Assembly Standing Committee on Economic Development, Growth, and Household Impact

Good morning, everyone. We're going to go ahead and start our reading as soon as we have our members attend the committee and then also the presenters, so we'll be waiting for both. Just want to thank you for being on time and we'll just keep waiting. Thank you.

Good morning, everyone. I would like to call this meeting to order at 9:34 a.m. Today is Tuesday, July 11, 2025. We're in Room 127. Good morning and welcome to this morning's Assembly Economic Development, Growth, and Household Impact Committee Hearing.

To ensure members of the public and media have access to our proceedings today, this hearing will be streamed on the Assembly's website and members of the public can provide testimony in person here in the Room 127. All witness testimony will be in person. There will be no phone testimony option for this hearing.

If any member of the public in the room would like to testify on a bill, I ask that you approach your microphone at the appropriate time. To preserve the safety of everyone here and to ensure the public's access to the discussion, please follow directions of our sergeants. We're going to begin today's hearing as a subcommittee as we don't have quorum yet.

Today we have five bills and one joint resolution on the agenda: File Item Number One: HR 14: Gipson, File Item Number Two: SB 70: Seyarto, File Item Three: SB 227: Grayson, File Item Number Four: SB 263: Gonzalez, File Item Five: SB 769: Caballero, and File Item Six: 781: Reyes.

We will allow primary witnesses here in the room today to speak for two minutes, each with two primary witnesses per side. Any additional witnesses will be limited to name, organization they present, and position on the bill.

Primary witnesses in support must be by the author or those otherwise have registered in support position with the committee, and the primary witnesses in opposition must have the opposition registered with the committee. All other committee in opposition will be stated at the standing mic when called upon simply to state name, affiliation, and position.

With that, we will go on to Item Number Two: SB 70: Seyarto. I see Senator Seyarto. When you are ready, you may start.

All right. Thank you. Thank you very much. [Audio muted]. Across numerous industries. However, our current procurements...title enterprises can continue partnering effectively with the state. That's what I was waiting for. I couldn't--SB 70 will increase the maximum contract value under the Small Business Procurement and Contract Act from $250,000 to $350,000.

This bill also ties future adjustments to the California Consumer Price Index to ensure the cap stays current with economic conditions. The current $250,000 cap has remained unchanged since 2009 despite significant economic changes. When accounting for inflation, the 250,000 cap from 2009 would equate to approximately 370,000 in today's dollars.

As a result, qualified small businesses are being excluded from contracts that they would have been eligible for when the cap was originally set. SB 70 will update the current cap to reflect today's economic conditions and help California small businesses stay competitive.

So when the time comes, I would respectfully ask for your aye vote. And I do not have a witness today as my custom. Unless I feel like we really, really need one bad and want to take those two minutes up, then I will not bring one.

Got it. Thank you, Senator. We'll go ahead and continue, and there's no primary witnesses. Are there any witnesses in support in the room?

Good morning, Mr. Chair. Chris Micheli, on behalf of the Los Angeles Area Chamber of Commerce, in support. Thank you.

Thank you. Okay. Seeing no others, are there any witnesses in opposition? These are the primary ones. Okay. You have two minutes each. It'll be two witnesses only, right? Okay. Just making sure. And they have two minutes each.

Good morning. My name's Phil Vermeulen. I represent the Coalition of Small and Disabled Veteran Businesses. With me today--and I think it's very important--is somebody who's in the trenches. Unfortunately, the committee analysis completely missed all of our concerns, and I'm deeply concerned about that, but I brought with me today Mr. Steven Simpson, who is President/CEO of San Joaquin Distributors who's been working with the State of California as a small business for the last 40 years. With that, I'd like to introduce Steve Simpson to give some concerns about this bill, and I will go on from there.

Thank you for, for allowing me to speak. I appreciate the Senator's efforts in wanting to help encourage small businesses in doing business with the State of California, but I will tell you that this will not enhance small business participation in contracting with the state.

I contract with the State of California, I partner with subcontractors to work with me on those contracts, and this type of purchasing originally was for emergency purchases only. It only increased because of overcrowding with corrections. It increased twice, once from 50,000 to 100,000 then from 100,000 to 250,000.

It did nothing to increase the small business participation with the State of California. It was simply for emergency purposes only because of overcrowding, which we do not have now. We are 50% less than it was at its peak and this type of purchasing with the State of California is not progressive. It is restrictive.

It is leaving this purchasing up to a individual to choose who's going to get this business simply by who they contact, and if they don't want to contact someone who is, because of their gender, because of their race, because of LGBTQ, because they're a veteran, they do not have to contact them. They pick and choose who they want--who's going to get this business--by that.

It's not open to everyone. Mandatory contracts to the Department of Health Services are open to anyone. Lowest responsible bidder wins the bids. I can tell you, by increasing the value of this, it puts it more in the hands of large business.

Thank you, sir. That concludes your two minutes. Do you want to finish your--you have a minute and 21 seconds remaining.

We have found a very disturbing trend going on here, and this is the huge mega companies are forming small companies to be able to take advantage of the small business. The loophole is they can operate for a year without having to provide tax returns because they're a new business, so they don't have tax returns.

So, Mr. Simpson is going against these huge mega companies that have these little mom and pops that they're fostering and skirting the rules and regulations completely. This is just so bad. One other concern I have: you have to have that product on site at your business.

So, for example, a prison runs out of corn, they call a small business. They have to have the max of the 250,000--whatever that dollar amount is--they have to have it in stock. How many small businesses have that kind of product in stock? You're going to raise it to 350,000? There's no way. Absolutely.

On top of that, the state typically uses 45 days to pay back to the small business whatever the product is. How many small businesses can sit and float $250,000 or 350,000? Bad news.

Thank you, sir.

We urge a no vote on this bill.

Thank you.

Thank you for your time.

Can I make one other comment?

We actually just concluded two minutes, but thank you. Next we'll have any other members in the public for opposition.

Good morning. Tim Taylor with the National Federation of Independent Business, in respectful opposition. Thank you.

Yeah. Okay. Seeing no other members in opposition, we're going to go ahead and bring it back to committee. Before we go to committee members, I'm going to go ahead and establish quorum. With that, secretary, please call the roll.

[Roll Call]. We have quorum.

Okay. We do have quorum. Thank you, members. Okay. Who's--bill's been moved. Second. Any comments from committee members on this bill?

You want me to close?

Okay. Seeing none, there's a motion and a second. Roll call, please. Oh, sorry, sorry. We're so thankful that of your time. Go ahead, sir. Senator.

I appreciate that. You know, I have concerns just like anybody else's that sometimes programs get abused and sometimes they don't go right for individual businesses, and in the past that has been a problem, but we've also had major reforms like FI$Cal and car reporting and AB 1574, and the state has implemented more oversight tools that make some of these issues not as prevalent.

All this bill is doing is making those 200, that original $250,000 cap into today's valuation of that. So if there were people being able to access it and help their businesses before, they can still do that and at the same level that they could have done it in 2009. So with that, I would simply ask for an aye vote. Thank you.

Thank you, Senator. With that, there is a motion and a second. Secretary, please call the roll.

File Item Number Two: SB 70: Seyarto. Do pass to Appropriations. [Roll Call]. We'll leave it open for other members to vote.

Okay. Okay. The roll's been open and we're going on to the next item. We'll go on to fighter item number one, AJR 14. Gipson. Mr. Gipson, I know you were presenting another Committee, so we'll thank you for being on time as soon as you were able to get here with that.

Before I call on the next speaker, I want to just acknowledge a personal privilege here. Mr. Gipson and I were from the same town. I was a student body President at Cal State Dominguez Hills when he was a City Council Member in the City of Carson. I remember him when he was young, you know, different looking person.

But now he's here, sophisticated, with the bow tie. And I just want to be like Mike Gipson sometimes, you know? But it's great to be here and we're colleagues and just. Mr. Gipson, thank you for your leadership all the time and for being such a great public servant.

Thank you very much, Mr. Chairman. Good morning. Buenos Dias to each and every one of you. Thank you for allowing me to present AJR 14. As the chair of the Select Committee on Ports and Goods Movement, I've led the efforts to address the critical challenges facing our ports.

AJR14 seeks to call upon the federal agencies to consider the ramifications of the terrorist policies for California ports. We seek to work towards a strategy that stabilize the trades and increase the competitiveness of our ports infrastructures. The main contributor for the current supply chains issues are due to the current federal administration's Executive orders.

And please make no mistake about it. As a proud Member of the Los Angeles County delegation, I know that the Port of Los Angeles is not only the cornerstone of our local economy, but also the nation's leader in trades, tourism and also job creations.

California supports are essential to our economic engine, gateway for the international commerce and a key driver of employment and the industries across the state. However, recent influx. Influx in the Global trade policies and impositions of federal trade of terrorists have interrupted our ports operations and stressed the broader supply chains.

These terrorists have increased costs for imports and exports alike leading to a decline in cargo volumes moving through California's ports. The consequences are very very real. Ports face long turnaround times, logistics backlogs and raising costs that impacts both ships, shipping companies, everyday consumers across the State of California.

Ripping effects extends into regional economy depending on our trades, transportations and also logistics industries that estranged thousands, hundreds and thousands of California's jobs.

In the State of California, this uncertainty also causes instabilities on our port workers and their families as hours are reduced and potential layoffs takes a growing role and a growing toll on our communities across the states at a time.

At the same time, many ports are in are urgent needs of infrastructure upgrades to maintain competitive on the global scales. Yet revenue shortfalls make such investments increasingly difficult.

Continually uncertain around tariffs threatens not just current operations but also future trade agreements and and long lasting and long term planning critical for long term stability in the State of California. For these reasons I respectfully ask that Aye vote on AJR14 to ensure California continue to prioritize and maintain priorities on policy discussions.

Because California ports should continue to be a foundation of our future here in the State of California. State. I respectfully ask for an Aye vote on AJR 14.

Thank you. Mr. Gipson. I have no witnesses. Okay. No witnesses. Are there any other witnesses in support in the room?

Good morning. Jennifer Con with PMSA in support.

Thank you. Okay.

Seeing no one else hearing and seeing no other in support. Well, do we call on any opposition? Okay. Are there any other witnesses in opposition? No. Okay, let's bring it back to Committee. Are there any questions from Members of the Committee? Senator Patel.

I just want to make a comment. Thank you for bringing this bill forward. As a Member representing the San Diego region, port activity is very critical to our infrastructure bringing in billions of dollars. And while the port of San Diego isn't seeing the same level of impacts, it's still a concern for us.

So with that in mind, I'd like to move the bill or the resolution.

Thank you Member Patel. With that we have a motion by Patel, second by Senator Wallace. Any other questions Members? See none. Will Member would you like to close?

Just as the Select Committee on the ports. As the Chair, I've toured all 12 ports in the State of California have come out with a report Port our infrastructures in all of our ports have. We need to make continuous investments in our ports in order for us to stay competitive.

And these Terrorists are very, very concerning in order for us to continue to be the fourth largest economy and that's important for me and for all of our ports and we need to continue to protect our ports in order to support us to stay competitive. I respectfully ask for an Aye vote.

Thank you Mr. Gipson. And again as a neighboring assignment to you, I'm happy you brought this to to us. It's the timing of this can be better and obviously we need to put our eyes and ears to this issue and reports are extremely important as we have LA and Long Beach next to us. Yes, thank you.

With that roll call please.

File item Number 1 AJR 14 Gipson to be adopted. [Roll Call] We'll leave it open for additional votes.

Roll call is open and we're going to Continue. I believe Mr. Gipson has a second bill that he'll be presenting on behalf of Senator Reyes. Yes, Mr. Gipson, on behalf of Senator.

Reyes, thank you very much. I have before me I want to thank the Chair for the opportunity to present SB 781 on behalf of Senator Reyes.

First, I want to note that Senator Reyes has taken the Committee amendments, which help align the measure more closely with the recent budget trailer bill language and ensures the equitable access in small business and support program.

SB 781 ensures cities and counties to adopt a small business utilization plan to leverage local contracting activities to support small business and local economy growth.

To help local government succeed in uplifting small businesses, this Bill provides general authority to the Office of Small Business Advocates to support local government's small business procurement activities by creating the Small Business Utilizations Program.

California Small Business Technology Assistance Program, SBTAP, needs more robust protections in the wake of changes in the federal administrations. Budget trailer bills AB 137 has allowed for SBTAP contracts to have security, security, regardless of a continuous of federal funds beginning slash—being slashed.

SB 781 will continue to protect access to tech—to technical assistance—support for small business owners through clarifying how the SBTAP funds will be used to support small business owners throughout the state.

Here with me to provide supporting testimonies of representatives, who will self introduce, representatives from the California Asian Pacific Chambers of Commerce and the California Hispanic Chambers of Commerce—will self introduce.

And now, we'll have the main witnesses who are no strangers to our Capitol building here and do good work in state California. Please go ahead.

Good morning, Mr. Chair and Members. Karen Nelson, VP of Programs with the California Asian Chamber of Commerce.

We're jointly sponsoring SB 781 because it addresses two critical issues impacting California small businesses. One, the need to stabilize and grow revenues in the current economic climate and the need to proactively short the state's technical assistance network, in light of the evolving federal funding environment.

To address these issues, the Bill, one, establishes a framework for local governments to use when establishing small business utilization programs in their own jurisdictions. Two, authorizes a state data call to help focus technical assistance, uplift best practices, and encourage small business contracting, as part of local economic development strategies. Three, engages the work of the California Small Business Advocate in facilitating the development of local procurement programs and four, creates temporary relief for the state's largest small business technical assistance program for those service centers that have canceled or severely reduced federal TA contracts.

As with many policies, no single action meets the whole need and SB 781 provides the framework for a comprehensive local small business procurement program and allocates new resources to support implementation.

The specific elements of the local procurement model were selected to address previously identified challenges, including having a small business goal to track and report progress, ensuring the small business contractors identified in the winning bid are not later excluded from the contracted work, verifying that small business contractors are paid in cases where the prime claimed a small business contracting preference in their bid package, unbundling larger contracts and providing technical assistance to small businesses to compete for local contracts. And on behalf of the Tri Chamber Coalition and the 1.9 million minority-owned small businesses in California, we respectfully request an aye vote.

Thank you, Ms. Nelson. Mr. Canete.

Good morning, Chairman Solache, Committee Members. Julian Canete, President and CEO of California Hispanic Chambers of Commerce. The California Hispanic Chambers of Commerce, the State Asian Chamber of Commerce, and the California African American Chamber of Commerce are committed to creating economic opportunities for California's small businesses.

With the Legislature support, we have created positive public policy that encourages the utilization of small and diverse businesses to create economic growth and jobs in our communities throughout California. We believe that small business should be included, not excluded, from contracting and procurement activities and opportunities, which is healthy for both the business community and government.

California's 4.1 million small businesses account for more than 98% of total businesses in this great state and employ more than 7 million individuals and embody the entrepreneur spirit that drives the economy of the state.

Small businesses accelerate economic growth and mobility in California, creating 2/3 of net jobs, building wealth, invigorating to solve global problems, launching future growth industries, and defining main street—main streets across our local communities. SB 781 would promote and enhance the utilization of small businesses in the local agency procurement and contracting process.

California small businesses contribute to the overall economic health—health community. Therefore, government is a compelling—has a compelling interest—in providing economic opportunities to small businesses. A community's economic health depends upon an active and thriving business community.

SB 781 is no different than past policies such as AB 2019, which created 25% small business goal for state agencies and AB 1392, which requires hospitals to report their spend with small and diverse businesses. These policies all encourage the use of one of California's most valuable resources, our small business commerce businesses.

781 would require collaboration with local agencies to develop and implement local strategies to increase small business participation in local procurement programs and establish small business utilization program to increase small business participation.

Mr. Nelson, if we can wrap it up, please.

SB 781 puts more small businesses in their local procurement efforts but more importantly, it would fund small business programs, regardless of federal matching the SBC TAP funds, so that small businesses in California receive the technical assistance needed to be successful and contribute to the state's economy. Thank you.

Thank you. Thank you so much for your input today. Are there any other witnesses in support in the room?

Good morning, Chair and Members. Andrea DeVoe, on behalf of the California African American Chamber of Commerce, the third co-sponsor. Respectfully ask for your aye vote.

Thank you. Anyone else? Seeing no one else. Is there any opposition in the room? Any witnesses? Okay, seeing none. We're going to go ahead and bring it back to the Committee. Senator Patel.

Yes. Thank you for representing Senator Reyes on this Bill and appreciate the testimony today. Looking at the San Diego region as a whole, we mirror California in 98—nearly 98% of our economy is reliant as an employer base and just economic generation—economy generation. In San Diego, 98% is through our small businesses.

Yet we do see a disparity in San Diego where not even 40% of individual single employer businesses, or I think it's 23% of more typical employer-based—employee-based—businesses are in the minority areas. So, we have a long way to go. We have a lot of work to do in San Diego.

So, especially when you reflect on the diversity of the region as a whole and I think these funds can help us and help our minority communities access the resources they need to boost their local business and in turn, boost California's economy.

So, I'm happy to support this Bill today and if you can convey to the author that I would like to sign on as a coauthor, that would be lovely. Thank you.

Thank you, Senator Reyes. Senator Soria.

Yeah, I just wanted to echo my support for this, I think, very important legislation.

I think for areas even like myself that I represent rural areas, we have a lot of small businesses that maybe don't have the wherewithal, the technical assistance, that is critically needed so that they can see what procurement—the participation in procurement with our local and even state government.

So, excited about creating a more clear pathway for these small businesses. And so, I want to thank the sponsors for working with the author on this Bill. Happy to support today.

Thank you, Assemblymember Soria. Anyone else? Okay, seeing none. We'll bring it back. And that, just on my—for myself—thank you, Mr. Gipson. And we want to send Senator, Senator Reyes, a big hug from this Committee, as she continues to stay strong. I want to send her a big hug for her and thank you for acknowledging this.

As someone that worked for the Chamber for the last seven years, I think this is a very good legislation. I'm happy that our Tri Chambers are united for this and just happy that it's a united voice and I look forward to also supporting. I would like to also coauthor this Bill myself.

Move the Bill.

Huh?

I'd like to move.

Well, we'll have the Member close and then, we'll do a motion.

Great. Well, first of all, let me say thank you very much and we appreciate the co-authorship and I also want to coauthor the Bill. But I want to also thank, you know, the author of this Bill even though she's at home and recovering and we appreciate her leadership, even from home.

She's still thinking about her district, thinking about California, and thinking about how to make California better and thinking about how to make small businesses work and better for small businesses and then building this coalition and that's how in tune she is for that and making it better.

And appreciate her work and her team for working so hard reaching out to me. And I'm very grateful for her team working, reaching out to me, to carrying this Bill and supporting it. So, I respectfully ask an aye vote on behalf of Senator Reyes and appreciate this Committee's support today. So, thank you very much and her prayers.

Thank you. Yes. And I am jealous she didn't ask me, but I. I'll let her ask you. With that, Senator Patel made the motion to move the item.

Yes.

Okay. Second by Assemblymember Soria. This point, we're at roll call, please.

[Roll Call]

Okay, the roll's been open. Thank you again everyone for being here and have a good day. We're gonna move on to item three, SB 227, former Assemblymember, now a great Senator, Grayson. Senator Grayson, welcome.

Whenever you're ready.

Thank you so much, Mr. Chair and esteemed Members of the Committee. Yes, I do miss the Assembly. I am having fun on the Senator side, but I do miss my, my Assembly colleagues. Good morning, and I am presenting today SB 227, which extends authorization for the Green Empowerment Zone. We know it as GEZ.

It expands the GEZ Board's jurisdiction to include four additional cities and environmental justice representatives. As many of you know, the San Francisco Bay Area is the second largest oil refining hub in the west, or on the West Coast. In 2020, the Marathon Martinez refinery in Contra Costa was indefinitely idled, resulting in the immediate loss of 700 jobs.

This abrupt closure deeply affected not only the workers and the families but also served as a warning signal to the broader community about the volatility of this industry and the potential risk of thousands more refinery jobs, amid our state shift toward clean energy.

In response, I authored AB 844 in 2021, which established the Green Empowerment Zone for the northern waterfront area of Contra Costa County. And the GEZ builds upon the state, regional, and federal partnerships to attract tax incentives, grants, loan programs, and private sector investments, all focused on fostering our region's clean and green energy economy.

Although the GEZ Board of Directors already includes a diverse array of stakeholders, there is an absence of representation from environmental justice organizations, leaving critical—critical perspective—unaddressed. Additionally, while the Board has the authority to incorporate new cities, explicitly codifying the inclusion of these cities in statute will ensure sustained and proactive regional participation.

So, SB 227 addresses these gaps by formally expanding the Green Environment Zone to include El Cerrito, Pinole, Richmond, and San Pablo, and by adding environmental justice representatives to the Board. In addition, the Bill does extend the Board's authorization date to 2040, providing long term stability and a framework for sustained regional collaboration.

Extending the authorization to 2040 provides the Board with the runway it needs to support decarbonization efforts, investing in emerging—emerging clean—technologies, and maintain regulatory and financial stability for the industries and workers impacted by the transition away from fossil fuels.

By incorporating these additional voices and extending authorization, SB 227 strengthens the Board's ability to leverage regional assets, facilitate a just transition to a lower carbon economy, and creates pathways for equitable economic growth in Contra Costa County. With that, I respectfully asked for an aye vote when it's appropriate.

Thank you, Senator, and seeing other witnesses in support. Are there anyone in the audience in support? Seeing none. Any main opposition? Any witness in opposition? Okay. Seeing none. And you're just a popular guy, Senator. Woohoo.

Let's bring it back. Committee, any comments? Assemblymember Soria. Oh, you moved—okay, moved it.

Mr. Chair.

Yes, please.

Thank you, Senator, for your continued leadership on this really critical issue. Really appreciate it and happy to support the Bill today. Thank you.

Thank you so much.

Thank you, Assemblymember Petrie-Norris. We have a motion by Soria, second by Wallace. Roll call, please. Oh, close. Mr. Senator, you want to close?

Respectfully ask for an aye vote.

Thank you. Okay, roll call please.

[Roll Call]

Great. Thank you so much.

Thank you, Senator, that we do have two bills remaining. We're waiting for the Senators to come. I know our. Yeah. While we get them here, we're going to do the addition of a vote. So I'll go ahead and open the roll call again.

[Roll Call]

All right, Members, so we're going to. Go ahead and wait for our two Senators. They're on one's on their way and I think the ones presenting a Bill. So we're going to hold off for a second. So we're caught up and our amazing Sergeant Joe is doing awesome. Bring them here. Bring those Senators here.

Okay, we will continue. We have our awesome Senator from the Great Assembly District 33rd. Just a little biased here, but I get the privilege to overlap my district with our Senator. So, with that, we're going to go on to item SB 263. Senator Gonzalez, when you're ready, you may start.

Thank you, Mr. Chair and Members. I'm here today to present SB 263 that directs the California Transportation Agency to conduct a study on the impacts of tariffs in California. Tariffs imposed without strategic planning will raise costs for California families and businesses and harm our workers.

The ports of Long Beach, where I represent LA and Oakland, had a combined 91 canceled trip—ship arrivals, excuse me—in May and June, impacting jobs for port workers and truckers, supply chain issues, and higher consumer prices.

And the Department of Finance, as we've been told, is projecting a $7.8 billion drop in state revenues due to tariffs, which has contributed to our budget deficit. So, SB 263 will ensure policymakers have comprehensive statewide data to help us understand the impacts of tariffs.

And today, we have our friends from the California Retailers Association and Pacific Merchant Shipping Association, who are here to testify in support, and I respectfully ask for an aye vote.

Thank you, Senator.

Good morning. Jennifer Cohen with Pacific Merchant Shipping Association. Our members consist of marine terminal operators and ocean-going shippers. Needless to say, our members have a front row seat for recent trade policy fluctuations. Thank you to Senator Gonzalez and all the supporters of SB 263 for recognizing what an important role trade plays in California's economic fabric.

From 38 billion in tax revenue to 3 million jobs, air, land, and sea-based trade fuels our state's economy. Given these profound economic impacts, it is imperative that the state have a clear picture of what is at risk.

This study is needed to provide a clear picture of the role of trade for the state and how trade policies can impact California positively and negatively. This critical information will enable more advanced economic planning, budgeting, and agility in responding to trade policy changes, volatility, and to evaluate future proposals and fluctuations.

It is a prudent investment in protecting the state and will ultimately provide California with a stronger foundation for policy and fiscal decision making. Thank you.

Thank you. We have our second witness.

Thank you, Chair Solache and Members of the Committee. My name is Ryan Elaine. I'm with the California Retailers Association.

The California Retailers Association is the only statewide trade association representing all aspects of the retail industry, from national brands to independent, locally-owned businesses and generate more than 743 billion in annual sales and employs approximately 2.7 million individuals, making up nearly one fifth of the state's total workforce. SB 263 is critical.

It's a comprehensive state-led study that is needed to evaluate the impact of tariffs on California's consumer and businesses, ensuring that policymakers and regulators have the necessary data to respond appropriately to protect the state's economic fit to vitality and affordability.

Given the immense scale and economic significance of California's retail sector, the imposition of tariffs could have a direct and adverse impact on both state economy and California consumers. As Californians continue to face the cost-of-living crisis, additional tariffs further risk increasing the financial burden on families, exacerbating the affordability challenges.

With tariffs now ranging from 10% to 145% and affecting a wide range of goods, it's increasingly difficult to quantify the full scope of their impact on retail sales and consumer confidence.

Preliminary analysis from the Budget Lab at Yale estimates that tariffs could translate to an average of 3,800 in annual household costs, placing significant strain on family budgets, and altering spending patterns, especially in Cal—especially as California families start their back to school dropping and retailers large and small gear up for the holiday season.

The retail sector is a key driver in California's economy and the data provided from SB 263 is imperative as policymakers and regulators and retailers work to navigate the uncertainties of these tariffs that could have that we could be facing for years to come. For these reasons, we ask for your aye vote.

Okay, thank you to...from PMSA and our California Retailers Association. With that, are there any other witnesses in support in the room?

Good morning, Mr. Chair and Members. Chris Shimoda, on behalf of the California Trucking Association, in support. Thank you.

Thank you. Seeing no one else. Are there any witnesses in opposition? Seeing none. And anyone in the room? Okay. We're going to move on to—bring it back to Committee. Are there any questions from the Committee, Members? Moved by Senator Wallace, second by Senator Patel. Senator, would you like to close?

We would like to lower costs for California families and I respectfully ask for an aye vote.

Okay. And with that, I would like to coauthor the Bill as well and join you in that effort. Thank you, Senator. With that, we have a motion and a second. Roll call, please.

[Roll Call]

Thank you, Senator. Thank you.

All right, Members. We have our awesome Senator..Senator Caballero, when you're ready. As the Senator walks to the front, I want to just share a quick personal story. I was 20 years old when I met the Senator as then Mayor from Salinas, and I shared the story with her and her husband recently.

But it was a great story. I was a Student Body President, and she was on a panel discussion influencing young leaders like myself back then and now, we be to be colleagues. So, just wanted to share that.

It's a story of if you stick around long enough, you get to see the young people that you had an opportunity to talk to and inspire, right?

Well, it's good advice, Senator, so.

Thank you so much. Well, here you are, and I'm really glad to see you as Chair of this Committee and to see all the great things you're doing in the community. So, thank you. Thank you for your service.

Thank you, Senator.

Well, so thank you for the opportunity to present SB 769, which will establish the Golden State Infrastructure Fund to help finance critical infrastructure projects across California. SB 769 creates a flexible revolving fund to support the financing of large infrastructure projects by investing capital over time, without imposing new taxes or fees on Californians. California's infrastructure is under stress.

We know that our roads need work, our water systems are outdated, our housing shortage continues, and as climate impacts accelerate, our grid, transit, and emergency response systems are all in need of maintenance and expansion and repair. Existing infrastructure finance tools are slowly—are slow—over restrictive, and unable to meet today's complex demands.

And federal funding is increasingly uncertain. While tools like the iBank have been affected for localized efforts, frankly small projects, they are not equipped to support large-scale, cross jurisdictional investments.

SB 769 bridges that gap and helps us to finance and deliver major infrastructure projects throughout California by leveraging public private partnerships, creating jobs and opportunities for upward mobility, and putting the needs of local governments and communities at the center.

California, and just as importantly, LA, is preparing to host the Olympic Games, the World Cup, and other world class events in the coming years. And our infrastructure is woefully inadequate to meet the needs of these major events. We need to build a smarter, more sustainable California by investing in infrastructure that's designed to serve generations to come.

And SB 769 puts us on a path to accomplish that. Here to testify in support are Connie Chan with the State Treasurer's Office and Fritz Pollan, General Counsel for the Treasurer's Office, who is available to answer any technical questions.

Please go ahead.

Good morning, Chair and Members of the Committee. My name is Connie Chan, and I am here on behalf of California State Treasurer, Fiona Ma, who is proud to sponsor SB 769, to establish the Golden State Infrastructure Fund. For too long, California has lacked a modern and flexible financing tool to address our aging infrastructure.

The American Society of Civil Engineers gave California's infrastructure a C minus. California is preparing to host global events such as the World Cup, the Olympic and Paralympic Games, and multiple Super Bowls. These events will bring millions of visitors, and we must be ready to support them with reliable infrastructure.

SB 769 creates the Golden State Infrastructure Fund, a new financing mechanism that allows the state to make both debt and equity like investments in critical in state infrastructure projects. This investment will do more than fix what's broken.

It will create good paying jobs, strengthen communities, and build long-term resilience, especially in the face of climate threats and natural disasters. States and countries around the world are already using public-private models to meet their infrastructure needs. As the now fourth largest economy, California should be leading the way with our own bold, flexible approach.

SB 769 is fiscally responsible, aligns with our climate and workforce development goals, and ensures California is prepared for the future. This Bill is supported by labor unions and rural counties. It's also not reflected in the analysis, but the opposition has removed their opposition of the Bill. So, on behalf of Treasurer Ma, I respectfully urge your aye vote. Thank you. And this is Fritz.

Thank you. In addition?

I'm just here for technical support.

Okay, thank you. Okay with that, are there any other witnesses in support in the room? Okay, we have several.

Brandon Ebeck, on behalf of Pacific Gas and Electric, here in support. Thank you.

Travis Legault, with the Rural County Representatives of California, in support.

Great, thank you. Seeing no other one in support. Anyone in opposition? Okay, we have one.

Hi, Tracy Rosenberg on behalf of Oakland Privacy. Also speaking on behalf of the First Amendment Center, FAC. We have dropped our opposition to the Bill. We just wanted to clarify that today.

Great, thank you for that clarification. With that, we're going to go ahead and move it back to Committee. Any Committee? Assemblymember Patel, and then Soria.

Thank you for presenting this Bill today. My dad was a civil engineer and worked on big government infrastructure projects. So, I understand very deeply how important it is to invest in our infrastructure, the types of jobs it creates, and the stimulus it brings to our economy.

Also, appreciate the—bringing forward a flexible financing options for California, especially as we enter into difficult economic times. I did have some questions regarding this Bill. I think a lot of them have been answered. Thank you for working with opposition and making sure that our public-private partnerships still maintain a significant level of transparency and accountability.

Having served on local boards and the State Commission, I'm very familiar with the Bagley Keene Act and appreciate that you've made some accommodations and amendments to your Bill here.

Want to make sure that our taxpayers know what's being brought forward and how their dollars are being used and give our public opportunity to participate in the process where possible. And with that, I will be supporting the Bill today. Thank you for working with opposition. Thank you so much.

Thank you. Assemblymember Soria.

Yeah. So, good morning, Senator, and thank you for bringing this piece of legislation forward. I think that I echo the same support as my colleague from San Diego.

I think that we need to think outside the box, create additional tools that will allow us to invest in some critical infrastructure, especially also in communities like the ones that we commonly represent. We really need to think outside the box to build for the future.

And so, I want to thank you for your leadership in that and not only thinking about our community, but I think communities across the State of California that need that type of investment and also, looking at public and private partnerships, which are extremely critical and can be game changers in many of our communities.

So, thank you for bringing this forward. I'm happy to support.

Thank you to the Senator's other favorite Committee Member, Soria. With that, we're going to—Assemblymember Petrie-Norris.

Thank you, Mr. Chair. And thank you, Senator, for bringing this measure forward. I think it's a really creative approach to tackling some really, really big challenges that the state faces today and in decades to come. I'd love to be added as a co-author on the measure. Thank you.

Thank you so much.

Thank you, Assemblywoman. Senator, with that, would you like to close?

Thank you so much for all the comments. And we've worked really hard at trying to get this right. Let me just say that I'm a big believer in public transparency.

It's one of the reasons that I have not supported the, the move to go all elect—electronic—because I really think there's something to be said for having to face people in when you have a difficult vote in local government, Bagley Keene, as well as, as the, the Brown Act.

And so, the more transparency we, we can have, the better, better off we are. I think this Bill could provide us with a really important resource at a time when we're going to need them the most. And so, I respectfully ask for your aye vote, aye vote.

Thank you, Senator. And I just want to also echo the comments of my colleagues. This is a great move in the right direction. I would also like to be co—added as a coauthor—of this great legislation. And with that, is there a motion? Motion by Soria, second by Ms. Patel. With that, we have a motion and a second. Roll call, please.

[Roll Call]

Okay, with that, the roll calls are open and we'll keep it open. Thank you, Senator, for your time. With that, we're going to go back and do some additional votes. Train.

[Roll call]

Yep. So with that we're gonna wait a couple more minutes. We're gonna wait for. Leave the row open and wait a couple minutes for our last Assembly Member to join and vote so we could let Ms. Bonta, I know we're waiting for her, please. Thank you. Okay. Thank you. Okay, we're just waiting for one more Member to come.

We'll wait five more minutes. So we'll wait for Ms. Monta to get here. Thank you so much. Okay, we're back. Unfortunately, Ms. Monte is actually presenting a bill as we speak, so I will. We will excuse her, but we definitely going to end the meeting with this.

So we're going to let our secretary read the outcome of today's meeting.

Okay. File item number one. AGR 14. Gibson to be adopted. The vote is 70. This bill is out. File item number two. S.B. 70. Zaro do pass to appropriations. 70. This bill is out. File item number three. S.B. 227. Grayson do pass to the floor. 70. This bill is out. File item number four. S.B. 263.

Gonzalez, do pass to appropriations. 70. This bill is out. File item number five. S.B. 769. Caballero do pass to appropriations. 6. 0. This bill is out. File Item number six. S.B. 781. Reyes do pass as amended to local government. 7. 0. This bill is out.

All right with that, we're going to go ahead and attend the meeting. Thank you. We are turned at 10:39am.