Senate Floor

Secretary, will you call roll?

[Roll call]

A quorum is present. Would the Members and our guests beyond the rail and in the gallery please rise? We will be led in prayer this morning by Senator Durazo. By Senator Durazo. And after which, please remain standing for the pledge of Allegiance to the flag. Senator Durazo, thank you.

Merciful God, in your wisdom, enlighten us. Open our eyes to the needs of your suffering people. When we are frozen into inaction, grant us a spirit of courage. When we try our best but are misunderstood, give us a spirit of humility.

When the chaos of our lives subsides, give us a spirit of solidarity with those who are marginalized and seeking justice. God of hope, in your kindness, heal us. Creator of all people, in your generosity, guide us. We ask this in your name. Amen.

Amen.

Amen. Members, please join me in a pledge of allegiance to the flag. I pledge allegiance. Very good. We will have a busy agenda today. I ask that we take conversations off the floor and give speakers our undivided attention as they are presenting privileges of the floor. There are none. Messages from the Governor will be deemed read.

Messages from Assembly will be deemed read. Reports of committees will be deemed read and amendments adopted. Two motions, resolutions and notices. Motions, resolutions and notices. Senator Choi, you are recognized.

Thank you, President. I rise to request that the file numbers 102 and 103, Assembly Bill 407, and Assembly Bill 990 be removed from. The consent calendar at the request of the authors.

The desk will note. Senator Caballero, you're recognized.

Thank you, Mr. President, I would like to request that AB 391 by Assemblymember Rodriguez and AB 1213 by Assemblymember Stefani be pulled from the consent calendar at the request of the authors. I do apologize. AB391 is file item 101 and AB1213 is file item 118.

Thank you. Desk will note. Senator Durazo, you are recognized.

Mr. President, I rise at the request of the author to pull item 116. That's AB 1125, from Consent. Thank you. Desk will take note. Senator Laird.

Thank you, Mr. President. At the request of the author, please remove file item 106ab77 from the consent calendar and place it on. On the inactive file. The desk will note. Senator McGuire, you are recognized.

Hey, good morning, Mr. President. If you don't mind, if we can please remove file item 104 SDR 78. From the consent calendar.

The desk will note. Senator Becker, you are recognized.

Thank you, Mr. President. Rise. Request that the file item 100 SJR5 be removed from the consent calendar and be placed on third reading. Thank you. Desk will note.

Senator Wiener, you are recognized.

Thank you, Mr. President. I move that joint rule 62A be waived to allow the Budget and Fiscal Review Committee to Hear Assembly Bill 130 during its hearing on Monday, June 30, without sufficient notice in the Senate daily file. The request has been approved by the Rules Committee, and I urge an aye vote.

Senator Niello. For what reason do you. Raise to object, to use an old phrase of a former President? Here you go again. I object to the motion.

Senator Niello rejects any other comments or discussion. Seeing none. Senator Wiener is asking for an aye vote. Senator Niello is asking for a no vote. Secretary, please call roll.

[Roll call]

[Roll call]

The motion ayes. 24, noes 8. The motion carries, and joint rules are suspended. Senator Wiener, you are once again recognized.

Thank you, Mr. President. I move that bills reported from the Budget and Fiscal Review Committee on Monday, June 30, with the recommendation of PASS be given their second reading upon being reported and ordered to third reading.

And that bills with the recommendation do pass as amended, be given their second reading upon being reported, amendments adopted and returned the second reading.

Senator Niello, you are recognized.

Thank you very much, Mr. President. We get to do this twice this morning. I will have a lot more to say about process when we talk about the budget itself, but I object to this motion.

Seeing no further discussion or debate. Senator Wiener is asking for an aye vote. Senator Niello is asking for a no vote. Secretary, please call roll.

[Roll call]

[Roll call]

Ayes 25, no's 8. The motion carries. Moving to consideration of the daily file. Secretary. Second. Senator Niello, your MIC is raised under motions and resolutions.

Under motions and resolutions, Mr. President, I'd. Like to take up SR52, which would seek to reject the governor's reorganization proposal, which otherwise will not be discussed by this body and will go automatically go into effect. It's at the desk without reference to file.

Senator Wiener, you are recognized.

Thank you very much, Mr. President. I rise in opposition to the. To the motion. So the. The Governor has proposed reorganization of housing functions to have better consolidation. Right now we have. Housing is spread among various agencies, which has some real disadvantages.

And so I think it makes a lot of sense to move towards a more coordinated consolidated administrative function for housing. And it'll help us.

Senator. Senator Niello, you're recognizable for point of order. Is the motion debatable? To the motion itself, it's debatable. You will be able to close, Senator Niello, you may continue, Senator Wiener.

Thank you, Mr. President. And you know, as we as the state continues to really prioritize support for housing, investment in housing, getting people off the street.

If you can stick to the motion, Senator, that'd be greatly appreciated.

Yeah. So as a result, I oppose this motion. And yeah, we've had various hearings on this issue. This has not been in any way hidden. We don't need a motion on the resolution on the floor on it.

Thank you, Senator. Seeing no further discussion of debate, Senator Niello, you are recognized for closure.

The resolution merely asks that this body consider that reorganization, which it appears will go into effect without any consideration by the body as a whole. Automatically.

Thank you, Senator. Senator Gonzalez, you are recognized.

I object to taking up SR52. Without reference to file. And I ask for a roll call vote. I urge you, no vote.

Secretary, Senator Gonzalez is asking for a no vote. And Senator Niello is asking for an aye vote. Secretary, please call roll.

[Roll call]

[Roll call]

Eyes 9. Notes 27. The motion fails. Pursuant to Senate Rule 29, 10C, the following bills are referred to the Committee on Rules. File item 65, AB831. File item 66, AB 1392. We will now move to the. We have a motion. All right. Senator Perez, you are recognized under motions.

Thanks. Mr. President. Please place file item 26 scr 53 to the inactive file at the request of the author. Thank you.

The desk will note.

Scanning the floor. Any other motions? Seeing none. We are going to move to consideration of the daily file. Second reading file. Secretary, please read.

Assembly Bill 1103 with amendments. 1415 with amendments. 1416 with amendments.

Second reading file will be deemed read. We will move to Governor's appointments. We do have Senator Laird. You are recognized. Item number five.

Thank you, Mr. President. File item number five is the confirmation of Ricardo De La Fuente for appointment to the California Community Colleges Board of Governors. He's a Real Estate Executive, currently a Managing Partner with SD Commercial. He previously was the President and Co-Founder of Strike Solar Energies. He was approved by the Rules Committee on May 21st.

I respectfully ask for an aye vote.

Seeing no discussion or debate, Secretary, please call roll.

[Roll Call]

Senators, we're having a lot of noise conversations on the floor. If you'll take your conversations off the floor, we'll be able to hear your votes better. Secretary, please call absent Members.

[Roll Call]

Ayes 27, noes 8. The appointment is confirmed. Moving on to item number six. Senator Laird, you are recognized.

Thank you, Mr. President. File item number six is the confirmation of Dr. Eric Kapan to serve as the State Public Health Officer and Director for the California Department of Public Health. Prior to this role, Dr. Pond was serving as State Epidemiologist and Deputy Director of the Department Center for Infectious Diseases.

Before that, she served as Public Health Officer for Alameda County. She is also a Clinical Professor of Pediatric Infectious Diseases with the UC San Francisco School of Medicine. She was approved by the Rules Committee on May 21st. I respectfully ask for an aye vote.

Seeing no discussion or debate, Secretary, please call roll.

[Roll Call]

Ayes 28, noes 0. Governor's appointment is confirmed. Members, we are going to move to Assembly third reading. Assembly third reading, item 78. Secretary please read.

Secretary, please read.

Assembly Bill 102 by Assemblymember Gabriel, an act relating to the state budget and making an appropriation therefore, to take effect immediately. Budget bill.

Senator Wiener, you are recognized.

Thank you, Mr. President and colleagues. AB 102 is a Budget Bill junior which amends SB 101 to reflect the final budget agreement between the Legislature and the Governor. This Bill, together with various trailer bills, represents a final budget package which is balanced for the fiscal year.

It includes 321.1 billion in total spending, 228.4 billion of which is General Fund, provides 15.7 billion dollars in combined total reserves for future years, and it maintains our commitment to public education, invests in affordable housing and addressing homelessness, supports Los Angeles wildfire recovery needs and Bay Area public transportation needs, preserves access to long term care, and prevents cuts to in home supportive services.

Unfortunately, as we have discussed in Committee many times, the budget package also includes difficult decisions around Medi-Cal and again, we are in a very, very difficult budget year. But I'm very proud of this budget. We made some difficult choices and been able to protect some key priorities. Just a few specific things—excuse me, a few specific items.

AB 102 provides full funding for K-12 schools, community colleges, and protects the education of our children. This budget rejects proposed cuts for the UC and CSU.

So, we are not cutting UC and CSU, which is particularly important at this moment in time when higher education, including UC and CSU, are under attack by the Trump Administration.

It provides significant investment for housing and homelessness, including 500 million in low-income housing tax break credits, 300 million for California Dream for All, 120 million for the multifamily housing program, 100 million for encampment resolution.

It also provides an additional $500 million for HAPP to support cities in their response to homelessness that will be officially appropriated in a trailer bill that we will see on Monday. Appropriates $1 billion in greenhouse gas reduction funds for CAL FIRE operational costs. We're strongly supporting CAL FIRE in this budget.

Provides $100 million for implementation of Prop 36, pursuant to the will of the voters. Provides a $60 million cost of living adjustment for child care providers and provides $39 million and then $78 million to begin the transition of seasonal firefighters to permanent firefighters. This is a good budget under difficult circumstances.

I respectfully ask for your aye vote.

Senator Niello, you are recognized.

Thank you, Mr. President. I only have two problems with this budget. Process—surprise, surprise—and substance. Quite frankly, if you watched the Budget Committee hearing the other day, you will see that my frustration with substance, our frustration with substance, was shared enthusiastically, drastically, dramatically by several members of the other, the other party.

Indeed, there are a few items in this budget that have not seen the light of a Subcommittee meeting, which was part of what created the consternation over AB 130. And the Senator from Bakersfield advised, welcome to our world, on that particular issue.

I have been involved in more than a dozen public sector budgets, both at the local level, as well as the state level, and I know here, I often complain about process.

But I have to say, this is the worst experience that I've had relative to navigating the frustrations of the lack of transparency and the lack of the transparency of the process itself. So, now I have a news flash. President Trump has unconditionally endorsed AB, SB 102 and all bills that we're taking up today.

I figure that will be enough to entice my colleagues on the other side of the aisle to reject this budget all by itself. Nonetheless, this budget does deserve a no vote. We all know the trend of expenses and revenues. Expenses, established programs, are growing faster than our projected revenues are growing.

And that was—we'll hear a lot about problems being created from the federal level, but that situation existed before President Trump was even inaugurated. Not only does this budget do nothing about that, it makes it worse. Borrowing just extends the growth of expenses and takes away other revenue sources that could be used.

And we are significantly depleting our reserves beyond that which we should. Now, we've discussed the hope of a miracle that a revenue bonanza will come along and bail us out. Here's the problem with that. The famed UCLA Anderson Forecast has been—their annual forecast—has been updated. Permission to read?

Without objection.

Just a little snippet.

Just checking, without objection from any Members? Seeing no objection. Senator Niello, you may continue.

The data now indicate slow and—slow to negative—economic growth and a further decline in jobs in 2025. So, it appears that our hope is dashed at the starting gate.

This shout, that one thing we must begin doing right now, irrespective of where we go on this budget, is to begin to look at programs that have been established in the last few years, particularly when our budget was flush, to analyze whether they're doing what was intended or falling short.

And that's the area where we're going to have to cut back because later years, after the two or three, maybe four after this budget year, we are continuing to look at deficits greater than the one that we're confronting today. I urge a no vote.

Senator Seyarto, you are recognized.

Thank you, Mr. President, for allowing me to speak on today's budget trailer bill. And colleagues, today, what I'm going to do, with your indulgence, is cover all of it instead of bringing up more issues line by line item. And that way, it will help streamline the process for today.

But very simply, colleagues, we have a large problem, which was described by my colleague from Fair Oaks. We spend more money than we make. It is not because of the Federal Government. This has been going on long before this Federal Government has been put—this particular Administration has been put in place.

It is because of the policies that have been created over the years by the legislative bodies and the Administration. Those policies have driven prices for everything into the stratosphere, while somehow, our revenues remain flat or in a state of, as I was told the other day in Committee, negative gains.

Whatever that means. From our interference into the labor market, the constant addition of costly and burdensome regulations on our businesses to the debate—I'm sorry, to the debacle—that is our energy policy that is driven by an unrelenting adherence to a climate change agenda that is fueled by unrealistic and unattainable gains.

The budget trailer bills do not reflect the California values of a majority of Californians, or at least the ones that I know of. There are some aspects that are important to all of us, as is outlined by the Budget Chair. Some of those are important to all of us.

I think it is necessary for us to highlight some of the good spending versus spending that should be reconsidered or simply irresponsible. Some of the good expenditures, assistance for adoption services, provides needed funding to K-12, including a new $1.7 billion discretionary block grant. Provides necessary funding to the UCs and CSUs and community colleges.

Yes, Republicans do support our UCs and CSUs and community colleges. Provides tax exemptions for certain wildlife settlement—or wildfire settlements. Provides some financial relief for military families by exempting just a portion of retirement and survivor benefits.

Provides tribal authorities with additional abilities to deal with domestic violence cases among their members, as well as collaborating with non-tribal authorities on missing and indigenous persons cases. It also extends a minor tax to support deaf and disabled telecommunications.

Provides intent to hire seasonal firefighters and make them full-time firefighters to help combat the growing wildfire issues in California and also, provide some assistance for the court system, and emphasis on some, for the court system and those who use our court services.

However, mixed in amongst these is some bad legislation. We're going to spend $5 million on a belonging campaign. We're going to give CDPH blanket power to enter into no-bid contracts, which is policy, not budget.

It raids $1.6 billion from the voter approved MCO Tax, Prop 35, that was just passed, intended for voters—by voters—to improve access to doctors providing care for Medi-Cal services.

It takes between $18 million and $38 million from gas tax funds meant for building much needed roads to have Caltrans develop VIP routes for our roadways for the Olympics.

It includes a gift of taxpayer funds in the amount of $6 million to a foundation under investigation for backing some of the riots that we have seen in the past. It continues to fund an unsustainable approach to Medi-Cal care for citizens of other countries, to the tune of 10 to 12 billion dollars.

Continues a program designed to offset enrollment issues related to COVID, four years ago, that provides full provider reimbursement regardless of unfulfilled slots, which serves to disincentivize filling very much in-demand slots. Gives the Chair of the CEC a 15% raise over three years, raising the already lofty salary for that appointed position by another $36,000.

Arbitrarily delays implementation of several recently enacted Republican authored bills for three more years, including critical public safety related bills to rein in street sideshows and also, creates yet another commission to study collective bargaining related to IHSS, moving it from a regional approach to a statewide approach. Tax credits for Hollywood, but nothing for our struggling agriculture community.

It increases taxes on out-of-state companies with large customer bases in California but no in-state facilities or employees. Guess who pays for that increase? We do.

It also delivers a $98 billion hit to services for our developmentally disabled community over, all while we spend millions of dollars on things like belonging. During the past year, implications have been made by our colleagues from the other side of the aisle that we Republicans can't complain about some of these issues because many of us vote no on many of the budget bills that come before us.

While we are happy to support responsible spending plans that address some of our constituents wishes, many of us cannot in good conscience support spending packages filled with irresponsible spending on items that have more to do with political agendas than helping our constituents.

Separating the bad from the good can certainly be done, but that would require the final budget negotiations be conducted with representation from both sides of the aisle.

The budget process has once again failed to deliver in terms of addressing our future water needs, infrastructure needs for growing communities, our cost of living, and our energy and climate change policy policies that are driving costs for everything to unsustainable levels, along with a myriad of other issues.

So, another glaring omission is the lack of full funding to implement Prop 36. We constantly brag about having the fourth largest GDP in the world, folks. Somehow that isn't translating into the robust state and quality of life here in California that it should. And once again, it is not the Federal Government, it is us.

I will be voting yes on some of these bills, but I will also be voting no on some of this. And these comments reflect my concerns about all of the bills that we will be hearing today, both when we get them from the Assembly side, our Senate bills and the AB bills.

Thank you very much for your indulgence.

Thank you, Senator. Senator Strickland, you are recognized.

Thank you, Mr. President. Members, I rise in opposition to AB 102, the budget bill in California. Members of the majority party and the Governor have an addiction to spending.

Over the last 10 years, since I was in this body last, we've increased spending by over triple. We've tripled our spending, and we've dramatically increased our not only spending, but we're also expending money in a slush fund with a high-speed rail.

So, not only are you tripling spending the General Fund, you spend a lot of money on—billions of dollars—on cap-and-trade fund that funds things like the high-speed rail. So, we just continue to spend and spend and spend hard earned dollars from the people of California.

You know, you would think after spending as much as we do in California that we would solve the problems and everything be going fantastic. For example, we spent $27 billion in homelessness. Well, the problem's worse, not better, since we spent that money. So, we're not having oversight on the dollars that we are spending.

You would think that we would have a fantastic infrastructure throughout the State of California after tripling our spending over the last 10 years. But we have a crumbling infrastructure, and we don't have a enough energy capacity to do some of the goals that you guys want to do, in terms of energy and climate change.

You lack the spending on things like Prop 36, and so, there's a reason why crime's on the rise. You know, Members, California doesn't have a revenue problem. It doesn't have a revenue problem. It has a wasteful spending problem. Our budget is a blueprint of our priorities.

Just like every family has to prioritize their family budget, we have to make sure that we fund the right things. I think the most essential role of government is public safety. Look at the things we are spending in this budget and what we're not. One example, I do give credit to the budget lead.

The budget lead did bring in the bacon and brought $750 million to the Bay Area Transit, which I give him credit for, because he worked hard on that. But we're spending 750 million on Bay Area Transit, but we only spend 100 million, 100 million on Prop 36, one-time money, for three years.

Ladies and gentlemen, that's a slap in the face of the people who voted for Prop 36 initiative last November. I can't recall the last initiative that passed all 58 counties, even the most liberal counties of this state voted affirmative that they want to make crime illegal again. Almost 70% of the vote across the State of California.

That means Democrats, Independents, and Republicans overwhelmingly supported Prop 36. What's the Legislature response? Zero money, zero for probation, which is an essential part of Prop 36's success.

So, what it really says is the Governor and this Legislature don't want 36 enacted and they don't want the success of this initiative that 70% of the people voted for in all 58 counties. And I will say that the Chair of the Budget said this is balanced. Yeah, on paper it could be balanced.

But I'll tell you, if you run it by a CPA, they would have a real problem with this budget. In fact, it continues the path of deficits moving forward. A projection just next year will be a 17 billion to 24 billion annual deficit because we don't control our spending this year.

And I'm sure we'll do accounting gimmicks next year as well because what we do in here is we're increasing borrowing, we're taking away from the rainy day fund, and we're not reducing our spending here in the State of California, like all other families across the state have to do in their personal checkbook.

And this budget also does nothing about affordability in California—nothing, zero—about the crisis that you said at the beginning of the year was one of your top concerns. One example is the gas tax. It continues to go up and quite frankly is going up, I believe tomorrow or Monday, no, Tuesday. Next week, it's going up again.

And USC projects $8 a gallon gas next year. We don't do anything in this budget to give relief at the pump for those motorists across the State of California who are having a hard time deciding between a gallon of milk and a gallon of gas, living paycheck to paycheck.

They can't afford those gas tax prices that we're initiating on them, and we have no relief in this budget for the gas tax. Members, this is the first time in California history, first time in California history since the Gold Rush, where more people are leaving the state than coming in.

And we have the best weather in the world. We live in an oasis. People are leaving this state to go to the middle of desert Arizona. They're going to the humidity of Florida. They're going to the cold weather in Idaho.

Because the policies here in this body now, I'll say, last time I mentioned this, the Chair said, oh, no, that's not true. We're not losing population. Well, I'll just tell the Chair and the rest of the Members, go talk to your congressional colleagues when in 2030, we're losing four congressional seats after the Census. Four congressional seats.

So, if you say we're not losing population, wait till the Census and tell your congressional colleagues, while they're losing four seats and Texas and Florida are gaining four, it's because the policies here, people are leaving the State of California and going to other states because of budgets like this that make California less affordable and it hurts every person across the State of California.

This budget is not a blueprint of what Californians need. And that's why I urge you to vote no on AB 102.

Senator Padilla, you are recognized at your desk.

Thank you very much, Mr. President and colleagues. I rise today to just put some concerns on the record with reference to this budget bill, which I will be supporting, with respect to Section 44 in the Budget Bill proper dealing with public hospital loan lending relief.

The budget bill language, when in print, leaves out two hospitals in my district which are in desperate need of critical relief needed to ensure stable healthcare delivery services. One hospital, Palo Verde, is the only acute care facility within a 100-mile radius serving the community of Blythe's 18,000 residents.

And that—the 2,600 inmates at Ironwood State Prison and thousands more surrounding rural areas who depend on this hospital's Emergency Department. The next nearest hospitals are approximately 2-hour drive away, too far in case of an emergency scenario.

The other hospitals in question are the El Centro Regional Medical Center, which is still in the process of achieving financial stability and a transition to a new consolidated district. My office, along with stakeholders, have been working to extend repayment terms for the non-designated Public Hospital Bridge Loan Program.

Language was, in fact, developed in conjunction with the Treasurer's Office that was intended to provide multiple hospitals with this relief and was inserted into the Assembly Bill. This effort was then included in the budget. However, the budget in print excluded all but one.

This affects some of the poorest areas of our state and we should not condemn these communities to go without access to the most basic lifesaving care.

I am assuming, Mr. President and colleagues, this is just an oversight, but I would fully expect, while I intend to support the budget Bill today, that this to be reconciled and clarified this coming August. Thank you.

Senator Richardson, you are recognized.

Thank you, Mr. President. And well, good morning colleagues. Here we go again. Yes. Let's first clarify for the record that these are trailer bills. We all know that we voted on a Bill last week and that Bill contained many things that benefited Californians. So, for us to really cherry pick a few things isn't fair.

Or I would say isn't fair. And it was also said, oh, we don't have reserves. This budget ends with $13.2 billion in reserves. That's more reserves than we faced in this budget deficit year. And then, let's talk about Prop 36, which I'm a little personal about because that's in the Committee I serve in.

Where were the authors and supporters when we put Prop 36 on the ballot to say, where's the money that's going to pay for it? Where were the voices then? No one said, oh, you need 100 million, you need 200 million. Nothing was said, no money was put there. So, what happened?

The Administration this year said they expected the cases only to be about 3,600 cases. So, what have we allocated? We have taken hard earned money and we've allocated $100 million to begin the effort to deal with the cases.

And I assure you that as those cases increase, which I suspect that we will, we'll have to make additional adjustments. But the administration's number, the Department of Finance's number, stated that there would only be approximately 3,600 cases.

And the supporters and authors and people who talked about Prop 36, you said the money was going to come from savings of Prop 47. Well, where did that go? Where's that money? That's money going to helping people so we can get people off the streets and have them rehabilitated, which is what I thought we all believed in.

And then, let's talk about transportation to the Olympics. Many of us watch the Olympics in Paris. Come on, folks. We all know the Olympics cost money. There isn't an Olympics that's taken place that has not cost a location money. Money for transportation, money for housing, and, oh, heaven forbid, we need money for security.

And so, when we talk about what's going to happen with the Olympics, do any of you remember the stories when athletes and their families didn't get to the Games, their particular event, due to traffic delays? We can't wait for the Olympics to 2027 and 2028.

We have to begin working now and adopting a plan so we can prepare, so California is that shining star of representing the Olympics. And then, finally, to say this Bill isn't helping people. Hmm.

For our constituents that were affected by the LA wildfires, this Bill appropriates 12.5 million General Fund to the Department of Insurance for community home hardening oversight and wildfire risk mitigation efforts, including measuring risks for communities and individual residential property owners. That's budget item 0845-002-0001. And oh, what about—we talked about our firefighters. We love our firefighters.

We're thankful they're there, whether we have a wildfire or not. But you know what? There was a problem in the budget. And that budget had—we had seasonal people. Who in the heck wants to work seasonal? That's not fair to our firefighters. So, what did we do?

AB 102 appropriates $39 million from the General Fund and provides the intent of the Legislature to appropriate an additional 78 million ongoing to transition our seasonal firefighter positions to permanent positions. And then, I have the last two to share with you. How many of us know that encampments are all over our communities?

Kids can't walk to school, people can't sell their property, and people are left on the streets in an unhealthy manner. And so, what did this Bill do? This Bill, AB 102, put in 100 million to make sure that that money stayed there for encampment resolution funds.

So, the people who are ill and who need help and to get off the streets would get it. And then, finally, AB 102 for transportation. This one is especially special. This one puts $5 million to the CHP for Computer Crimes Investigating Unit for investigating issues related to child sexual abuse material and human trafficking.

Prior to COVID, there was 3,000 of these incidents taking place. Now, CHP is seeing 30,000, 30,000, of people using inappropriate material. And so, the CHP needs these resources to get the bad guys. So, when we talk about AB 102, let's remember there was a Bill before AB 102 and there's going to be bills after. Is it perfect?

No. We're in a budget deficit, period. But does it help us to address some issues? Absolutely. I urge an aye vote on AB 102.

Senator Arreguin, you are recognized.

Thank you, Mr. President. As the Chair of the Senate Committee on Public Safety, I rise in support of AB 102 and specifically want to address something that my colleagues have spoken about this morning—the funding in this budget bill for the implementation of Proposition 36.

The voters spoke and I just want to emphasize something that my colleague from San Pedro said, that the Proposition, which was overwhelmingly supported by California voters in nearly every county, included no specific earmark for implementation. And the Governor's January and May Budget included no money for Prop 36 implementation.

But from the very beginning, since the election, this body, the Democratic caucus in this body, has been clear that we are committed to implementing this measure. So, we made a promise and we're keeping that promise through AB 102.100 million is allocated in this Bill, 15 million for SUD and behavioral health.

That builds on the investment that we're beginning with Prop 1, leveraging the money in Prop 1. 20 million for court implementation and 15 million for pretrial services and for our public defenders to provide legal representation for people charged under this Proposition.

And I agree that the the amount of money is not enough, specifically for substance use disorder treatment and behavioral health. And as this measure will be implemented in the coming years, we'll get a better sense of what are the true costs that we need to account for, at the state and local level, to implement this critical measure.

But just keep in mind that the significant underfunding of mental health and substance use disorder treatment goes back decades. This just didn't start now. Going back even to the Reagan Administration, when Reagan was Governor here, when he closed mental health facilities but did not make the investment of community-based mental health treatment.

So, we're trying to undo years of underinvestment to make sure we can expand mental health and substance use disorder treatment for people who so desperately need in California, because the alternative is that people are just going to be filling up our jails. And that's happening right now under this Proposition.

And that's not what the proponents have promised the voters. And that's not a good use of taxpayer resources, so we can do better. So, yes, this isn't everything.

But given the budget challenges that we're facing, we made this initial investment, and we know it's going to take years to implement this measure, and we'll have a better sense in year two what the full costs are as we implement a multi-year implementation plan on Prop 36.

It's also this perception that this is the only money out there to implement Prop 36. That's not true. My colleague from San Pedro talked about Prop 47 savings.

Senator Umberg, my colleague from Santa Ana, had a, had a Bill to allow for flexible use of those Prop 47 funds to allow for counties to implement collaborative courts and programs to address Prop 36. And we know that there are other revenue sources, leveraging Prop 1 funds and even county funds as well.

This is going to take a partnership between state and county government. The state can't bear the total responsibility of implementing this Proposition. And there's work that's happening already.

Over the past several months, I've had conversations with probation officers and court officers in counties all over California and we had testimony in the joint hearings that we had in Budget Sub 5 and Senate Public Safety about how this is being implemented on the ground.

So, whether it's in Orange County or whether it's in San Diego County, they're leveraging their collaborative courts already and they're Creating special Prop 36 implementation programs using the resources and personnel that they have now to actually implement this law. Yes, they don't have enough resources, but it is working. So, this is the beginning.

We will continue to invest and we will honor the will of the voters. That's what this Bill does. And I respectfully ask for an aye vote.

Majority Leader Senator Gonzalez, you are recognized.

Thank you, Mr. President. And I'm really thankful for this debate as we talk about affordability and responsible budgeting here, because I do believe that this plan put forward by Senate Democrats is absolutely tackling the issues of affordability.

My colleagues on the other side of the aisle have praised the Middle-Class Scholarship Program that provides $918 million and includes provisional language that sets program student award levels at 35% for 2025 and 2026 years, providing parity for preschool programs that provide an ability for Californians to go back to work.

Everyone needs a preschool teacher and a child care system that works for them so folks can go back to work. And ensuring that health care is affordable. You know, there's an expenditure for a Healthcare Affordability Reserve Fund of $25 million. There's so much in this that I can say that speaks to the affordability of everyday working Californians.

What we're not hearing about as much from my colleagues on the other side of the aisle is the fact that tariffs are going to have a huge, huge impact to our budget of over $16 billion. High tariff policies do not help the State of California whatsoever. And immigration enforcement we will see.

There's our UC partners saying that over the next few years, we're going to see a hit to our California budget of over $275 billion due to this egregious extreme immigration enforcement. And in Los Angeles, you know, we are absolutely feeling the brunt of that.

And we are seeing it loud and clear with these peaceful protests, not riots, but peaceful protests that are happening. But we will start to see our labor market in turmoil.

And so, I'd like us to look at the full picture when we're talking about this budget, is that we will see impacts most definitely, but the Trump Administration is applied those impacts. The out years will be terrible for us. I think we'll have to be a little bit more creative on how we fix our budget.

But as it stands now, we are doing everything we can to apply the affordability measures that we need to, to make sure Californians can go to work, to make sure health care is affordable, and to ensure that people feel safe in their communities. And with that, I respectfully asked for an aye vote.

Thank you, Senator. Senator Laird, you are recognized.

Thank you very much, Mr. President. First, in the there you go again category, the correct number is, is in the last fiscal year, California gained in population by 225,000 people. That is not a loss.

Clearly, the fact that we have beefed up our math programs and the rest of the budget should help address this over time. But let's be clear, we gained population.

And I think in the—in looking at this overall and looking at where we were over the last 20 years, it reflects on some of the comments that were made because the last time we had a Governor of another party and the last time we really were forced by the two thirds requirement to approve a budget, we had the longest delays in the lack of approval of budget in California history.

We had some of the biggest deficits in California history. We had absolutely no Reserve. The Reserve was just something that was put in the budget in a small amount for each fiscal year just to cover uneventualities that are things that weren't expected, as opposed to now. So, what's happened since then?

And it's been a lot of things were blamed on, oh, the majority party. Well, let's go to the people. When the people had a chance to vote after there were cuts made, they said, then let's do new revenues. And it brought the budget in balance for the first time in 10 years.

There was this contention that having an inflationary increase for roads was a tax increase, even though it meant let's have the same amount every year for roads. And what what happened was is we had a 50% reduction in what we spent on roads and transit over 15 years because we never did an inflationary increase.

And it took the people, the people voted to make up for all that lost earning power and construction power, and it's the reason that there are so many projects going on across the state. And when I said there was no Reserve, just the—it was the people with Governor Brown putting the rainy-day Reserve Fund.

So, the fact that we could have a debate about how much is in the rainy-day Reserve Fund, it was up to $40 billion. That just never happened prior to 2014 and prior to the people approving it.

And so, the real thing that's going on here is that we had a dysfunctional and broken budget and broken budget system. And through the efforts of the last 10 years, it's been brought into balance. We have a big Reserve. We are investing in roads and education in a way that we weren't before.

And this budget continues that level of investment and continues to benefit from all those actions that the public took over the last 15 years. I respectfully ask for an aye vote.

Senator Wahab, you are recognized.

Thank you. Today, I rise as Chair of the Housing Committee, as well as Co-Chair of the Affordability Working Group. And I do support our budget. You know, we all need to make difficult decisions about how we prioritize the basic needs of Californians during these tough, uncertain times.

And I do want to highlight that I have shared my thoughts during the Budget Committee hearing the other day. And yes, we can always do better and I always strive to do better. But I also want to highlight, California's budget is balanced pragmatic response to the economic uncertainty driven by global conflict, inflation, and Federal gridlock.

Half of the reason that we talk about the budget and what we are going to do and where are the cuts is literally because of the unknown at the federal level. We can't ignore the impacts of international instability that we've been seeing and Washington's failure to act.

But here in California, we're doing the hard work to protect vital services, invest in our communities and maintain fiscal responsibility. While no budget is perfect and there are areas of disagreement, point by point, this plan does reflect a commitment to stability, progress, and putting people first.

And I want to highlight, today I will be supporting the budget because of the things we do put in this budget to put Californians first. And I want to highlight this. We are putting $300 million in a down payment assistance via the California Dream for All to promote homeownership.

Homeownership being one of the number one concerns of most Californians, regardless of political affiliation, age, as well as where in California they belong. We are quadrupling the Renter's Tax Credit to increase parity with tax benefits for property owners and the renters are able to put money in their pockets immediately.

We are also putting $500 million towards the Low-Income Housing Tax Credit, which creates affordable housing. We are also putting in $500 million for the Homeless Housing Assistance Prevention to make sure we are taking care of homeless individuals. At the local level, we are putting $120 million for the Multifamily Housing Program to promote affordable housing projects statewide.

We are also restoring the $36 million for CalFresh Fruits and Vegetables Program, making sure people who are hungry are having a chance to have fresh food. We are rejecting the 3% ongoing reduction to our UC and CSU systems. And we are prioritizing 10 million to the Children's Holistic Immigration Representation Project.

To not pass the budget today would jeopardize all these necessary and valuable programs. So, I will be an aye, specifically because these people deserve the funding that we are putting in place in this budget.

And yes, we can debate line item by line item and have discussed agreements, but overall, this budget does what California needs it to do. I respectfully ask for an aye vote.

Thank you. Pro Tem, Senator Mcguire, you are recognized.

Thank you so much. Mr. President. I want to take a moment of thanks. I want to say thank you to the Senate Budget Committee, both Republicans and Democrats, to our Vice Chair, to our Chair, for their work to be able to deliver an on-time and balanced budget.

I want to take a moment to say thank you to the speaker, to the Governor, and their teams for their work and also want to acknowledge the amazing State Senate Budget Team, from both sides of the aisle, for their focus on this critical document.

Look, I might sound like a broken record and you probably know what I'm going to say. We did have to make some tough decisions this year, but I gotta say, when is crafting a budget for the fourth largest economy in the world ever easy?

We have dealt with budget shortfalls before, but this time around, we have faced three unique challenges and unlike some who don't want to talk about all the reasons, I'll be transparent about why we're seeing this shortfall. When we cite Anderson School at UCLA and why we are seeing challenges in this state, it's because of the federal policies.

May not like it, but it's the truth. According to the Legislative Analyst's Office, our budget revenues have taken a $16 billion hit based off of federal policies. May not like it based off your own personal politics, but it's the truth. Second, baseline costs are up. Absolutely. If we're going to be fair and balanced, let's speak the truth.

Federal policies' baseline costs are up, and no one expected this third one, a devastating LA firestorm and the costs associated with recovery is such a large scale. Three main drivers for why we are in the fiscal condition that we are. I want to be candid in this next statement.

It is so easy to say no when you can take credit for yes.

I guarantee you every Member of the Senate will be at ribbon cuttings for highways, local roads, and streets. You're going to be at ribbon cuttings for new affordable housing in your districts. You will be at ribbon cuttings for new homeless shelters. You'll be proud to go to your local UC, your CSU. Even though you may vote against the budget. It's really easy to say no when you go back to your hometown and take credit for what you voted against. That's the truth.

So let's talk about what some of us are going to vote yes on today. We're going to vote yes on investing in our kids in strong public schools. We're going to vote yes on feeding every kid at every public school in the State of California. We're going to serve over 1 billion free breakfast and lunches for kids in every public school in every corner of this state. But yeah, some of us are going to vote against it and go to the Rotary Club and say how great it is that the state is doing this.

We're going to fully fund our CSU and UC system despite the fact there are some in this chamber today that stood up, criticized some others in this chamber just four weeks ago for not funding UC and CSU. Happy to rewind that tape. You want to talk about affordability, let's talk about affordability.

The largest state scholarship fund is fully funded in this budget. Making a living wage and the California dream more affordable by going to a CSU, UC. The best thing that we can do is invest in a strong college system. We are, thanks to the Senate, we're going to expand our first time home buyer program.

We're going to backfill funding from the feds for food banks. We're going to give child care providers a raise. And we have, as you heard the Senator from Hayward, hundreds upon hundreds of millions of dollars to make housing more affordable. We're putting significant funding in the California Community College system. We're going to invest nearly $1.0 billion for career training programs in every public high school and middle school in the State of California. The spending plan is going to create more workforce housing at a scale not seen in decades in the Golden State.

And we got more to come on Monday with our housing and economic development trailer bills. You heard the Senator from Berkeley talk about Prop 36. There wasn't funding for Prop 36 just four months ago in the budget, y'all. You know who did that? The Senate. $100 million for first year implementation.

Following through with the voice of the voter. Federal government cutting federal firefighters. Why isn't anyone speaking out about that? But you know what folks will speak up about? They'll pound their chest and say they're proud that they're standing with CAL FIRE. The women and men of CAL FIRE. 750 seasonal firefighters.

For the first time in the history of this state, 750 seasonal firefighters are now going to go to full time status. Record funding from CAL FIRE. And by the way, we have gone from about 6,900 CAL FIRE firefighters just nine years ago to now over 12,000. And we're in the midst of hiring on top of this 750.

We're in the midst of hiring another 2400. But there's only one group of folks that voted to fund that. And finally, we're doing all that we can to be able to protect health care access for millions of vulnerable Californians who count on it, regardless of your immigration status. And I think we need to speak the truth today.

You know, just 10 years ago, there were 2.6 million undocumented immigrants in the State of California. 2.6 million. Fast forward to today. It's 1.6 million undocumented immigrants in the State of California. They are the backbone, the backbone of the largest agricultural industry in the United States of America.

Nearly half of of all farm workers in the Central Valley are undocumented. They pay $8.5 billion worth of taxes every year. They pay our salaries. And there's going to be one group of Senators that are going to support continuing access to health care for them. We are a state of immigrants 10.6 million strong.

And we will never turn our backs on those who are part of the heart of the largest economy in the United States of America. So we've had to make some tough decisions. I know we're not going to please everyone, but we're doing this without any new taxes on everyday Californians. No new taxes for families and small businesses.

And I hope that we can all agree that despite the challenges and the uncertainty that our state faces, California remains a global economic powerhouse. We just surpassed Japan as the fourth largest economy in the world. I heard some grumbling from a recent delegation from Japan who want to overtake us.

We're going to keep that fourth largest economy status. We have a $4.1 trillion GDP. Our tourism industry, despite the fact that that we are seeing a huge decline in international tourism, especially our friends from Canada, based off of this administration, we're still number one travel destination in the United States.

We give $83 billion more to the federal government than we received. The great State of Texas, which was referenced here today. They take $70 billion more from the federal government than they give. We're number one in agriculture, number one in tech, number one in manufacturing, number one in new business starts.

Number one for new business starts for minority owned and women owned businesses. I can continue on. 35 of the 50 top AI companies in the United States of America call California home. It's easy to kick this state. I get it. May be good politics. That's where you flipping call home. I love California. I love California.

Do we have challenges? You're damn right we have challenges. But I will never, we will never turn our back on the people of California. And especially when times get tough. I would respectfully ask for an aye vote on this budget. Let's get the job done for every Californian.

Thank you, Pro Tem Senator McGuire. Seeing no further discussion or debate, Senator Wiener, you may close.

Thank you very much, Mr. President. The Pro Tem gave a very compelling close for this budget. And really, I want to thank the Pro Tem for his leadership on this budget, but for also recentering us on the fact there's a lot, including in this chamber and this building and in the political discourse in California.

There's a lot of people. There are people who are just kicking the state, kicking the state and disparaging California. Do we have problems? Yes, we have big, big, big problems. I would never deny that. And that's why, frankly, that's why all of us ran for office on both sides of the aisle to try to solve the very big problems facing our state. But this state is so amazing on so many levels for the reasons that the Pro Tem said and so many others. And I'm proud to be a Californian.

And I'm proud that in an extremely difficult budget year following a previous very difficult budget year, we've been able to balance this budget. And we're doing it. And I wanted to draw a contrast with what the federal government is doing right now because it's very, very relevant. And the federal government doesn't have to balance its budget.

Federal government can print money. We have to balance our budget. The federal government, right now, Congress. If this big horrific bill passes Congress, we'll see what happens. Is going to throw tens of millions of people off of health care. This budget throws no one off of health care. It disenrolls no one.

And I'm proud that we cover all Californians, including folks who are immigrants who are living here. I'm proud of that. The federal government is taking a wrecking ball to education, trying to eliminate the Department of Education. They're sending letters to California and other states threatening to withdraw billions of dollars for K-12 public schools.

This budget fully protects K-12 education funding. The federal government right now is threatening and targeting higher education that if you dare to recognize the humanity of trans people, if you dare to recognize that we have some structural inequities in society, if you dare to lift up all students, then we're going to take away your money. We're going to go after you. We have UC and CSU's back in this budget. No cuts.

And I'm proud that as the federal government targets Los Angeles, targets Los Angeles with the police state and military occupation that this President has inflicted on the good people of Los Angeles, the absolute terror, the terror campaign that this President has inflicted on the good people of Los Angeles while playing games with wildfire relief that we are supporting Los Angeles in this budget.

And I'm proud that as this administration targets funding for public transportation, that we're supporting Bay Area public transit systems so that they don't collapse the Bay Area, which, by the way, significantly supports the state budget with tax revenue. And we're proud to do that in the Bay Area. We are part of California. And it's a good thing that we're making sure that the Bay Area can continue to function and people can continue to get around. So, colleagues, this is a very, very good budget under difficult circumstances. I respectfully ask for an aye vote.

Thank you. Secretary, please call roll.

[Roll Call]

Secretary, please call absent Members.

[Roll Call]

Ayes 29, noes eight. The bill passes. Moving to item 80. Senator Wiener, you are recognized. I'm sorry.

Secretary, please read

Assembly Bill 116 by the Assembly Committee on Budget in accolade to Health and making an appropriation, therefore to take effect immediately. Bill related to the Budget.

Why do we skip over this.

Senator Wiener, when you're ready.

Yes. My apologies, Mr. President. Colleagues, I rise to present AB116, which is the Health Omnibus Trailer Bill.

It implements a freeze on MediCal enrollment for undocumented individuals beginning in January 1st of next year with a three month grace period for disenrolled beneficiaries to re-enroll. Implements a $30 per Member per month premium in Medi Cal for those with unsatisfactory immigration status beginning July 1, 2027.

So a two year delay reinstates the asset limit to determine Medi Cal eligibility for seniors and persons with disabilities to 130,000 for an individual and 65,000 for each additional individual in the household. Implements prior authorization requirements, utilization management and rebates in MediCal for prescription drugs.

Implements reforms at DMHC for licensure, regulatory oversight and enforcement of pharmacy benefit managers. Provides up to 75 million to community based organizations to backfill federal funds for HIV prevention cut off by the Trump Administration. I respectfully ask for an aye vote.

Senator Weber Pierson. Senator Durazo, my apologies. Senator Durazo, you are recognized.

Thank you, Mr. President. Seven years ago, I came here to do what I set out to do 40 years ago. And that was to bring dignity and value to immigrant workers. Along that way, I was even arrested over 13 times.

I can't express how much joy I felt when we expanded basic health care for every single one of those workers today. That joy that I was so happy about, that joy has turned into pain, that joy has turned into shame. And that joy has turned into betrayal. I ask everyone a very simple thing.

Remember today's date and what the Senate is doing.

Thank you, Senator. Senator Weber Pierson, you are recognized.

Thank you, Mr. President. Senators, I rise in support of AB116. And I want to thank Chair Wiener and the leadership for their work on this budget. This Bill continues to improve our promise dealing with affordability and access to health care.

This Bill expands CalRx's authority to enter into partnerships, helping to increase the supply of generic or name brand drugs, helping many Californians who are currently dealing with the very high cost of some of these very expensive drugs. We are all aware of the issue with our pharmacy benefit managers, also known as PBMs.

This Bill requires them to maintain a license with DMCH. It also allows for them to be regulated so that we have more transparency in the prices of our drugs. And despite these very, very, very difficult financial times, this Bill does not disenroll anyone from MediCal.

And in fact, I want to thank Senator Wiener, our chair and our pro tem and the staff for continuing to push back. And in this budget, we have the 70% reduction in the monthly premium rates versus what the Governor suggested in May.

And after having hours of public testimony, this Bill addresses a major concern of many of our seniors that rely on Medi Cal and reinstates the 130,000 asset limit from 2022 instead of the 2 to 3000 that the Governor proposed, so that they are not punished for having minimal assets. California has made promises to keep Californians healthy.

And this budget trailer Bill provides 75 million for the AIDS Drug Assistance Program to support the loss of federal funds for HIV prevention programs so that we do not go back to what we saw in the 80s and early 90s.

This Bill addresses the many issues facing our state and attempts to address many issues arising from the incoming federal cuts to health care, which I have already spoken about, which will be deep and very, very harmful for the residents here in California. This budget trailer Bill also allows for flexibility in case our financial outlook improves.

And for those reasons, I respectfully ask for an aye vote on AB116. Thank you.

Seeing no further discussion or debate, Senator Wiener, you may close.

Respectfully ask for an aye vote.

Thank you. Secretary, please call roll.

[Roll Call]

Ayes 25, Noes 10. The Bill passes. Moving to item 81. Secretary, please read.

Assembly Bill 118 by the Assembly Committee on Budget, an act relating to Human Services and making an appropriation therefore to take effect immediately. Bill relating to the budget.

Senator Wiener, you are recognized when you're ready.

Thank you very much, Mr. President. Colleagues, AB 118 is a human services trailer bill. It includes the following. It revises the funding formula for the Juvenile Justice Realignment Block Grant. For the In Home Supportive Services Program, it establishes a 50/50 share between the state and counties for late assessment penalties in 2025-26.

It fully passes penalty costs on to counties in future years. The bill prevents Adoption Assistance Program payments from being used for inappropriate out of state facilities for adopted children and makes other conforming changes to align with the human services budget. I respectfully ask for an aye vote.

Thank you. Seeing no discussion or debate, Secretary, please call roll.

[Roll Call]

Secretary, please call absent Members.

[Roll Call]

Members, give us just one moment. Ayes, 29, noes three. The bill passes. And now we will take just a moment, please. Thank you for your patience.

Members, let's continue with business. Moving to item 83. Secretary, please read.

Assembly Bill 121 by the Assembly Committee on Budget, an act relating to education finance and making an appropriation therefore to take effect immediately. Bill relating to the budget.

Senator Wiener, you are recognized.

Thank you, Mr. President. AB 120 is the child care trailer bill. It provides $70 million to provide a rate increase to all subsidized child care and preschool providers. It...

Senator Grove, you're... For what reason do you raise?

Just to make the author aware that it's, he's talking about a separate bill. I know it's a lot, and he's doing such a good job, and there's thousands of things going on, but just wanted to draw it.

My apologies, Mr. President. My materials were in the wrong order. Sorry about that.

Senator, you may continue on the right bill.

Okay, Mr. President. AB 121 is the education trailer bill. It enacts changes that will fully fund the Local Control Funding Formula and a 2.3% cost of living adjustment. It also makes several appropriations, including a $1.7 billion discretionary block grant, additional 378 million for the Learning Recovery Emergency Block Grant, and 160 million for a universal school meals support grant that will fund kitchen infrastructure, local food procurement, and nutrition staff.

The bill extends encumbrance periods to give schools more time to spend the funds they have for various programs, including the Universal Pre K Planning and Implementation Grant, 2022 Kitchen Infrastructure Training Grants, teacher residency grants, among others. Finally, the measure includes deferrals for 1.9 billion to be paid off in the following fiscal year. I respectfully ask for an aye vote.

Senator Rubio, you are recognized.

Thank you, Mr. President. Ladies and gentlemen of the Senate, today I rise to address the education funding. I stand here not just as a Senator, but as a 20 year classroom teacher. And I know how important funding to our schools is, and I have seen firsthand the difference in these funding programs.

But teachers also these days are having to be tasked with a lot more demand. As we've seen, our teachers today are having to be therapists, are having to be social workers, and they have to deal with so much trauma that is out in our communities, that's spilling onto our classrooms. And so the fear is very real.

And protecting funding for our teacher support and our students, again, is critically important. But I am very proud that this budget reflects our continued commitment to education and preserving historic levels of funding for TK-12 schools. In a time when so many families are struggling, we know that a strong public school system is one of the greatest investments we can have for our future. It's equally important.

I do believe that it's important that we preserve our middle class scholarship programs and vital resources that help thousands of our students pursue their dreams without drowning in debt. Especially when all these programs through our educational system are being cut by the federal government. Everything seems to be under threat and it's always the most vulnerable that take the biggest hit. So I stand here in support of our teachers, our educational system, and more importantly, making sure that our students have what they need.

But I also want to be clear that, you know, this budget trailer bill is important, but we don't necessarily get there. So I just want to make sure that we know that we're still committed to this process and we will continue to fight for our students and make sure that they're at the front and center of our conversations. Thank you. With that, I asked for an aye vote.

Thank you, Senator. Senator Laird, you are recognized.

Thank you very much, Mr. President. It's kind of significant that a bill with one of the biggest shares of the budget has some of the least number of microphones up. And the reason is is this does very good things in the middle of a difficult situation. As we face the deficit due to Proposition 98, this budget does a 2.3% cost of living increase for all schools on the Local Control Funding Formula.

Because there are certain individual issues such as declining enrollment or AB 218 settlements or special education expenditures, there is a one time $1.7 billion discretionary grant program for school districts to allow them to try to meet these needs in these tough times. But there's also an after school allocation of $1.5 billion. There is 1 billion in career technical training. We really have figured out a way to try to hold harmless to schools in the middle of this budget situation. And this is a good bill given that. Additionally, Proposition 98 covers kindergarten through 14.

And there was a proposal to take a three year hit to community colleges by doing the split between K-12 and community colleges differently. And two years of it would have been retroactive. Community colleges would have had to go back and deal with a reduction. This budget strips out that two year retroactive cut to community colleges, which is a good thing. So this is a great step ahead for education. I respectfully ask for an aye vote.

Thank you, Senator. Senator Perez, you are recognized.

Thank you, Mr. President. First of all, want to thank our Chair of Budget Sub 1, Senator, the Senator from Santa Cruz, who has done a really excellent job in leading our Budget Subcommittee in these conversations around investments in education. I've honestly been incredibly proud of the results and the movement that we've seen to make sure that our K through 12 schools, that our UC system, that our CSU system is getting its full funding, that they are not facing cuts.

I think all of us in this body recognize that education, access to a quality education is a game changer for so many here in California. And this is how Californians reach that American dream that we talk so often about. One of the things that I'm particularly proud to see is not just our investments in education, making sure that we're able to provide that quality experience, but also in so many of the elements that our other students need support with. That includes making sure that students will have access to to school meals during the summertime.

We know so many of our students, particularly coming from low income families, do not have access to meals, to food when school is out of session. This will ensure that they gain access to that. It provides investment for school kitchens, and in addition to that also makes great investments into behavioral health services for our students. We know so many of our young people are facing mental health challenges. And this was particularly, you know, two of my key and core areas that I really wanted to make sure we were investing in this budget.

Making sure that our kids have access to quality food, making sure that our children's mental health is being taken care of are things that are so important and critical before our young people even walk through the door. And so I've just been so proud of the work that we've been able to achieve, particularly in this budget cycle. Despite facing so many economic challenges, facing a budget deficit. To be able to really deliver for the students and the parents and the families of California has been a real pleasure.

So I think despite all of the challenges that we've been facing, including a $5 billion hit already from the federal government making cuts directly to California, that our state, that our leaders have really stepped up to make sure that here in California that we are protecting education and ensuring everybody has access to a quality education and our students and our families are taken care of. So respectfully ask for an aye vote. Thank you.

Thank you, Senator. Senator Ochoa Bogh, you are recognized.

Thank you, Mr. President, Members of the Senate. I could not stand, I could not not stand and speak to AB 121 and all of the education funding that we're currently allocating. It's been an absolute pleasure sitting on Sub 1 with our Chair and from Santa Cruz and also with our, my, also my Committee Member with from Altadena or Pasadena.

I am very, very grateful that we as Republicans and Democrats agree on so many of the issues that impact our students and the priority funding that is being allocated in this particular bill. It is with that note... And also I want to thank the administration for actually listening to the many comments and the concerns that we expressed and accommodating those concerns and comments. It really did fill in.

I can't speak to the other committees, but I can actually speak to Sub 1 and how collaborative the effort has been in advocating for our students and our schools in the State of California. And with that, I will be happy to support this bill, and I will be voting aye. So thank you.

Thank you. Seeing all discussion and debate has ceased, Senator Wiener, would you like to close?

Respectfully ask for an aye vote.

Thank you, Senator. Secretary, please call roll.

[Roll Call]

Secretary, please call absent Members.

[Roll Call]

Ayes 32, noes one. The bill passes. Moving to item 84.

Secretary, please read

Assembly Bill 123 by the Assembly Committee on Budget in accolade to post secondary education and making an appropriation, therefore, to take effect immediately. Bill related to the budget.

Senator Wiener, you are recognized.

Thank you, Mr. President. Colleagues, AB123 is the higher education trailer Bill. Most significantly, the Bill Approved approves the two higher education student housing projects at UC Davis and UC Santa Barbara. Appropriates $100 million to support enrollment growth at the community colleges.

Appropriate $60 million to establish a student support block grant at community colleges to support student assistance with food, housing, transportation and other basic needs, among other things. I respectfully ask for your aye vote.

Senator Laird, you are recognized.

Thank you. Many of my colleagues have commented on what's in this Bill as we have worked to get to it. But we are finally here. And let me just briefly say that when the budget started with the January 10th budget, it was proposed that there be an 8% reduction for UC and CSU.

When the May revise came by, that was reduced to 3% but was still 3%. Through the efforts of this body and the committees, it has been reduced to zero. And the other major thing was is the middle class scholarship was proposed for roughly a $400 million reduction.

And as I've said repeatedly at the University of California now, because of the efforts of this body over the last decade, 2/3 of the graduates graduate with no debt. One third graduate with an average of $17,000. That is lower than most of the public institutions across the United States.

One of the major reasons is the middle class scholarship. And our effort today compared to the budget that was proposed, restores that and allows people that were on the middle class scholarship to continue and allows the families that were making the decisions right now about next year's education to know that they have that in their pocket.

So this is great progress. We have a lot more to do. The federal cuts are threatening higher education, but we're doing what we're supposed to at the state level and we're doing it through AB 123. I respectfully asked for an aye vote.

Thank you, Senator Perez. You are recognized.

Thank you, Mr. President. I just want to share once again just how elated I am to be voting on a budget that has zeroed out the cuts that had been proposed to both the UC, the CSU system as well as the community college system.

And again want to recognize the work of our chair as well as our other Member of the Committee Senator Ochoa Bogh has done. We've just done so much work in this regard. You know, this is something that's particularly important to me.

I am a product of the CSU system and very proud to have graduated from Cal State LA and utilized a middle class scholarship in order to get through the CSU system as have thousands of students all across the State of California.

We know financial aid makes a difference in our students ability to be able to get not just into college, but through college successfully to be able to take on more units so that they can ultimately achieve their college dreams.

And I will tell you, a CSU degree absolutely changed my life and changed the trajectory of my life. I'm the first in my family to graduate from college and it has been such a pleasure to get to do this work. When I first started off as a student discovering advocacy and my love for this kind of work.

It was in 2010 when we were actually facing a major budget deficit after the market crash of 07. And it was an enlightening experience in many ways. And so to get to then work again on a budget where we were facing massive cuts towards the CSU system was very personal to me.

And I'm so proud that we've been able to reduce that number down to zero. I know so many students and so many faculty, so many of our college campuses are going to benefit directly from this.

So many students that will benefit from the middle class scholarship and be able to realize their college dreams and look forward to getting to do more work in the space. But can't emphasize enough just how critical this is, especially as so many of our institutions face threats and face cuts from the Federal Administration.

This is how we deliver as California. And we know as we sit in this room with folks that have various political views that if there's one thing that I think can bring so many of us together, it's that we value a good education.

And we know that that is the pathway to success for so many Californians and so urge an Aye vote and very, very proud to see the work that we've achieved here.

Senator Ochoa Bogh. You are recognized

As a third part of the Subcommitee 1. I cannot once again get up and thank the chair and the Administration and all those that put this AB123 together. I just want to echo the remarks that was made by the Chair from Santa Cruz and I respectfully ask for an aye vote.

Senator Rubio, you are recognized.

Thank you, Mr. Chair. Ladies and gentlemen of the Senate, I also want to stand in strong support of this budget. And I'm really proud that this budget reflects our continued commitment to education, which I think has already been stated several times. It is absolutely vital to our low income communities.

This is the one place where we can all agree that if we want to make our future brighter for everyone, education, higher education is key. And I'm very proud that we fought against some of these dire cuts that were coming our way. We rejected harmful cuts to the CSUs and UC systems.

These institutions are so important, not again, not just to education, but considering the trauma and the hits that are coming from the Federal Government, this is critically important. Some of these institutions are a safe space for some of our communities to go and gather in community.

This is a support system that they need in a time that's so critical for them. And so again, I'm so proud of the Budget Committee and everyone that worked really hard on this.

And equally important is the preservation of the funding to the Middle Class Scholarship Program, which is vital, a vital resource to help thousands of students pursue higher education.

I, too, started in community college, so I do understand that is the first step towards really realizing what your potential is when you're often not seeing people around you graduate or go to higher education. So thank you for continuing to push on this issue.

But I also want to be clear that while this budget makes such important investments, we can not continue to push.

This is something that we've all committed to, and we want to make sure that our institutions and our teachers and our students know that we will continue to push to ensure that we Fund these institutions and that our students have access to this very critical opportunity that I think that they need and deserve. So with that, I ask for an aye vote.

Thank you, Senator. Seeing no further discussion or debate, Senator Wiener, you may close respectfully. As for an aye vote. Thank you very much. Secretary, please call roll.

[Roll Call]

Secretary, please call absent Members.

[Roll Call]

Ayes 38 and Noes 0. The Bill passes. We will move forward to item 90.

Secretary, please read.

Assembly Bill 134, by the Assembly Committee on Budget, an act relating to public safety and making an appropriation therefore, to take effect immediately. Bill related to the budget.

Senator Wiener, you are recognized.

Thank you, Mr. President. AB 134 is a public safety trailer bill, appropriates $5 million to establish a tribal police pilot, clarifies policies around suitability determinations for juvenile facilities, allows civil action to enforce compliance, and implements other policy changes relating to the budget for corrections. I respectfully asked for an aye vote.

Seeing no discussion or debate. Secretary, please call roll.

[Roll Call]

Ayes, 29. Noes, 8. The Bill I—Secretary, please call absent Members once again.

[Roll Call]

Ayes 29. Noes 9. The Bill passes. Moving to item 91.

Secretary, please read.

Assembly Bill 136 by the Assembly Committee on Budget, an act relating to courts and making an appropriation therefore to take effect immediately. Bill relating to the budget.

Senator Wiener, you are recognized.

Thank you, Mr. President. AB 136 is the court's trailer bill. It implements solutions that are part of the budget package, including streamlining Judicial Council reporting, authorizing the sale of four surplus properties, and repealing a jury duty pilot program. The bill also appropriates $4.7 million to backfill the state court facilities construction fund. I respectfully ask for an aye vote.

Seeing no discussion or debate. Secretary, please call roll.

[Roll Call]

Ayes 38, noes 0. The bill passes. Moving to item 92.

Secretary, please read.

Assembly Bill 137 by the Assembly Committee on Budget, an act relating to state government and making an appropriation therefore, to take effect immediately. Bill related to the budget.

Senator Wiener, you are recognized.

Thank you, Mr. President. AB 137 is the state government trailer bill. It streamlines disposal of surplus Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation property. It allows iBank to provide financial assistance to Climate Catalyst Projects to 2031. It allows adjustment of certain Department of Financial Protection and innovation fees and assessments.

Respectfully ask for an aye vote.

Seeing no discussion or debate. Secretary, please call roll.

[Roll Call]

Ayes, 29. Noes, 9. The Bill passes. We will move to item 95.

Secretary, please read

Assembly Bill 143 by the Assembly Committee on Budget in accolade to Developmental Services and making an appropriation therefore to take effect immediately Bill related to the budget.

Senator Wiener, you are recognized.

I thank you, Mr. President. Colleagues, AB143 is the Developmental Services trailer Bill. It includes the following it implements various General Fund solutions included in the budget act under the Department of Developmental Services.

This includes moving up the date of of the service provider hold harmless for providers whose current rates exceed the rate model and requires providers to meet certain federal requirements to earn the full 100% of their rate. It also makes various changes to the self determination program, including requiring the development of standardized processes for enrollment and individual budgets.

It expands reporting requirements to track progress on the master plan for Developmental Services. And it makes other performing changes to align with the Developmental Services budget. I respectfully ask for an aye vote.

Thank you. Seeing no discussion or debate. Secretary, please call roll.

[Roll Call] .

Ayes. 29, Noes 9. The Bill passes. Members, we will work the budget bills on file. Of course. And right now we're going to take a 20 minute lunch break. A 20 minute lunch break. Do not leave the building. 20 minute lunch break. Please be prompt. It is 12:03. We will reconvene at 12:23 on the nose. Thank you. 20 minutes. The clock has started.

Welcome back, Members. We are—as we're preparing the supplemental file, we are going to return to motions and resolutions for adjourning memories. Senator Niello, you are recognized at your desk for your adjourned memory. When you are ready.

Thank you, Mr. President. I rise to adjourn in the memory of William Douglas Elmore, known to me and his friends as Doug Elmore. He was born in Charlotte, North Carolina, and went to the University of South Carolina, which they call the "Real USC," with a degree in Business Administration. He took a bit of a different direction after college.

He joined the Peace Corps. He was assigned to a small town in Brazil working in community development. Most important to the rest of his life, he was partnered with Pam, a California girl who later became Mrs. Elmore.

Following the Peace Corps, he was called to the military, joining the Navy and sent to New Orleans for training, he and Pam were reunited. After training, he received his commission and was sent to Japan, but not before he and Pam married. The newlyweds spent three years in Japan.

Returning to America in 1970, Doug was discharged from the Navy and went to work for Xerox in Phoenix, but soon landed with Coldwell Banker Commercial Real Estate and launched a very successful career in land sales that included the founding of Brown Stevens Elmore & Sparre, a very successful real estate brokerage company still in existence here.

Doug was part of a—many—foundational developments in our region, including Serrano, Gold River, and Anatolia. Some of those might not be recognizable to people that don't live here, but people that do live here will certainly know those developments. Outside of business, Doug was probably best known by his friends for his passion for antique wooden boats.

He had literally a fleet of, of beautiful wooden boats that he restored to pristine fashion. As part of that hobby, he was a member of the Tahoe Yacht Club and the Antique Classic Boat Society and served on the board of the Tahoe Maritime Boat Museum.

He had a love of history and geography, which he fed with many trips around the world, while back home, he was an avid Kings fan and he spent many Sundays rooting for the 49ers, at least on TV. Above all, though, he truly was a dedicated family man.

And he will be greatly missed by Pam, his wife of 57 years, his three children, Perrin Stevens, Courtney Fabian, and Jeb Elmore, and four grandchildren, Corrine, Dylan, Cassidy, and Slater. I appreciate the ability to adjourn in the memory of my friend Doug Elmore.

Senator, our sincere condolences. Please bring the bring the name of your adjourned in memory to the desk to be properly memorialized. Thank you. Senator Laird, you are recognized for your adjourned memory.

Thank you very much, Mr. President. I rise to adjourn in memory of my friend and longtime Santa Cruz public servant, Mike Rotkin. Mike served for six terms on the City Council, five terms as Mayor, arguably the longest service in, in modern Santa Cruz history.

We served together for seven years on the City Council in the 1980s, and when he was elected with another person in 1979 and I was elected with another person in 1981, we formed the first progressive majority in the history of Santa Cruz city politics. And we did amazing things as a team.

We won a landmark federal case to preserve greenbelts. We expanded human services. We fought offshore oil drilling. We had the first pay equity and domestic partners programs in our region. We turned city attention to the neighborhoods. We worked closely with labor organizations. We fostered hundreds of units of new affordable housing.

We brought a new generation into city government. Mike was part of that. And I think we brought different life experience and points of view to the table. In all that work, relationships became close.

Mike was an Adjunct Professor for over 30 years, and he mentored hundreds, if not thousands, of people in the Community Studies Program who went into public school service. The outpouring since his death from people around the country that he sort of launched into public service careers has been amazing.

And you get very close to somebody, even if you're different. And Mike used to speak at council meetings like a professor. And he would, he would begin frequently by saying, I'll be brief.

And it was a way that he and I would mix it up, because, as I would always say to him, if you're going to be brief, you would just be brief. You wouldn't announce it because he would repeat every point a second time for impact.

And the night he was term limited off the City Council, the first time, he said, I'll be brief. And then he turned to me and said, those are code words for John to jump out the window, which was exactly the way it was.

Another time we slept, if you can believe it, because I think he gave a speech saying, we are sleeping in solidarity, we slept with students demonstrating against apartheid in South Africa at the University library. Three of the council members all night. Mike showed up.

His job was to bring the air mattresses, and they were three feet long, and we slept on a cement floor all night. And sometimes you should not depend on your colleagues for such practical things. He also—and it's a word I don't think I can use on the Senate Floor, so, let me paraphrase.

One time, he got mad at another Council Member in a meeting, and he said, he's being disingenuous. And for those of you that don't know what disingenuous means, it means he's full of—and let's just substitute the word excrement here. It was quiet. It was front page for a few days. He had to apologize.

But as I went on to serve eight more years on the City Council, if you wanted to make a colleague crazy, you just said they were being disingenuous. And we all knew what it meant. When Mike was elected, he termed himself a socialist feminist.

He never ran away from that in his entire six terms or his entire public service, but in one of the more amazing political evolutions, he became the Chamber of Commerce's go-to guy in the last years of his service.

And it was not because he watered down anything he thought, but because he knew you had to talk to everybody and you had to work across the spectrum to get things done and so, to make fun of it because everybody always called him a Marxist, he wore T shirts, shirt with Groucho marks, most of the time around Santa Cruz.

He was a character. One time he responded with the Santa Cruz Fire Department to fight a fire. Another time, we had a major meeting, and we had to start late, and he was really late, and it's because he hit a deer on his motorcycle coming off campus.

He wore a trench coat, an old-time helmet with a cross. If you saw a motorcycle go by like that, you'd say, oh, there goes the Mayor. And he was that kind of character. And yet he was beloved. He served until his last day on the Transit Board of Directors on the Transportation Commission.

And for years, he would be in his Day Glow vest kicking off people at the main intersection at the start of Gay Pride. And when he wasn't there a few weeks ago, it was a signal to the rest of us that something was going on. He was the definition of the word mensch.

I know he was my political partner for almost 50 years. I'll miss him every day. And my heart goes out to Madeleine and to his entire family. I wish to adjourn in memory of Michael Rotkin.

Thank you, Senator Laird. Our sincerest condolences. Please bring the name of your adjourned memory to the front desk to be properly memorialized. Senators, in 60 seconds, we will vote on the consent calendar. So, sergeants, if you will make sure that Members are back on the floor in 60 seconds. We will be voting on the consent calendar.

Members, before we take up the consent calendar, I want to announce that we do have unfinished business. It's a supplemental file that it will—should—be on your desk or in your hands by now, and it is the supplemental file, and we will return to that unfinished business as soon as we vote on the consent calendar.

Consent calendar. Secretary, please read.

[Roll Call]

Secretary, please read. Consent calendar.

[Roll Call]

Ayes, 38. Noes, 0. On item 105, ayes, 38, noes, 0, on the consent calendars. And they are—they pass. They are adopted. Members, we do have a message. Assembly—message at the desk. Secretary, please read.

Mr. President, I am directed to inform your honorable body that the Assembly amended and on this day passed as amended, Senate Bill 103, 120, 124, 127, 128, 132, 141, 142 and respectfully request your honorable body to concur in said amendment. Sue Parker, Chief Clerk of the Assembly, above bill's order to unfinish business.

Thank you. Members, we will move to the supplemental file, beginning with item 128.

Secretary, please read

Senate Bill 103 by Senator Wiener in accolade to the state budget and making an appropriation, therefore to take effect immediately. Budget Bill.

Senator Wiener, you are recognized.

I thank you very much, Mr. President. SB103 is a Budget Bill junior that amends the 2024 and prior year budget acts to reflect the final budget agreement reached between the Administration and the Legislature.

Highlights of this Bill include aligning the appropriation to actual costs for special education programs administered by local educational agencies in 2024-25 and adjusting the required deposit into the public school system stabilization account to $455 million.

It eliminates the requirement that the Statewide Clean Cars for All Program shall receive at minimum 125 million of the 255 million appropriated for a suite of equity transportation programs established under the Charge Ahead California initiative.

It authorizes expenditure authority from the Children's Health and Human Services Special Fund of 148.1 million in 2024-25 to support retroactive capitation payments and in the medical program reappropriates a total of $419 million General Fund to address a current year deficiency at CDCR resulting in structural as a result of structural and operational shortfalls. I respectfully ask for an aye vote.

Thank you, Senator. Seeing no comments or discussion or debate. Secretary, please call roll.

[Roll Call]

Ayes 29, Noes 3. Assembly amendments are concurred in moving to Item 129.

Secretary, please read.

Senate Bill 120 by the Senate Committee on Budget and Fiscal Review, an act relating to early childhood education and childcare, and making an appropriation therefore to take effect immediately. Bill related to the budget.

Senator Wiener, you are recognized.

Thank you, Mr. President. SB 120 is a childcare trailer bill and it includes the following: it provides $70 million to provide a rate increase to all subsidized childcare and preschool providers, it establishes enrollment-based pay for all subsidized childcare and preschool providers, it extends and expands reporting requirements to monitor progress on childcare rate reform, and it makes other conforming changes to align with the human services budget. I respectfully ask for an aye vote.

Senator Rubio, you are recognized.

Thank you, Mr. President. Ladies and gentlemen of the Senate, I also rise to support SB 120, which provides critical funding for early childcare education and families in need. When we invest in our children's well-being and in the families who care for them, we lay the foundation for a California where every child can thrive.

This bill recognizes that childcare is not a luxury. For so many of our families in our community, it is an essential part of their household, and of course, parents who are struggling, especially those that are single mothers, really need this support.

When massive cuts were on the table, I am so proud that we as a body pushed back to ensure that we didn't cut those vital programs that so many of our families come to rely on. It also continues vital programs like the Emergency Child Care Bridge Program, ensuring families in crisis get the help that they need.

And I'm again proud of those that worked on this budget to ensure that those that need it the most are front and center of these discussions, and by moving to a system that pays also providers based on enrollment, we are offering them the stability they need to keep serving families across our state.

Bottom line: protecting the well being of our youngest Californians must always be top of mind. When children have safe, nurturing places to grow while their parents work, we strengthen the foundation of our communities and safeguard the future of our economy, especially if we want to continue to be the fourth largest economy in the world. I respectfully ask for an aye vote. Thank you.

Seeing no further discussion or debate, Senator Wiener, would you like to close?

I respectfully ask for an aye vote.

Thank you. Secretary, please call roll.

[Roll Call].

Secretary, please call absent members.

[Roll Call].

Ayes: 30; noes: seven. Assembly amendments are concurred in. Moving to Item 130.

Secretary, please read