Assembly Floor

Members come to the floor if you need vote changes. Raise your microphone for vote changes. Assemblymember Patel. Vote change from the dais. Vote change from the dais

[Vote Change]

Members, we are reconvening session. Please take your desk. Members reconvening session. We need you on the floor. Please take your desks. Happy Saturday.

We're going to begin by moving to a vote on the consent calendar. Does any Member wish to remove an item from the consent calendar? Seeing and hearing none, the Clerk will read the second day consent calendar.

Assembly Concurrent Resolution 107 by Assembly Member Bauer Kahan relative to Diablo Range.

Clerk will open the roll on the consent calendar. All Members vote who desire to vote. All Members vote who desire to vote. All Members vote who desire to vote. All Members vote who desire to vote. All Members vote who desire to vote. Members, please report to the floor and vote. All Members vote who desire to vote.

Please report to the floor and vote. All Members vote who desire to vote. Clerk will close the roll. Tally the votes. I48 no zero consent calendar is adopted Madam Majority leader, you are recognized for your procedural motion.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I request unanimous consent to suspend Assembly Rule 118A to allow Assembly Member Alvarez to have a guest in the rear of the chamber and for Assemblymember Pacheco to have a guest seated at her desk.

Without objection. Such shall be the order.

There are messages from the Senate for Assembly bills passed by the Senate. I request unanimous consent that we suspend the rule to take up these items without reference to file.

Without objection. Clerk will read the list of bills.

[WORF Bills]

Summary Member DeMaio, you are recognized.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. And for Members. For Members. If I could just ask for an indulgence for a point of order. State your Point of order, Mr. Speaker. Last night we were here till 3:25 in the morning.

I know that while we were able to rush off as Members to get as much sleep as possible, our staff stayed behind to clean up this chamber, to clean up the food.

They came in early because they had to be here on time to set this chamber up, to set up food for us and recognize that we have a lot of great Members here who came on time and are here and ready to do business.

But my point of order would be that in our respective caucuses that we have a serious conversation about respecting the hard work of our staff, who are here late and here early to support us. The least we can do is show up, not for courtesy to our other colleagues, but for our staff on time.

Mr. DeMaio, your point is well taken.

Members, I ask for your grace. Today we are going to be jumping around on the file. We are going to be jumping around. Buckle in. Get ready to go. We're going to begin with file item 202, SB237, presented by Assemblymember Wilson. The Clerk will read

Senate Bill 237 by Senator Grayson and others an act relating to oil and gas.

Decorum Members. Decorum Members, time to work. Assemblymember Wilson, you are recognized.

Good morning, Mr. Speaker and my colleagues. I'm pleased to present SB237 as one of the lead authors on this bill. In California. Recent years have been marked by higher gasoline retail prices in state refinery conversions and exits and a growing reliance on fuel imports to meet consumer demand.

These impacts have been felt worldwide and as the state representative for the City of Benicia, it hits right at home. As we all know, Valero Benicia is scheduled to permanently close their refinery operations next spring. I'm keenly aware of the damage refinery closures can have on a community.

This closure will impact our union workers, result in the loss of $1.6 billion in employee compensation distress. The finances of local governments will take years to recover and cost our community 400 million annually in additional economic activity for our local businesses and nonprofits.

Gasoline demand in California is projected to continue its decline and necessitates a managed transition away from from fossil transportation fuels. However, immediate state action is necessary to stabilize the near term vulnerabilities of the entire transportation system and implement a comprehensive strategy.

Today, we are taking the first of many steps to provide sufficient confidence to industry to invest in maintaining reliable and safe infrastructure operations to meet our current demand. Our current demand. This is about matching our supply to our demand. Simple economics.

So SB237 includes increased safety guards for offshore oil and gas pipelines and clarifies regulatory pathways for oil and gas development. This bill declares the Kern County Second Supplemental and Environmental Impact Report compliant with CEA for adoption of the ordinance under which oil and gas projects may be approved.

This bill also prohibits Kern county or Cal from approving any drilling permits and health protection zones pursuant to SB 1137 of 2022, regardless of whether SB 1137 is enforceable.

SB 237 directs the Governor in consultation with the Energy Commission and the Air Resources Board to suspend the summer gasoline blend when they determine such action would protect consumers from substantial price increases at the pump.

This bill also directs the Energy Commission in coordination with the Air Resources Board to study and submit in their next transportation fuels assessment and evaluation of allowing for the sale of a gasoline blend that varies from current state regulations and directs the agencies to conduct outreach to other Western states to discuss creating a regional blend of gasoline to stabilize the Western US Petroleum market.

Now, while this legislation won't help my local refinery directly, increasing domestic production of crude oil and lowering our reliance on imports will help stabilize the market. It will help create and save jobs. It will limit price spikes caused by the fluctuations in the international market.

I want to thank my colleagues and staff who are part of the Petroleum Working Group for their diligent work in helping craft this legislation and negotiate this policy with the other House and the Governor. And with that, I respectfully ask for an Aye vote.

Thank you, Assembly Member Wilson. Assembly Member Hart, you are recognized.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker and Members, I rise in support of Senate Bill 3237 and really appreciate the work of our working group chair from Swiss and City who did an job bringing together a lot of complicated issues and a lot of complicated personalities. And I appreciate the work that she did.

California's energy future depends on a responsible transition away from fossil fuels, and that means managing both offshore and onshore oil drilling.

This Bill requires stronger safety testing of aging pipelines, clarifies the Coastal Commission's authority to require a coastal development permit for the reactivation of old pipeline facilities, and streamlines the permitting process for oil drilling in Kern County by finalizing 10 years of CEQA litigation.

Together, these provisions ensure that as long as oil is part of our energy mix, it is managed responsibly and efficiently. For our coastal communities, the risks are clear. Fishing, tourism and recreation generate billions of dollars for our economy.

Just one offshore oil spill can devastate entire ecosystems and local livelihoods for decades, threatening hundreds of miles of coastline, damaging fisheries, and killing marine mammals and birds. By contrast, an onshore spill can typically be contained with an earthen barrier and vacuumed up. Offshore. There's no such containment. Damage spreads and the consequences are catastrophic.

That's why this bill requires stronger protections for offshore production to safeguard both our coastline and and the communities that depend upon it. At the same time, Kern County remains the backbone of California's oil production. By removing overlapping secret requirements, this bill provides regulatory certainty for producers while maintaining compliance with the state's strong environmental standards.

Together, these measures reflect a balanced approach. Offshore, we're tightening oversight to prevent irreparable harm to our coast. Onshore, we're ending 10 years of sequent litigation and and imposing mitigation measures and strong setbacks to allow Kern county to both manage oil production more efficiently while Also providing increased environmental and health and safety protections to local communities.

This Bill ensures that during California's fossil fuel energy transition, oil and gas production is safer, more efficient and better aligned with our state's environmental and economic priorities. Thank you. I respectfully urge your Aye vote.

Thank you. Assemblymember Hart, Assemblymember Gipson, you are recognized.

Thank you very much Mr. Speaker. Members, I just rise to thank the the Member who's floor jockey this and also the Senator for one and I'm part of the work group and certainly thank of them for their leadership.

The work group came together from various diverse backgrounds but I really like the way we came together to one to making sure that California met a need and this particular Bill 237 meets urgent need here in California that I'm happy that we are reaching agreement. I would certainly urge an Aye vote.

When you look at the workers, when you look at our economy, this bill helps meet urgent need in California. And having all of us come together from different backgrounds hearing each other's points of views, respecting each other's points of views.

And that's what I like about the work group because everyone had an opinion and we were able to take everyone's opinion and to my colleague you were able to exercise your leadership and respect everyone's in the room, their conversation and everyone's voices mattered whether it's the EJ Group, whether it's the petroleum industry.

You allowed everyone to have a voice and appreciate your leadership. Thank you very much. And I urge an Aye vote thank you.

Thank you Assemblymember Gipson, Assemblymember Lee, you are recognized.

Thank you Mr. Speaker. I'll be very brief. Great respect to the working group and all the Members that have worked very hard on this issue.

I also want to give a special shout out to my colleague from Santa Barbara who really made sure that we're protecting our coastlines to ensure that devastating oil spills do not contaminate our pure waters and the things that we really care about.

I do have to respectfully rise in opposition though because this bill is not about stabilizing gas prices. It is a regulatory giveaway to big oil. And the thing we need to focus on is a controlled and managed phase out of fossil fuel like the dinosaurs that they processed into petroleum oil. The fossil fuel industry is a dinosaur.

It is dying out and the refineries and facilities are closing not just in California, but in Texas and across the world. And the real thing we'd be concerned about is the workers and communities that will be left behind if we do not Take it seriously that the extinction event will happen. Demand is falling. Demand is falling.

And Members, I want to remind us that when we took extraordinary action in the special sessions, there have been no price spikes since we did that. Incredible actions to open up the books and create more accountability against Big Oil. That was important work that is being undermined now, unfortunately.

And I think it's really important that we continue to focus on affordability, true affordability that matters. And not opening up more drilling to an industry that is struggling. The clean industry, clean energy industry and clean transportation industry is thriving and growing even in red states and across the world.

We need to continue to focus on the future, not on preserving the past. Respectfully ask for your Aye vote. I respectfully ask for your No vote.

Assembly Member DeMaio, you are recognized.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I struggled with SB237 because I don't believe it goes far enough to provide for affordable energy supply for Californians. And energy has such a ripple effect on all of our other costs in society. But I want to thank the Senator from Kern county for walking me through the bill.

And this is not a perfect bill. I don't think it goes far enough. But it is a compromise of a variety of stakeholders who are trying to balance a lot of different perspectives. My hope is that we can do better next year, but we at least have to take these steps in Senate Bill 237.

So with some reservation, but with appreciation to the Senator from Kern, County, I am urging a yes vote.

Thank you, Assemblymember Dimaio. Assemblymember Bryan, you are recognized.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker and colleagues. I rise in support of SB237 with complication and nuance, some history for folks who don't know, the largest urban oil field in the state is in my district. And for the last five decades, every Member who has had my seat has tried to shut it down.

And we passed legislation last year to shut it down. I definitely believe that our future, our sustainable future, is not with fossil fuels. And I also agree with my colleague from San Jose. Demand is decreasing and decreasing rapidly. Our problem in this moment is supply is decreasing even faster than that demand.

And when we opened those books a few years ago, we found that unplanned outages, or when refineries have to take a temporary pause for whatever reason, crisis, emergency, the spikes happen immediately because the supply availability is that volatile.

And when the price spikes go up, they go up fast, they go up sharp, they go up high, and the comedown takes significantly longer. And I have plenty of speculation to why that come down is so long on consumers. But we know that the spike is relative to that unstable supply. That is what this was all about.

When the Governor first announced his proposal, we didn't just take it at face value. In fact, we pushed back. The idea of exempting oil drilling from CEQA was insane to me and this work group, and we rejected that.

But we recognized the pragmatic approach to looking at this problem and needing to find some sort of balance to manage our decline as we shift to cleaner energies, to solar energies, to sustainable energies, and also to make sure that we put in the codifications that were featured in our colleague from Santa Barbara's legislation and our next pro tems legislation that would prohibit or at least create the highest standards in our state for offshore drilling so that pipelines that have previously been disastrous for communities don't return without deep, deep, deep consideration and deep, deep, deep safety standards.

That was the conversation of this work group. And that's what ultimately led me to supporting this Bill. Not because it's easy, not because I love it, but because it meets the moment that we are actually in. But it doesn't relieve us of the responsibility of stepping up for frontline communities, including communities in Kern.

It doesn't relieve us of the responsibility to bolster clean and alternative sustainable energy supplies and manage this transition all the way down. We have those responsibilities. We cannot bypass those responsibilities. And I'm looking forward to pushing forward next session with all of you. Respectfully ask for your Aye vote.

Thank you. Summary Member Bryan, Assemblymember Petrie-Norris, you are recognized.

There we go.

Well, thank you. Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I want to say thank you to my colleague for all of her hard work on this measure. Thank you to our Senate colleagues for their hard work. As my colleague from Los Angeles just said this, this isn't an easy answer because this is a very, very difficult process problem.

As I've shared with some of you, I really do believe that navigating California's fuels transition as we build a clean energy economy is one of the most profound challenges that California policymakers are going to face in the decades ahead.

It's important that we're clear eyed about that challenge and that we are doing everything possible to protect California and that means protecting California's climate. It means protecting California constituents.

And I really do believe that the proposal before us meets that moment and threads that needle and presents us with a thoughtful, pragmatic approach to ensuring that we are navigating this mid transition responsibly. So thank you. And with that I respectfully ask for your Aye vote.

Thank you. Assembly Member Petrie-Norris, Assembly Member Kalra, you are recognized.

Thank you Mr. Speaker and Members, I also want to show appreciation for the colleagues on in both houses who work so hard on this and including our, our Chair of Natural resources has been a great guide through this process.

A colleague from Susan City and of course our Senator, Senator Grayson, who I think just instinctually brings folks together to solve, to try to solve big problems. And I appreciate that.

I just want to make sure that we don't lose sight of the larger picture because I understand that as is oftentimes the case, we're very reactionary to things and there's a lot of legislation I've written, others have written that is about being reactionary and then there's visionary and things that we need to do to be visionary in terms of what are our goals, what do we need to do to lead as California is not just for ourselves but in many cases for the world.

We know that oil is a global commodity and even in some of the testimony during Committee indicates that this legislation may have an impact of dropping oil price or gas prices one or two cents a gallon. So it's not, this is not a consumer cost of living type of measure.

However, I understand at the micro level there are real jobs that are being considered. There are real impacts to communities both in terms of economic as well as the negative impacts of environmental to those same communities that are desperate for maintaining those jobs.

And so as we move forward, I personally see this legislation as us taking a step forward. For those that are at risk of losing those jobs and ensuring that they still can take care of their families.

But a step backwards in terms of our overall climate goals and what we need to do as a state to lead now. We don't live in a fairy tale. Transitions aren't smooth. That's not how the real world works.

And so even in, if we look at California's leadership over the last couple of decades, it hasn't been a straight trajectory, just smooth in one direction. There's been starts and stalls, Federal Government impacts, sometimes with a positive, sometimes pushing against what we're trying to do, which is that moment that we're in right now.

And I think it is because of that moment that we're in right now that we need to push even stronger and harder in the right direction. Because I appreciate the fact that we can get everyone to the table that has different opinions. But climate change doesn't care what your opinion is, science doesn't care what your opinion is.

The science is very clear. And California has had, I think, the great honor of being at the forefront of combating these major issues.

I just want to make sure that we continue to focus on the bigger picture as we move forward as a body, as a state, which includes the transition towards electric vehicle, electric vehicle infrastructure, which includes greater investments in those communities that are being harmed by fossil fuel production.

And as people have talked about that transition to good quality jobs that are outside of the fossil fuel industry, whether they be in the energy sector or otherwise. I think if we don't live up and face this challenge, if California doesn't do it, I don't see any other hope in this nation.

And I do know, based upon, and I know many others based upon our relationships with other nations and sub national governments, that the rest of the world is looking at California and I think they're going to be a little disappointed today. But it doesn't mean that the end of that the, that the book is written yet.

And so I just urge all of us to double down in the years ahead on what we need to do, no matter how difficult that might be and no matter how challenging it might be to push back against industries that have an enormous amount of influence in this building. Thank you.

Thank you, Assemblymember Kalra. Assemblymember Muratsuchi, you are recognized.

Thank you very much. I have a lot of complicated feelings about this building Bill. I appreciate our colleague from Santa Barbara and his work to strengthen the protections from offshore oil spills to protect our coastal communities, including mine. But As a representative of a district that has three refineries. Three refineries.

The Torrance Refinery, PBF Refinery, Chevron in El Segundo, and the closing Phillips 66 in Wilmington, I rise in reluctant support for this measure. Want to follow on the comments of our colleague from San Jose.

You know, I see this as part of the rocky road that we're trying to chart out in the managed transition from our reliance on fossil fuels. I don't think we can meet our climate goals without, you know, keeping the public support in terms of this managed transition.

And so, you know, the Torrance refinery, they have a direct pipeline for crude from Kern to Torrance. And, you know, not only does that represent the jobs at the refineries, but it also is part of that managed transition so that we can try to stabilize gas prices for California consumers.

I just want to emphasize as we go forward on this rocky road of the managed transition that we not forget who is going to pay. Well, one, these refineries are eventually, at some point, going to close. That is our goal. We're already feeling the impacts of climate change.

We all know from all the costs, whether it's the wildfires or whether it's the impacts on our home insurance prices, we are all feeling the impacts of climate change. And so, you know, when we talk about affordability, I know that that is going to be a constant reminder that I want to make.

But we also need to make sure who is going to be paying for the cleanup, the eventual cleanup of these refineries, when these refineries close down. You know, I've lived in Torrance for 25 years. I am just a few miles from the Torrance Refinery.

It's a huge property, you know, lots of toxic chemicals that have been used at that site for decades. And we need to make sure that we have a plan to make sure that the oil companies and not taxpayers are going to be paying for that cleanup, that eventual cleanup as part of this managed transition.

Thank you, Assemblymember Muratsuchi, Assemblymember Bennett, you are recognized.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I'll try to keep this as brief as I can. The world has never tried to do this before, and that is work together to address a worldwide problem like climate change. There is no roadmap for how to do this.

California has never tried to do this before, which is actually manage a stair step supply curve. Every time a refinery closes, you get a big drop in supply. Match that up against a gradually declining demand curve. We haven't done this before.

It is a transition that will be fiendishly difficult for us to do and for us to do properly. So my guiding light when it comes to climate change has always been one thing. I want to be able to look at the 16 year old that's in our house and say, I know we messed it up.

We messed the climate up, we messed the world up for you guys. But I did everything that I could to try to fix it and make it better. So what is the right way to do that? We cannot keep support for the challenging things that lie ahead. We can't do those things unless we keep the public support.

And if every time we have refinery closures, we sit there and have these huge spikes in prices, we will erode the public support for our overall climate strategy. So I see this as a very difficult and important thing for us to get right. And nobody has the right answer.

And anybody who pretends to think they have the right answer about how to do all this is blowing smoke at us. But this seems like a better step than what we had before, which was to not manage the stair, step down, not participate in that.

And so I support this bill and support further steps along the lines of pragmatic environmental leadership is the only way we're actually going to, in the long run, solve our climate problems. Thank you very much.

Thank you, Assemblymember Bennett, Assemblymember Alvarez, you are recognized.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I rise in support of SB237, and primarily I want to rise and thank the floor manager of this Bill, our colleague who worked so diligently on getting us to this point. I really appreciate the work. I witnessed the effort.

I witnessed the communication, the respect given to everybody who is part of this dialogue in this conversation. I think that is something that we must acknowledge. And I acknowledge that and I thank you for. For that work. We are in a better place with this legislation. We will be in a better place with this legislation as Californians.

We will make sure that, as our colleague just mentioned from Ventura, that we must find the right way to get to where we want to go. And the truth is, I think we must recognize is that the approach that we've been taken is not the exact right path. And that's okay. Course correction is okay.

That's what this is. It's a recognition that the utilization of oil is something that is still necessary.

And the fact that oftentimes the industry and the use of it, and unfortunately for many people in the state, in communities like the one that I represent, who cannot afford the transition because they cannot afford to buy A new vehicle that is. That is not reliant on gasoline. That is a reality.

And that reality is being reflected with the actions that we're taking today. So I want to say thank you to everyone who worked on that, the other respective chairs of the committees as well, for their work and their focus. This is the right step.

It's a recognition of, let's be honest, what some of us in the last couple of years have voted on. I think it's important to recognize when you've made a decision that perhaps needs to be corrected. And that's what this is today.

And again, thank you so much to the floor manager for our colleague who worked so hard to get us where we are, to what I think will be a better result, not just in the vote today, but for Californians. Thank you.

Thank you, Assemblymember Alvarez. Assemblymember Boerner, you are recognized.

Yes. Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Members, today I rise in opposition to SB237. Just a few years ago in San Diego, county, we had tarballs washing up on our shore from the Orange County beach oil spill. California is a leader on environmental protection and fighting the climate crisis.

We have meaningfully regulated oil drilling and gas and oil companies in the state. The state has been making great strides to transition to zero emission vehicles and Wean off fossil fuels. SB237 is a huge step backwards in our efforts to reduce emissions and protect vulnerable communities and protect workers.

We shouldn't have to choose between the health of children and families and well paying jobs. We shouldn't be giving in to the demands of the oil and gas industry. California should be fighting to ensure that we're not leaving the most vulnerable communities behind. The future is not one with fossil fuels.

We should be prioritizing the health, safety and pollution reductions over the profits of oil and gas companies. Due these reasons, I'll be voting no on SB237.

Thank you, Assemblymember Boerner. All debate having ceased. Excuse me. Seeing and hearing no further debate. Assemblymember Wilson, do you wish to close?

I do. Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Thank you to my colleagues, every single one who spoke today, whether in support or opposition. I appreciate my Senate colleagues who were in the back but had to go start their own session From Contra Costa, LA County and Kern County and for their work and leadership to get us to this point.

As people were talking on the floor today, it reminded me of my work group, the Symphony of Voices. Some high notes, some low notes, but made beautiful music.

To come to where we are today with this legislation, one that not only maintains but enhances our environmental protections, but also reduces our reliance on imported crude oil, which is helpful for the environment and for prices.

But I also understand the debate that was on the stage today because on this floor today, because of the debate that was in the work group where we were balancing the issue between prices and the cost of a low income income worker driving to a job, the only job, and the only way to get there, and that impact on their wallet eroding at their paycheck.

We had those conversations, but we also knew that that same worker who had to travel far from their house to their job, wanted clean air, wanted clean water, and they also wanted to make sure that their paycheck went as farthest as possible.

And what I learned from the work group, and it was echoed from the workgroup and even on this stage, I keep saying stage, I don't know why, but the floor today is that California is about and not, or that we work hard to say and that we can do all the things to increase the quality of life of every single individual in California, that we can make progress without sacrificing, that we can be consistent in our work effort.

And I will tell you that sometimes it's hard and sometimes it takes reacting to something. This is the second announcement in two years of a refinery closure to get us to a place of being proactive about being in a transition. And that's what the conversation today is about. That's what this bill is about.

And that's what you will see in the action next year by not only the Members of the work group, but other Members who joined in and said we have to do more, we have to do better. We cannot have these aspirational goals and leave whole communities behind. We have to do both.

We have to be a State of and and I know we can live up to being a State of and and not or and that's why I respectfully ask for your vote on SB237.

Thank you, Assemblymember Wilson. All debate having ceased, Clerk will open the roll. All Members vote who desire to vote. All Members vote who desire to vote. All Members vote who desire to vote. Clerk will close the roll tally the votes. Ayes 59, Noes 4. The measure passes immediate transmittal to the Senate File item number 206.

That's SB254 presented by Assemblymember Petrie-Norris.

The Clerk will read.

Senate Bill 254. By Senator Becker and others and act related to energy in making an appropriation. Therefore declaring the urgency thereof to take effect immediately.

Assemblymember Petrie-Norris, you are recognized.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Members, I am proud to rise today to present SB254 on behalf of our colleague, Senator Becker. As you all know, tackling California's cost of living crisis has been the top priority for this body this year.

We all know that so many of our constituents are struggling to make ends meet to pay their grocery bills, to pay their utility bills.

And so this bill contains provisions to reduce costs for California's electricity ratepayers and also to stabilize California's electric utilities in the wake of the terrible fires in Southern California this January, protecting ratepayers and our communities. The bill before us is a big bill because we are tackling some very big problems.

Let me very briefly enumerate the seven major provisions of the measure before us. The first topic tackles wildfire mitigation spending, the biggest cause of rising rates over the last several years.

It includes changes that came from SB1003 last year to improve the oversight of wildfire mitigation plans and to strike a better balance between between risk reduction and cost efficiency. It also has reforms to the call before you dig process to improve the efficiency of planning for the undergrounding of transmission lines.

Both of these provisions should help us to get more bang for our buck from the money that we are investing to prevent wildfires in our communities. Next, the Bill has two major provisions that will help us build utility infrastructure and at a lower cost.

The first requires utilities to finance $6 billion worth of future spending on wildfire mitigation capital investments using securitized debt, which allows the projects to be financed at lower interest rates and without a rate of return on equity that adds to utility profits.

This provision will save California ratepayers $300 million a year, $3 billion over the next 10 years. The second part of this provision creates a program under GOBEZ to reduce the cost of building transmission infrastructure by leveraging public ownership or public financing of these projects.

This is estimated to save up to 50% of the cost of these major new investments. That's as much as $3 billion a year in savings for California ratepayers. The next big topic is a set of reforms to streamline the permitting of clean energy projects in order to help lower the cost of utilities to purchase new clean energy.

The biggest new additions to this bill are a set of provisions to strengthen and extend the California Wildfire Fund. The Wildfire Fund acts as an insurance program for the IOUs and is threatened to be depleted after the devastating wildfires in California this year.

This bill creates a successor insurance fund to the Wildfire Fund called the Continuation Account that will provide coverage for any future fires. The new account will be capitalized with contributions from ratepayers and utility shareholders in equal parts.

As I've said to some of you, the Wildfire Fund is a good deal for California ratepayers because the Wildfire Fund deals with liabilities that without the Fund would be shouldered 100% by California ratepayers instead of ratepayers being on the hook for 100% of these damages.

Under the Continuation Fund, ratepayers will contribute a total of $9 billion to the fund and shareholders will contribute $9 billion to the fund. The bill also includes a really important provision to prevent hedge funds from trying to capitalize off of our wildfire disasters.

It creates a fast track claims process that has been developed in consultation between the investor owned utilities and the insurance companies, both of who are supporting this approach and know that it will get money to wildfire victims faster.

Also, recognizing that these actions to shore up the Wildfire Fund are really just a first step toward a more sustainable long term solution, the bill requires the fund administrator to provide a report to the Governor and the Legislature to evaluate and make recommendations about further actions to consider to reduce wildfire risk and to ensure that as we are navigating the costs of the climate crisis and the costs of climate disasters, we're doing so in a way that is most cost effective for California and for Californians.

Strengthening the Wildfire Fund is critical right now in order to protect ratepayers and to protect our communities as California wildfire season begins. And lastly, the bill includes one last major topic and that deals with timely service and timely energy energization. Energization to support new demand.

This bill will set targets for time for energization timelines and add teeth to ensure that utilities are prepared to handle future load growth. That was a lot. As I said, this is a big bill to tackle some very big problems.

I want to say thank you to Senator Becker and our colleagues in the Senate for this work on the measure. This bill has brought together kind of the best elements of the Senate's utility affordability omnibus and the Assembly's utility affordability proposals. So with that, Members, I respectfully ask for your Aye vote.

Thank you, Assemblymember Petrie-Norris, Assemblymember Wilson, you are recognized.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Members, while I rise in support of SB254, I do want to voice some concerns about the bill's provisions regarding the AB205 optic permitting process.

While I agree that we must do more to rapidly roll out renewable energy in our state, I also recognize that a better balance needs to be struck surrounding local control and compliance with local regulations, particularly around projects that cause local residents and local governments to be concerned about public safety, risk of toxic exposure and the preservation of agricultural land.

I know that we'll work to address this balance next year, and I look forward to continuing to see that work done on this conversation. And with that, I do urge my colleagues to support SB 254 with an Aye vote.

Thank you, Assemblymember Wilson, Assembly Members Zbur, you are recognized.

Mr. Speaker. Members, I rise in strong support of SB254 and I want to thank the Chair of the UNE Committee, Senator Becker, Mr. Speaker, and the Pro Tem for the hard work that came to creating this bill and and moving forward with this affordability package.

I just want to make very clear, if you are someone who cares about affordability for our rate and for and protecting our ratepayers, you need to vote for this bill. This bill is it's really crucial that we strengthen the Wildfire Fund. It's necessary because it protects wildfire victims.

It ensures the solvency of the Wildfire Fund, which is critical to providing resources for victim compensation and community rebuilding in the future. It also protects electric customers rate electric customers from higher electric rates.

This fund is crucial to protecting ratepayers because without it, customers would have to bear the burden of wildfire liabilities when utility equipment is found to be at fault. Additionally, this threatens utility without doing this, it threatens utility credit ratings and raises borrowing rates for electric system upgrades.

And that results in higher costs that are ultimately paid by by utility customers. In fact, the current uncertainty regarding the future of the Fund, if left unmitigated, is estimated to cost consumers billion more billions more in higher electric bills. So I just wanted to emphasize that this is an affordability bill.

It's really important to making sure that we're keeping electric rates for our our constituents in check. So with that, I strongly support SB254.

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

Good morning. Thank you, Mr. Speaker and Members. I too am going to be supporting SB254 just to have some a few minor concerns related to local concern.

Control. We too support the wildfire aspect of this. This is critical in Orange County. We've had, as everyone throughout the state, many areas of the state have had their share of wildfires and this is going to do great progress to help homeowners and businesses in the area.

This Bill is essential to ensuring that we have valuable dollars in the Wildfire Fund. So I'm grateful for that wise plan to support. To support this measure. I would like to share some concerns that I have that have nothing to do with wildfires necessarily. This is part of the measure.

This is part of this omnibus package that puts in parts of this Bill that relate not to wildfires, which is the commanding part of this Bill. However, it removes. There are aspects of this provisions of this Bill that removes local input on green energy projects.

Currently, a developer will submit a plan with the California Energy Commission to review and determine the if it is consistent with local laws and ordinances.

If it is not consistent, the CEC may still approve and certify after it meets with and confers with the local agency to determine that the project is required for public convenience and necessity and that there is no other appropriate location for the project.

This existing framework enables locals and the state to collaborate and create partnerships whereby input or feedback and adjustments are provided. Unfortunately, SB 254 undermines local control by eliminating local government's involvement and input in any of these future projects. South Orange County is currently dealing with one of these types of projects now and is of great concern.

We should be preserving local involvement and collaboration, not eliminating it. And I hope for the record that it is noted and I've spoken with my colleague from Orange County to ensure that that is incorporated in the file record. I do support SB 254. I urge your support. But let's not forget local control as we move forward.

Thank you very much.

Thank you. Assemblymember Dixon. Assemblymember Alvarez, you are recognized.

Thank you. Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of SB 254 and once again want to thank our floor manager, our colleague from Irvine. You know, these conversations are very complicated and very complex and it's great to have leadership.

As with the previous item we just voted on and with this item, as we did with our colleague who was very much focused and we had a lot of conversations about this on affordability and I'd like to just recognize that there are items in this Bill, sections of this Bill would certainly talk about long term affordability for, for customers.

But obviously the issue of addressing the unfortunate reality that we live in with wildfires and how we as Californians are unfortunately now always at risk. And so this is a attempt at a preventative measure to make sure that we maintain our electric system in a way that we can continue to provide services to our customers.

But again, really focused on affordability. I would say that that work, and I think I don't speak for, for the our colleague from Irvine, but I think that work still needs to continue. There's more to be done.

This is not us claiming victory, that we are finished in doing all we can do to save ratepayers and customers on their bills. There's more to be done, but this is a step that is unnecessary. And again, want to acknowledge the work dedication and time that was spent by our colleague and respectfully ask for your aye vote.

Thank you.

Thank you, Assemblymember Alvarez. Seeing and hearing no further debate. Assemblymember Petrie-Norris, do you wish to close?

Yes. Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I want to thank all of my colleagues for your statements of support.

Let me first begin my close by addressing the questions that were raised both on the floor and in conversations with me and with the Bill author by my colleague from Suisun City and my colleague from Orange County regarding the provisions of this Bill that touch on the AB 205 process.

And I've had conversations with the author about that provision. I think we all recognize the importance and the urgency of dramatically accelerating the pace of clinical clean energy deployment and energy deployment across the State of California if we want to deliver on our climate goals.

Frankly, if we want to keep the lights on in the great State of California, we also recognize the importance of local input and local collaboration as these projects are being cited and developed. And that is why an important part of the AB205 process, which, where the CEC manages the permitting, ensures that there is a robust community engagement.

And with that process, we do not cut corners with CEQA and with other permitting steps. I know that some of the language has raised concerns, concerns with some stakeholders that were somehow that the author with this Bill is somehow changing that process.

That is absolutely not the author's intent and he is committed to working with stakeholders to address that if it is indeed an issue. So thank you for raising, raising those questions.

And I'll just say in closing, our constituents expect us to take a very hard look at their electricity and utility bills and identify ways to lower them in the short and the long term. I am proud to support this measure because I believe that this Bill does just that.

I'll also thank my colleague from San Diego for acknowledging that this is certainly not the end of the journey for this body in tackling electricity affordability.

There is no silver bullet to this challenge and I look forward to continuing to work with all of you to identify opportunities to deliver real savings and put more money back into the pockets of hardworking Californians. So with that, thank you and I respectfully ask for your aye vote on SB 254.

Thank you. Assemblymember Petrie Norris. All debate having ceased, Clerk will open the roll. All Members vote who desire to vote. All Members vote who desire to vote. All Members vote who desire to vote. Clerk will close the roll. Tally the votes. Ayes 58 no 0. The measure passes. Excuse me. Ayes 58 no.

0 on the urgency, ayes 58 no 0 on the measure. The measure passes. Immediate transmittal to the Senate. Next Bill will be File item number 204. That's SB 840 presented by Assemblymember Irwin. The Clerk will read.

Senate Bill 840 by Senator Limon and others an act relating to greenhouse gases and making an appropriation, therefore declaring the urgency thereof to take effect immediately.

Assemblymember Erwin, you are recognized.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I rise today to present SB 840 by Senator Limon, which is one part of the two Bill package that will reauthorize California's cap and Trade Program. AB 1207, which contains the reauthorization language itself, will be brought up later once it passes the Senate.

SB 840 contains two important pieces of the program now known as Cap and invest. First, it requires an update of the guidelines for offsets used for compliance by 2029 and a study to determine which additional changes could be made to make offsets more beneficial to California.

Offsets are investments in projects that reduce greenhouse gases, which also serve as a critical cost containment mechanism that allow industries to meet a small amount of their compliance obligation. Second, SB 840 also establishes a structure for future greenhouse gas reduction Fund spending after July 2026. The structure is similar to prior GGRF spending plans previously approved by this Legislature.

This will provide funding for funding certainty for transit projects, housing programs, wildfire prevention projects, clean drinking water and many other legislative priorities. The new structure will also ensure that the Legislature will have direct ability to fund to use discretionary funds to fund other priorities such as agriculture, biomass utilization and clean transportation.

SB 840 is an important portion of the Cap and invest reauthorization and represents the agreement reached by the Senate, Assembly and Governor's office. I respectfully ask for your aye vote.

Thank you, Assemblymember Irwin. Assemblymember Ward, you are recognized.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I also rise in strong support of SB 840 because of all the hard work for those involved and because it will reauthorize the Cap and Invest programs, but in particular because it will provide crucial funding to transit oriented affordable housing.

The Cap and Invest program has provided critical funding for affordable housing for over a decade and is really directly credited for helping to build thousands of affordable housing units.

SB 840 would update the program and provide $800 million annually to the Affordable Housing and Sustainable Communities Program, which has helped build over 15,000 units of affordable housing near jobs, schools and daily destinations. To date, the program has resulted in 4.4 million metric tons of avoided GHD emissions, with 70% of those investments going towards disadvantaged communities.

So this has been an invaluable tool for California to fight our dual housing and climate crises. The extensions included in this Bill will ensure a consistent source of funding that we desperately need if we are going to achieve the estimated 1.3 million units of affordable housing that Californians deserve.

SB 840 will not only provide crucial ongoing funding for affordable housing, but these investments will simultaneously help us meet our climate goals and make better, more livable communities. For these reasons, I respectfully request your aye vote.

Thank you, Assemblymember Ward, Assemblymember Demaio, you are recognized.

Thank you. I rise in strong opposition to SB 840 and the package of Cap and Trade, or as I call it, tax and spend legislation. Let's be very clear here. Cap and Trade is a scam. It is a fraud. It has failed. It doesn't even help the environment. That's why I consider it a fraud, a costly fraud.

Because those that are supporting cap and trade say, well, they're saving the environment. No you're not. Follow the money. It is nothing more than the window dressing of the environment to give politicians the ability to reach into people's pockets and increase their cost of living.

We're talking about 8 to 10 billion dollars in increased taxes a year in cap and trade. And it's only going to get worse. People don't understand what cap and trade is, they hear doesn't describe what the program really does. But what it in essence does is it taxes any carbon related activity in our economy.

So let's take one of the elements that hits working families the hardest and that is every time they fill up a tank of gas, they are getting crushed by your fraudulent cap and trade program about 30 cents per gallon. And it's expected to get worse per gallon. An Increased cost because of what you're voting on today.

$0.30 per gallon for a two car household, middle class household. That equates to more than $700 a year that you are taxing middle class households through today's vote. $700. I think those families could do a whole lot more with that $700. Besides lining the pockets of government bureaucrats.

$700 may not seem like a lot to influential elite lobbyists up here, but it's a lot of money to a working class family. Second, where does the money go? Oh, we're going to protect the environment. Baloney. That's why I don't call it cap and invest. It's tax and spend. Take a look where the money goes. Developer subsidies.

My colleague from San Diego says, oh, it's going to provide affordable housing. No, you want to provide affordable housing, make it cheaper to build in the state. Cut your down regulations. Instead you're lining the pockets of developers for their profits.

You have high speed rail that's propped up by cap and trade, which is nothing more than grift for very influential campaign contributors. And then we have the General Fund.

This year in the budget hearings we were told that the good news is that we could help balance the budget by allocating cap and trade money to cover ongoing regular expenses of the General Fund. Proving that this has never been about the environment. It's been about one element of green and that is people's money.

And finally, we're all environmentalists. In fact, I'm challenging my Republican colleagues. I think our ideas on the environment are better than these failed tax and spend high regulation less consumer choice policies of the other side. But I believe we haven't done a good enough job explaining all of the good things that can be done on the environment.

Cap and trade is being sold as reducing carbon. But take a look at what this state government has failed to do on Wildland Fire. I saw a chart recently that showed all of the reductions in CO2 through all these costly regulations that are crushing these working families. $700 for gas. I didn't even go into the utility bills.

Double the national average and for what? To protect the environment? No, the mismanagement on Wildland Fire has tripled the CO2 emissions. But this chamber has not done what's necessary on wildland fire.

Thirty seconds.

In closing, one of the biggest scams of cap and trade is the so called climate credit that you give out on utility bills. So you double utility rates with cap and trade and then you turn around and say, but we're giving you a carbon offset credit.

In other words, you stole money from ratepayers and then turned around and gave them a couple, couple crumbs back and you want them to thank you for that exchange again, to my Republican colleagues, we know that this is likely going to pass today, but we need to go out there and make sure people know about this fraud.

And we need them to understand that you don't have to choose between putting food on the table, affording to live in California and having a good environment. You should demand better and both from our policymakers. With that, I urge a no vote on SB 840.

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

Mr. Speaker, Members, I rise in strong support of SB 840 and I want to commend our colleague from Thousand Oaks for the really hard and sophisticated work that she has engaged in with an entire working group over the course of the last six months or so. And I wanted to rise.

You know, before my time at Equality California, I spent almost 25 years specializing in environmental law in the air quality and clean energy regulations. And in that capacity, I worked on the initial creation of the RECLAIM program at the South Coast Air Quality Management District.

And as President of the California Environmental Voters, I also worked at the early adoption of the former Cap and Trade program. And so I understand how important this program is. Cap and Trade is probably the most important part of our climate strategy when it looks, when it relates to stationary sources.

And people should understand that this idea came from the regulated community. And the regulated community supports this because it is the cheapest way of achieving the emission reductions that we need to make to achieve our climate goals. This program is well crafted.

It improves the credit system to make sure that the offsets are more likely to have benefits here in California. It strengthens the programs to make sure that we have a declining cap, to make sure that we're likely to meet our greenhouse gas reduction goals.

And of course, it strengthens the GGRF Fund, which creates significant funding for affordable housing, for assisting environmental justice communities respond to the impacts of. Of pollution in their communities and, and so many other things.

So with that, I want to thank our colleague from Thousand Oaks, incredible work over the course of the last six months and strongly urge an aye vote on SB 840.

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

Thank you, Mr. Speaker, Members, I rise as chair of the Assembly Transportation Committee in strong support of SB 840.

And I thank the Member from Thousand Oaks for her on this over this year. This Bill represents a long term investment in public transit, ensuring that it remains frequent, reliable, safe and sustainable for millions of Californians who depend on it every day. Since 2015, the GGRF has invested over $5.8 billion in the transportation sector.

According to the California Air Resources Board, projects funded in 2024 alone are expected to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by by the equivalent of removing more than 1.3 million gas powered cars from our roads. These type of fundings don't just support state projects. It helps unlock major federal and local dollars.

In the 2024 cycle alone, TIRCIP one particular funding program award was awarded. Excuse me. Leverage more than 8.6 billion in matching funds from federal, local and other state sources. This program has been instrumental in securing and advancing high impact projects such as CalTrain Electrification, East San Fernando Valley Transit Corridor, Orange County streetcar, BART to San Jose.

So SB 840 ensures California continues to lead on climate smart transportation solutions while delivering cleaner air, less congestion and better mobility for all our communities. Thank you.

Thank you, Assemblymember Wilson. Assemblymember Bauer-Kahan, you are recognized.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker and Members. I want to rise because I actually agree with my colleague from San Diego that very few if any Californians understand Cap and Invest. That's true.

But I think it's important that they do because what cap and invest is, is it is a brilliant free market mechanism that allows private industry to understand where we're going to predict for it, to plan for it, to innovate for it, and for us to reduce our greenhouse gases over time at a curve that can manage cost for California's consumers.

That, my friends, is good environmental policy. It reduces our greenhouse gas emissions and then the invest piece is critical because it allows us to take that money that we get for the greenhouse gas emissions that are continued to be allowed in California and invest it in in not only things that our communities absolutely prioritize.

Wildfire funding is amongst the top in my district, but there is many more in there that I know each and every one of our constituents prioritizes. But even more importantly, we invest in combating those same greenhouse gas emissions. So a lot of the money goes into working natural lands which are our carbon sinks.

So they emit, we capture in our carbon sinks and and it allows us to fight climate change in a real, affordable and frankly brilliant way. California has led the world and thanks to the Member from Thousand Oaks, will continue to lead the world while prioritizing affordability, the priorities of our constituents and Good smart government oversight.

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

Thank you, Assemblymember Bauer-Kahan. Assemblymember Petrie Norris, you are recognized.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker and Members. I am aware that I think I've put up my microphone more this morning than I have the last nine months of session. And while I was not planning to speak on this item, I really want to address what I think is kind of a fundamental misunderstanding about the choice before us.

So the cost of inaction is not zero. The cost of inaction is, in fact, enormous. We talked earlier about the devastating wildfires that have destroyed so many of our communities, ravaged so many communities all across the state. The cost of climate disasters are enormous.

And so I guess as Al Gore said many now, decades ago, the inconvenient truth is that the climate crisis is here now and urgent. It's also really, really expensive. So that's the bad news. The good news is that Cap and Trade, Cap and Invest, is the most cost effective program that we have to lower emissions.

The other good news is that cost of living and affordability was front and center as we crafted this proposal because we know how important it is to ensure that Californians are getting the best possible bang for our climate buck. So with that, I want to thank the Member for Thousand Oaks for her leadership.

And I respectfully ask for your aye vote.

Thank you, Assemblymember Petrie-Norris. Assemblymember Solache, you are recognized.

Good morning, Mr. Speaker, and yes, good morning, colleagues. It's still morning. Hopefully will be done soon. But I have to rise today in support of SB 840. And you know, right before joining this Assembly, I was on this very small agency popular board called the South Coast AQMD.

And one of the things that I got to do there is work with community. And I will tell you that one of the areas that I was very impressed to see is community actually engage not traditional, maybe attorneys or advocates, but actual community and neighborhoods and being a voice for their communities.

I'm surrounded by the 105 Freeway, the 710, 91 and 605 Freeways in my district. And I know that my communities, you know, want to have a voice. So today I just want to amplify and be thankful of the $250 million of continuous funding for AB 617 communities for the community Air Protection program.

These communities will have a voice through community. And I just want to simply amplify that part of this Bill. And I want to stay thankful. And I know that we all have an opinion of this great South Coast A Committee. But I can assure you firsthand that community is engaged and they have.

They deserve a voice as well. So today I rise in support of this Bill. Thank you so much, Members.

Thank you. Assemblymember Solache, Assemblymember Arambula, you are recognized.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker and Members, as I look around this room, I'm reminded that there are very few of you who were here the last time, time that we reauthorized Cap and Trade. And so I wish to talk about some of the investments that we have made and the difference that they have made for certain communities.

We should be reminded that Dr. Tony Eitan taught us that your zip code is more important than your genetic code. That the communities we grow up in that struggle with environmental racism have social determinants of health that shorten our lives. That for too many of us that we have this reality.

We're looking for ways that we can have solutions.

And so it is through things like AB 617 that focus on criteria air pollutants, those toxic air contaminants that happen in too many of our communities, places like Calwa and Malaga and south central Fresno that are One of those 617 communities benefited from the investments and the continued investments of 250 million dollars.

I wish to talk to you about transformative climate communities. That is the greatest example of democracy I've seen in our community. That happened just a few years ago. We got $70 million the last time we did TCC. Money that helped us with participatory budgeting. Community got to talk about their needs.

And we came together, hundreds of us, in community meetings, to talk about what we should spend our dollars on.

And what we decided to do is to build a new satellite community college campus so people didn't have to take the bus to go across town, that we could actually invest into communities that wanted social mobility, that we could develop our economy by also focusing on the environment. We built affordable housing. We built 54 units.

And there were 4,000 people who applied for those units. We built urban greening, sidewalks, lights. We built a permaculture garden. And we listened to community. And what happened after all of those meetings is we had hundreds of people who finally voted. If memory serves me correctly, there were 216 people who could vote.

And out of those 216, 215 all agreed on the same plan. What that showed us is that by leaning in and listening to community, we can prioritize what they would like us to invest into. And when we ground ourselves in community. When we ground ourselves in the people who we serve, we can solve this climate crisis together.

But I will end by focusing on how we are building tomorrow, today. I will speak with pride for the iron workers, for the sheet metal workers, for the painters, for the carpenters, for the laborers, for the teamsters, for the operating engineers.

As we are connecting California, it is those investments for communities that have historically been disinvested into that are building trust for us that by leaning into high speed rail, this Governor is making sure that our communities will be able to continue to develop our economy.

And so I am grateful to this Governor for his vision, for his commitment to high speed rail, and I respectfully ask that we support Cap and Invest today.

Thank you Assemblymember, Arambula. Assemblymember Gallagher, you are recognized.

Yeah, thank you, Mr. Speaker and Members. Look, the bottom line is, you know, Cap and Trade has become cap and tax. And the renewal of this program is going to cost our constituents more money. It's going to cost them more at the gas pump, period. It's going to cost them more in electricity rates, period.

And it is going to cost them now more also in heating their homes, natural gas, because you're taking away credits that they need and they have relied on in the past in this new program. So it's going to raise everybody's costs. Don't lie to people. Tell the truth.

This Bill and what it's part of and the package is part of is going to raise people's costs so much for affordability. But more so, this cap and tax fund has become a slush fund. That's what it's become.

And please don't talk to me about wildfire, because the 200 million dollars that's in this Fund is the same 200 million dollars that was first invested back in 2017 when we started this.

So after the Campfire and after the North Bay fires and after the North Complex fire and after the fires we just had in LA, 200 million is all we need. You still think that? This is underfunding what we need on wildfire. Why are you having to refill up that Wildfire Fund insurance policy again?

Because we had another fire. Right. So maybe do some more on addressing the actual issue with fire, which is dead and dying fuels on our public lands. You need to get out there and make our forests healthy. And actually that is a better climate policy because it reduces carbon emissions.

It makes our forests and our public lands into a carbon sink. But you're just making the same investment that you did before we had all the fires. You're not increasing it. But what does get funded? A billion dollars for high speed rail.

Now we can have a debate on whether or not you think that's a good infrastructure project. That's fine. But there is no proof and there's nothing that shows that that investment reduces carbon emissions. But it's getting a billion dollars in wildfire.

The biggest cause of all these cost problems that we're having, having to refill up that fund, having continual fires that blow up your carbon reductions. All of the reduction that you've gotten on your climate policy has been blown out the back with all the wildfires we've had. You're not making smart investments with that.

But I mean, it gets worse. 85 million for an entity that's going to look into climate technology. 25 million for a climate research center. I don't know what it does. 15 million for Topanga Park. Man, I want to see parks rebuilt after a fire.

Believe me, I have a school that needs to be rebuilt in paradise that didn't get any money in the budget this year. But is that money that should be going as a climate investment that's actually helping reduce the threat of wildfire? It doesn't do it, guys. Your tax, your cap and tax fund has become a slush fund.

And we're not making the kind of smart investments that you need to make to actually reduce carbon emissions in the long term and stop the risk of fire of catastrophic wildfire.

Thirty seconds.

So that's my problem with this. It's going to raise our costs and it's not making the kind of smart investments.

Transit passes gets more money in this then wildfire does.

Your priorities are wrong.

Thank you, Assemblymember Gallagher, Assemblymember Patterson, you are recognized.

Great, thank you. Appreciate the opportunity to speak about this this morning. Since I'm going to miss my son's football game, might as well take the opportunity to talk on items that bother me. You know, this package of legislation includes a requirement that CARB determine the social cost of Cap and Trade.

And I wonder if that social cost includes the fact that at this time of year, people in many of our districts, those of us who live inland and live in the foothills, their energy costs are more expensive than their housing costs. Utility bills of $1,000, $800.

That and then their gas prices, which I don't need to remind everybody, is about a $1.40 more between $1.30 and $1.40 more than the national average. So I'm a simple guy. I always say I like picture books. So I like to break a very complex policy down into something very simple. Carbon credits aren't free.

Someone is paying for them. And it's the customers of energy, which happens to be all of our constituents, all 40 million people in this state. It's going to increase the cost of energy, gas and utility prices. Then it does two things.

That money that comes from all of us, all of our constituents, people that are working every day, the poorest of people in our, in our districts, are going to be subsidizing companies to help comply with extreme policies of this Legislature.

And then it also creates, as my colleague from East Nicholas said, slush funds for a whole package of items. Some of them are good, some of them are, most of them are bad. But we can't dismiss the fact that this is being paid for directly by the energy bills of everybody in our districts.

One of my colleagues happened to ask the LAO and if they could examine the cost of, of, of this legislation, ask the general impact of, on consumer costs such as household energy bills and transportation costs.

By the way, CARB is really good at estimating what the health care savings is going to be for society, some abstract number, but they can't determine how much it's actually going to increase the cost of your gasoline. Well, they did it first until we said, hey, that's kind of a lot of money, a lot of money.

And then they said, oh, just kidding. Psych, we can't do that. But so we asked the LAO, can you tell us how much it's going to increase energy bills and transportation costs? What are the economic impacts on small businesses, particularly those in energy intensive sectors, and considerations for ensuring equitable outcomes for low and moderate income Californians.

And we have the response here and it says, unfortunately we are not able to provide a written analysis of the effects of this Bill within the requested highly compressed time frame. So we're going to be voting on this today without any idea how much people's energy costs are going to go up. And that's something people can't avoid.

Did, did that discussion come up when, when the affordability package that was proposed by the majority party came out? Because all of it is going to be washed away. Any affordability savings that allegedly came from any of that legislation is going to be washed away with approval of not only this legislation, but companion legislation.

And we don't know the costs, we don't know the costs on consumers. If we actually had to tell consumers how much the policies that are passed in this building cost them on their gas prices or their their energy bills. I have a feeling a lot of people would be voted out of office.

Thirty seconds.

With that, I asked for a no vote.

Thank you, Assemblymember Patterson. Assemblymember Soria, you were recognized.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker and Members. I also want to rise today to thank my colleague from Thousand Oaks. I know the countless hours that she has spent over several months making sure that today we had something that we can vote on. So I rise today in support of the reauthorization.

This program has been a cornerstone of our state's efforts to reduce emissions and tackle climate change. And its continuation is essential to meeting our ambitious climate goals.

As I said, I appreciate the time that this body, the Assembly, has spent in meeting with stakeholders and trying to get the next two decades right as we continue to attempt to lead in addressing the climate change that our families are facing.

I agree with my colleague from Fresno and his comments about the investments and what they have meant for the Central Valley and in particular for Fresno. They have been transformative. So I do want to uplift the funding for high speed rail, AB 617 communities, the affordable housing dollars, and the safe drinking funding that will be continuous.

I know all of these are critical for my district. But as the Ag Chair, I also wanted to rise and say that I do express disappointment that we miss the mark when it comes to recognizing the role of agriculture. Agriculture is not just a stakeholder we depend on for food.

It is a critical partner in achieving our climate goals and a more sustainable and affordable future. The data from CARB itself shows the success of programs like Farmer, The Dairy Digesters, but we did not include any continuous appropriation that would give our farmers certainty and stability.

And we cannot forget the urgency of providing long term solutions to the Ag Burning Ban. Without real investment in innovation, our small farmers will be left without the tools they need to comply, threatening both their livelihoods and our climate progress.

So while I support today the reauthorization, I urge every single one of you on this floor to remember that if we're truly committed to meeting our climate goals, we must bring agriculture into the fold, not as an afterthought, but as a partner at the table.

Today, I will support this measure because of all the investments that Central Valley will continue to see. However, I do expect that in the second half of this session, we will see investments in ag included in the budget. Thank you.

Thank you, Assembly Member Soria. Seeing and hearing no further debate. Assemblymember Irwin, do you wish to close?

Oh, thank you very much. And I appreciate the robust conversation. This is a program that has been around for over a decade and it is one of the strongest, excuse me, one of the strongest, most cost effective emissions reductions programs in the world.

We have very audacious goals here in California after, after SB 31, SB 32 and AB 32 and this is the way to make our emission goals.

I will acknowledge that this portion of the two package Bill is just about GGRF and it's very unfortunate that 1.5 billion dollars is going to CAL FIRE this year, which means some of our discretionary programs were not funded at the level we want.

I think it is very important to uplift agriculture because that is one of the most cost effective ways to reduce carbon and I certainly will be continuing to push to get more funding for agriculture in the discretionary bucket. So with that I respectfully ask for your aye vote.

Thank you Assemblymember Irwin. I'll debate having a cease. Clerk will open the roll. All Members vote who desire to vote. All Members vote who desire to vote. All Members vote who desire to vote. Members, this 54 vote Bill.

Members please be in your desks and. Vote. Clerk will close the roll. Tally the votes. Ayes 54 nos. 15 on the urgency ayes 54 nos. 15 on the measure.

Members, while we take a brief pause I am hearing from many of you asking if I could announce to all Members try to make your speeches as succinct as possible please and please and please listen to the speakers that precede you and do not make repetitive points. It Madam Majority Leader, you are recognized.

At the request of the author. Please move file item 78 SB 29 Laird to the inactive file.

Without objection.

We'Ve received AB 1207 from the Senate without objection we will take that up. Item without reference to file. Clerk will read.

Assembly Bill 1207 by Assembly Member Irwin and others faculty into climate change and making appropriation therefore declaring the urgency thereof to take effect immediately.

Assemblymember Irwin, you are recognized. Members take your desk please.

All right, well I will try to get you out of here quickly. I rise to present AB 1207 which reauthorizes California's Cap and Trade program. This bill reauthorizes the program through 2045 and makes the following changes.

It renames Cap and Trade the Cap and Invest Program to reflect the billions of dollars that the program revenues of program revenues that are invested in affordable housing, transit, infrastructure, clean drinking water, wildfire prevention, clean air grants and numerous other programs.

It aligns the Cap and Invest program with California's overall climate strategy to ensure an order organized steady path to achieving our statewide net zero emissions by 2045. AB 1207 Restructures the California Climate Credit which reduces all of our constituents electric bills.

It increases the climate credit and requires the credit to be distributed during the highest bill months to provide affordability when it is most needed. AB 1207 also directs a portion of the funds to provide long term affordability benefits through through public financing for transmission projects.

This bill will refocus support for industries that are at the greatest risk of leaving California so that more California businesses can continue to thrive. The bill maintains offsets in the Cap and Invest program providing significant and reliable cost containment.

It maintains requirements to provide direct environmental benefits to California and places them under the CAP and ensuring that program pairs compliance flexibility with significant emission reductions. We also increase transparency and accountability for CARB by requiring CARB Chair to appear before the Legislature for up to three hearings during the regulatory update process on Cap and Invest.

It requires CARB to prioritize affordability and consumer protections in designing the program. It it requires an economic analysis of the regulations to be provided to the Legislature. And finally, the bill establishes an annual oversight hearing on how greenhouse gas reduction funds are spent to ensure that these investments are meeting the outcomes that were promised.

I would like to thank Senator Limon, all the Members of the Cap and Trade working group, my staff, the speaker staff and Members of this body who often spoke to me on how we could make this program stronger. We worked throughout the year to develop this strong reauthorization program.

California's cap and trade program has been successful at cost effectively reducing greenhouse gas emissions. The cap and Invest program proposed in AB 1207 builds on that success and charts it clears clear course forward while providing a roadmap for other states and countries to follow. With that, I respectfully ask for your Aye vote.

Thank you. Assembly Member Irwin. Assemblymember Alvarez, you are recognized.

Thank you. Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of AB 1207 and as I've done with two prior items, I want to rise in acknowledgement of our colleague from Thousand Oaks in this case for the tremendous amount of work.

I think there was no other piece of legislation this year that required the time and effort to really understand the implications to the future of California.

And the leadership first of our speaker in identifying leaders to lead our working groups, as was done here with our colleague from Thousand Oaks, must be recognized because this was of all the issues that I participated in, one of the most complex.

I wanted to particularly acknowledge some of the work that was done with some of my colleagues, Members of the Problem Solvers Caucus, because this bill actually introduces language that is really, really critical to what people have been talking about here. People have been talking about more oversight, people have been talking about more accountability.

People have been talking about ensuring that we take into consideration costs and implications, economic analysis, more thorough review of the decisions that bodies outside of the Legislature make once we give them that authority. That is all in this bill. And it is in this bill because of the work that was put in by the author.

And that is why I stand and rise in support of this bill.

I would just like to take a moment to acknowledge one thing that as part of that accountability and that transparency and that oversight that we now have in the items that were mentioned by the author, we must ensure that on the issue specifically of climate credits as it relates to our gas customers and that is particularly of concern in our communities like San Diego, that they are not being disadvantaged or harmed by this transition.

We just had a conversation earlier about transitioning from gas powered vehicles and oil into the future and that There is unintended consequences that sometimes arise of that. This section of the bill, I think, has to be very carefully monitored.

But the good news is that, again, the author had the foresight of putting into this Bill that we now have that accountability mechanism built in so we can actually accomplish that. Again, we've heard that a lot from a lot of you.

You want oversight, you want accountability, particularly in some of our agencies, such as CARB, which sometimes does things that we feel are beyond their authority. Well, now we have that oversight and accountability, and that is why it's important for us to rise in support and to vote for AB 1207.

And again, thank you so much to the author for the amount of work that was put into this. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Assembly Member Alvarez, Assembly Member Muratsuchi, you are recognized.

Thank you very much. I also rise in support of AB 1207.

And as one of the few Members that's still around that was here for the last cap and trade extension, I just want to emphasize, you know, as part of the working group, I know that our colleague from Thousand Oaks would often emphasize the, you know, the caucus challenge and theme of this year, which is affordability.

And I would always remind her that the number one goal of cap and trade is greenhouse gas reduction. And, you know, and so, you know, this is the cap and trade has always been that balancing act.

How do we most effectively reduce greenhouse gas emissions in a way that gives industry and consumers the flexibility to be able to again manage that, that transition. And so, you know, I'm pleased that California will continue to be a model of, with this extension for cap and invest.

But again, I want to emphasize that we are all paying for climate change, whether it's through our home insurance, whether it's through our electricity rates, whether it's through the direct impacts of wildfires. And that's why we need to continue our California's leadership in the fight against climate change.

Thank you, Assemblymember Muratsuchi. Seeing and hearing no further debate. Assemblymember Irwin, do you wish to close?

Thank you very much. And again appreciate the comments of my colleagues, the hard work that the working group put in, and my colleague from San Diego for the constant debate on how to make this better. We did take a lot of language on accountability to put into this proposal.

I believe we have a very solid proposal that will continue our fight against climate change while containing costs for all Californians. But the point I want to make as the representative of Pacific Palisades, where over 5,000 homes tragically burned nine months ago is that the cost of inaction is immeasurable. And with that, I respectfully ask for your.

Aye vote.

Thank you, Assemblymember Irwin. All debate having ceased, Clerk will open the roll. All Members vote who desire to vote. This is a 54 vote bill. All Members vote who desire to vote. All Members vote who desire to vote. Clerk will close the roll. Tally the votes.

Ayes 55, nos 10 on the urgency. Ayes, 55 nos 10 on the measure. The measure passes immediate transmittal to the Governor. File item number 203. That's SB 352 presented by Assemblymember Bryan. Clerk will read.

Senate Bill 352 by Senator Reyes and others, and act relating to environmental justice.

Assemblymember Bryan, you are recognized.

Thank you. Mr. Speaker and colleagues. I rise to present SB 352 on behalf of Senator Reyes. SB 352 is part of this energy affordability package. The Bill codifies the Bureau of Environmental justice within the Department of Justice.

The Bureau was established in 2018 under then Attorney General Javier Becerra, but is discretionary at the will of the Attorney General. This makes it not. It makes it a permanent feature of that office now and in perpetuity.

It also requires monitoring of air quality in communities and requires CARB and the air districts to come before the Legislature to report progress on their AB 617 implementation and goals.

This is in complete alignment with what was spoken about earlier from the Member from Linwood and others, highlighting that we've put 250 million dollars in continuous money for the next five years to improve the air quality of disadvantage disadvantaged communities across California. This is a good environmental justice Bill. We have desperately needed it. And I respectfully ask your aye vote.

Thank you, Assemblymember Bryan. All debate having ceased, Clerk will open the roll. All Members vote who desire to vote. All Members vote who desire to vote. All Members vote who desire to vote. Clerk will close the roll. Tally the votes. Ayes 43, nos 19. The measure passes immediate transmittal to the Senate. Okay.

Okay Members, we have received AB 825 from the Senate. Without objection. We will take that item up without referenced file. Clerk will read.

Assembly Bill 825 by Assemblymember Petrie-Norris and others, an act relating to electricity.

Assemblymember Petrie-Norris, you are recognized.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I am proud to rise today to present AB 825. This measure will enable California to help establish and enter a westwide electricity market. Members, we've talked a lot today about the challenges that our constituents expect us to navigate when we are developing energy policy.

And the reality is when we ask Californians, do you want clean air, do you want lower bills or do you want us to keep the lights on? What do they say? They say yes, they want us to do all of those things. They expect us to do all of those things.

And I'll say that it is a rare opportunity when we are able to to make progress on all of those fronts with one Bill.

And that's what we are doing with AB 825 studies by the Brattle Group and Stanford have estimated that an expanded western energy market will lower electricity costs and save California ratepayers up to a billion dollars a year, will improve reliability and lower the risk of blackouts, and will also reduce greenhouse gas emissions.

Let me just talk very briefly about all of those elements and all of the benefits we'll see from that proposal. So first on affordability, we've already seen the evidence of cost savings from expanded energy markets. The existing western energy imbalance market has saved California ratepayers $7 billion over the last 10 years.

And and this expanded day ahead market has even more potential for optimizing costs. The reliability benefits of this proposal are just as common sense. As we move toward more weather dependent renewables powering our grid, we need to ensure that we have a grid that is bigger than the weather.

So with this proposal, the wider market will make it easier for California to to rely on excess solar from Arizona or wind from Wyoming. That same Stanford study that I referenced estimated that 40% fewer hours annually where the grid would be stressed and need to call upon emergency resources. Lastly, sustainability is also part of this proposal.

This wider market will also help the entire west to reduce GHG emissions. California will rely less often on our most inefficient and polluting gas plants. And California will also be able to export more solar to other states rather than curtailing it, which is what we are doing today.

I'll say there are some stakeholders who look at this proposal and say, gosh, that's just too good to be true. And to that I'd say that as with any big initiative in the State of California, of course we must be mindful of those risks, of potential risks, and we've got to safeguard against potential risks.

And so that's why this proposal includes robust safeguards, robust legislative oversight. And under this proposal, if the benefits that we expect will accrue from California participating in a westwide electricity market, if those benefits are not being realized, California and California utilities are able to exit the market without penalty.

So with that, I know today has been a big day for climate and energy policy. I think that together we have gotten some really, really important things done for the people of California and I respectfully ask for your support and your aye vote on AB 825.

Thank you. Summary Member Petrie-Norris. Assemblymember Rogers, you are recognized.

Thank you so much Mr. Speaker. I rise in support of AB 825 and just wanted to quickly punctuate two of the points that our coworker made right there. The first is the way that this is going to be able to deliver savings for our consumers.

Back in 2024 I was sitting on the Board of Directors for Sonoma Clean Power when we had a week long heat wave here in California. It was unexpected and as a result it put strain on our grid and everybody scrambled to gobble up renewable resources to be able to deliver for their communities.

Even though Sonoma clean power is only 1% of the total energy makeup of the California market, it still added $8 million for us alone to purchase energy during that week. Whereas if we were able to pull from solar and wind for other areas that weren't experiencing the same heat wave, it would have saved all of us money.

I've also heard concern from some of our local environmental groups that this could open up California's marketplace to additional coal or other types of dirty energy.

It actually does the opposite because it allows us to elongate the time period where in which solar and wind is available to Californians and it does the opposite by flooding other markets with cheaper renewable energies that will help to drive investment in those areas on renewable projects. Obviously greenhouse gas emissions don't know state lines.

It will help us to decarbonize across the United States and I urge an aye vote.

Thank you Assemblymember Rogers. Assemblymember Davies, you are recognized.

Thank you Mr. Speaker. I first want to thank my colleague from Orange County for her incredible leadership on this issue and leading those of us on utility Committee this year on a true goal of trying to make it easier to live in California. When we talk about affordability, it means giving our constituents something tangible to see.

They want to see lower gas prices, lower grocery prices, and they want lower utility bills. AB 825 is a solid step in that direction. Those of us from Southern California are unfortunately very familiar with grid reliability issues and the constant threat of PSPS warnings.

AB 825 greatly helps us avoid that going forward as it helps connect our energy grid to broader electricity markets, therefore giving us a bigger pool of energy resources to pull from.

In Committee we heard that by connecting our grid to those in western state partners could potentially relieve the stress of our grid by up to 40% Members that is reliable for our schools, hospitals, neighborhoods that they can count on. Moreover, this Bill will help diversify our energy market. We know that market competition means lower prices of goods and services.

When you have a large coalition of businesses, labor and environmental groups come together in support of a Bill, I think it's a pretty good sign. Again, I want to thank my fellow colleague from Orange County for her work on this and I strongly urge an aye vote.

Thank you, Assemblymember Davies. Seeing and hearing no further debate, Assemblymember Petrie-Norris, do you wish to close?

Thank you, Mr. Speaker, and thank you to both of my colleagues for your statements of support. I really do appreciate the bipartisan support for this measure. This is a pivotal moment for California and we have an opportunity to make energy in the State of California cheaper, cleaner and more reliable.

So with that I respectfully ask for your aye vote on AB 825.

Thank you. Assemblymember Petrie-Norris. All debate having ceased, Clerk will open the roll. All Members vote who desire to vote. All Members vote who desire to vote. All Members vote who desire to vote. Clerk will close the roll. Tally the votes. Ayes 67, nos 2.

The measure passes. Immediate transmittal to the Governor. Without reference to file, AB8 by our majority leader.

The Clerk will read

Assembly Bill 8 by Assembly Member Aguiar-Curry, an act relating to cannabinoids and making an appropriation therefore.

Assemblymember Aguiar-Curry, you are recognized.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Members, AB 8 is back on concurrence. Senate amendments incorporate technical assistance from the Administration. These changes remove opposition from Origins Council, community organizations and public health organizations. And a shout out to my alleged Director, Marika Linnell, who has worked tirelessly on this effort. I respectfully ask for your aye vote.

Thank you, Madam Majority Leader. All debate having ceased, Clerk will open the roll. All Members vote who desire to vote. All Members vote who desire to vote. All Members vote who desire to vote. Clerk will close the roll Tally the votes. Aye 66 no 0. send amendments are concurred in file item number six. File item number six.

That's AB 383 by Assemblymember Davies. The Clerk will read.

Assembly Bill 383 by Assemblymember Davies, an act relating to firearms.

Assemblymember Davies, you are recognized.

I'm so excited. Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Amendments in the Senate removes a provision of the Bill that would have added new crime, a minor could commit that would require firearms relinquished. As such, this Bill is now a giant firearm code cleanup Bill and it was a support support. I respectfully asked for an aye vote.

Thank you, Assemblymember Davies. All debate having ceased. Clerk will open the roll. All Members vote who desire to vote. All Members vote who desire to vote. All Members vote who desire to vote. The Clerk will close the roll. Tally the votes. Aye 66, no 0.

Senate amendments are concurred in file item number seven, AB 764 by Assemblymember Jeff Gonzalez. Clerk will read.

Assembly Bill 764 by Assemblymember Jeff Gonzalez, an act relating to wildlife.

Assemblymember Gonzalez, you are recognized.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Support support. Request an aye vote.

Thank you, Assemblymember Gonzalez. All debate having ceased. Clerk will open the roll. All Members vote who desire to vote. All Members vote who desire to vote. All Members vote who desire to vote. Clerk will close the roll.

Tally the votes Aye 64, no zero. Senate amendments are concurred in. File item number 12, that's AB 975 by Leader Gallagher.

The Clerk will read.

Assembly Bill 975 by Assemblymember Gallagher, an act relating to fish and wildlife.

Assemblymember Gallagher, you are recognized.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. You've heard of the bridges of Madison county, but have you heard of the culverts of Sutter County? This provides a one time narrow LSAA exemption to repair small bridges and culverts. And I ask for your aye vote. Thank you.

Thank you, Assemblymember Gallagher. All debate having ceased. Clerk will open the roll. All Members vote who desire to vote. All Members vote who desire to vote. All Members vote who desire to vote. Clerk will close the roll, tally the votes. Aye 65, no 0. Senate amendments are concurred in. Without reference to file file AB 226 by Assemblymember Calderon.

The Clerk will read.

Assembly Bill 226 by Assemblymember Calderon an act relating to insurance to making an appropriation, therefore declaring the agency thereof to take effect immediately.

Assemblymember Calderon, you are recognized.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. AB 226 is back for concurrence. I respectfully asked for an aye vote.

Thank you, Assemblymember Calderon. I'll debate having ceased. Clerk will open the roll. All Members vote who desire to vote. All Members vote who desire to vote. All Members vote who desire to vote. Clerk will close the roll. Tally the votes. Ayes 59, no 0. Senate amendments are concurred in. File item number 15 That's AB 889 by Assemblymember Hadwick. The Clerk will read.

Assembly Bill 889 by Assem Hadwick and others an act related to the prevailing wage.

Assembly Member Hadwick, you are recognized.

We did this. Look. Thank you Mr. Speaker, but I think we voted on this one last night.

Thank you. Assembly Member Hadwick that that item has been dispensed with Floor Team.

File item number 101. That's AB 16 by Assemblymember Alanis. The Clerk will read.

Assembly Bill 16 by Assemblymember Alanis, an act relating to elections.

Assemblymember Alanis, you are recognized.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Support. Support. Thank you, guys.

All debate having ceased, Clerk will open the roll. All Members vote who desire to vote. All Members vote who desire to vote. All Members vote who desire to vote. Clerk will close the roll. Tally the votes. Aye 67, no 0.

Senate Amendments are concurred in. File item number 109. AB 349 by Assemblymember Dixon.

The Clerk will read

Assembly Bill 349 by Assemblymember Dixon, an act relating to foster care.

Assemblymember Dixon, you are recognized.

Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. Good morning, Members. AB 349 is back from the Senate on concurrence. It supports California's foster youth parents by indexing ready supplemental payment to inflation. I respectfully request an aye vote. Thank you.

Thank you, Assemblymember Dixon. I'll debate having ceased. Clerk will open the roll. All Members vote who desire to vote. All Members vote who desire to vote. All Members vote who desire to vote. Clerk will close the roll. Tally the votes. Aye. 69, no, 0. Senate amendments are concurred in. File item 120. That's AB 653 by Assemblymember Lackey.

The Clerk will read.

Assembly Bill 653. By Assembly Member Lackey and others. An accolade in child abuse.

Assemblymember Lackey, you are recognized.

This is a Paris Hilton Bill that I've already described and ask for your Aye vote, please.

Thank you, Assemblymember Lackey. I'll debate having ceased. Clerk will open the roll. All Members vote who desire to vote. All Members vote who desire to vote. All Members vote who desire to vote. Clerk will close the roll. Tally the votes. Aye 64, Noes 0. Senate.

Senate amendments are concurred in. Without reference to file AB 1231 by Assemblymember Elhawary. The Clerk will read.

Assembly Bill 1231 by Assembly Member Elhawary, an act relating to criminal procedure.

Assemblymember Elhawary, you are recognized.

Thank you. Mr. Speaker and Members, I rise today to present AB 1231, the safer communities through Opportunities act, which is back on concurrence. This Bill represents months of hard work, deep collaboration and difficult conversations with my sponsors, our community partners and my incredible team to make sure we got this right.

Throughout this process, my team and I listened to prosecutors, defense attorneys, survivors, advocates and families directly impacted by the justice system. Senate amendments added more accountability for diversion programs that qualify under this Bill. Every amendment we made was to strike the right balance between compassion and accountability, between restorative justice and public safety.