of sense of connection that feels very real. And over time, this dynamic can lead to dependency. What starts as curiosity can evolve into reliance.

And when a child begins to prefer interacting with AI over real human relationships, that is very concerning. The reason is simple. Chatbots are engineered to hold attention. They deliver dopamine hits, reinforcing continued engagement. Many are even programmed to initiate contact and further drive interaction. The result is unhealthy attachments, emotional isolation, and a distorted sense of trust.

This is not a future that we can ignore. SB243 puts in much needed guardrails in place. It would require developers to build and safeguards to discourage addictive use patterns and clarify that the user is interacting with artificial intelligence and not a person. These are basic, reasonable steps to ensure transparency and protect mental health. Let's be clear.

I support innovation, but innovation must come with ethical responsibility. SB243 is about harnessing the power of technology without losing sight of the people it affects, especially the youngest among us. By supporting this Bill, we are choosing to lead with foresight. We are choosing to protect children in a world that is rapidly changing.

Together, let's ensure that technology remains a tool for growth and not a source of harm. And for those reasons, I respectfully ask for an aye vote on SB 243. Thank you.

Senator Becker, you are recognized.

Thank you. I want to join my two colleagues from San Diego as a joint author of this bill. The three of us were together about a month or so ago with a mother who came all the way from Florida because her son killed himself after interacting with a chatbot and basically being being told to do so.

And it was really just completely heartbreaking to be there with her and, and, yeah, just understand her pain and her pain that she's channeled into working on this issue nationally. So I'm proud to be working on this with my colleagues and I respectfully asked for an Aye vote.

Senator Perez.

I want to thank the Senators, both from San Diego as well as Menlo park, for bringing forward SB240. You know, this is a measure, I think, that is critically needed as we've seen AI technology continue to grow and continue to change. These new chatbot features have unfortunately already had devastating impacts on our children.

I'm sure many of us have read recently, whether it's in the Washington Post, the New York Times reports of children that are utilizing these chatbots and not realizing that these are AI interactions that they're having. This is not a real person.

And either developing very deep relationships with these AI chatbots, or sometimes in some cases when they're struggling with mental health issues, the chatbots actually encouraging them to harm themselves. This is incredibly frightening and scary and honestly an excellent example of innovation and technology becoming out of control without regulation.

So we really need to focus in on making sure that these technologies are being regulated for the. In the best interest of our children. Protecting their health and prioritizing their healthies are not chatbots that should be utilized.

Especially when we have so many of our young people that are struggling with mental health crises and experiencing, as we've all seen, the loneliness epidemic. These can be very, very dangerous tools. So urge an Aye vote on SB243.

Senator Padilla, you may close.

Thank you, Madam President and colleagues. Thanks to my esteemed colleagues and co authors for rising in support of this bill.

And I would just reiterate, we did have an opportunity to meet with the family of Sewell Setzer from Florida, who established an intimate relationship, if you can believe that, with an AI companion chatbot who suggested when that relationship ended, that he take his own life, which he did.

There are more and more growing examples of how this deployment of this technology can go terribly awry. This particular issue has gained national and global prominence, and this bill has gained national attention. So the country is watching again for California to lead. It is watching those who would argue protecting innovation in place of reasonable regulation.

The nation is watching. And with that, Madam President and colleagues, I respectfully ask for an aye vote.

Secretary, please call the roll.

[Roll Call]

Senator Padilla moves on call. Secretary, please read file item 48.

Senate Bill 330 by Senator Padilla. An act relating to electricity.

Senator Padilla.

Thank you, Madam President and colleagues. The rise to present SB330 which would authorize the Governor to establish pilot projects to develop, finance and operate electrical transmission infrastructure. As we well know, California has a large amount of new transmission infrastructure demand to connect new clean energy and maintain grid reliability.

The Cal ISO estimates that this new infrastructure will cost 40 to 60 billion, but will balloon to over 200 billion. When taking into account IOU or private sector financing costs, SB 330 has the potential to substantially reduce the cost of that critical new infrastructure.

Instead of the status quo where IOUs and private sector companies compete for a select group of competitively bid transmission line projects selected by Cal ISO.

Public private partnership financing reforms proposed in this bill will allow the state or public entities to partners partner with IOUs or private sector companies to build these same transmission lines at a fraction of the cost. Public private partnerships and public financing save ratepayers in three categories.

Public financing is cheaper than private sector investor owned utility financing because of lower rates. That alone could save billions of dollars. Public private partnerships can leverage lower rates of return compared to exclusively privately operated lines. The pilot project approach can help deliver new critical transmission infrastructure faster, save millions by avoiding long delays that plague our current processes.

Low cost public debt lowers financing costs, making building out transmission much cheaper with public private partnerships and saving ratepayers. Lowering ratepayer cost is a priority issue and transmission financing reforms is absolutely critical to reducing ratepayer costs. I would respectfully ask for an Aye vote.

Secretary, please call the roll.

[Roll Call]

Senator Padilla moves on call. Secretary, please read file item 56, please.

Senate Bill 473 by Senator Padilla an act relating to water quality corporations.

Senator.

Thank you, Madam President and colleagues arise to present SB473, which really is a simple bill focused on water rate affordability and conservation. This bill is a follow up to SB 1469, which was signed into law in 2022. Currently, the CPUC has authority to decouple rates for energy utilities and this bill adds water utilities.

This has been histor done historically using revenue decoupling, where you're literally decoupling how much a utility makes from how much they sell. This removes the incentive to sell as much water as possible and instead allows the state and the utility to promote conservation and efficiency.

Decoupling decreases water usage as seen in a CPUC pilot in 2008, increases affordability and allows utilities to have dependable funding for necessary infrastructure maintenance. SB473 will ensure utilities have the same stability is public water agencies so water suppliers can invest in safe, reliable water systems and strengthen water quality checks without putting customers on the hook.

I respectfully ask for an Aye vote.

Secretary, please call the roll.

[Roll Call]

Padilla moves on call now on to file item 47. Secretary, please read.

Senate Bill 316 by Senator Reyes an act relating to high school pupils.

Senator Allen, on behalf of Senator Reyes.

Thank you, Madam President. Members, I rise to present SB316 on behalf of Senator Reyes. Every election cycle we discuss low voter turnout across the country, especially for our youngest voters.

This bill will highlight the importance of voting for high school students by requiring school districts to provide each student with information on how to register to vote, how to vote and the importance of the signature on the vote by mail envelope.

Had a whole discussion about challenges related to that in elections Committee this the goal here is to help increase develop the development of strong voting habits and improving civic engagement for the next generation. I respect for ask an Aye vote.

No mics up on this item. Secretary, please call the roll.

[Roll Call]

Senator Allen moves on call so you know what's up next. Colleagues, file items 6669 and 72. Senator Caballero is prepared.

Secretary, please read.

Senate Bill 643 by Senator Caballero and act relating to climate change.

Senator.

Thank you, Madam President, I'm pleased to present SB 643, which directs the California Air Resources Board, or CARB, to purchase and retire eligible carbon dioxide removal credits in order to accelerate progress towards California's carbon dioxide removal goals.

As you know, climate change poses a severe threat to Californians that has resulted in wildfires, extreme heat, drought and other disruptions to to the state's communities, environment and economy. Carbon dioxide removal, or CDR, refers to removing carbon dioxide from the atmosphere and permanently storing it in a safe, secure location, such as underground geologic formations or in cement.

CARB's 2022 Scoping Plan for achieving carbon neutrality stated, quote, there is not a path to carbon neutrality without carbon removal and sequestration, end quote. And they established the state CVR target targets of 7 million metric tons annually for 2030 and 75 million metric tons annually by 2045.

Over the last several years, a small number of companies have voluntarily purchased CDR removals as part of their own carbon neutrality goals.

However, to date, with the exception of a pilot facility in Tracy, which, by the way, for those of you that went, you had an opportunity to see an innovative pilot project that pulls carbon right out of the air and it's going to be used in cement, an industrial project, quite frankly, that you can almost eat off the floor.

And this facility in Tracy, other than this facility in Tracy, there are no other CDR removal facilities built in California. As a matter of fact, the company that built Tracy has moved to Louisiana to create their big project because they can get it done faster and cheaper in another state.

The state has not developed pathways to achieve carburetors CDR target and the clock is ticking. If the state is to meet our carbon neutrality goals, we need to accelerate the CDR deployment and create a market in California to meet our targets.

The bill establishes the carbon dioxide removal purchase pilot program under CARB, and it directs CARB to purchase and permanently retire $50 million in CDR credits generated by carbon removal projects by 2030 and to do that in California to projects physically located in California. The bill has a broad coalition of supporters.

By accelerating CDR development and deployment, the bill will remove carbon dioxide from the atmosphere and meet the state's climate goals at the same time. Respectfully ask for your Aye vote.

Senator McNerney, you're recognized.

Well, thank you, President. I think. My colleague from Merced, Tracy's in my district. I visited the carbon removal plant there and it's doing very well. And we need to see more of that. We can't reach carbon goals without removing carbon actively from the atmosphere. And climate change is already upon us. We need to do everything we can.

This is a step in the right direction. I ask for an Aye vote.

Senator Caballero, you may close.

Respectfully ask for your Aye vote.

Secretary, please call the roll.

[Roll Call]

Senator Caballero moves on call. Senator Ashby is ready to go. Secretary, please read.

File Item 69, Senate Bill 720 by Senator Ashby, an act relating to vehicles.

Senator Ashby.

Thank you, Madam President. I rise to present SB 720, which is the Safer Streets Act. This bill allows cities to opt in to a new red light camera system for high collision zones. In 2021 alone, there were over 4,000 Californians who lost their lives in traffic collisions.

With more than a quarter of these deaths resulting from drivers running red lights. The outdated and expensive structure of our current red light camera programs have proven themselves to be ineffective and overly punitive.

SB720 provides an updated framework to bring California cities on par with successful programs across the country, including directing revenue back to local communities to fund safe multimodal transportation projects.

SB 720 ensures the cities have the tools they need to create safer streets while simultaneously addressing inequities in enforcement and overly costly and punitive outcomes that we know do not work. This is a true affordability measure as it will help reduce insurance rates and remove costly programs that people are accustomed to dealing with.

Colleagues, I respectfully ask for your Aye vote.

Senator Cabaldon, you're recognized.

Thank you, Madam President. This bill represents something that we should be doing with the surveillance technologies more and more, which is we set fines higher than they should be because the chances on the streets that you're going to get caught for most traffic violations are not high.

The chance in the pre camera world that you would be detected, caught and punished for violating a red light, the probability is very low. So the fine has to be high in order to induce the behavioral change that we want to see. The challenge though is that when we implement new technologies, we don't change the fines.

So now where you might have had a 5% chance of being caught and therefore a $400 fine, now you have a 90% chance of getting caught and still a $400 fine.

So this Bill represents an important effort, but it should only be the beginning where we, the state, should be constantly readjusting our fines downward to reflect that the likelihood that you're going to be paying is much, much higher. And it isn't just for the lowest income Californians.

For all Californians, having to pay $400 each time is far too much. So this Bill represents an important step, also makes it only civil and not criminal, and takes the surveillance and red light camera out of the notion of how do we make more money at the local level?

How do companies that provide these services make unnecessary profits and instead how do we get the balance right between assuring public safety and making sure that we don't bankrupt Californians? As for an Aye vote.

Senator Perez.

Well, first of all, I want to thank the author, the great Senator from Sacramento, for authoring SB 720. We know that rising rates of deaths caused by vehicular crashes are something I think most of us have experienced in our municipalities and especially coming from local government. Recognize that this has been a huge, huge issue.

There's been so many resources, not just my city, but Almost every city in my district that's dedicated to this. So really interested in this bill. Will the author be willing to take a question?

Senator, through the President?

Oh, through the President, yes. May I ask the author a question?

Will the author take a question?

Through the President, Yes.

Senator, please proceed.

Excellent. So this is an opt in program. So a city that does not have a automated red light system in place would be able to utilize this and then is it updated technology so that it's better at capturing it? Would love to just know more.

Through the President, if I may,

Senator.

Yes. So first of all, it doesn't really matter if a city currently has a red light program or doesn't. This is totally new technology. Right now the red light camera system that we have in place relies on facial recognition, which is deeply controversial. This program does not rely on facial recognition.

It's more like the license plate readers that we all experience when we drive across a toll bridge. And instead of picking on the driver, it holds the person who owns the car accountable. It takes us out of the criminal atmosphere into the civil atmosphere. Therefore, you lose traffic school, you lose points on your insurance.

We don't have to deal with any of that anymore. Our accountability comes by way of the ownership of the vehicle. Any city could opt in. If they have a current red light program, they would probably buy new equipment. If they don't have a red light program, they would need to buy the equipment.

Excellent. Thank you and appreciate the author's details there. Urge an Aye vote and really exciting to hear that we're moving this direction with technology as well and able to lower that penalty in feedback. Thank you.

Thank you Senator. Senator Arreguin.

Thank you, Madam President. I also rise in strong support of SB 720 and thank my colleague, the center from Sacramento for bringing this important bill forward.

And like many communities, my community in the City of Berkeley has been afflicted by the scourge of traffic violence where so many people, bicyclists and pedestrians, seniors, young people, have been seriously injured or killed because of speeding.

This is an additional tool that local governments can use to discourage reckless driving and speeding on our streets, to make our streets safer for people of all ages, but also putting in place critical guardrails.

And I, I really think this models best practices that have been implemented all over California, putting in place strong civil liberties protections, putting in place requirements around how long information is held, making it easier to implement speed camera system, you know, trying to create, you know, consideration for people that are indigent.

I think this is a workable Program that can help cities use this technology to make our streets safer. I respectfully ask for an Aye vote.

Senator Ashby, you may close.

Thank you. Thank you to my colleagues who have chimed in on this item. I know sometimes change can be hard. But in this instance, we'll be helping millions of Californians, and we will be saving thousands of lives. Respectfully, as for an Aye vote.

And with that, Secretary, please call the roll.

[Roll Call]

Senator Ashby moves on call. Sorry, Senator, we're. We're gonna. We're not taking any votes yelled out after the roll call. For now. Senator Limon, you have filed item 72.

Secretary, please read.

Senate Bill 778 by Senator Limon and act relating to child care.

Senator.

Thank you, Madam President and colleagues. SB778 modifies the income and certification allowance for the purpose of expanding access to the migrant childcare and development program for agricultural working families. I respectfully ask for an Aye vote.

Secretary, please call the roll.

[Roll Call]

Senator Limon moves on call. Up next is file item 7391 and 93. Senator McNerney.

Secretary, please read.

Senate Bill 833 by Senator McNerney, and according to state government.

Senator.

Thank you, Madam President. Good morning, my colleagues. Today I'm rising to present SB833. And this is about artificial intelligence. AI is evolving fast, and California must evolve faster. SB833 is a clear way to ensure safety, accountability, and Public trust. What does this bill do? Well, 833 closes a serious oversight gap.

Currently, there's no standardized approach to monitoring AI systems in high risk critical infrastructure sectors like transportation, energy, emergency services and financial systems. Unchecked AI in these critical systems is a significant risk. One malfunction, one security breach and one automated decision gone wrong without human oversight could cost lives or spread damage. 833 keeps humans in the loop.

Who doesn't want a human being in the loop on critical infrastructure? Overseeing artificial intelligence? The bill is a common sense approach. It aligns with Governor Newsom's Executive order. It does not hinder innovation. It ensures innovation happens responsibly and with humans oversight where livelihoods and critical infrastructure is at risk. California should be leading on these issues.

As a global tech eater, we have responsibility to set standards that protect people while guarding the ethical deployment of artificial intelligence. I respectfully ask for an Aye vote.

Secretary, please call the roll.

[Roll Call]

Senator McNerney moves on call. Senator Arreguin is ready to go. Secretary, please Read File Item 91.

Senate Bill 524 by Senator Arreguin an act relating to law enforcement agencies.

Senator.

Thank you, Madam President. I rise to present another AI bill, Senate Bill 524, which require law enforcement agencies to maintain a policy to disclose or whether the report was written either fully or or in part using artificial intelligence. This bill does four things.

One, a report using AI must include a disclosure statement indicating that AI was used to generate the report. It does not prohibit the use of AI to create police reports. Two, the signature of the officer preparing the report must be affixed to the report to indicate who was involved in preparing the report for transparency.

Three, the first draft of the report is retained as long as the final draft is retained and for an audit trail would be required as well. When properly used, AI can be useful for tasks such as research and analytics. But many law enforcement agencies are using AI across administrative duties, including in criminal investigations.

These reports are critical to the legal record that's established in criminal cases. And so ensuring transparency about the use of AI is absolutely critical as well. SB524 seeks to ensure transparency and accuracy by adding critical guardrails in the use of AI when law enforcement agencies use it in the report writing process.

We've been working closely colleagues with all stakeholders, including law enforcement, throughout the process to address their concerns. Recent amendments from Committee reduce the frequency of when law enforcement agencies have to disclose that AI was used and provide law enforcement officers with the opportunity to verify the contents of a report if AI drafted it.

We are continuing to continue work with stakeholders if this bill moves the Assembly to address costs and implementation issues and I respectfully ask for an Aye vote.

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

[Roll Call]

Senator Arreguin moves on call. Senator Becker, you're up next. Secretary, please read file item 93, Senate.

Bill 541 by Senator Becker and equilibrium to electricity. Senator Becker.

Thank you, friends and colleagues. One thing that's become really clear to me, working on affordability this year, something I didn't quite fully grasp as much as I really needed to, which is that our grid is really only under stress about 20 to 40 hours a year.

So outside of those 20 to 40 hours a year, we're using less than 50% of our grid. But of course, we have to spend. We have to spend billions of dollars, do all our infrastructure to meet those 20 to 40 hours. Because we don't want blackouts. Nobody wants blackouts.

So what can we do about those 20 to 40 hours? Well, one is we can have an extended grid. We're going to talk about that conversation probably tomorrow. Have a grid that's bigger than the than one weather system. But the second thing we can do is to shave the peak, what people call demand flexibility. Shave the peak.

Because the reality is we have a massive underutilized electrical system most of the time that we've already paid for. A recent study from Duke Estimated that California has almost 6,000 megawatts of capacity for new load outside of those top 1% of hours. What does that mean? 6,000 megawatts of capacity outside the top 1% of hours?

Well, that's enough to power 3 million homes or 30 massive new data centers on our grid we have the capacity for.

So if we can reduce load during those peak hours by shifting demand at other times, then we can lock that spare capacity to build housing and charge EVs, build data centers and everything at a much lower cost and build more capacity to serve even higher peaks when we support new demand.

That brings down rates, actually, because we have volumetric rates. Are people aware of that? We have volumetric rates. So the more load we get onto the grid, that actually brings down the cost for everyone. So this is one of the best levers for improving electricity affordability.

So that's what this Bill is about, incentivizing more load shifting so we can support new electricity demand and lower electricity bills. And using the Poles and wires and generation we've already paid for. You've already paid for it? You paid for it? We've already paid for it. The CC estimates the state could achieve 7,000.

That's their goal, 7,000 megawatts, 7 gigawatts of load shifting by 2030. And the potential for load shifting increases every time someone installs a battery or smart thermostat. We're not using all those batteries that are now behind the meter.

All those batteries we put in into people's homes, we're not using those right now when we could be using them so much more effectively. We're not capturing it today.

So this Bill is a Bill we started working on this year, still in process, but getting a lot of great feedback to really hone in on where is the grid? Where do we want that value? Unlock that value. Where is the grid congested? And where can we best unlock that value for load shifting?

It'll provide transparency and accountability and I respectfully ask for. I vote.

Secretary, please call the roll.

[Roll call]

[Roll call]

Senator Becker moves on. Call. The next two items are by Senator Limone. Secretary, please read. Before that, you read, Senator. Colleagues, could we give a round of applause and a warm welcome to the Pioneer Elementary School students from Davis and Senator Stern. Secretary, please read. Fire item 96.

Senate Bill 567 by Senator Limon an act relating to oil and gas wells.

Senator.

Thank you, President and colleagues. The California Energy Commission has projected we will need 52,000 megawatts of energy storage capacity by 2045 to meet electricity demands. SB567 would create a pathway to pilot and study the use of gravity based energy storage and.

And how this technology may be able to take advantage of idle oil wells to create more energy storage options. It will allow the permitting of gravity wells with rigorous testing and reporting to determine the impacts of this new technology. I respectfully ask for an Aye vote.

Thank you, Senator. Senator Grove, you're recognized on this item.

Thank you, Madam President. Briefly, I support this bill and thank the author for bringing forth new technology that can be used for these gravity based wells that will be on orphaned and abandoned wells and it'll be put to good use.

There's also a new technology out there, GeoTest, which will put about 20 million megawatts on the grid, waiting and waiting and waiting to be approved by the State Water Resources Control Board. It'll give you a hundred hours of 100 days of battery storage, which is far advanced than what we've ever done in the past.

And I wish that our agencies were just not so afraid of new technology and that they would act on these things and we could actually solve the energy problem that we have in the State of California. But respectfully ask for an Aye vote on this bill.

Yay. Shannon.

Senator Limon, you may now close with your Yay.

I respectfully ask for an Aye vote.

Secretary, please call the roll.

[Roll Call]

Senator Limon moves on. Call colleagues. We have a lot of future leaders in the gallery. I'd like to also recognize Tafoya Elementary School from Woodland, who is also joining us as well. Senator Limon has the next item. Secretary, please Read File Item 103, Senate.

Bill 642 by Senator Limon and accolade to employment.

Senator Limon.

Thank you, Madam President and colleagues. This year marks the 10th anniversary of the passage of the California Fair Pay Equity Act, a historic bipartisan measure to address the gaps in the Equal Pay Act. Over the last decade, we have seen the gender pay gap continue to persist.

SB5, SB642 makes reforms to the California Equal Pay act to ensure workers can effectively enforce their rights by harmonizing the statute of limitations with other wage statutes and allowing workers to recover for all lost pay for up to 10 years. I respectfully ask for an aye vote.

Secretary, please call the roll.

[Roll call]

[Roll call]

Senator Limon moves on. Call. The next three batters are for file. Item 110131 and 134. Senor Araguin.

Secretary, please read.

Senate Bill 692 by Senator Arreguin. An act relating to vehicles.

Senator.

Thank you, Madam President. I rise to present SB 692, which would authorize local governments to perform emergency summary abatement of abandoned or inoperable vehicles that are creating an imminent health and safety hazard.

Abandoned or inoperable vehicles are a significant issue in our communities due to illegal dumping or after individuals that are experiencing homelessness who've been using them as shelter have moved indoors.

And this is an issue particularly acute in my district in the City of Oakland, which is the sponsor of this bill, where, if you visit parts of East Oakland, you literally see streets of abandoned vehicles lining those streets, creating a public nuisance and creating significant public safety challenges.

In many cases, many of these vehicles are in such poor condition and pose serious health and safety risks that local towing companies refuse to take the. Due to existing law, local governments have very little options to abate and remove them.

SB 692 would authorize local governments to abate and remove vehicles that are posing a serious health and safety risk and as well enable local governments to do so in accordance with existing fire, health and safety codes.

In addition, this bill would amend the current requirement for local governments to be able to remove such vehicles without requiring that both the vehicle be determined to be a public nuisance and that the property owner sign a release.

In such instances, it could be very difficult to require that an owner has to sign a release to remove a vehicle because the owner has abandoned that vehicle or the vehicle may not be capable of being moved.

Under existing law, local governments are required to follow certain processes to ensure due process, like providing 10 day notice that the vehicle will be removed and allow for a hearing of an owner request it. This bill maintains these critical due process requirements. We've been working closely with all stakeholders throughout the process to address concerns.

Recent amendments from committee clarify that the scope of this bill is specific to abandoned inoperable vehicles. This in no way addresses vehicles that are being used as shelter. The bill sponsors and I are committed to continue to work with stakeholders to address any remaining concerns if this bill moves out of our house.

I respectfully ask for an aye vote.

Senator Blakespear.

Yes. Thank you. I rise in support of this bill and I want to thank the author for coming forward with a reasoned approach.

As we see more people living on the streets and in vehicles and then some of those vehicles end up abandoned, we know that we have health and safety problems that need to be addressed. And I appreciate the author for coming up with the right balance that has a appropriate due process protections, but also meets the moment.

We do need to be able to provide- our- our cities need to be able to provide livable spaces for people and people need to be kept safe. And so I very much appreciate the author for bringing this forward. And I urge and I vote. Thank you.

Senator Becker.

Yeah, I just wanted to thank the author for tackling this difficult issue and as chair of the Bay Area Caucus, this big issue in the Bay Area, and I appreciate his thoughtfulness and getting to a very good proposal. And I respectfully asked for an aye vote.

Senator Grove.

Thank you, Madam Chair. I too rise in support of this bill. Although I don't live in the Bay Area, I do live up here off the 80.

And sometimes it is very difficult to drive where I live and have cars on each side of the road and not so much for me because I just drive right by it and go into where I live.

But there are a lot of apartments around the area where I live, and I see these young kids waiting on a bus stop to get to school, and it's really hard to see them have to deal with what they have to walk over bodies laying on the side of the road that are just passed out, either drugs or whatever they're doing, sleeping.

And these young kids that are just striving to have a better life and their parents are just having to deal with this.

And so I appreciate the balanced approach to being able to remove those areas, especially from the areas where, you know, you're just impacted the most and just making sure that there's also safety with vehicles and people don't lose the only coverage that they have to stay off the streets.

Okay. See no other mics up. Senator Arreguin, you may close.

Respectfully ask for an aye vote.

Senators, we are all back in. So if you can get close to the Senate chambers, we're going to be closing row after the second round. Secretary, please call the roll.

[Roll Call]

Please call the absent Members.

[Roll Call]

Aye, 37. No, 0. Measure passes. Up next is file item 131 with Senator Durazo.

Senate Bill 635 by Senator Durazo and according to local government.

Secretary, please read.

Senator? Thank you, Madam Speaker. SB 635 is a big step towards ensuring street vendors have the support that they deserve as they participate in local government programs without fear. Street vending is an essential part of the cultural and civic fabric of communities across California. Street vendors are required to follow permit procedures.

Street vending ranges from women selling candles, earrings, raspados, elotes, nieves, mangonadas, fruta, and many more. For many vendors, street vending is the first step towards climbing the economic ladder and pursuing the American dream. This Bill safeguards micro business owners personal information to ensure they can continue to work in peace and safely.

I respectfully ask for your vote, Senator Arreguin. You're recognized.

Thank you, Madam President. I rise today as a proud co author of SB 635 and thank my colleague, the Senator from Los Angeles, for bringing this Bill forward which ensures that micro entrepreneurs have the peace, safety and protections that they deserve in participating in the local economy.

And this Legislature has done important work to put in place a streamlined process for permitting legalizing street vending in the State of California. And we heard from some of these vendors in Committee who expressed concern about their safety and the safety of their neighbors because of increased immigration enforcement.

California is home to over 10 million immigrants, the majority of whom have lived in the United States for more than 10 years. They are the backbone of our state's economy. This Bill is about standing up for the vendors who bring life and livelihood to our streets who face the devastating threat of immigration enforcement.

It's time that we support our vendors who go out every day, who work long hours to sustain themselves and their families and are the backbone of our communities. I respectfully ask for an aye vote on this bill.

Colleagues, if we can take our conversations off the floor. Getting a little loud. CNO mics up. Manass, Sender. Draza to close.

Senator Durazo, you have to close. I respectfully ask for your aye vote. Thank you. Secretary, please call the row.

[Roll call]

[Roll call[

Please call the absent Members.

[Roll call]

Ayes 27, noes nine. Measure passes. Senator Grayson has filed item 134.

Secretary, please read Senate Bill 97 by Senator Grayson and act relating to financial regulation.

Senator Grayson.

Thank you, Madam President and Senators. SB 97 will update and clarify the Digital Financial Assets Law that I authored in 2023. The Digital Financial Assets Law is a licensure framework for crypto businesses that is currently in the early stages of implementation by the Department of Financial Protection and Innovation.

This law is important in protecting the interest of consumers and retail investors within crypto markets and and in promoting fair competition between crypto businesses. SB97 provides a variety of clarifications and updates to the Digital Financial Assets Law in a manner that gives businesses more certainty without undermining consumer protections.

I appreciate the engagement from industry, consumer groups and the DFPI as we have all worked together on this bill. There is no registered opposition and I respectfully ask for your Aye vote.

This item is eligible for unanimous roll call.

Any objection? Aye's, 37. No, 0. The measure passes. The next three up are file item 135, 136 and 137. Senator Durazo.

Secretary, please read Senate Bill 707 by Senator Durazo. An act relating to local government.

Senator. Thank you, Madam Speaker. The Brown Act, since 1954, has served as the minimum standard for how the public can access their local meetings and for how local agencies conduct meetings. As technology has improved, the Legislature has made careful changes to modernize the Brown Act. In addition, the pandemic has helped bring along other technological advances.

This bill is our opportunity to keep key provisions in place, expand teleconferencing flexibility, and expand public access. However, many communities and governments continue to experience challenges with the Brown Act. As technological challenges have occurred. Many disabled working in non English speaking communities face challenges accessing public meetings and materials.

This bill allows local governments to serve their communities better and increases the public's access to meetings, especially vulnerable communities. Since I've introduced this bill, I have been collaborative with stakeholders. We are grateful to have met with city, county, special districts, rural and transparency advocates, and there has been significant progress Members.

If we don't make updates to the Brown Act, we lose on extending current provisions that give cities and counties flexibility and we lose the opportunity to further engage with the public.

I am very proud that in working with Senator Araguin and his bill, SB239, that we have reached agreement to merge the two bills and that has included many of the provisions, of course, from SB239. With that I respectfully ask for. I vote. Senator Araguain, you're recognized.

Thank you, Madam President. I rise as a principal co author of SB 707 in Strong Support and colleagues. You may recall, I had a bill which will move to the enacted file, which would have allowed for advisory bodies, not city councils or boards of supervisors, but advisory bodies, to be able to conduct meetings exclusively online.

Due to the concerns around accessibility of Members of advisory bodies to participate in these important government bodies, we have worked with the author to move the provisions of that bill into this bill. So for advisory bodies or.

Or what they're called, subsidiary bodies in this bill, they would be able to conduct meetings online, increasing diversity and increasing participation. But this bill is, I think, one of the most substantial changes to the Brown act in many, many years.

And those of us in local government, mayors and council Members and Members of the Board of Supervisors that served in local government know how critical the Brown act is to increase transparency and public participation in our local government.

But we know that the Brown act, which was written in the late 50s, has not seen a significant update in decades, has not been updated to reflect changes in technology, has not been updated to reflect changes in best practices and how we should conduct government meetings.

So this is a significant change that centers transparency, that centers public access, but gives local governments more flexibility to conduct meetings. Recent amendments address many of the implementation concerns that have been addressed by local governments, including CSAC and LIGA cities, while adding safeguards to ensure public access and participation.

It is essential that we modernize the Brown act to bring it into the 21st century so both the public and Members of local and regional bodies alike are able to use the flexibility of teleconferencing while maintaining crucial transparency protections.

SB 707 strikes a reasonable balance, and with that, I urge all my colleagues to vote aye on this bill.

Senator Cabaldon.

Thank you, Madam President. I had raised concerns about this bill in the local government Committee. My time here began after serving 20 years as mayor, and our community won a lot of awards for civic engagement and participation, and the results are on the ground in that community. The Brown act needs a lot of modernizing.

It is still, like many of our public participation processes, really rooted in the notion that citizens get their information from the town crier. And by town crier, in this case, I mean the city Clerk reading an ordinance out loud on a Tuesday. It predates.

It predates not just the Internet and not just our cell phones and everything else. It predates most digital and electronic communication. And many of our rules are in place from when we needed to send a horse from West Sacramento to Woodland and back in order for the notice to occur.

So we need our actions since that time have been to just add more on top of more on top of more on top of more. So, so let's keep the law for the horses, but now let's add the law for the Internet. Let's keep the laws for the phone.

Now let's add, let's keep the law for the classified section of the newspaper, for the newspaper of public record.

But let's add one more thing we've never said what is the especially given today's use of technology by younger voters, by voters whose first language is in English and use other tools to participate, really modernize the Brown act in that way.

And as a result, we have a Brown act that in many ways perpetuates significant inequities in addition to making it very difficult for local governments and communities to do to advance their priorities. Part of these laws were created because in the 60s and the 50s, California cities and counties did not look like their communities.

Their city councils and Board of Supervisors didn't look at all like the people that they served. And so we conceived of local governments as the enemy, something to protect the people against, and that the voters electing their city councilors and Board of Supervisors were not of their right mind.

And all the and if 12 people showed up on a Tuesday night to fight a project that that was the public and the voters didn't matter. That's not true today. Today my own city is City Council, all women, all people of color.

The cities have changed, but our laws still presume that they are fundamentally not representative of their communities. So I believe that we do need substantial continuing reflection and changes to our not just the Brown act, but our systems of public participation.

Having said that, this bill is a significant step forward and the author has worked mightily to try to address all of the myriad of concerns around this.

And so while I don't think I think we still still need profound reform and rethinking about how we really engage the public on the terms that the public wants to be engaged on that, we still must do that. This bill is a substantial step forward.

A lot of the concerns about costs and what have you have been dealt with. Thank and congratulate the author for the work and I urge an aye vote. Senator Becker.

Yeah, I just want to as someone who represents a lot of small cities, I had some concerns I've had some conversations with the authors. Look forward to continuing those do have some concerns going forward just about kind of zoom bombing and some of the other things that we've we've seen.

But I really appreciate the work of folks who know a lot more about local government than I do and I'll be supporting you here today. Look forward to conversations going forward.

Senator Seyarto.

Thank you, Madam President. I want to speak about the amendments that were taken on the bill because the bill used to be when it came through Committee was completely supportable. And the reason I supported it was it was very narrow in its application.

And there were other a lot of different players who had concerns about this bill, but they also agreed with the bill at the time.

And so we could take advantage of the technology that my colleague was talking about just now and at the same time ensure that we don't go down that slippery slope of turning public meetings into meetings where you don't have to face the public as a public official.

This has broadened it these amendments have broadened this bill beyond what I'm comfortable with and what a lot of the proponents previously were comfortable with. They are now off of this bill. And I'm talking about the ACLU and others because the amendments taken broaden this bill.

So it's going down that slippery slope that everybody was saying we don't want it to go down. That Slope. Well, we're doing it already, so I will be opposing the bill and would encourage you to do the same, or we can take amendments to add it back to what it was.

So those are my thoughts on the bill. Thank you, Senator Perez.

So I want to, first of all, thank both the author, the great Senator from Los Angeles, as well as the joint author, the great Senator from Berkeley, that I've been working so hard on this bill on SB707. And I understand there's still some work to be done around this.

This is now, you know, two pieces of legislation that have been brought together. You know, the good Senator from West Sacramento, you know, stated already, I mean, the Brown act needs lots of updates.

It is incredibly outdated, I think, for any single one of us that have served in local government, including myself, we recognize that it is long time overdue. You know, there's a couple of things that I think are personally really important to me.

One of the things that we continue to preserve as a local city is ensuring that we had a virtual option for folks to participate so that they could continue to call into our meetings in Alhambra.

We actually had discussed taking this option away after Covid went and phased out, and we were no longer required to offer this teleconferencing kind of virtual zoom option that so many cities were doing throughout the COVID pandemic.

And when we brought up that discussion, we had so many residents reach out to ask us to preserve these kinds of options, because you had parents, you know, who were taking care of their kids at home that typically weren't able to participate in City Council meetings, that were suddenly able to call in to voice their opinions, whether they were in support or in opposition, you know, to a measure.

You had elderly folks, folks who were disabled, who would have faced many difficulties in accessing our council meetings. There are so many people from different backgrounds, whether it was seniors, those with disabilities, parents that shared just how much this change gave them access to our council meetings.

Now, that also meant that as local City Council Members and as a mayor, I had to accept that that meant that we would have increased participation in our meetings. But that was our job. Our job is to be there and to listen to the public. And if it leads to increased participation, then that is a good thing.

And so we preserved that model so that we could continue to have Members of the public participate in those meetings.

Now, what I also want to highlight is, I do think, some of the provisions that we had developed during the pandemic, which is allowing council Members to Participate virtually only when they are either sick or there is some sort of major life circumstance. I think that makes sense.

It is incredibly important that elected leaders are forced to actually show up and participate in person instead of hiding behind a virtual screen. So preserving that as an option is I think is important, but only in cases where you're facing circumstances where you're incredibly ill. I had a colleague that was battling breast cancer for some time.

We had her participate virtually for almost a year. That allowed her to get treatment while still being present for those zoom meetings. So, you know, I think that this is a good measure. It still has some work to be done on it, but this is the direction that we should be going.

Yes, it's going to lead to increased participation in our local governments. But you know, as somebody that enforced that law for myself and kept that law for myself, that is a good thing and this is the direction we should be going.

So urge an aye vote and appreciate both of the authors and all the work that they've done on this.

Senator Allen, thank you, Madam President. I want to associate myself especially with the comments from the Member from West Sacramento. Thank the leadership of Senator from Berkeley and Senators of Los Angeles for coming together. But you know, clearly there's a lot more work to be done. But I'm happy to support the bill.

I just, I did have some communication with the author and I just want to see it on the record. I know she continues she's done a lot of work with the counties and cities to ensure that this is both going to be financially reasonable and also workable for them.

And I know there's still some additional work that is underway with regards to two ways phone or zoom communications. I know she's working with the representatives from CSAC and the League to land this in a way that is really workable for the folks that have to comply.

So with that understanding, I'm very happy to support the bill too.

Senator Ozo, you may close. Yes, Madam President. Could I have the principal co author say a few words before Senator, just very briefly.

You know, we appreciate all the input from our colleagues, particularly on addressing the two way communication issue. But I'll just say that we have, the authors really worked to make amendments that are focused on how we can streamline the Brown act to make it workable for local governments, but also take into consideration the impact on costs implementation.

I know this is an issue we'll continue to work on as this moves forward and there is a lot more work to do. But you know, honestly, this is a significant improvement over the law we have now that's really focused on modernizing it, using technology to enhance public participation and to expand public access.

And I really want to thank my colleague, the center from Los Angeles for taking on this really difficult but important issue that's so essential for government throughout the State of California.

Thank you, Madam Chair. I just want to point out a few of the organizations we have been meeting non stop. They've been amazing, They've been very positive. We've kept that that attitude throughout the months.

In fact, we started meeting before the bill was even introduced because we were so committed to coming up with something we knew was going to be complicated and difficult. They stepped up to the plate and continue to work with me, the League of California Cities, the State Association of Counties, Rural Counties, City Clerks.

We could go on and on, the Board of Supervisors Association and then we have the public transparency stakeholders, California News Publishers, ACLU and again could go on with with others. We intend to continue to work with them as we have for months now.

And I thank my principal co author, Senator from Berkeley and all everyone's comments and our respectful ask for. I vote. Thank you.

Secretary, please call the roll.

Allen. Aye. Alvarado. Gil. No. Archuleta. Aye. Harageen. Aye. Ashby. Aye. Becker. Aye. Blakespear. Aye. Cabaldin. Aye. Caballero. Cervantes. Choi. Cortese. I. Dali. No. Durazo. I. Gonzalez. I. Grayson. Grove. No. Hurtado. Jones. No. Laird. Aye. Limon. Aye. Mcguire. McNerney. I. Menjibar. Niello. Otrabog. Padilla. Aye. Perez I. Reyes. Richardson. I. Rubio. Sierto. No small word. Cuevas. Aye. Stern. Aye.

Strickland. No. Umberg. Aye. Valaderes. Wahab. Aye. Weber. Pearson. Aye. Wiener. Aye.

Please call the absent Members.

Caballero. Cervantes. Aye. Choi. Grayson. Hurtado. Mcguire. Menjewar. Niello. Ochoa. Bog. Reyes. Rubio. Valderras.

Ayes 23 no. 6 measure passes. Senators, we have. We've been blessed with so many amazing guests today. In the back we have a four former Member of this legislative body, now Mayor of Oakland Barbara Lee and once a constituent of the Senator's district. Senator Cortese, you're up next with file item 136.

Secretary, please read Senate Bill 743 by Senator Cortese and acquaintance to Education Finance.

Senator.

Okay, thank you. Madam President, I rise to present SB 743 the education equalization act to provide additional funds to underfunded school districts addressing long standing funding inequities in California public schools.

Research shows that an increase in per pupil spending leads to improved student achievement, higher test scores, better graduation rates and greater college readiness, while decreasing rates of suspension, expulsion and absenteeism. This is a long term solution that will help narrow the funding disparities and improve student outcomes, particularly for those of the most disadvantaged communities.

Secretary, please call the roll.

Without taking a single dollar away from other school districts for far too long, Where a child lives has determined how much funding their school district receives. This bill ensures that all students, regardless of their zip code, have access to the same high quality education. I respectfully ask for your Aye vote.

[Roll Call]

Senator Cortese moves the call.

Senator Caballero, you have the next one with file item 138. You're ready. Great. Secretary, please read.

Senate Bill 509 by Senator Caballero. An act relating to state government.

Senator.

Thank you, Madam President. Members, I rise to present SB 509 which develops a specialized training for law enforcement to recognize and respond to the growing threat posed by foreign governments targeting diaspora communities.

Marginalized groups identified as dissidents and asylum seekers to the United States, including ethnic and religious minorities, increasingly face attacks on their human rights while in the United States from foreign governments hostile to their concerns. These countries see their diaspora communities as threats to their political stability and often extend their repressive measures beyond their own national borders.

Tactics such as harassment threats and even physical violence, often carried out covertly or with the assistance of international law enforcement, undermine the right to safety and freedom of expression to their former country people. Transnational repression is a direct violation of the human rights of those living in the diaspora, especially those who have sought refruge- refuge in democratic societies.

While the US has mechanisms in place to protect individual from transnational repression, the current system is not fully equipped and local police departments are not trained to know how to document the growing scale of these threats.

And- And- And frankly, Senators, part of the challenge is that if police don't know how to respond, then there is no response and people feel vulnerable. The Bill ensures that law enforcement officers receive the specialized training needed to recognize and respond to to these uni- unique threats.

Recent amendments help to ensure that the training is developed in an informed, balanced and equi- equitable way through culturally competent outreach to impacted diaspora communities. SB 509 strengthens our country's commitment to the human rights, safety and justice for every law abiding individual, regardless of their background or country of origin. Respectfully ask for your aye vote.

Senator Alvarado-Gil.

Thank you, Madam President. Today I rise in strong support of Senate Bill 509 and want to thank our colleague from the Central Valley for bringing this forward.

By equipping our local law enforcement with the necessary training, we will ensure that all communities, especially those like our Sikh population with deep roots in the Central Valley, are protected from foreign intimidation and and coercion.

According to the US census data, California is home to nearly 157,000 Punjabi Americans, many of whom are Sikh, making up nearly half of the entire US Punjabi population.

The Modesta Turlock area, which is part of my district, is home to several Sikh temples which serve not only as religious centers, but also as cultural and community hubs for thousands of Sikh residents in Stanislaus county and surrounding areas.

Sikhs in the Central Valley are vital contributors to California's agricultural and trucking industries, owning and operating farms, orchards, dairies and freight companies that are essential to the state's economy. Many are descendants of immigrants who first settled in California over a century ago.

And when there are threats that are made against them, whether digitally, physically, or through surveillance of local temples, California cannot afford to look the other way. So this bill ensures that California law enforcement understands the nature of transnational repression, as is prepared to report and respond appropriately.

In doing so, we send a very clear message that California will not tolerate foreign attempts to intimidate, silence, or harm anyone on our soil. I want to thank again our Senator from the Central Valley and respectfully, ask for an aye vote.

Senator Wahab.

Thank you. I rise in support as well. I do want to highlight that in my short time in this building, when we introduced a bill that was deemed, you know, controversial, we saw a lot of intimidation tactics.

And I want to highlight this incredible issue just because of the fact that when we are talking about immigration and people of different statuses and they are individuals coming to the United States, wanting to be Americans, wanting to participate, wanting to, you know, share their voice and their experience and what they are going through, oftentimes those records of who is speaking out is collected on controversial issues.

And I will highlight this from what we have experienced in this short time is that the names and the addresses of where these people are, where do they live, have been absorbed by foreign governments. And oftentimes their visas are revoked, their passports are revoked. We saw this in the last two years on one of my bills.

The intimidation to ensure that people do not share what is going on in their communities is incredibly problematic. I do want to thank the author for making this very general in regards to communities, because I will say our democracy is deeply sensitive to influence.

And this is just one step forward to ensuring that our democracy is not only protected, but we are also protecting people who are coming and voicing their concerns and their opinions, both politically, religiously, or any other opinion that they may have and want to share. So I want to thank the good author for bringing this bill forward.

I know there was an attempt last year as well, and this is a real issue. It is not happening by one country or two countries, but many countries operate to influence public opinion, intimidate folks. We also had somebody even in our district office come to us unable to speak English.

We were very restricted in communication with them, and they were deeply in fear of going to anybody else, and they wanted to come to share their concern with us. And the honest truth was that we did need to go to law enforcement and highlight these tactics of intimidation and much more.

So this bill is a step in the right direction. I really do appreciate the author for carrying this. Respectfully ask for an aye vote.

Before you close, Senator, colleagues, we gotta take those conversations off the floor. Super loud. Senator Caballero, please close.

Thank you, Madam President. I want to thank my- my colleagues from Hayward and Jackson for their support and respectfully ask for an aye vote.

Secretary, please call the roll.

[roll call]

Senator Caballero moves on call. Senator, you have the next item, File Item 140. Senator Allen, for what purpose do you arise? Not your turn, sir. Senator Caballero, you're ready.

Secretary, please read file item 140.

Senate Bill 690 by Senator Caballero. An act relating to crimes.

Senator.

Thank you, Madam President. I rise today to present SB 690, a bill to protect California businesses from a wave of abusive and predatory lawsuits that are threatening jobs, innovation, and the variability to do business in our state. Over the last few years, just a handful of trial lawyers, mainly from four law firms, have sent out thousands of demand letters and sued more than 1700 California businesses. And that number grows every week.

These lawsuits use a 1967 wiretapping law, the California Invasion of Privacy Act, to argue that everyday online tools like website analytics and cookies are somehow wiretapping. They are claiming that tracking online shopping carts or showing personalized ads is the same as secretly recording a phone call. Why? Because CIPA carries a $5,000 penalty per violation.

That means $5,000 per website visit. For larger businesses with millions of visitors, the liability adds up to hundreds of millions of dollars. Businesses large and small are settling these lawsuits not because they've done anything wrong, but because litigation under CIPA is financially devastating. The cost of defending even a meritless case can exceed the cost of settling.

Plaintiffs are targeting non profits, local retailers, and family run operations alongside large companies. The volume and nature of these lawsuits show that no business category is exempt. A small number of plaintiffs are being used repeatedly to file hundreds of nearly identical lawsuits.

We've seen this before members where the same defendants get used over and over again by the same law firms. And so they're using CIPA to get there. However, California already has the strongest privacy law in the nation, the California Consumer Privacy Act, or CCPA.

Back in 2018, this Legislature passed the CCPA to give consumers real control over their data using a modern opt out approach. And in 2020, voters overwhelmingly strengthened the law at the ballot box. So this was a ballot measure as well.

The CCPA created the California Privacy Protection Agency who issued over 150 pages of detailed regulations and gave enforcement power to the attorney general. These lawsuits aren't about protecting privacy. They're about exploiting a 60 year old law to cash in. I've supported strengthening the CCPA.

In fact, in 2023 I voted for AB 1194, which added protections for reproductive health data. We've shown we can protect consumers while also giving businesses clear rules. But suing under CIPA for activity that's already governed by the CCPA goes against the legislative intent of setting up CCPA.

It creates confusion, punishes compliance, and it doesn't make Californians any safer online. SB 690 will end these frivolous lawsuits, eliminate confusion, and spare businesses the unnecessary cost of unfair litigation. In response to concerns from opposition, recent floor amendments remove the retroactive provisions of the bill.

My goal is to end abusive litigation while maintaining strong protections against legitimate privacy violations. I remain committed to working with all of the stakeholders to ensure we strike the right balance. Ending abusive lawsuits while preserving consumer protection against the true bad actors. And I respectfully ask your aye vote.

Senator Becker.

Thank you. I wanted to rise and strongly support the premise of SB 690 for my good friend and because it was a little unclear to me originally and my team kind of what this was trying to do and what some of the risks were. But once I had a chance to speak to her and understand it better, this really is about trying to crack down on those frivolous lawsuits.

And I ran a company that was a spin off of Stanford Law School that was focused on patent troll lawsuits that, you know, people would buy up a patent, then sue a bunch of companies and it was just much cheaper to settle than to fight. And so people would settle and kind of pay off.

And that's what we've seen in this space as well. So I know there are some issues with the implementation. I know she's still working through the specifics of it, and I want to support that effort because I think there is, you know, we got to find that right balance here. But I strongly support what she's trying to do and urge an aye vote.

Senator McNerney.

Well, thanks, President. I thank the colleague from Merced. And I think California has grown strong because of a secret sauce. It has to attract businesses, and we want to make sure that we don't lose that. But on the other hand, there were some concerns about privacy rights and all, so I understand that the author is working through this, and I appreciate that. And so I'm going to support this so that we can move it forward and have a chance to make sure that it does everything that we need to do. Thank you and I urge an aye vote.

Senator Caballero, you may close now.

Thank my colleagues for their support and their words, which are really important. We're trying to get this right. And I would respectfully ask for your aye vote.

Secretary, please call the roll.

[Roll Call]

Senator Caballero moves on call. Now it's your turn, Senator Allen.

Secretary, please read file item 148.

Senate Bill 630 by Senator Allen, and equity to taxation and making an appropriation, therefore.

Senator Allen.

Thank you so much, Madam President, Members. I rise to present SB 630, which expands and strengthens our state's TV and film tax credit. Since 2009 the Film and Television Tax Credit Program has been successful in creating nearly 200,000 jobs statewide and created over about $26 billion in economic activity.

But the program has been oversubscribed year after year, and it doesn't apply to many projects that could benefit from the program. Indeed, we've seen other jurisdictions step forward with very increasingly generous programs that have been pulling away production from our state. So to expand the program to more productions, create more jobs, strengthen the program's competitiveness globally.

This Bill seeks to make several changes including raising the base tax credit from 20% to 35% to cover more qualified production expenditures. Maintaining the uplift incentives for the current program, including a special uplift for all filming outside of the Los Angeles area, so that all of the State of California gets to benefit from this work.

Providing an uplift to productions who hire one to four trainees without displacing anticipated hiring of experienced workers. To make sure that there continues to be a robust pipeline of younger people from diverse communities coming into the industry. We expand the qualified productions to 20 minute TV shows.