Senate Standing Committee on Military and Veterans Affairs

We are going to start the Senate Committee on Military and Veterans Affairs. And I want to tell everyone, thank you so much for being here today. It's a historic day and thanks to our Assembly Woman who has brought us together this day. And I want to dedicate this meeting to you and. But the Committee will begin.

And so let's go ahead and inform you that we have eight bills today on the agenda and we have quite a few that are consent. So before we make any presentations, let's find out if we have a quorum. So let's go ahead. Madam Secretary, if you'll go ahead and call the roll.

[ROLL CALL]

Madam Secretary has informed me we do have a quorum. Thank you so very much. And once again, I'd like to bring you up to date on our consent calendar. And today on consent, we have seven bills.

Assembly Bill 81, Assembly Bill 88, Assembly Bill 264, Assembly Bill 587, Assembly Bill 1412, Assembly Bill 1508, and Assembly Bill 1509. Do I have a motion on the consent calendar?

Have a motion from Senator Menjivar. And Madam Secretary, please call the roll on the consent calendar.

[ROLL CALL]

And the count is three ayes. And we'll have the other two Members come in in a little bit. The consent calendar passes. So we'll go on to. And we'll keep it. We'll keep it on call. I'm sorry. And so now, the lady of the hour.

Assembly Woman, you were recognized today at the press conference and we will recognize you again today. We're honored to have you. Ladies and gentlemen, Assembly Member Quirk-Silva will present her Bill 571 with a good number of co uthors. So we'll begin with your opening remarks and then we'll move on to your lead witnesses in support.

Thank you, Mr. Senator and Members. It is a momentous occasion in the story of the Gypsum Canyon Veterans Cemetery, and I'm honored and pleased to be here on behalf of so many veterans that have served our country and our county.

Today, I present AB 571, which provides a targeted CEQA exemption with an urgency clause for the Southern California Veterans Cemetery at Gypsum Canyon in the City of Anaheim.

This project has been a decade in the making and is a project that so many have worked on since I first came to the Assembly, including my esteemed colleague, Senator Umberg.

It's also deeply personal to me and many of the members here as we all have family members who have served and of course our Chair is, and many of the Members of this Committee, are military members.

But we know that when our military members sign up for duty, which few do, and less and less are, that we do owe a debt of gratitude and a final resting place certainly is a statement of showing our gratitude.

We are closer than ever to delivering on the promise of a final resting place for Orange County's and surrounding areas' veterans a place of honor, dignity, and peace. After years of discussion and delay, this project now enjoys a broad community and bipartisan support.

The Orange County Board of Supervisors, all 34 cities in the county, a majority of the county, state, and federal delegation, veterans' organizations, public safety groups, and labor organizations all stay on united behind this effort. Locally, the Anaheim City Council voted unanimously last year to approve the Veterans Cemetery Project, along with an adjacent public cemetery.

That approval relied on an addendum to an existing environmental impact report certified in 2005 for a project of greater intensity. This allows the County of Orange, the county cemetery, and the county Department of Veterans Affairs to move forward, working together to share costs, coordinate infrastructure, and maximize the use of public funds.

There is currently over 50 million in combined state and county funding available for the early phases of construction and AB 571 will help us move this project across the finish line with this narrow CEQA exemption to streamline planning and permitting. It ensures that after a decade of effort, the Southern California Veterans Cemetery can finally become a reality.

With me today to testify in support is—we have from the county, my former colleague, Assemblymember Don, sorry, Don Wagner, USMC Vietnam Veteran and Chair of Valor, Nick Berardino, and also, a supervisor, Katrina Foley.

Very good, thank you. And witnesses with you, please announce your name for the record and you have the floor. We'll start with you on this side.

Thank you, Mr. Chairman and Senators, it's an honor to be with you. My name is Don Wagner. I have previously served in the Assembly. To show you how long this has been going on.

I was one of the co-authors way back when, and it was a way back when, for one of the earlier bills dealing with this Cemetery. We are now at the finish line and it's my privilege to serve as the Supervisor for the district down in Orange County where the cemetery is located.

The CEQA exemption is, in fact, narrow. What we were finding was a literal Hail Mary pass by the one dead ender in Orange County. The supervisor—or the Assemblywoman—told you that this is passed with the unanimous support of all 34 cities. It was even more amazing than that.

Not just did every city in Orange County pass a resolution supporting this project, but all but one of those cities did it unanimously. And so, this is a project that brings together the left, the right.

It brings together anyone, veteran or not, who is interested in recognizing the importance of our veterans and giving them the dignified final resting place that they deserve. And the one cranky no vote out of one little city has now filed a CEQA lawsuit.

What we recognize with this exemption is, I think, the same thing this Legislature recognized not too long ago with the budget, when it was dealing with CEQA exemptions that the Governor had been talking about, is how good projects can get delayed, sidetracked, made more expensive, ultimately killed.

And the effort is to put a stop to that abuse of CEQA, not to put a stop to CEQA itself. And this Bill does exactly that, in a small way, put a stop to the CEQA abuse that we're experiencing that is holding up progress that we promised our veterans for almost 15 years now. And progress that everybody—it's amazing.

Every city, the entire Board of Supervisors, unanimously, our entire state legislative delegation, our entire federal legislative delegation, behind us. We urge your approval of the Bill. This clears the last hurdle. And we know you've been very attentive to this project for years now. We thank you for it.

We wouldn't be here without the work of this Committee, without the work of Assemblywoman Quirk-Silva. And if we can get over this final hurdle, we will have that dignified resting place that we have promised. None too soon. We don't want him there anytime soon, but we are going to have that cemetery for our...

And your next witness in support, please.

Thank you very much, Mr. Chairman and honorable Members of the Committee. It's indeed a pleasure and honor to be here. As you know, I think the supervisor really explained it pretty clearly. It's been a long, long fight. And as you know, Mr. Chairman, you've been there with us.

And certainly, Senator Umberg, when I see both of you with your jump wings on, as I mentioned to Senator Archuleta, I tell him I never figure out why people jump out of perfectly good planes, but, well, at least Senator Archuleta, you didn't climb on a roof in Afghanistan during an artillery barrage to determine the direction of fire.

I won't mention which one of your colleagues did that. But you have been heroes to us, this whole Legislature. I've been coming up here since 1973. I been involved with this Legislature since '73.

And my heart has been warmed every time I've come here because for everything that we've all sacrificed and, you know, I'm a Vietnam veteran, and all of us that went into hiding for 50 years after we came home, you know, we just never thought that anything that we wanted would ever come true.

We just felt so beaten down and so disenfranchised. But all of you have worked so hard with us and stood by us, and it's a privilege on a bipartisan basis to have worked with all of you and to show what we can do when we work together. But from this Committee, Tom, getting money, of course.

Sharon, you know, who's been a great hero on this. Senator Archuleta, who I probably bug more than he likes. All of you, though, have all stood with us. And I'm just here to say I hope you vote yes, and God bless you and thank you.

Thank you and God bless you for your service. And your next witness, please identify yourself for the record.

Thank you. Katrina Foley, Vice Chair for the Orange County Board of Supervisors, and proud to sit here next to our esteemed veteran who is a champion for the Veterans Cemetery. I want to thank you, Senator Archuleta.

Thank you to Senator Umberg and of course, our champion, Assemblywoman, Sharon Quirk-Silva, for staying the course and helping us to overcome all of these obstacles in our way. And I'm just not going to repeat what everyone else has said. I'll just ask for a yes vote on AB 571.

And we want to thank the veterans for their service and their willingness to stick it out and stay the course until we can get to the finish line. So, thank you for your support.

Well, talk about bipartisan. Don't forget, we've got Marine down at the other end, and—so you're not alone. And of course, our civilians that serve on this on this Committee, and of course, the army veterans that we have, Senator Umberg and myself, we're all with you, no doubt.

So, I would like to go ahead and now open it up for witnesses that you may have all brought and have traveled with you in support. Any witnesses would like to speak, please address the mic and identify yourself.

Good afternoon, Chair and Members. My Name is Seth Reeb with Reeb Government Relations, representing American Legion Department of California, Amvets Department of California, Military Officers Association of America California Council of Chapters, and the Vietnam Veterans of America California State Council, all in strong support. Thank you.

Mr. Chair and Members, Pat Moran, representing the Orange County Employees Association, in support. Thank you.

Good afternoon. Anthony Simpson, on behalf of Alameda County, Veteran Service Officer, a proud 24-year Marine.

Good, thank you. Are there anyone else would like to address the Committee in support? If not, let's go ahead and go on to opposition. Anyone that is in the room that would like to express himself in opposition to Senate Bill 571? I see no, no one else.

And so, now, let me go ahead and turn it over to our Members. Senator Umberg.

Thank you, Mr. Chair, and thank you to the leadership of Orange County who's here been so steadfast in this journey. Thank you. Mr. Berardino. I know you've been toiling this soil for at least three decades. So, we're grateful. We're grateful for your leadership.

Supervisor Wagner, on the county level, you mentioned this morning the amount of money that the taxpayers of Orange County have dedicated this project is truly outstanding. And same thing, Supervisor Foley, for your leadership here. I know you've got heroes hall and other important veteran both monuments and facilities in your world.

Assemblywoman Quirk-Silva, you know you've been on this road also for a very, very long time. And as we get closer to the finish, I am curious. Thank you for your leadership, as you've been described as it—aptly described as the champion. What do you see as the timeline?

Assuming this Bill passes, what do you see as the timeline?

We just met with CalVet this morning and they have submitted again to the Federal Government. We are on the priority list, as of last year, but we need to be—actually we're on the conforming list—and we need to be moved to the priority list.

So, we will be working with our federal legislative counterparts, some that you know very well, Congressmember Lou Correa, Congresswoman Young Kim, urging their support, also those on the Military Committee.

And our hope is by October that we will be towards the top of the priority list because you can be on the list, but also not ranked as high as we want to be.

So, that would be the next step is to make sure that we use some energy to the Federal Government and that we are on that top part of the list.

And then, as was noted, we have close to $55 million in the bank, 20 million coming from the county and also, with your leadership, other funds that we've been able to put in through the budget over the last handful of years.

So, once we get on the list, then the land would be transferred to CalVet and we can actually finally, as they say, get some shovels in the ground. My hope would be sometime in the next year.

So, just a follow on—Mr. Chair—so, once we're on the list as a priority, then we can start construction at that point?

Yes. And right now, the county and CalVet continue to meet on a regular basis to refine the plans to look for some additional cost savings and those will continue and they're regularly meeting.

In addition, as you know, there is a public adjacent cemetery and so, a lot of the infrastructure would be joint as far as roads and even looking at possible maintenance and so forth.

All right, thank you very much. Appropriate time, Mr. Chair, I'd like to move the Bill.

Okay, we've got a motion. Jerry McNerney.

Thank you. Thank you for the Bill. And you know I just, the reason I want to talk is because you've inspired me. In my old congressional district, in my new Senate district, there's a veterans' facility in Livermore and they're going to be closing that facility.

They've closed it down for medical care. And it's a beautiful location. I want to see it stay in veterans' hands. So, this inspired me to try and take this path. I know it's difficult and you've been through some changes but to get that become a Veterans National Cemetery in Livermore will be a terrific, a terrific achievement.

And I, again, I thank you for the inspiration.

Easily done, don't worry.

And Senator Menjivar.

This will be the model for you to be able to figure that out, Senator. Assemblymember, I just want to thank you. I think it's so appreciative—well, I'm so appreciative when nonveterans lead on things that are going to be beneficial for our military and veteran community. So, thank you so much for being a supporter of that.

You know, it has to be, it's going to be done because a Marine is leading the way, and this Committee needed a Marine to be on here. You've been working on this for three decades. I just got here. So, now I know we'll be able to push that forward.

But you know, in my district I don't have a national Veterans cemetery. It's in West LA, in front of the West LA, but however, for Memorial Day, we do have a beautiful ceremony because one cemetery we do have is like, I want to say, like 60% are veterans that are buried there.

And we take kids there and we put our flags there every single time. And I've always wanted to do a more formal dedication in that cemetery. So, kind of echoing what the Senator from Stockton just mentioned. So, thank you for your tenacity. I think, you know, just that's what makes up Marines.

And I appreciate you sticking with us with that. Supportive of this Bill.

And thank you, each of you, for your comments. Before I ask you to close, Assemblymember, I would just like to point out again, thank you. You and I have been at this for a good number of years with Tom Umberg that we all joined together.

I remember the meetings that we had and I remember going up to the site and with Board of Supervisors, the City Council Members, CalVet, just all of us. This great big, long, wide circle of people who love our veterans. And we said this is the spot.

We all agree, we're done with arguments and whatever from the other end of Orange County, but this is it. And we all agreed, thumbs up. And here we are. So, again, to the Board of Supervisors, the City Council Members, everyone, we thank you for what you've been able to do.

And this is bringing—we heard it time and time again at the news conference—bipartisanship. And so, with that, I got to mention the Army, the Navy, the Air Force, the Marine Corps, the Coast Guard, Merchant Marines, and of course, our Space Force, so.

And, but you know, what's really, really important is all the men and women who love our veterans in Orange County. As we heard time and time again, 130,000 veterans in Orange County. And today, all of us have become the voice of making that dream come true.

And I thank you for your service and I thank you for your love of God and country and what we're trying to do here today. So, with that, Assemblymember, would you like to close?

You know, I feel so emotional because it isn't about me. It's about the veterans and it's about their families and it's about access to having a place that is meaningful and in proximity of Orange County.

We know we have, the numbers vary, but 100,000 veterans in Orange County and Orange County is the largest county without a veteran cemetery. But it's really about the group of veterans 12, 13 years ago, about 2011, that worked together, meeting at coffee shops, meeting at, I believe at that time it was Congresswoman Loretta Sanchez's office, just to try to even imagine this.

And when I had the opportunity to be the Veterans Chair in 2013 and worked with the consultants at that time, who was John Spengler, and that's where it was born, which is, can we do something? But without their initial work and continued work through valor, we could have an idea.

But it takes a team, and every one of you here is part of that team, whether it's a vote in support, whether it's trying to determine the best pathway forward. And this hasn't been easy. And we've even had our feisty, fierce moments in this. Right, Senator Umberg?

But in the end, it's when you can put those differences aside and move forward together.

And that's what our veterans are asked to do every day when they are out there serving, whether it's here in the United States or in other countries in combat. They don't have the luxury to say, this is my opinion, or that's my opinion.

It's like, we have a mission, and we need to do it, and we need to get it done together as a team. And that's what I'm most proud, from my friend, Assembly—former Assemblymember—Don Wagner, to supervisor.

We've had a goal, and we're going to keep marching forward, and we're closer than ever, and the football will be passed. You know, I have one more year, and I'm really hoping—and I know the Senator has one more year—and we're really hoping that will be even further along.

But we know we need a team because once we are gone, Senator Umberg and myself, then we're going to pass it off to Senator Archuleta, to the Assemblymember that comes, Avelino Valencia. So, we know that this is about a team, and it's about each of us playing our part.

But with that, thank you for your visit up here. Thank you to the supporters. We're going to keep marching forward. And with that, I ask for your aye vote.

Thank you. I have a motion by Senator Umberg. And now, Madam Secretary, call the historic roll.

[Roll Call]

So we have four to, four to one. We'll hold it open, and we'll have the other Member, hopefully will come in and vote. So with that.

You said four to one, its zero.

What did I say?

Four to one.

Oh, I'm sorry. Four to zero. You're right. Four to zero. Okay. So with that, I'd like to close by saying, ladies and gentlemen, thank you for being here. We thank you for attending the news conference this morning that was put on by our Assembly Member.

And I was really proud as I was walking in and I saw the flags. I'm glad you did that. So thank you for again, loving God and country and our veterans with that.

Thank you, Senators.

Thank you, guys.

So with the rest of you. Yeah. Didn't we do the consent calendar?

Yeah, but it's on call for.

Ah, okay. Let's go ahead. And the consent calendar. I think we're missing Jerry.

We're missing McNerney and Grove.

Who?

Grove.

All right. So on the consent calendar, which. Which for the record. Senator McNerney.

Senator McNerney. Senator McNerney. Aye.

All right. All right. So with that, thank you very much, everybody, and we'll stick around for a while. Bill is on call.

Go ahead and open it up. I'm sorry.

You want to do her for consent first?

Okay. The Committee. Senate Committee on Military and Veterans affairs will open up once again. And Senator Grove, thank you for your attendance. I know you were busy, so let's go ahead and get your vote on our consent calendar. And for the record, let me read what you're about to vote on. Assembly Bill 81. Assembly Bill 88.

Assembly Bill 264. Assembly Bill 587. Assembly Bill 1412. Assembly Bill 1508. Assembly Bill 1509. And your vote.

[ROLL CALL]

Senator Grove, aye. Good. That'll give us 5-0. And the bill is out. The consent calendar is out. Let's go ahead and go on to the bill for the day, which is our Senate Bill 571, presented by Quirk-Silva. And we have a motion and your vote. Go ahead.

[ROLL CALL]

Okay, we have an aye. That'll give us a 5-0 across. And with that, I think we're gonna adjourn. Thank you, ladies and gentlemen, for attending.

Thank you.

Okay.

And Andrew.