Senate Floor

Secretary will call the roll.

[Roll Call]

A quorum is present. Colleagues, if we could return to our desk and please rise and with the guests behind the railing. Please rise, please. Will be led this morning in prayer by our sister Michelle Gorman. After which, please remain standing for the Pledge of Allegiance.

So let us remember that we are always in God's presence. God of all peoples and nations, we thank you for the work of this week which has enabled us to bring hope and consolation to those we are called to serve. We pray for our country and world. May constructive dialogue help us overcome cynicism and distrust.

We pray that collaboration and mutual respect among nations and peoples will replace exploitation and destructive competition. We pray that human ingenuity will benefit the whole human family.

And we pray that concern for the common good will continue to be of value in this chamber as we aim to act justly, love tenderly and walk humbly with you, our God. Amen.

Please join me in the Pledge of Allegiance. I pledge allegiance to the flag. We're going to be skipping and coming back to privileges of the floor for the moment. Members without objection, we will move to Senate third reading to take up file item 66 SR 71 by Senator Arreguin from the Majority Leader's desk.

After adoption of the resolution, we will move back to privileges of the floor for the Senator to introduce their guests. Secretary, please read

Senate Resolution 71 by Senator Arreguin an act relating to affordable home ownership.

Senator Arreguin.

Thank you, Madam President and Colleagues. I rise to present Senate Resolution 71, a resolution recognizing something foundational to California's future. Affordable homeownership. Homeownership isn't just about housing. It's one of the most proven pathways to economic stability, generational asset building, and long-term opportunity for California's families.

Yet too many Californians, especially lower-income families and communities of color, that pathway is increasingly out of reach. Research consistently shows that families who achieve homeownership experience better health outcomes, stronger educational results for their children, and greater long-term economic mobility.

Children of homeowners are likely to graduate, perform better academically, and benefit from the stability that comes with a permanent home. Homeownership also strengthens neighborhoods. Homeowners are more likely to vote, volunteer, and serve as leaders in their communities.

However, only 18% of households can afford the median-priced home, and California's homeownership rate is just 56%, ranking 49th in the nation. And the disparities are stark. Latinx households are about one-third less likely to own a home than white households, and black households are nearly half as likely.

These gaps are not accidental, they're the result of decades of exclusion, and addressing them is essential to our communities and to our commitments to racial and economic justice. California's housing crisis is fundamentally a supply crisis, especially for entry-level homes.

Increasing the supply of affordable homeownership doesn't just help buyers, it relieves pressure across the entire housing market, including helping address skyrocketing rents. Colleagues, this resolution states that our housing strategy must include paths to ownership alongside rental and homelessness solutions.

I respectfully ask for your aye vote as we reaffirm our commitment to housing future generations of Californians and ensure that ownership pathways, stability, and generational opportunity can be achieved for all Californians. Respectfully, ask for an aye vote.

Senator Grayson, you are recognized.

Thank you, Madam President. I rise as a proud co-author of SJR 71. It recognizes the important role of affordable homeownership to the future of California and acknowledges the role that nonprofit home builders play in delivering the housing that is so much needed here in California.

As a matter of fact, it's my generation that had access to the concept of starter homes, which was really the first step into the housing ladder, allowing an affordable entry point for homeownership. Unfortunately, these opportunities don't exist for younger generations that are trying to get into the homeownership area.

So with that, the legislature here, I know, we have done in the past few years a lot to address and advance affordable housing and to advance homeownership. But there's still a lot of work left to be done. It is very important that we recognize the vital role today of nonprofits such as Habitat for Humanity.

It just so happens that I've had several opportunities to visit build sites, especially on women's build days, where we go out, and we actually build together.

And with that, future homeowners actually have the opportunity to build work equity and to actually receive the opportunity to walk into the front door and be able to call it their home as a homeowner. With that, I ask for us to support SR71.

Senator Durazo, you are recognized.

Thank you, Madam President. I rise also in strong support of SR71. Homeownership is one of the most powerful avenues for achieving economic mobility, especially for low-income working families. I'm a proud co-author of this resolution because community-based building models opens the door of homeownership to families who otherwise would never afford to purchase a home.

Habitat for Humanity, as my colleague just mentioned, has created these opportunities throughout my district, including making the dream of homeownership come true in the 710 Corridor. Over 70% of my constituents are renters. Affordable homeownership provides the opportunity to build equity and long-term stability in California's housing market.

This will help address housing crisis, create wealth-building benefits for working families, and foster social cohesion amongst our communities. It is also important to prioritize the construction of affordable homeownership by supporting the Cal Homes Program in funding these opportunities. I respectfully ask for an aye on this important Senate resolution and thank the author.

Senator Wahab, you are recognized.

Thank you. Thank you. I rise today in support of SR71, which recognizes affordable homeownership. Homeownership, and I've said this many, many times, is one of the most significant wealth-building tools that remain a core part of the American dream shared across party lines.

In fact, 96% of Americans, regardless of socioeconomic background, believe homeownership is the cornerstone of the American dream. Affordable homeownership creates financial stability for families by protecting them from rising rents. It also supports upward mobility by providing generational wealth.

However, systemic and forceful government action implementing residential racial segregation has been a leading factor to the low homeownership rates amongst communities of color. Redlining has impoverished and disempowered many communities by confining them to inhumane housing environments.

Zoning laws, racially restrictive covenants, and discriminatory lending practices has explicitly excluded many people of color as well as low-income individuals from many neighborhoods and homeownership opportunities. Families denied homeownership go decades without equity to pass down, making it difficult for future generations to enter the housing market.

I do want to flag that today, many first-time home buyers are purchasing their first home at the ripe age of 40. A significant shift from previous generations, who were able to buy much earlier. In fact, at the age of 24.

This is a deep concern of what we are doing in the housing market across the board. Many people today are renters in California. Some living multi generational households in a rental unit. Again, we need to prioritize homeownership, affordable housing, and housing for all. I respectfully ask for an aye vote. Thank you.

Senator Caballero, you are recognized.

Sorry, Madam President. I rise as a proud co-author of SR71. As we know, California has some of the highest housing prices in the nation. Currently, prices for mid-tier homes are about $755,000, which is twice as expensive as a typical US home of the same tier in other states.

Frankly, way out of reach in my entire district. Homeownership is unattainable for many Californians. And the cost of building and buying homes continues to rise, creating affordable homeownership opportunities for working families become even more urgent.

Nonprofit builders like Habitat for Humanity are a great example of doing more for less, and meaningfully contributing to the housing stock to improve affordability across the state of California. I had the honor of working with Habitat for Humanity.

I have no building skills, but they accept all volunteers, and the opportunity to be able to go in, meet the future homeowner, work alongside them to be able to have their dream become a reality is a really emotional experience.

And if you've never seen a family receive a key to the home that they are purchasing, you have missed out because it is the most emotional experience to see little kids beside themselves because they finally have a room to call their own. And so this resolution is critically important.

Want to thank my author and respectfully ask for your aye vote.

Thank you, Senator. Senator Gómez Reyes.

Thank you, Madam President. I rise in proud support as a co-author of Senate Resolution 71, which recognizes the great importance of homeownership. I've often talked about the fact that my parents bought their first home when they were in their early 20s, many years ago, as young immigrants and with young kids,

My mother always reminds me to say, please add, that first house cost us $1,000. But nonetheless, from that house, they were then able to buy the next house, and then the next house, and the next house.

My mother has stability now in her retirement because of those investments, beginning with the first home they bought. Becoming a homeowner is a significant milestone in a person's life. It signals economic stability, generational wealth building, and housing security. Owning a home should be affordable to all Californians, especially for lower-income families and people of color.

Homeownership means more than just acquiring property. It's about planting roots, building a legacy, and creating a sense of belonging within the community. And for many, it becomes the testament to their American dream.

Nonprofits and agents of change, as has been mentioned earlier, like Habitat for Humanity, help build this reality by increasing the supply of affordable housing and strengthening our neighborhoods.

This is a critical way to address the racial and economic disparities that persist for aspiring homeowners. California must remedy these wrongs by producing more housing, creating more pathways to homeownership, and supporting the creation of intergenerational wealth for all its residents. SR71 recognizes the invaluable impact of homeownership.

It provides a secure foundation for families and provides them a brighter future. I thank the author for presenting it, and I urge an aye vote.

Senator Archuleta.

Thank you, Madam President. I rise in support of SR71. And I think one of the problems that we have is getting out to the general public that there are plans out there to help the first-time home buyer. We've got to encourage that. As an example, CalVet, our own CalVet right here in California, representing our veterans. 5% down.

It is available. The insurance goes with the program. They don't have to worry about that. We've got to encourage the veterans that you have in your communities to look at CalVet. It's a great opportunity for the first-time home buyer.

And they can double team with their family, that also is a veteran, and double team so they can afford the house. Affordability is the issue. The other is obviously the FHA programs that are still therefore first time homebuyers. 3.5% down. And here's the catcher.

They can include their mother, their cousin, their uncle, and their brother, all coming together to qualify for that loan. And that is the issue. One day, the interest rates will come down, but right now, it is an issue.

But we have to encourage that we maintain our CalVet, our FHA, and the first-time homebuyer programs that are out there by some of the banks that are out there. So I encourage all of us to have our staff and look into some of these and promote it in our communities. And with that, I do support SR71. Thank you.

Senator Rubio. You are recognized.

Thank you, Madam President. Ladies and gentlemen of the Senate, I also rise in strong support of SR71.

I'm really proud to stand here and not only support this, but honor the work that Habitat for Humanity does to realize not only the California dream, but generations to come will see that promise of America come to fruition. Habitat for Humanity is about more than building homes.

It's about lifting families out of poverty and restoring dignity and humanity, stability, and hope that every single family here in California deserves. When a family has a safe place to lay their head at night, children do better in schools, parents can pursue opportunities, and entire communities rise together as one.

In a moment when housing insecurity is pushing people to the brink, Habitat reminds us that compassion paired with action can change the trajectory of someone's life. Habitat for Humanity is about community, and I certainly appreciate them working together with locals.

I've had the honor of working with them on so many projects in the San [inaudible] Valley, building homes, converting churches into affordable housing. And so, whenever we see the opportunity to support, I encourage all of us to step up, not only with our time with support, but also with funding.

They do great, great work, and I hope that we continue to support these organizations in our community that really do miracles in terms of bringing families into the forefront and not behind the scenes. Crying for food, crying for a place to sleep, crying for the opportunity to just belong and feel safe.

In a moment, as I share where everyone is struggling, I hope that I continue to work with them. I hope that they continue to come to all of us. And I hope that as a Senate, we understand that this is a critical part of helping families move forward. And with that, I ask for an aye vote. Thank you.

Seeing no further discussion. Senator Arreguin, you may close.

Well, thank you, Madam President. I want to thank all the Senators for their comments and the co-authors for their support of this important resolution.

And as I noted in my initial comments, so much work has been done over the past decade to streamline rules to make it easier to build new homes in California, but the focus has been on building rental housing and not affordable homeownership opportunities.

As the new Chair of the Senate Housing Committee, this will be a key focus of our work. I know it's going to be the focus of the work in the Assembly to look at how do we incentivize the construction of new entry-level homeownership opportunities in California.

Because it's people like me and people like my friends and my generation who can't afford the cost of a home in the communities that they live in, and they represent. The median home in Berkeley is $2 million.

So many people, my generation and people throughout California who are longtime renters, working families, people of color, are priced out of our housing market because we have a supply problem, and that impacts the availability and affordability of homeownership in California.

I want to just thank my colleagues for noting the systemic barriers that exist, which are due to intentional decisions by government through redlining to racially exclude communities from living in certain parts of our state.

And if we are committed to racial equity as a state, we need to advance efforts to expand affordable homeownership opportunities in the state for all people in California to make sure that we are opening the doors of opportunity, generational wealth for Californians in our state. So I want to thank everyone for their support.

I want to thank the important work of Habitat for Humanity. I'll be recognizing some members of Habitat who are here on the floor very shortly, and also just want to reinforce the importance of funding as well as a key piece of our homeownership strategy.

And I want to just emphasize the importance of funding programs like CalHome, which are essential to making homeownership a reality in California. With that, I respectfully ask for an aye vote.

Secretary, please call the roll.

[Roll Call]

Please call the absent Members.

[Roll Call]

I's 35. No, zero. Resolution passes. I know it's exciting guests, but we cannot clap. Appreciate it. We can do can wave in the air. Thank you so much. Senator Adequin, back to you under privileges of the floor.

Thank you, Madam President. So, in conjunction with the passage of SR71, which we just adopted. Thank you, colleagues.

With me on the floor today and in the gallery, and we just heard them, are Members of Habitat for Humanity from different regions and communities all over California who are here in Sacramento today to meet with all of us during Habitat for Humanity's annual Advocacy Day.

And their presence here today is a powerful reminder that affordable homeownership isn't abstract. It's real. It's local. It's happening in the districts that are represented by all of us in this chamber. This work is largely funded by the Cal Home Program, California's only state program dedicated to producing and preserving affordable homeownership for low income families.

CalHome doesn't just help families buy homes, it builds new homes. It creates permanent affordability and ensures those homes remain affordable for future generations. And through shared equity models, deed restrictions and resale covenants, CalHome's investments are protected and multiplied over time.

Habitat for humanity and CalHome ensure that these homes get built to stabilize families, strengthen neighborhoods, and remain affordable for the Next generation. Exactly the kind of long term public return California should be investing in.

So please join me in giving a warm Senate welcome to our friends from Habitat for Humanity in recognition of the work that they do to make the dream of homeownership a reality in our communities across the state.

Welcome to the State Senate and thank you so much for what you do. After Senator Arreguin takes a photo with him. If any Member wishes to join in the group photo, that would be the time. We will be moving on to our next introduction in a minute. Remaining in privileges of the floor.

Senator Allen has the next introduction. Senators, if we give our attention to Senator Allen.

Well, Madam President, it's very appropriate that we just did a resolution on housing because Senator Wiener has been chatting with the Shadow Housing Secretary from the United Kingdom who's here visiting us on a fellowship with the Schwarzenegger Institute down at the University of Southern California.

And he's here with his wonderful wife visiting the Capitol learning about our state government, our system here, and about housing policy. This we have the Right Honourable Sir James Cleverly and his wife of over 25 years, Lady Susanna Cleverly. They're here for the first time on our Senate floor.

Sir James is a lieutenant colonel with over 20 years of service in the British army and has represented the people of Braintree in Essex as a Member of Parliament for over 10 years now.

In his time as a Cabinet minister, Sir James has served as Education Secretary, Home Secretary, which oversees Public Safety, which oversees public safety for the country, and Foreign Secretary, and he currently serves, as I mentioned, as the Shadow Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government.

This spring they are here as part of visiting fellowship in residence with the Schwarzenegger Institute at usc. And throughout the fellowship they are studying housing issues here in California that will inform his work as Shadow Housing Secretary and help develop solutions to housing challenges in both of our countries.

In addition to his research, Sir James will be sharing his experience and insights on our country's relationship and how our alliance can most effectively respond to the challenges facing our democracies both at home and internationally.

Lady Susannah has also done a lot of work on cancer, breast cancer issues, and has been having meetings just yesterday on the topic here in Sacramento. The Cleverlys have devoted their lives to public service and like each Member of this body, they continue working to better protect and represent their constituents.

They're fascinating people and I encourage you to come up and say hello to them and chat with them. Please join me in giving a warm Senate welcome to Sir James and Lady Susannah Cleverly here at our Senate floor.

Welcome, Sir James and Lady Susannah. Group photo. If anyone wishes to participate.

Messages from the Governor were deemed read. Messages from the Assembly will be deemed read. Reports of Committee will be deemed read and amendments adopted. Moving into motions, resolutions and notices. Any Member wish to be recognized. Seeing none. Introduction and first reading of bills will be deemed read.

Now into the consideration of the daily file, we have three items with Senator Grove under Governor's appointments. She is prepared, Senator Grove.

Thank you, Madam President. Colleagues, we have the confirmation. Item file 52. File item 52 is for Trista Gonzalez for the appointment of Director of Department of Tax and Fee Administration. Prior to this role, Ms. Gonzalez served as the department's chief deputy Director since 2001. Preceding that, she spent five years as a Chief Office of Tax Policy Bureau.

I think that if you get a constituent that calls and says that they just got something from the Department of Tax and Fee Administration, it would be one of the scariest things you've ever gotten.

But Trista Gonzalez, Director Gonzalez will return your call, address your issues, make sure that your constituent gets a fair and balanced hearing or approach to the problem that they have in. And I respectfully asked for an aye vote. She was approved by the Rules Committee on January 28th. A five vote.

Senators, we're competing against the construction, so I ask that everyone take their conversations off the floor, please. Secretary, please call the roll.

[Roll Call]

Ayes 36. No 0. The appointment is confirmed. Senator Grove, file item 53.

Just on confirmation. Did you pick up Senator Dally's aye? It wasn't on the board. Got it. Thank you.

Thank you. The desk will edit the roll call. Sorry. Senator Grove, file item 53.

Thank you, Madam President. Colleagues file. Item 53 is a confirmation of Aaron Mcguire for appointment as Executive Board. Executive Director for the Board of State of Community Corrections. Prior to this role, he'd been serving as a board on the board since 2016.

He served under both Democrat and Republican administrations, and he was approved by the Rules Committee on January 28 on a unanimous vote. Respectfully asked for an aye vote.

I got no mics up for discussion. Secretary, please call the roll.

[Roll Call]

Senators, we don't have a heavy agenda, but it's getting prolonged. Having to chase Members to come back. If you could all return to the floor, closing the roll. Ayes, 36. No, zero. The appointment is confirmed. Senator Grove, file item 58.

Thank you, Madam President. Colleagues, file item 58 is a confirmation of Lee Herrick for reappointment to California's poet laureate. He's a writer and has been a professor in English at Fresno City College since 1997.

During his first term, he traveled throughout California doing public readings and visiting classrooms, meeting with civic leaders and community groups, elevating the value of poetry and creative expression.

He also undertook a statewide poetry project to all Californians, resulting in hundreds of poems being submitted by Californians of all walks of life to participate for the love of our state. He does have some controversial poems, but what poet doesn't? And he was approved by the Rules Committee on a 50 vote on January 28th.

Respectfully ask for an aye vote. Secretary, please call the roll.

[Roll Call]

Aye 35 no 0 the appointment is confirmed. Moving into on to Senate third reading we have two items. Item 68 by Senator Dahle he is ready to go Secretary, please read.

Senate Concurrent Resolution 115 by Senator Dahle an act relative to Wear Red Day Senator.

Thank you Ms. M President and Members I write today to present SR150 which recognizing. The rare day in California and the month of February at Heart Health Month. Many of you knew I had a stroke while in the hospital for a heart ablation that was just over two years ago. Elevating women's heart health. It's personal to me.

We must rise. Sorry. We must. It was. It was hard to do this but I'm doing it so. You're doing great, Senator. The death of the heart disease and stroke which kill one in three women a year. One in three.

The truth is I was blessed to have a stroke in the hospital was where excellent care was available in minutes. Many are not women most likely to die from heart disease and stroke than men. Mainly because we dismiss our symptoms at stretch hormones. Some. Some symptoms are high blood pressure, diabetes and high cholesterol in the cough.

I had a cough for a year. A year. So here's my message to every woman in this room. Listen to your bodies. Don't underestimate your feelings. Advocate for yourself. Don't put it off and stress in the harmful thing. I want to think that America Heart Association the Women's Caucus .. SCR 115 I ask for your aye vote.

Majority Leader. You are recognized.

Thank you Presiding Officer. The Senator from Bieber asked me to lend an assist here to make sure that folks understand how important this day is to her and of course to all of us. As you just saw her struggle for her words. We all know her and we know how eloquent she was before that stroke.

All of that is still inside of her and it is very hard for her to get it out. And I'm grateful that she's here. And a living breathing example of why women need to be very aware about heart health.

Through her experience having a stroke she's been able to shine a bright light on the very real risks that women face when it comes to heart disease. Still the leading cause of death among women in the United States and accounting for one third of maternal deaths.

Yet women's symptoms are often overlooked under diagnosed and undertreated because symptoms differ from the male based standards that are used in our health care system. Bringing awareness to these disparities is essential for early detection and good outcomes like our colleague is experiencing.

Listening to your body, seeking care early, making heart healthy choices may very well save your life. I want to stand in support of our colleague as I know all of you do as well. It was beautiful to see the entire State Senate standing behind you as you found your words. Sending.

Senator, we're here with you all the time and as those words come back to you more and more every day, we're all cheering you on. And for all the women out there, see her as an example of what is possible. Take good care of yourselves. I urge an aye vote on Scr115. Senator Caballero.

Thank you very much. Madam President. I want to thank the Senator from Bieber for her, her words. It's important that we hear them. And as you can see, we all wore red today because it's important to stand in solidarity and understand that heart disease for women is a really serious issue.

When you consider that two of the highest risks are high blood pressure and diabetes. Those run rampant in our communities and so anybody is at risk for a stroke or cardiac arrest.

And the more that we can talk about it, the more that we can ask people, women in particular, to understand the risks and to question, question and. Push.

The medical profession to look beyond what their expectations are and to really take seriously that if we're not feeling well, there's a reason and getting good medical care is critically important. As you know, in rural California, that's so hard to get. So thank you very much for bringing this resolution forward. And I respectfully urge.

Yes, an aye vote. Thank you, Senator. Senator Searto.

Madam President, I rise in support of SCR 115 and can attest to this phenomena of women denying that they're having an issue. As a paramedic for many years, I went on several calls where we have a 45 year old female who denies having anything wrong other than an indigestion or a cough.

And you hook them up to the monitor as precautions and you got to talk them into doing it and they're not the ones who called you and they're embarrassed that you're even standing in front of them and only to find when you hook them up the monitor that there's some abnormalities in their heart and convincing them that they are indeed having what we call a silent mi where it's not obvious, it's not the left arm pain, it's not the pain in the shoulder, it's not shortness of breath, it's none of those and thank goodness it is becoming more aware that we're having more education so that we do not have these young deaths amongst.

The female population especially. But it also happens to males where they have this silent MI issue. So I apply it. I applaud my colleague for getting up and speaking the truth about what's going on out there, what can happen if you ignore the symptoms. And I urge an aye vote on this. Thank you.

Thank you, Senator, for that perspective. Senator Grove.

Thank you. Thank you, Madam President. I too rise in support of SCR 115 and applaud my colleague from Bieber for having the courage to get up and speak and share her story. You know, it is true. Women do need to listen to their bodies. She, in her own words, said she had a cough for a year.

How many of you guys have had a cough for a while? How many of us, you know, think that, zero, if I just lay down and rest for a few minutes, I can keep going, but we do need to listen to your bodies.

You know, there was somebody who attacked my colleague from Bieber last year during a certain time period, not in this body, but outside of this building, about her inability to speak. And I want to tell you that aphasia is caused by a stroke, which she did suffer. That doesn't mean she's not intelligent, she's not bright, she's not.

She's. Everything is still working fine in there. The words are affected by it, like her words and communication. So she can communicate it and she knows what to say. She's never lost any cognibility whatsoever in any way, shape or form. She's an outstanding Senator. She reads her legislation, she understands what she's voting on.

So people that think that because she can't communicate the words because of a side effect of the stroke and to attack her for that is completely unacceptable. She is one of the most brightest, Kindest, incredible individuals that any of us have the opportunity to work for.

And I applaud my Senator friend from Bieber for speaking up on this issue that is vitally important to all of us, especially women in California.

Senator Rubio. Thank you, Madam President. And ladies and gentlemen of the Senate, I also rise in strong support of SCR115. And I want to thank the, the good Senator from Beaver. But I didn't want to let this moment go by with highlighting 1 point.

Two years ago I brought a young lady who, who we gave a resolution to on this day to acknowledge the difficulty of, you know, of this disease. But she had it when she was 25. And I think that a lot of us would not think something's wrong with us.

And they dismissed her as she was trying to get medical help because she was too young. And again, she was 25, and there was no real reason for what happened to her. But young ladies, this is not about someone that's elderly or someone that's really stressed.

All these factors contribute, but Even if you're 25, it can happen to you. So just be really aware. And I know someone in my family who also had the same thing happen. And there was no signs. In fact, the ambulance came and they said she was fine.

It's really difficult to detect because visibly you couldn't see it, but it was there. So just be very cautious. I think it's already been stated that we have to be aware when something's happening. We tend to dismiss it because life happens, but it's serious.

And this young lady that I spoke of, 25 years old, had a lot of her life taken away, having to be at the hospital and going back and forth. So let's just be mindful. And I want to just say thanks again to our Senator from Beaver. Your courage is really admirable.

And I want to just say we see you getting over this and continue to grow and thrive because we're all here to support you. And with that, I ask for an aye vote. Thank you.

Thank you, Senators, for your comments. Senator Dahle, you may now close.

Thank you for the. Thank you. I urge an aye vote.

[Roll Call]

Ayes 37. No zero. The resolution passes. Senator Rubio, you have file item 71.

Secretary, please read.

Senate Resolution 75 by Senator Rubio, relative to...awareness week.

Senator.

Thank you, Madam President. And ladies and gentlemen, at this Senate, I rise to present SR 75 to recognize this week as California Earned Income Tax Credit Awareness Week.

When I meet with my constituents and I hear the same message over and over again, and I know that everyone on the Senate floor hears it the same, we know that we must do better to support hardworking families who are struggling with a high cost of living.

And the California Earned Income Tax Credit is one of the most effective tools we have to help these families. The Cal EITC reward—rewards—work, puts money back into the pockets of people who need it the most, and strengthens our local economies. The Cal EITC is not just aligned on the tax form.

It is a critical lifeline, and a lot of people miss it. And so, we're here to encourage people to find out how to get this credit. Every year, it helps hundreds of thousands of Californians with extra money and helps them out of poverty.

As legislators, it is important for us to help raise awareness so that every family who qualifies gets the tax credit, but it's not always the case. I encourage my colleagues once again to make sure that constituents know how to check that box because some of the times, they don't know that it's available.

It is something that they can use to help them. And again, it needs over and over for us to educate, encourage, and bring awareness to this issue and help spread the word that families can use this. It is simple, but we need to help them get there.

Again, by recognizing this EITC Awareness Week, we reaffirm our commitment to the economy, to helping those less fortunate, and to, again, bringing awareness so that they get this tax credit. With that, I respectfully ask for an aye vote. Thank you.

Thank you. Senator Becker, you're recognized.

Yeah. I want to thank my colleague for bringing this up. And just to quickly note, this is one of the most effective and important anti-poverty programs we have here in California and, as my colleague said, not enough folks know about it and anything we can do to help raise awareness is really important.

So, I respectfully ask for an aye vote.

Senator Rubio, you may close.

I ask for an aye vote. Thank you.

Secretary, please call the roll.

[Roll Call]

Moving on to Committee announcements. We have one announcement. Senator Becker.

Thank you, Madam President. The Select Committee on Economic Development and Technological Innovation will meet in swing room 1200 at 10:30.

Thank you, Senator. Returning to motions and resolutions. Before we get into adjourn in memory, any member wish to be recognized? Senator Alvarado-Gil.

Thank you, Madam President. Please move file item 67 to the enacted file.

The desk will note. Seeing no other member, Senator Allen. Senator Allen, you have the first adjourn in memory.

Members, it's with a very heavy heart that I rise today to adjourn in the memory of a very special Californian, Frank Owen Geary, the visionary architect who reshaped skylines from Bilbao to Manhattan to Los Angeles, who passed away in December at the age of 96. He was born Ephraim Owen Goldberg in 1929.

He spent his childhood in a small Toronto mining town up in Canada, helping to stock the shelves at his grandfather's hardware store before moving to LA with his family when he was 17. And when he arrived, he said that LA was a brash, raucous frontier. He concluded that there was an edge to it.

He became a local, taking night classes in ceramics and architecture at LA City College and becoming naturalized as a citizen. He went on to earn his architecture degree from USC before serving a few years in the Army.

He continued his studies in urban planning at Harvard Graduate School and ultimately, returned to Los Angeles to launch his own architecture firm as Frank Owen Gehry, a name change that had been suggested to him due to widespread anti-Semitism.

Years before the height of his fame, Frank captured the attention of the architecture community, the public, and especially his neighbors when he unveiled the Santa Monica home that's just down the road from my condo that he designed for himself and his wife, Berta.

He transformed what he called a dumb little house with charm into an amalgamation of a pink bungalow with intersecting planes of chain link glass and corrugated steel unfolding the house to create rooms that are both inside and outside the front door.

Gehry's iconoclastic style was the product of both his limitless imagination which accepted no rule as gospel and sought the full potential of every material and opportunity, combined with his unwavering commitment to realize his client's dreams.

Now, his unique, unencumbered, wild, wonderful approach is probably best known in his magnum opus, the Guggenheim Museum in Bilbao, a building that he placed on the waterfront of a declining shipping port, designed and modeled with French aerospace software that he adapted to architecture and shrouded in titanium sourced from the collapsed Soviet Union.

Local leaders in Bilbao had high hopes for the museum, elevating their city to one of global recognition, helping to attract as many as half a million new tourists to bolster the local economy. When it opened under budget, under budget in 1997, Frank's Guggenheim brought critics to tears and tourists to Basque country by the millions.

His critics were actually one of the greatest testaments to the genius of his Guggenheim, arguing that if the museum itself is a work of art, it would be a distraction from the art it was designed to showcase. But they were incorrect.

Dubbed the "Miracle in Bilbao," it sent waves through the architectural and artistic world, and Frank became one of the elite few known starchitects, the rare names whose iconic buildings and celebrity status could transcend academia and enter into pop culture.

The museum's transformative success, known as the Bilbao Effect in architecture textbooks, not only catapulted the city into the global conversation, it also canonized Gehry as one of the most influential figures in architectural history. His pioneering use of computer modeling, his artistic vision, his technical mastery, they'd already earned Frank the highest honors in architecture, the Pritzker Prize, as well as Japan's Premium Imperiale, the World Arts Award, akin to Nobel.

But his tour de force in Bilbao is what earned him the high honors remaining in the architectural grand slam that he was able to achieve, a gold medal from the American Institute of Architects in 1999, and then another from the Royal Institute of British Architects in 2000.

Receiving all four of these awards placed him in the company of only a handful of other architects without even considering his Harvard Arts Medal, the Honorary Doctorate, and the Presidential Medal of Freedom.

And in fact, our colleague, Senator Laird, mentioned that when he was getting the UC Santa Cruz Medal, it happened to be the same day that John was visiting Bilbao and seeing his beautiful museum there.

Now, of course, we all know that then Mr. Gehry graced us, here in California, with another triumph, the Walt Disney Concert Hall in downtown Los Angeles, a monument to Los Angeles housing a temple of classical music within a colossus of flowing steel that reflects the city's cultural magnitude, vibrant spirit, and its defiance of the status quo.

While the Guggenheim and Disney Hall stand as iconic poles of Geary world, Frank's six decade career is studded with flagship buildings, world class concert halls, countless sculptural works of art, including his Fisk sculptures everywhere from the World Trade Center to the Barcelona skyline, the handbags, watches, and perfume bottles he crafted for Louis Vuitton, and even Foggy, the wooden yacht that he designed and sailed himself.

Gehry's many successes were no fluke, but rather a reflection of his attention to detail and purpose. When an Oxford professor researched 16,000 major projects worldwide, Frank's buildings were consistently found in the mere half of 1% of projects that were completed on time, under budget, and actually delivered the benefits they were designed to bring.

His brilliance as an intuitive artist, his ability to render landmarks out of simple scribbles, came from the way he internalized the profound moments in his life and never lost sight of the lessons they taught him.

His early years in his grandfather's hardware store taught him a lifelong respect of the normal materials, plywood, chain link, that have such a place in real people's lives.

As he watched the large carp his grandmother placed in the bathtub before she would make gefilte fish, the elegance and movement he loved of the carp inspired the iconic curves for which he's known in his architecture.

When he saw the 2,500-year-old charioteer of Delphi in Greece and found himself moved to tears because of the power of that work, the idea that this bronze from thousands of years ago could carry such emotional resonance with him across millennia, gave him his North Star to shape buildings that would move people for generations.

Frank's passing has sparked an outpouring of love and reflection on the magnitude of his legacy with artists and cultural institutions remembering him as a liberating force in the evolution of architecture and inspiration to generations to come, and most importantly, a great architect and an even greater friend in person.

We also know that he spent a lot of his later years focused on trying to help uplift disadvantaged communities and bring beautiful art to communities, such as those communities around the Los Angeles River. Frank is survived by his wife, Berta, his sister, Doreen Gehry-Nilsson, and his children, Sam, Alejandro, and Brina Gehry.

Colleagues, please join me in honoring the art life and legacy of an extraordinary Californian, Frank Gehry, by adjourning the Senate in his memory.

Senator Stern on this aim.

Yeah. Thank you, Madam President. Thank you for the rich and meaningful retrospective and honoring. I just want to add that when I, I met Frank Gehry, he changed my life a bit and made me imagine Los Angeles in a different way.

He showed me a different way of looking at our river, or what I guess is called a river, but it's really a drainage ditch that runs 51 miles through the heart of LA, just a piece of concrete they built to control floods and move tanks out of the ports in World War II.

And it just sits there dividing communities and it's the hottest parts of every neighborhood. And we walk across it every Saturday and, you know, shopping carts more than what you normally see in a river. But Frank, that was the last unfinished work of his life, was reimagining what LA could become and that you'd have a—he put it like a green emerald necklace through the heart of the city.

Just a beautiful vision. And to think that it all started with a buffalo carp is, is pretty remarkable.

Ephraim Owen Goldberg was actually his given name, and he changed his name later on in life to become Frank Gehry, as opposed to Ephraim Goldberg, for obvious reasons. When you're born in 1929, and even if you're born in 2026, there are a lot of complexities to having a name and being Jewish and being called Ephraim.

But he transcended all that and built some beautiful visions, and I, I just hope we keep going with that to see beauty in the most urban and brutal landscape. So, in that honor, thank you.

Senator Allen, while his legacy can be viewed all across California, please bring his name forward so that his legacy will live in the State Senate. Senator Umberg.

Well, thank you, Madam President and colleagues. All of us are here. Either we got here or we're sustained here because of those around us, whether it's our family, our friends, our staff. Today, I ask that we adjourn in honor of one of those very special people, and that's the wife of former Pro Tem David Roberti.

David Roberti was pro tem for 12 years. He served in the Legislature for 27 years. And I would expect that but for Prop 140, he'd still be among us today. I think he's watching us today, watching us from afar, as we honor his partner in life, his partner in the Legislature, his partner in politics.

And that's his wife, June Roberti. She moved her family—with her family—from Massachusetts to Los Angeles in 1960. And she worked initially as a secretary and became involved in political campaigns, and there, she met the love of her life, her husband, David.

She was a 24 hour a day, seven day a week partner and policy and political member of Senator Roberti's team. She was faithful to her conscience, direct, outspoken on issues that mattered to her and her husband, and passionate about how California cared for its people in need and a formidable advocate for animal rights.

She enjoyed cultivating her garden, growing lemon and fig trees, as well as herbs and flowers. She had a warm kitchen, always cooking and baking for her family and hosting holiday gatherings.

June had a soft spot for a family of pets, including her dogs, Duchess, Bimby, Reggie, and Penny, and her cats, Toby, JB, and Nina, along with the countless strays that she helped adopt and place with the Humane Society.

She dutifully took care of her mother, Johanna, her mother-in-law and father-in-law, Elvira and Emil Roberti, until all of their passing. She's survived by her husband, Senator David Roberti, brother, Maxwell, sister, Barbara, niece, Andrea, and so many, so many special relatives. I ask that we adjourn today in honor of June Roberti. Thank you.

Thank you, Senator Umburg. Please bring her name forward so she may be forever memorialized. Senator Archuleta.

Thank you, Madam President. Today, we're talking about heart disease. We're talking about the tragedy that it brings to families an awareness. This is a story and I guess I'm going to share with you because it touched me.

All of us have a connection with our football coaches in our high schools, our little leagues, and everywhere else in our communities.

Well, here's a young man that I will share the story who became that football coach and was giving a rah rah speech at the Fire Department because you know, coaches, they can really get everybody riled up.

As he was giving this speech, he fell to his knees and he died right there on the spot in front of all the firefighters. They tried everything to revive him. They couldn't. Heart disease will hit when you least expect it. So, Madam President, I rise today to adjourn in memory of that young coach, Stephen Michael Rudiflores.

Stephen was born October 27, 1970, in Los Angeles. Steve was born in Los Angeles to Gilbert and Mary Rudiflores, raised in Alhambra, California, where he developed a lifelong passion for education, athletics, and mentorship, grounded by family values and hard work.

The day he was born, his father, Gilbert, was coaching football in the fields of Salesian High School in Los Angeles while his mother, Mary, was at the hospital. Football was in Steve's blood and Steve wanted to be just like his dad, to be that high school coach.

He played Pop Warner football for the Alhambra Thunderbirds and went on to play football at Alhambra High School. He played and was coached with his father at Glendale College, where they won the Western State Bowl Game. Steve's hard work paid off.

He was recruited to play Division 1 football at California State University, Long Beach under NFL Hall of Fame coach, George Allen. He earned his bachelor's and master's degree in kinology along with his teaching credential. He started coaching football and teaching as an instructor in community colleges in Los Angeles. This was Stephen's true passion.

He was doing what he was meant to do. He taught and coached at Glendale College, Los Angeles City College, Pasadena City College, East Los Angeles College, West Los Angeles College, Compton College, and won two bowl games teaching at Long Beach City College. Of course, Steve was competitive by nature and loved to win.

He was a brilliant defensive coordinator. But what Steve really loved was making connections. Steve was a masterful recruiter and would build relationships with other coaches, players, and their families. His end goal was always to create opportunities for student athletes. Steve was honored to be a mentor to these young men, especially at his last coaching job in Compton.

In recent years, Steve was working hard with a new football challenge, helping to rebuild a football program at Compton College that struggled to recover after Covid. He worked diligently to recruit players and re-establish a football program. Steve would consistently take players out to lunch and sometimes dinner, working with them, keep them engaged, connected.

He cherished the brotherhood and the camaraderie he had with his fellow coaches. He was made a lasting—he has made a lasting impact on countless lives both on and off the field. In 2012, Steve met his love of his life, Rachel. They bonded over their love, exploring the city of Los Angeles and football.

Not long after their relationship began, Rachel took Steve to a USC football game. The rest is history. They married and had their daughter, Natalia. She is nine years old and she'll be missing her daddy dearly. Steve's love for them is undeniable. He truly lived for them. Steve passed away unexpectedly, as I had mentioned, on June 8th.

Taken away far too soon, far too young, Steve leaves behind his family, friends, and countless students and athletes. His legacy will go on. I was honored to be at the funeral and the reception thereafter. Over 225 people attended—coaches from all over Southern California and the NFL.

For these reasons, I ask that we adjourn in the memory of Stephen Michael Rudiflores. Thank you, Madam President.

Senator, thank you for sharing the coach's story. Please bring his name forward so that he may be forever memorialized. There is no other business. Madam Pro Tem, the desk is clear.

Thank you, Members. Our next floor session is scheduled for Monday, February 9th at 2:00 PM.

The Senate is in recess until 3:30 PM at which time the adjournment motion will be made. We will reconvene Monday, February 9th, 2026, at 2 PM. Would the Legislative Women's Caucus please stay behind for a group photo? Thank you.