Assembly Floor

Morning. California morning. The Assembly is now in session. Assembly Member Wallis, you are recognized.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Good afternoon. I noticed there seems to be the absence of a quorum.

Thank you, Assembly Member Wallace. Assembly Member Wallace notices the absence of a quorum. The sergeant arms will prepare the chamber bringing the absent Members. Clerk will call the roll.

Addis, Agriel, Curry. Aladice. Aarons. Alois Alvarez. Arambula. Avila. Fadias. Baines. Bauer. Cahan. Bennett. Berman. Berner. Banta, Brian. Calderon. Coloza, Carillo. Castillo. Chen. Connolly. Davies. Demaio, Dixon. El Hawari, Ellis, Flora. Fong, Gabriel. Gallagher, Garcia. Gibson, Jeff. Gonzalez, Mark Gonzalez, Hadwick Haney, Harbin, Hart. Hoover, Irwin. Jackson. Johnson, Kara. Krell, Lackey Lee. Lowenthal, Macedo, McKenna, Mirsucci, Quinn. Ortega, Pacheco, Papin, Patel, Patterson, Pelerin, Peachtri, Norris. Quirk, Silva, Ramos, Ransom, Celeste Rodriguez, Michelle Rodriguez. Rogers, Rubio, Sanchez, Chiavo Schultz, Sharpe. Collins, Solace Soria, Stephanie Ta, Tangipa. Valencia, Wallace. Ward, Wicks, Wilson, Zabur Mr. Speaker.

Members, a quorum is present. We ask our guests and visitors in the gallery in the rear of the chamber to please stand for today's prayer. Reverend Oshita will offer today's prayer. Reverend Oshita.

Please join me in a moment of reflection. The Winter Olympics and the Super Bowl made this quite a weekend for games. Throughout history, our human cultures have enjoyed their games, whether card games, or board games, or games requiring physical prowess. Humanity has long created and loved their games.

I think that is because within the games, we feel the momentary comfort of certainty. In our games, the rules are clearly defined. The players and spectators know well what is fair and what is foul. The boundaries, too, are clearly marked, and we know what is out of bounds.

We know the value of a royal flush, a touchdown, or a goal. Unlike the games we enjoy watching or playing, in living life, we often do not know what the rules are or if there are boundaries. There are no assessment of fragrant fowls or unnecessary roughness. In life, what we thought were rules may suddenly not apply.

Then why, I feel-- that's why I feel we find a sense of comfort in our games. Most important, unlike our games, in life, we never know when we are in the ninth inning or the fourth quarter. In life, we are not often given a two-minute warning.

Unlike the games we watch or play, in living life, we never know when our season will end. And too often, we fool ourselves into believing our season will be infinitely long. And when we do this, we begin to live each day taking for granted the time we have.

All the players in yesterday's Super Bowl and all the competitors in these Winter Olympic games, they know they must be at their best, not tomorrow, not next season, or in the next Olympics. The time to be at your best is right now.

It is a great mistake to not be trying our best to be as genuine as we can, because in real life, it is always the ninth inning. Every day we know is in the fourth quarter. Every moment can be game, set, and match. Knowing the value of each moment, let us live with appreciation and with the awareness to make the most of each day. Let us live with kindness and gratitude beyond words.

We ask our guests and visitors to remain standing to join us in the flag salute. Assembly Member Krell will lead us in the Pledge of Allegiance.

Colleagues, please join me in the pledge. I pledge allegiance... [Pledge of Allegiance].

You may be seated. To our guests and visitors today, state law prohibits persons in the gallery from interfering with legislative proceedings or disrupting the orderly conduct of official business. Persons disrupting legislative proceedings are subject to removal, arrest, or other appropriate legal remedies. Reading of the previous day's journal.

Assembly Chamber, Sacramento, Tuesday, January 20, 2026. The Assembly met at 1:00 p.m. The Honorable Josh Lowenthal, Speaker Pro Tem--

Majority Leader Aguiar-Curry moves and Ms. Sanchez seconds that the reading of the previous day's journal be dispensed with. Presentations of petitions, there are none. Introduction and reference of bills will be deferred. Reports of committees will be deemed read. Amendments deemed adopted.

Messages from the Governor, there are none. Messages from the Senate, there are none. Moving to motions and resolutions. The absences of the day will be deemed read and printed in the journal. Onto procedural motions, Madam Majority Leader, you are recognized for your procedural motions.

Good afternoon. I request unanimous consent to suspend Assembly Rule 45.5 to allow Assembly Members Patel, Patterson, Pellerin, and Dixon to speak on adjournments of memory today.

Without objection, such shall be the order.

I request unanimous consent to suspend Assembly Rule 118A to allow Assembly Members Irwin, Ward, Hadwick, and Ransom to have guests in the rear of the chamber and to allow Assembly Member Garcia to have a guest seated at his desk today.

Without objection, such shall be the order.

I request unanimous consent to suspend the rules to allow Assembly Member Bryan to take up HR 84 today without reference to file for the purposes of adoption.

Without objection, such shall be the order. Assembly Member DeMaio, you are recognized.

Mr. Speaker, I move that the Assembly immediately take up ACA 14, the Taxpayer Protection Act, without reference to file.

Thank you, Assembly Member DeMaio. That motion requires a second. Is there a second? Seconded by Assembly Member Castillo. Members, this motion is not debatable. It takes 41 votes. The clerk will open the roll. All members vote who desire to vote. Mr. DeMaio is asking for an aye vote. Majority Leader is asking for a no vote.

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: 14; noes: 44. The motion fails. Members, we're moving on to guest introductions, and you're going to have to forgive the chair.

We are going to need to go back and forth with guest introductions due to the vast sheer size of the guests that are joining us in the gallery. We're going to start with Assembly Member Irwin. Assembly Member Irwin, you are recognized for your very important guest introductions.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker, and I would like you to turn your attention to the back of the chamber. We do have a very special guest, a previous speaker of the Assembly and current Mayor of Los Angeles. With us also today we have Council Member Traci Park. Can we give them a big round of applause?

Welcome, Madam Speaker. Welcome, Madam Mayor. Welcome, Council Member. Welcome to the California Assembly.

And then I would also like my constituents from Palisades that are here to stand up, and if we could please welcome them also?

Welcome, Palisades. Welcome to the People's House. Thank you, members. Continuing on with our guest introductions. Assembly Member Wilson, you are recognized for your very important guest introductions.

Yes. Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Colleagues--and I believe they're standing up. We are, like, almost 90 or 100 strong here. So, colleagues, it is my pleasure today to welcome a special group joining us in the gallery. We are honored to have seniors from Dixon High School, along with their history and civic teachers, visiting the California State Assembly.

These students have been learning about democracy in the classroom, and today they get to see it up close, where ideas are debated, decisions are made, and voices matter. That kind of firsthand experience is what turns lessons into lifelong civic engagement. I'm really glad you all are here today.

We hope that today sparks curiosity, and maybe in the future, a path to public service. To the colleagues, we are lucky to have them here with us, so please join me in giving Dixon High School a warm welcome to the Capitol. Please stand.

Dixon High School in the House. Welcome. Welcome, seniors.

Okay, members. It is now time for Mr. Ward to do his guest introduction from Mr. Speaker's desk. Mr. Ward, you are recognized.

Well, thank you, Mr. Speaker and colleagues. Today I am truly honored to recognize Tabatha Vogelsang for her 32 years of remarkable service to the California State Assembly. Tabatha has built an extraordinary career defined by professionalism, institutional knowledge, and a deep commitment to public service.

Currently, as the Committee Secretary for the Arts, Entertainment, Sports, and Tourism Committee, Tabatha has been a cornerstone of our team, helping to ensure that our committee consistently delivers high-quality work for the people of California and this body.

Over the course of her career, Tabitha has served as a Senior Assistant and scheduler to Assemblymember Jim Frazier and spent more than two decades as a Special Assistant to the Office of the Speaker under eight speakers. In each role, she was trusted for her leadership, organization, and unmatched understanding of legislative process and protocol.

And what truly sets Tabitha apart is her love for this institution. She has shared that this Capitol has been a second home to her and that throughout her career, she would often look up at the cupola and reflect on how blessed she felt to work in this building.

Her family would tease her because she often talked so much about how she loved coming to work. And as she would say, you would never know who you would walk into in this building and through that door.

In fact, on her very first day in the Assembly, Sonny Bono walked through her member's office, and she knew that she had found a career that she would love. Tabitha has worked with incredible people from all walks of life, but has built lasting friendships throughout this building. She also shared that this retirement is bittersweet.

As you all know, she was incredibly proud that her son, Roman, followed in her footsteps to serve the people of California. And as we adjourned recently, in his memory, his loss last September is deeply felt, but his legacy of service lives on.

As a personal note, I remember as a young staffer myself, some years ago, how important Tabitha was to this institution.

She was the one that always popped up in your email box as you were getting those regular updates about the pre-session document for floor session, as I had to liaise with the Speaker's office on special occasions, such as putting together one of our ceremonies and do all that staff work that many of us asked our staffers to do.

Of course, she was on that email blast, and I was grateful when I got her confirmation that the work could continue. And I was nervous when she kicked it up to her boss, my returner, because that means I had a lot more work to do.

But she was a pleasure to work with both so directly in many of these roles, and I was grateful to return as a member of this body to see her light still under the stone.

Now, as she begins this next chapter, Tabitha looks forward to traveling with her husband, Rick, spending time with their grandchildren, Reagan and Clyde, working on home projects, and enjoying time with their beloved corgis, Sookie, Rocco, and Bodie. Tabitha, your dedication, kindness, and service have left a lasting impact on this Assembly.

And on behalf of the California State Assembly, congratulations on an extraordinary career. Thank you for your many years of service to the people of California, and we wish you all the best.

Thank you. We have a few other members that want to speak. Tabitha, you're not done quite yet. You're not quite done yet. Assemblymember Quirk-Silva, you are recognized. And then Assemblymember Gipson will be recognized.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I also rise to recognize the service of Tabitha Volsing, who has served as the Committee Secretary for the Arts, Entertainment, Sports, and Tourism Committee. During my time as Chair of this Committee, Tabitha was an extremely strong and trusted partner in our Committee work.

She brought focus and follow through to every hearing, every agenda, and every detail that mattered. Many of us who have chaired committees know that it is the Committee staff that keeps our hearings on task and actually make us often look professional when it's their hard work. Tabitha supported members, staff, and the public with personal professionalism and generosity.

The issues before this Committee shape California's creative economy and cultural life. We only have to look at yesterday's Super Bowl and the future Olympics in Los Angeles to know that this Committee with sports and tourism is vital to California's economy.

And Tabitha was right there, working alongside many members on this floor to make sure that those issues were highlighted. I'm deeply grateful for Tabitha's years of public service and for the example she set. Thank you, Tabitha. You will be missed, and we wish you nothing but the happiness and fulfillment in your next chapter.

Assemblymember Gipson, you are recognized.

Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker and members. I just want to say, Tabitha, thank you so very much for, one, serving when I was the Chair of the Arts, Entertainment, and Sports and Tourism Committee. want to thank the speaker for giving me the opportunity to Chair this Committee.

It certainly was a delight to have you as a Committee Secretary. You were right there, not only for me, for this Committee, but also for the people of the State of California. You were certainly a delight to work with. You will be absolutely missed and let me underscore missed. But I wish you well.

I wish you to write the next chapter of your dreams for you and Rick and your family, your grandchildren. And I want you to write the best chapter for your next life. I wish that you would write it big. Follow your dreams, your aspirations, do what you want to do.

And I wish the best for you because I believe that the best is still yet to come. Congratulations.

Congratulations. Okay, Members, we are going to take up business on the daily file. We're going to begin with our concurrence item file, on item number one, we will pass and retain. On reconsideration, file items two through four, all items shall be continued. That brings us to the Assembly third reading file.

File items five and six, we will pass and retain on those. Senate third reading file, file item seven through nine, we will pass and retain on file item seven and eight. That brings us to file item number nine, SB 106 by Senator Laird, presented by Assembly Member Gabriel with amendments by Assembly Member Tangipa. The Clerk will read with amendments.

Senate Bill 106 with amendments by Assemblymember Tangipa.

Assemblymember Tangipa, you are recognized on the amendments.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Today, I rise in opposition to SB 106, and I offer these amendments because I believe in providing comprehensive health care for all women, not just some. When voting on these amendments, ask yourself this one question.

Why does Planned Parenthood get a $90 million grant, but right now, over 60 hospitals in the state of California are on the verge of shutting down and they have to ask for a hospital distress loan? Hospitals across our state that deliver high quality care to women are on the brink of closure. Today, one in five of our hospitals is at risk of shutting its door.

Between the low Medi-Cal reimbursement rates and the high cost of required seismic renovations, many hospitals are struggling just to keep services available. These are comprehensive Medi-Cal services that nonprofits simply can't and don't provide. In Madera County right now, women must travel outside their county just to give birth, despite a nonprofit operating an office there.

This is not true access to care. Let me reiterate that. In the county that I represent, there is not a single labor and delivery services available. A woman who lives in Madera County cannot have a baby, in one of the largest counties in the state of California.

We should be focused on ensuring comprehensive Medi-Cal—medical—care for every woman and everywhere, not directing limited resources in a way that leaves communities behind.

Additionally, under the original text of SB 106, we would be funneling millions of dollars to a nonprofit with little to no transparency at a time when it feels like every week brings another case of corruption or misuse of public funds. We should be moving towards greater accountability, not away from it.

Colleagues, I respectfully ask for your support of these amendments to ensure access to quality medical care for all women across the entire state of California.

Thank you, Assemblymember Tangipa. Madam Majority Leader, you are recognized.

I move delay the amendments on the table.

Seconded by Assemblymember Ortega. Members, this motion is not debatable. It takes a majority of those present in voting. This is a procedural vote. Clerk will open the roll. All Members vote who desire to vote.

The Majority Leader is asking for an aye vote. Assemblymember Tangipa is asking for a no vote. All Members vote who desire to vote. All Members vote who desire to vote. Clerk will close the roll and tally the votes. Ayes, 41, notes 13. The amendments are laid on the table. Clerk will now read on the Bill.

Senate Bill 106 by Senator Laird, an act relating to the state budget, making an appropriation, therefore, to take effect immediately. Budget bill.

Budget Bill Gabriel, you are recognized.

Assemblymember Gabriel, you are recognized.

Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. I rise to present SB 106, which will provide essential funding to support women's health care and family planning services to communities across California. Most importantly, this Bill will backfill $90 million in federal funding that has been stripped away from community clinics that offer abortion services.

It is important, colleagues, to be blunt about what is going on here. President Trump and Congressional Republicans have specifically and intentionally defunded Planned Parenthood as part of their broader attack on reproductive freedom and abortion rights.

This calculated attack will have devastating consequences for communities across California, both in terms of reproductive freedom as well as access to basic health care. Under such circumstances, California cannot and will not stand idly by.

Despite our budget challenges, we must step up to defend Planned Parenthood, to defend reproductive freedom, to defend abortion rights, and to defend access to health care for women and families across California. In short, while the President is attacking California communities, we are standing up to defend them.

While more work remains ahead, this funding is essential to support services such as contraception, family planning, cancer screening, and so much more.

And I want to take a moment and thank our incredible Women's Caucus, led by our Majority Leader, the Chair of the Budget Subcommitee on Health, the Health Policy Committee Chair, the Chair of the Select Committee on Reproductive Health, and so many others who have fought tirelessly to defend Planned Parenthood and protect our communities.

And so, on behalf of communities across the State of California, I respectfully request your aye vote on SB 106.

Thank you, Assemblymember Gabriel. Assemblymember Johnson, you are recognized.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I rise in strong opposition of SB 106 today. As a Member of the Budget Subcommittee, I am deeply troubled by the lack of transparency surrounding this Bill. We have not had one single public hearing, yet we are being asked to approve 90 million in taxpayer funds. That alone should give all of us, every Member in this room, pause.

California expects us to operate in open and to earn their trust, not to evade their scrutiny. From a policy standpoint, the concerns only deepen. This Bill provides 90 million in grants to so-called reproductive care providers while explicitly exempting those funds from basic accountability.

There's no public input, no meaningful oversight, and no clarity that I can see on which organizations receive the money or how it will be spent. At a time when fraud and misuse and public funds are being uncovered across our state, this approach undermines confidence in our government.

Back home, my constituents are asking why we can find 90 million without hearings for this, while families struggle with the cost-of-living pressures, public safety needs, and infrastructure demands. As a legislator, I cannot support a Bill written in the dark. As a taxpayer, I cannot support spending without accountability.

But as a conservative, I cannot support funding abortion providers with public dollars. We can and must do better. I respectfully ask for your no vote on SB 106.

Thank you, Assemblymember Johnson. Assemblymember Sharp-Collins, you are recognized.

Thank you, Speaker and Members. Let me open up by acknowledging happy Black History Month. I rise on behalf of the Women's Caucus. I rise in support of SB 106, which is the continued funding for Planned Parenthood because this debate is about more than a line item in a budget.

It is about who controls the health decisions, whose lives we value, and whether access to care depends on your zip code, your income, or your identity. I've served on the San Diego Board of Planned Parenthood, and I have seen firsthand what this organization means in the lives of so many patients.

For millions of people, Planned Parenthood is not a backup option. It is their primary source of care, meaning it's their only option. It is where they go for cancer screenings, they go for birth control, they go for STI testing and treatment, annual exams, and for honest, medically accurate information about their health.

The attacks on Planned Parenthood are often framed as a political or ideological, but the actual world impact is deeply personal and profoundly unequal. When funding is threatened, the people who feel it first and the worst are always those who were already faced with the greatest barriers around them, many of the greatest barriers to care.

Low-income patients, people of color, black people, immigrants, young people, LGBTQIA-plus individuals, rural communities with few or no other providers. Health inequities in this country did not happen by accident and they will not be solved by accident. They are the result of policy choices.

Choosing to fund Planned Parenthood is a decision to close gaps in care, to invest in prevention, and to make sure that basic health services are not a luxury reserved for those with wealth or privilege. Let us also be clear about the defunding, atually, what defunding really, actually does.

It does not reduce the need for the reproductive or preventive health care. It does not make people stop needing cancer screenings or birth control or STI treatment. It simply makes that care harder for folks to access.

It causes a lot more delays and more expensive in the long run, which leads to the worst health care outcomes and higher public costs, especially in the communities that are already underserved. We should be moving in the opposite direction instead of continuing to roll backwards.

We should be expanding access to trusted providers, strengthening the healthcare safety net, and ensuring that patients can make decisions about their own bodies. It's my body, it's my right, without political interference. Healthcare should be guided by medical evidence and patients' needs, not by ideology.

During my time on the San Diego's Planned Parenthood Board, I saw an organization that is accountable. They are medically rigorous and deeply committed to treating every patient with dignity, style, class, and pride.

Providers and staff show up every single day, even in the face of harassment and political attacks, because they believe everyone deserves quality care, no matter who they are and how much money they have in their pockets. So, supporting this funding means we are serious about health equity. It means that we understand what reproductive health is truly about.

And it means that we are willing to stand with our patients, our families, and our communities instead of turning our backs on them for political gain. I am proud to support Planned Parenthood and the essential care that it currently provides, and I respectfully ask for your aye vote on SB 106.

Thank you, Assemblymember Sharp-Collins. Assemblymember Gipson, you are recognized.

Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker and Members. First of all, let me just simply say I rise in support of SB 106 and also thank the author from the Senate for bringing this Bill forward and thank my colleague from the San Fernando Valley.

So, I represent a big portion of South-Central Los Angeles and these services are absolutely needed. We're talking about legislation that provides $90 million of one time only funding to ensure clinics that can keep their doors open and continue to provide service for millions of Californians in the state of California.

And again, I want to underscore, we would not be in this position if it wasn't for this one big, ugly, disastrous Bill that was provided by the White House and, and Republicans in Congress that disregards and continuously disrespect our community, especially our vulnerable communities. We would not be in this position.

And so, my colleague asked and talked about why are we doing this when hospitals are closing. Well, we know why we're in this position. And I don't know why he would even ask the question, why are we doing this? We're doing this because we care for our community. We care about our community, especially communities of color.

And obviously, Washington, D.C. continuously get it wrong time and time again. But dammit, we're going to stand up and we're going to protect Californians and those, especially our women. And we know that Planned Parenthood provide the much vital needed services. And my colleague has already articulated that it does more than just reproductive services.

And if we don't do it, then what's going to happen is we're going to have more people dying, underscore dying, in our community, and that's not something that we want to have on our conscience. So, that's why we're going to stand up with moral dignity and fight on behalf of the people we represent, because it's our responsibility.

And that's why we were elected. We were elected to stand up for those who cannot stand up for themselves, those who've been left out, those who've been left for dead. And we're going to do that.

And today is an opportunity for those who have the moral fortitude to stand up for those individuals that we took an oath and to swear to stand up for.

And we're going to continue to do that, even in the midst of the bullies and those who can't do it, who have the moral courage to do it in Washington D.C., the cowards who won't do it in Washington D.C., and we're going to stand up because that's what made California, California.

That's the reason why we took the office. That's the reason why I ran for public office, to stand up for those who can't stand up for themselves. And dammit, we're going to do it. So, we're going to do it unapologetically.

The $90 million is a drop in a bucket to support Planned Parenthood, to provide the vital needed services for the women folk who needs it. And the people in my district absolutely need it. So, I respectfully ask for a strong aye vote and let's do the right thing for people.

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

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Good afternoon, colleagues. I'd like to rise in strong support for SB 106 and urge all of my colleagues to join me in voting yes to maintain critical access to health care services for all Californians.

I work very closely with my colleagues in this chamber in a bipartisan fashion, and I think most of us do, too. But what is happening in Washington, D.C. under Donald Trump and congressional Republicans is wrong and it hurts all of our constituents, regardless of where you live or what your political affiliation is.

Trump's big, ugly budget slashed more than $120 billion over 10 years from health care, putting all of us at risk in our communities. From tribal communities to residents in Madera to residents in Santa Clara County, hospitals and clinics will close because of this federal budget.

Clinics are already closing and even more clinics and hospitals are going to continue to close because of Trump's big, ugly budget. And why does the big, ugly budget specifically target Planned Parenthood? We must put a stop to Donald Trump and Congressional Republicans' attack on women's health care.

We will pass this Bill today to protect health care access for all Californians, and I hope you will all join me in supporting that. And lastly, why is Donald Trump and Pan Bondi continuing to block millions of files in the Epstein files? And why do they continue to redact wealthy names?

All victims deserve to know the truth of what is happening and I urge an aye vote for SB 106.

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

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Bringing you back on topic to SB 106. Let me start out by saying I'm a Republican who firmly believes in personal freedom, as a gay Republican, as a prochoice Republican. Government ought to be out of our lives, out of our bedroom, out of our pocketbook. California voters share those beliefs.

We are a live and let live state. No matter where you stand on the issue of abortion, it's a profoundly personal decision, not something for government to be involved in, in any significant way. It's between you, your family, and your faith. But let's be clear. This isn't about choice or access to abortion services.

The language in this Bill is written in such a way that one single politically connected supporter receives $90 million with an extraordinary lack of oversight, audit, and financial responsibility. Why? Why are we doing this? Why for this specific group? I don't think it has anything to do with women's health care services.

Because if you cared about women's health care services, you wouldn't be backfilling $90 million that the Federal Government so called "shortchanged" California. No, no. Last week, you had an opportunity to backfill $2.5 billion to provide women with healthcare services. You chose not to.

In fact, I went through the entire record of the budget and this is the first backfill action this Legislature has taken. You have not backfilled any other federal reductions except for one politically connected Planned Parenthood. I got my hands on a poll that was done on your side of the aisle from FM3.

I'm sure you all saw it—that said that public corruption has skyrocketed up in the minds of California voters as a concern. It's almost as high as cost of living. And we know you haven't given very much relief to Californians on that.

But corruption, the use of taxpayer funds for political purposes to reward campaign contributors and backers, to waste on fraud, the public is worried about what are we spending their money on? I must only question whether the testimony by the Planned Parenthood Executive Director in favor of Proposition 50 played into today's action.

Is this a reward for a campaign support? Because that's what it looks like to me and I believe that's what it's going to look like to many Californians. Now, do not try to pretend that this has anything to do with women's health care.

My colleague from the Central Valley offered a very common sense amendment to make sure that this $90 million of funding would go to health care providers without lobbying and political activity. And in fact, in that amendment, my colleague from Central Valley said, let's make sure that none of this money appropriated in SB 106 goes to any political activity.

But no, you don't want that oversight. You shot down that common sense amendment. So, sure, you'll try to pretend like this has anything to do with choice or abortion or women's health care, but I believe anyone paying attention will realize it's nothing more than a reward for a politically powerful group. I urge a no vote.

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

Good morning, Mr. Speaker. I rise to support SB 106. Why $90 million for Planned Parenthood? This is about access to basic health care. Planned Parenthood provides primary and preventative care, cancer screening, STI testing and treatment, contraception, parental care, and gender affirming care. For many patients, especially low income women and communities of color, Planned Parenthood is their only health care provider.

As the Federal Government and red states strip reproductive freedoms, California has chosen to be a reproductive freedom state. This commitment requires real investment, not just rhetoric. California has seen significant increase in out of state patients seeking care here.

Clinics are facing higher costs for security, staffing, and compliance amid escalating threats and harassment. The $90 million ensures clinics stay open, staffed, and safe. Preventative care reduces unintended pregnancies, emergency room visits, and late-stage cancer treatments. Every dollar invested in reproductive and preventative care avoids for higher downstream public cost. Multiyear uncertainty has left providers scrambling.

90 million provides predictability, allowing clinics to plan, retain staff, and expand care where it's needed. The bottom line, if California is serious about protecting reproductive freedoms, women health, and women's health equity, then we must fund the providers doing the work.

This $90 million investment ensures Planned Parenthood can keep its door open, protect patient access, and deliver lifesaving care, especially as the Federal Government protections erode.

And for my friends across the aisle, I am so glad to hear you guys talk about accountability because I haven't heard you stand up one time and talk about any accountability when it comes to the Washington budget.

We haven't talked about the President declaring war on other countries without Congress or cutting budget, cutting funding from other states without Congress. And so, I am so proud to hear you guys talk about accountability and I look forward to you calling out your President and asking him for accountability. Thank you.

Thank you, Assemblymember McKinnor. Assemblymember Krell, you are recognized.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Good afternoon, colleagues. I had the honor of serving as Chief Legal Counsel to Planned Parenthood the first time President Trump was in office. And I can tell you that cuts like this, efforts to defund, result in clinics closing across the country and worse health outcomes for everyone, not just for people seeking abortion, but all patients who are seeking care.

We've seen it all across the country. This defund started to be implemented back in September of 2025. But even before that, we saw an erosion throughout America of reproductive health care. This is a coordinated attack on women's rights by the Republicans in power.

And this is just one more huge step forward in that multiyear long effort. But here in California, we have done everything we can to protect access to health care. We passed Proposition 1 to guarantee the right to choose in our California Constitution.

But we all know that rights are only good when we have access to them. This $90 million fund by SB 106 will guarantee that no more Planned Parenthood health centers close in California.

What this means is the 25,000 patients who seek care out of Planned Parenthood every single week will continue to be able to get their care, whether that's pregnancy testing, whether that's STI testing and treatment, whether that's cervical cancer screenings, whether that's men seeking vasectomies, whether that's sexual assault survivors going for help, whether that's human trafficking survivors going to have someone to talk to, whether that is even primary care, which is given at some Planned Parenthood clinics, as well as behavioral health services.

This is a wide range of care that helps a wide variety of people. And 80% of those patients happen to be Medi-Cal recipients. The big beautiful Bill, HR 1, specifically targeted Planned Parenthood. That's why the $90 million specifically for Planned Parenthood is so important.

There is no other health entity with the unique structure that Planned Parenthood has and that was deliberately targeted in the language of HR 1. I'm so grateful for my colleagues for bringing this important Bill forward. I urge everybody to support SB 106 because literally thousands of California patients' lives are depending on it. Thank you.

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

Great. Thank you, Mr. Speaker. For the last couple years, I've had the opportunity to serve on the Budget Committee, including the Budget Committee overseeing our health, healthcare, in California. And every single hearing, we have a line of people out the door concerned about cuts proposed by Governor Newsom and approved eventually by this Legislature.

That's not the man in Washington D.C.; that's individuals on this Assembly floor that have made the decisions to make cuts to critical programs for California's healthcare. That includes decades long of underpaying providers who do Medi-Cal services in California.

For the poorest of people in California, the people that are the most needy, why don't they get the same attention as Planned Parenthood? That includes dental. That includes individuals with disability, which this Governor of our state just last year proposed cutting preschool programs for kids with disabilities.

But those preschool kids didn't have a lobbyist representing them to get their issue directly to the floor like Planned Parenthood does. I'm just curious why this item right now is coming to the Assembly floor when all these individuals and I hope everybody gets an opportunity to come to a Budget Committee hearing on healthcare.

I believe Mr. Speaker has invited anybody on the Budget Committee to go to any budget subcommittee.

And I take you up, I hope you take up that offer to come to the healthcare one because you will see every single hearing, lines and lines of people lined up to speak in opposition to cuts that were proposed by this Governor and will be approved, most likely by this Legislature.

And by the way, it happened before HR 1. This was last year. These are individuals coming in last year to express their concerns about budget cuts that this Legislature made. So, I would like to—I oppose this resolution because I don't think that Planned Parenthood should get more attention than the disabled kids that we all represent.

With that, I respectfully ask for a no vote.

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

Thank you, Mr. Speaker and Members, I rise in support of SB 106. In a moment where the Federal Administration is dismantling and defunding access to health care, California is choosing to step up. Let's be clear, these funds only are—are only needed because of the Federal Government's decision to prioritize billionaires over essential health services and the big ugly bill.

As Health Chair, I've heard from stakeholders across the state about the impacts of health centers like Planned Parenthood closing. Home to 109 Planned Parenthood health centers that provide over 1.3 million patient visits a year, 25,000 patients a week go to Planned Parenthood to receive their essential reproductive health care services.

That's in every single county in this great state of California. Recently, Planned Parenthood Mira Monte had to already close five health centers, sunset three services, and laid off 15% of its workforce in South San Francisco, Madera, San Mateo, Santa Cruz, and Gilroy. We just simply cannot afford to continue to let this happen.

Because what happens when these Planned Parenthood centers close is that the entire system is left to be able to figure out how to provide care. Our health care clinics that are already overburdened will not be able to sustain that. Our ERs will see more people needing care because of the acute care that they need, because they avoided preventative care.

Our providers will not have the ability to provide that care. And by the way, Planned Parenthood has a majority of the people who receive Medi-Cal services receiving service through their care. So, we are talking about the same individuals. I want to be clear.

SB 106 is payment for healthcare services provided in Medi-Cal to eligible patients. Note that when HR 1 passed and Planned Parenthood was defunded, these costs were not able to be recovered by Planned Parenthood. Normally, costs that would have been paid for and claims that would have been reimbursed.

This was a direct attack on Planned Parenthood, on women, on our reproductive health, and our ability to ensure that we provide preventative care. This funding is a literal lifeline to many. I mean, a literal lifeline because women across this country, and certainly in the state of California, are going to be not receiving the care that they need.

Breast cancer screenings, cervical cancer screenings, screenings for STIs that lead to cancer and increased harm to their bodies. We're talking about life and death here. With that, I respectfully request your aye vote.

Assemblymember Bonta. Madam Majority Leader, you are recognized.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker and members. I've been around long enough to recognize a distraction when I see one. Congressional Republicans and the President keep saying HR 1 won't hurt rural hospitals, but our colleagues from Fresno clearly knows that that isn't true or you wouldn't be trying to move money around to soften the blow.

Taking funding away from Planned Parenthood and sending it somewhere else doesn't fix the damage HR 1 causes. It cuts off critical healthcare and ignores the reality of the problem. This isn't a serious solution; it's a diversion, and people in our districts are already being harmed, especially as the President withholds the HR Rural Hospital Relief funding from Democratic-led states.

SB 106 provides critical funding for Planned Parenthood, because here in California, we trust people to make their own reproductive health decisions with a trusted medical professional, not somebody with a political agenda.

Planned Parenthood helps to make the possible for more than a million Californians each year. These health centers provide the basics people depend on: cancer screenings, STI testing, treatment, and preventative care, the kind that keeps families healthy and keeps costs down for everyone. Planned Parenthood saved my life. Over 80% of the patients are affected.

Health centers are cutting services and some have already closed their doors. That's not hypothetical. It's happening right now. That's a reality. And I want to say a word about rural California because I represent it. In many rural and medically underserved communities, Planned Parenthood is the only healthcare provider.

Without it, patients are traveling 100, maybe 200 miles just to get their basic healthcare services. So when we talk about access, this bill is not hurting rural communities, it's protecting them. Think about it; it's protecting them. This bill does not take money from our rural hospitals. Hospitals can still bill Medi-Cal and receive reimbursement.

Planned Parenthood cannot through their own--excuse me--throughout no fault of their own. These situations are not the same, and pretending they are doesn't help anyone. SB 106 is a payment for healthcare already delivered to eligible Californians. And patients cannot just go somewhere else.

The rest of the system does not have the capacity to absorb 25,000 visits per week. So when Washington turns its back on women and families, California will step in. That's our responsibility and it's our values. Thank you for all those that have stood up today. I respectfully ask for your aye vote. Thank you.

Thank you, Madam Majority Leader. Assembly Member Pellerin, you are recognized.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker and members. SB 106 is about real harm that is already happening. In my Assembly district, our Planned Parenthood clinic has closed. That means people in my community have already lost local access to essential reproductive healthcare. When a clinic closes, the need doesn't disappear.

Patients are forced to travel farther, wait longer, or go without care altogether. We've seen services cut and clinics close in other communities as well, creating ripple effects that overwhelm remaining providers and leave entire regions with fewer options for care. SB 106 draws a very clear line.

It says California will protect access to reproductive healthcare, stabilize clinics, and stand with providers and patients at a time when these services are under attack nationwide. In fact, all Planned Parenthood clinics have had to stop providing prenatal care, primary care, and behavioral healthcare services. My district knows the cost of that big, ugly Washington budget bill. I don't want any more communities to experience that loss. As a former client of Planned Parenthood, I urge an aye vote on SB 106.

Thank you, Assembly Member Pellerin. Assembly Member Ransom, you are recognized.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker and colleagues. I want to thank everyone who's gotten up to speak about this bill because it's time to take a break from the disinformation campaigns. It's time to take a break from the talking points, from being able to have comments to push out into social media.

We are here right now because we are at a crossroads, because as a blue state, California has been targeted. At a time when we are struggling with access to healthcare and increased premiums, and the devastating impacts of HR 1 are felt even more throughout our communities, we know that we have to stand up, and we have to stand up.

I appreciate the focus on rural hospitals as mentioned by the member from Clovis. HR 1, however, alleges to provide additional funding for the Rural Health Transformation Program to address issues like distressed rural hospitals.

So far, California has received $233 million, but I'd like to point out that that is only $85 per resident, while other states have been receiving $157 per resident. Why the disparity? If we truly care about those rural hospitals, we need to call out the disparities that target blue states like California. This receiving dollars that are substantially low hurts our community, and it's important that we step up and speak out about that.

While the federal government is playing politics with the lives of millions of Californians, specifically the 2.7 million-- 7 million rural residents that we have in California, we have to stand up not only for the people in our communities that are 85% Medi-Cal recipients that are going to Planned Parenthood, we still have to stand up for the folks in the rural communities.

The reality is, is the rules of healthcare were intentionally rewritten to defund women's healthcare. At a time when we are desperately in need of OB/GYN services, of women's health services, when we need to be able to ensure that STIs are not spreading throughout our community, we are seeing defunding of healthcare services.

So we have to act. We have to act at this moment because if the federal government is not going to stand up for our people, we have no choice but to do so. Thank you.

Thank you, Assembly Member Ransom. Assembly Member Bennett, you are recognized.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Members, I rise to respond to opposition to SB 106. There have been two questions that have been raised. One, why should Planned Parenthood get this funding? And how could we possibly fund Planned Parenthood if we're going to allow any other healthcare cuts take place?

And to the first question I would offer, we are choosing Planned Parenthood because Planned Parenthood has been the most effective organization in California, and they have for the last two decades stood up to some of the most ferocious attacks on their members, on their organization that we have.

And they provide the best care possible in terms of reproductive health and usually the only care in many areas. The second question, how could we possibly fund Planned Parenthood while we still cut other healthcare programs?

Well, that is the reality that is visited upon us when we have a country that decides to cut taxes for the billionaires in our country, creating deficits and decreasing funding. It is well-known that part of the strategy of the fascist, authoritarian takeover of democracies is to marginalize the poorest amongst us, and unless you're willing to address those things to raise the opposition that I've heard to SB 106, it reminds me of Alice in Wonderland. It gets curiouser and curiouser here. Thank you.

Thank you, Assembly Member Bennett. Assembly Member Soria, you are recognized.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker and members. I rise also in strong support of SB 106. The women's health centers, supported by the investments in this bill, provide essential, life-saving care, including cancer screenings, mammograms, STI testing, pregnancy counseling, and comprehensive reproductive health services for women and young girls. These services are especially critical in rural California, like in my district.

In communities like Madera, Chowchilla, and West Fresno County, women already struggle to access basic healthcare, particularly expecting mothers. In many of these regions, Planned Parenthood--yes, I said Planned Parenthood--and similar community clinics are the first in line of care, especially where primary care providers are scarce and nonexistent.

In fact, I just learned this just a few hours ago from Merced County Department of Public Health. They rely on Planned Parenthood for STI testing services. That is not political. It is a public health reality in my community. Federal actions have already taken a devastating toll since the passage of HR 1.

California has lost 15% of Planned Parenthood's healthcare workforce just since last summer. We went from 28 full-time health educators statewide to just five today. These are not abstractions. These are real providers serving real women in our communities. Those cuts have already led to clinic closures in my backyard, including Planned Parenthood Clinic in Madera County.

This is unacceptable. And let me be very clear on this point. As many of you know, less than three weeks from the day that I was sworn in to represent constituents of Assembly District 27, I learned of Madera Community Hospital's intention to close. Since that day, I made reopening Madera Community Hospital my number one priority.

Thankfully, with the help of many of you and the Governor's Office, we established a loan program, and we not only reopened Madera Hospital in March of last year, but we also helped other struggling hospitals across the state to keep their doors open.

Now the challenge for Madera and countless other hospitals is keeping their doors open in light of federal actions that are destabilizing our entire healthcare system. That is what is happening as a result of HR 1.

So shame on my colleague from Clovis for trying to pit hospitals against women's health clinics or that attempt to restrict care based on ideology rather than medical need. That approach does nothing to strengthen rural health systems; it only weakens them.

SB 106 is about stability, it is about ensuring that women do not lose care first, because often, when budgets are cut, women's health services are the first to go. Unfortunately, we are fighting not only the consequences of HR 1, but also misinformation being spread about what this bill does and who it serves. Let me be clear.

I welcome bipartisan collaboration on policies that genuinely--genuinely--improve access to healthcare in rural California but do not mislead the public by claiming concern for one narrow issue while constantly voting against women's health, workforce investments, and access to care.

Everyone in this room has a mother, a grandmother, a sister, a daughter, a niece, or someone who they love who depends on a functioning healthcare system. This is not complicated, this is not ideological, this is basic common sense healthcare policy, and I respectfully ask for an aye vote.

Thank you, Assembly Member Soria. Assembly Member Bains, you are recognized.

Colleagues, I want to explain; there's a little bit confusion going on on the other side of the aisle, so let me explain a little things to my colleagues on the other side. Telling people from the Republican side that hospitals matter more than clinics, than preventative care, you're telling people, just wait till your disease gets worse enough so you show up to a hospital to die.

Let me explain a fallacy. Trying to say that we need to put extra money into hospitals, cut all the money from clinic and preventative care, the trillion dollars that were cut from Medicaid in the Big Beautiful Bill, does not give poor people access to care. Funding hospitals at the expense of cutting preventative services screws poor people because what it tells people is, wait till your disease gets so worse, then show up to a hospital and die.

Thank you, Assembly Member Bains. Assembly Member Tangipa, you are recognized.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. And finally, some honesty on this floor. A couple years ago, this body moved in an expedited fashion to write up a loan from Madera County. And why I rise in opposition to this bill is because now, in expedited fashion, we are moving $90 million in a grant--a grant--to Planned Parenthood, a loan for our hospitals, a grant for our political favors.

That is what this bill looks like, shrouded in secrecy. The last text message I have to the Governor is begging him for $3 million to Inyo County because they are on the verge of shutting down. I admit that. Begging the Governor for help because Inyo County provides the water and services to LA County to make sure that you can drink water. You know these hospitals have come to visit you in your offices.

You know these hospitals have told you that the $25 minimum wage is going to collapse them, that the Medi-Cal reimbursement rates at 70% of the cost is impossible. And what did we do? A loan. Don't tell me that I don't care. My district, multiple hospitals are going to shut down.

But yet in six months, when Planned Parenthood wants something done, it gets it. But in years of our hospitals begging us to do something for them, Madera will shut down again on the current trail that we're going on, and then in Saint Agnes and then Community Health, because I met with them last week. Inyo County will shut down, and the workers who provide the water to LA County won't have a place for hundreds of miles for any services.

The services in which most of you are talking about are available at the hospitals, but a 90 million dollar grant for Planned Parenthood, shrouded in secrecy without any transparency clauses, but a loan for our hospitals. Tell me how I don't care. I respectfully ask for a no vote.

Thank you, Assembly Member Tangipa. Assembly Member Stefani, you are recognized.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Just to follow up on that, I just want to remind everyone why we're here, because of the federal government's action, and if they care so much, they can lobby the federal government to fund their hospitals.

But what I want to address today is the cruel consequences of the Big Ugly Bill that is hurting people in every single one of our districts. And I want to stand here and ask all of my colleagues to vote aye on SB 106, which I think is a loving, caring, and compassionate solution.

You know, as I was reading through my talking points this morning, the word cancer kept coming up, cancer screenings. Because I'm lucky enough to know what Planned Parenthood actually does. I was on the Board of Supervisors for seven and a half years in San Francisco, and I know the people who work at Planned Parenthood.

I know the people who go to Planned Parenthood. I see them, I know their lives, and I know it's not just about something that they are vehemently opposed to. It's about so much more. It's about people's health. And when they don't receive that healthcare, they get very sick.

And yesterday morning at 10:00 a.m., I was at St. Vincent de Paul, my parish church, with a whole bunch of people. And we were all there, we were showing up in community to pray for one of our own, a 21-year-old boy, one of my son's best friends, who was just diagnosed with stage 4 colon cancer.

And we were there as a community. There were so many of us there that they ran out of communion. And I've been a Catholic for very long. I've never been in church, in Mass, where they've run out of communion. But we were there in community to pray for this individual.

And the ripple effects of this young man who has cancer is so widespread. Just before I came here to the floor, my son was calling me. He's semester abroad overseas. And he goes, mom, can you talk? I said, no, I have to wait until I get off the floor.

And he wants to talk about his friend who has cancer. His parents are suffering, the community's suffering. People suffer when people are sick. We are not talking about something abstract here. We are talking about real people's lives and what happens when they don't get healthcare.

I'm glad that all of my colleagues have pointed out what's going to happen and what Planned Parenthood actually does. We know, and I just want to touch on the fact that I am so grateful for my Democratic colleagues and for this caucus who stand in community together, who stand here united to have an answer to the cruelty of the federal Administration, who stand here like I did yesterday at St. Vincent de Paul to tell one boy in the hospital at UCSF that we all care and that we're all with him.

We stand here today as Democrats to say to everyone in California that is going to be hurting because of the federal cuts, that we see you, we care about you, and we're going to fight for you. Please vote yes on SB 106.

Thank you, Assembly Member Stefani. Assembly Member Wicks, you are recognized.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker and members. I rise in support of SB 106 today. And I think many of you know that when I was in my mid-20s, I was in between jobs and in between homes and facing an unplanned pregnancy. And where did I go? I went to Planned Parenthood. And what did I receive?

I was received with open arms and not judgment. And I was helped to think through the decision that I had to make that was best for me. And I had the ability to make that decision. It was my decision to make with the help of Planned Parenthood.

And I became one of the Medi-Cal recipients who received care from Planned Parenthood. And I made a choice to have an abortion. And then that led me to live this life where I got to go work for the first Black President of the United States of America, President Barack Obama. I got to meet my now-husband.

I got to have my two beautiful babies when I was ready to have them. And as you all know, they are the most important things to me. And I got to create that life because Planned Parenthood gave me that opportunity to make that choice and to make that decision at that vulnerable time of my life.

So that is what we are talking about today on this floor. And for Planned Parenthood, for millions of people, thousands of people in this state, it's not just abortion care. It's cancer screenings, it's STIs, it's annual exams. I used Planned Parenthood for about a decade in my life for that type of care.

And this is the type of care that for so many people in our communities, they rely on it like a lifeline. That is why we are funding Planned Parenthood today. So let's not get it twisted about the politics, because we wouldn't be here right now if it weren't for this federal government and the Trump Administration putting us in this situation right now. But in California, we are going to stand strong with our families who need this care.

We are going to proudly vote with these healthcare providers today. We're going to proudly vote with the people who need this care, and we're going to proudly vote for SB 106.

Thank you, Assembly Member Wicks. Seeing and hearing no further debate, Assembly Member Gabriel, do you wish to close?

Yes. Thank you, Mr. Speaker. First, I want to thank all of my colleagues from across the state, from so many diverse communities for your beautiful words, for standing up and speaking and helping to educate people about why we feel so passionate about this, about why this is potentially one of the most consequential votes that we will take, certainly this month, and maybe in this term in the Legislature.

I want to again extend incredible gratitude to the Women's Caucus, to our Majority Leader, to our Health Policy Committee Chair, and to so many of you who have been tireless advocates to make sure that we could move this funding on an expedited timeline.

And I do want to answer a few of the points that were brought up from our friends across the aisle. We heard a lot about rural health care. Sixty-four percent of Planned Parenthood, of the population that they serve, is in rural communities or medically underserved communities.

If you want to fund rural health care, if you want to help people in rural communities that are lacking access to care, it's really simple. Vote for this bill. You're going to send money to the rural communities to support that healthcare.

We heard a lot about hospitals and whether it's the fault of the State of California that rural hospitals might close. I think an important proof point here, particularly for our vice chair and others who have made this point, is that rural hospitals in other states are going to close. That's because of HR 1.

That's because of the attacks at the federal level. That's because of the intentional decision to prioritize tax cuts for our most wealthy over the healthcare of rural communities. So that is not a California-specific issue.

That is a choice, an intentional policy choice that was made by President Trump and Congressional Republicans in Washington, D.C. And if you have concerns about that, then I would urge you to speak to your Republican colleagues in Washington to help them understand the consequences that that's going to have in the communities that all of you serve.

The other point here that has really bothered me today is there seems to be this notion that there's something nefarious about us funding Planned Parenthood, that it's somehow part of some political conspiracy. And the question was asked, why are we singling out Planned Parenthood? Why are we choosing to fund Planned Parenthood?

And I think there's two really good answers. The first is that they were intentionally targeted by President Trump and Congressional Republicans. They were intentionally targeted specifically and intentionally in HR 1 to defund them. So the reason we're stepping up to fund them and to push back is because they were intentionally subject to a defund.

So to pretend that something else is going on here is just disingenuous because Congressional Republicans have bragged about the fact that they're targeting Planned Parenthood, bragged about the fact that they're defunding Planned Parenthood. And so we're not going to stand idly by and allow that to happen.

And the second reason that we're choosing to fund Planned Parenthood today on an expedited basis is because they provide damn good healthcare to a lot of communities across California, and you have heard that in the most personal terms from so many of our colleagues.

We're able to stand up here today and say that this is a good investment because many of us have been patients, we have seen the incredible work that they have done in our communities, and I just want to share with some statistics here so people can understand what we're talking about.

We're talking about the fact that they did 100,000 cancer screenings. That's what Planned Parenthood provides. Doesn't seem very pro-life to me to take away 100,000 cancer screenings, 500,000 contraceptive visits, 2.6 million STI tests, 25,000 patients visits a week to people in all 58 counties in the State of California.

So we are proud to stand up and fund that healthcare for Californians in communities across the state. It is literally a life-saving issue, and as a Democrat, as a member of the Legislature, as a human being, I am proud to stand with them, and I respectfully request your aye vote on SB 106.

Thank you, Assembly Member Gabriel. 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: 55; noes: 10. The measure passes. Immediate transmittal to the Senate.

Bear with me while we do some guest introductions. Assemblymember Ransom, you are recognized for your guest introduction.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Colleagues. Mr. Speaker, please allow me to brag for just one second because history has been made in my district. The St. Mary's High School football team brought home the first football title in history and the first ever for the City of Stockton. Yes, They defeated Bakersfield Christian.

Sorry to my colleagues from Bakersfield in a dramatic back and forth championship game resulting in a 27 to 24 victory for St. Mary's High School. These student athletes have put in the work, both in the field and in the classroom, and they've given our entire community something to be proud of.

So I absolutely want to acknowledge them and the leadership of the team. Most recently named football Coach of the year, we have Tony Franks, their athletic Director, Adam Lichter, and the entire coaching staff for guiding this incredible team. They finished the season with a 132 record, winning five straight playoff games to bring home the state championship.

Members today, joining me on the floor and in the gallery, please help me welcome the 2025 CIF State Division 2 double A champions, the St. Mary's Rams High School football team.

St. Mary's let's go. Welcome to the California Assembly. Welcome, welcome. Congratulations.

Mr. Gibson, that athlete in the back in a bow tie is giving you a run for your money, sir. Congratulations, St. Mary's and last but not least, Assemblymember Hadwick. You are recognized for your important guest introduction.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Today I also rise to recognize an extraordinary group of student athletes from my district, the Reading Christian Lions. Football team, Division 7 AA state champions. The Reading Christian Lions completed a truly historic season, finishing 15-0. They captured the state title with a 16-0 win over Woodbridge High School.

Apologies to my colleague from Irvine. Just four seasons after transitioning from an 8 man to an 11 man football team, they achieved their first state football championship in school history.

With a roster of just over 20 players, these young men demonstrated exceptional discipline, teamwork and perseverance, defeating much larger schools along the way, including a hard fought NorCal Regional Championship win over Middletown. Apologies this time to the Majority leader.

Joining us on the floor today is head coach Gerald Piper, along with players Brody Ogden, Colin Mados, Connor Moore, Caden Russo and Brayson Olds. With the rest of the team in the gallery above. Mr. Speaker and Members, these young men represent the very best of high school athletics. Commitment, resilience and excellence on and off the field.

Please join me in congratulating the Reading Christian Lions on winning their first ever state championship title and give them a warm welcome to the California State Capitol.

Congratulations, Lions. Welcome. Thank you, Lions. Congratulations. Okay, Members, continuing on with our business on the Daily File, without reference to file, HR84 by Assembly Member Bryan. The Clerk will read.

House Resolution 84 by Assembly Member Bryan and others relative to condemning racism.

Assembly Member Bryan, you are recognized.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker, colleagues, I rise as the Vice Chair of the Legislative Black Caucus. Last Thursday night, President Donald Trump celebrated the 100th anniversary of Black history in a way that made every active Klan Member in the country proud.

He posted a video that depicted President Barack Obama and his wife, First Lady Michelle Obama, as dancing primates. He continued the celebration into Friday by doubling down on the video's good humor before eventually being forced to take it down in shame, disgust and disgrace.

And as the country has waited for any semblance of leadership, we've all been left staring nakedly at a coward who blamed an unnamed staffer for what he continues to insist was never a mistake and still doesn't deserve an apology. This is not the first time in our country's history that black folks have been compared to animals.

In fact, last year, Members of the Young Republican National Federation called black leaders monkeys and joked about both slavery and the rape of black women in their group chat. In my own city, in 2022, Members of the Los Angeles City Council referred to a young black boy as a monkey.

In 2023, Elon Musk's company, Tesla, settled an eight figure lawsuit because black employees had routinely been called niggers and monkeys.

And if me recounting those facts offended your sensibilities, but the President's video depicting former President Obama as a primate did not, I respectfully ask that you stay seated and silent like you've been all weekend, because I'm not done yet. I hate to break it to y'all, but we don't live in a post-racial society.

We certainly don't live in it simply because President Obama was elected President of this United States. In fact, even he is not immune to the bigotry and the racism that still permeates across our country.

It is heartbreaking at a time when there should be bipartisan efforts to eradicate the dehumanization and the animalistic tropes that under bed slavery in this country, that instead of that bipartisan effort, the leader of our nation is feeding into it, cultivating it, building a new generation of support wrapped around it and weaponizing it in lethally consequential ways.

This resolution isn't a complicated one. In fact, it's really, really simple. If you think it's wrong to call black people primates, and it is especially wrong if you have been elected to be the President of the United States, a country with tens of millions of black people who were stolen from their country to build the foundation of this country, then vote yes and join me as a co author.

If you don't think that's wrong, feel free to take your hood off and vote no. Respectfully ask for your aye vote.

Thank you, Assemblymember Bryan. Assembly Member Ward, you are recognized.

Well, thank you, Mr. Speaker. I rise today as the Chair of the Legislative LGBTQ Caucus in solidarity with our California Legislative Black Caucus and in support of HR84. HR84 is about something fundamental. Drawing a clear and unwavering line against racism, dehumanization, and hate, especially when it's amplified by those who hold immense power and influence.

The resolution responds to President Trump's recent circulation of a blatantly racist imagery targeting former President Barack Obama and First Lady Michelle Obama. This action by President Trump was not accidental, not ambiguous, and not harmless. Trump's pose relied on some of the most offensive and historically violent racist tropes used to demean and dehumanize black people in this country.

Tropes that have been used for generations to justify exclusion, discrimination, and violence. This moment does not exist in isolation. It reflects a long, well-documented pattern of President Trump's rhetoric and behavior that targets Black Americans, immigrants, LGBTQ people, and racial and ethnic minorities.

And when racism is repeated, normalized, and excused, especially by those in positions of power, it causes real harm. It emboldens hate. It fuels harassment and violence, and it tells targeted communities that their humanity is negotiable.

As Members of the LGBTQ Caucus, we know all too well that silence in the face of hate is not neutrality, it is complicity. Through the painful history, our communities have learned that when bigotry goes unanswered, it grows. And when dehumanization is tolerated, it spreads. Public service demands more of us.

It demands accountability, moral clarity, and the courage to speak out regardless of party when racism rears its head. HR84 affirms an essential truth that California will not normalize bigotry. We will not excuse racism, and we will not turn away when communities are targeted.

This resolution is a statement of values, a declaration that racism, especially when wielded as a political weapon, would will be confronted, not ignored, and a reaffirmation of our collective responsibility to protect the humanity of all people.

On behalf of the Legislative LGBTQ Caucus, I'm proud to stand united with my colleagues in the California Legislative Black Caucus in calling out racism in all forms and urge the President of the United States to end his racist actions. Equally so, we in the LGBTQ community stand in unity with the black community.

Members and thank you, Mr. Speaker. Members, I respectfully ask for your aye vote on HR 84.

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

Good afternoon, speaker and colleagues. On behalf of the Latino Caucus, I rise in strong support of HR84, condemning the racism displayed by Donald Trump. Donald Trump's post was a clear act of racism, part of a long pattern that has fueled division and hate in this country.

The man in the highest office continues to divide this nation, attacking the humanity of anyone who does not look like him or who he does not see as American, including our former President Obama and First Lady. There are no excuses for this sort of behavior for him or anyone else.

But he has a pattern of attacking and dehumanizing us. In fact, he called his first presidential announcement, calling all Latinos rapists and criminals. And while some continue to excuse him or say things like, oh, his comments are just racially loaded, racially sensitive. I'm here to tell you the truth is, he's a racist, period. Dot.

So I thank my colleague for bringing forward such an important resolution and. And urge all of us to take a long look at ourselves in the mirror if we are silent in this moment.

Thank you, Assemblymember Ortega. Assemblymember Fong, you are recognized.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Members, I rise on behalf of the Asian American and Pacific Islander Legislative Caucus in strong support of HR84. I stand here today in solidarity with my colleagues condemning President Trump for sharing racist and degrading content involving former President Barack Obama and former First Lady Michelle Obama. This racist post is wrong, harmful, and unacceptable.

Leaders should never amplify dehumanizing content. Racism and dehumanization have no place in our politics or in our communities. And we will not be silent. We will not normalize this racism. On behalf of the Asian American Pacific Islander Legislative Caucus, urge a strong Aye vote on HR84. Thank you.

Thank you, Assemblymember Fong. Assemblymember Gabriel, you are recognized.

Thank you very much. Mr. Speaker. I rise today on behalf of the California Legislative Jewish Caucus to lend our voice to the chorus. And I want to thank the Vice Chair of the Black Caucus and all of our colleagues who have brought forward this important resolution. And I want to emphasize that the Jewish Caucus stands with you.

We stand in solidarity with you. We share your outrage at what transpired, and we appreciate the way that you have spoken up. Ours is a community that is well aware of the consequences of dehumanization, what that can portend. And that's why it is so important that we push back, as our colleague from Los Angeles emphasized today.

And we cannot allow this to become normalized. We absolutely can't allow this to become normalized.

And I know, and it's been very painful for me to understand that this is an attack not only as an attack against a broader community, against a broader group of Americans, but it's also become a very personal attack against many of our Black Caucus colleagues.

That happens very regularly with a very high degree of frequency, in the most personal terms. And so I just want to say that we appreciate the grace and the courage to which so many of you have conducted your public service in the face of this racism.

But we're here at a moment because the highest official in the land, the President, United States, has chosen to amplify this from the biggest microphone, the biggest megaphone. And that is a profoundly scary moment for America to see racism coming out of the White House in such an unabashed way.

And it used to be that folks who were racist wanted to hide in the shadows in the corners and pretend and speak in code. And this is pretty permission slip for so many to just do it openly and honestly.

And I do want to thank our, the chair of the LGBTQ Caucus for reminding us that we have to stand up because when bigotry goes unchecked, it grows. But I do also want to remind folks that there is another way here.

And I do want to appreciate that there are Republican elected officials that stood up and pushed back on the President. And I think that's really important. And it was just such a profound sort of accident of the universe.

As I was coming up to Sacramento this morning, I happen to have a clip that showed up on my social media feed of Senator McCain in 2008. Some of you may remember this. It was about less than a month before the 2008 election. He was locked in a tight race with President Obama.

He was doing a town hall in a swing state in Minnesota, and he got a question from a voter who attacked President Obama in very racist terms. And rather than let it slide, rather than try to earn that person's vote, he pushed back immediately. He pushed back on the racism.

And he said, and I wrote it down, he said, no, ma'am. He's a decent family man, a citizen that I just happen to have disagreements with on fundamental issues. And what an example for all of us that irrespective of political party, that we can stand up and push back on that racism.

And I hope for a day in America when more people are willing to stand up and push back on it. Even if it comes from their own party. Especially when it comes from their own party.

So with that, and on behalf of the Jewish Caucus and with hope for a better way forward where we can all stand up and where it isn't a complicated thing, say enough to racism and Aye on HR84.

Thank you, Assemblymember Gabriel. Assemblymember Schiavo, you are recognized.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker and Members. When I first saw this racist video, I was walking into my kids bedroom in the morning to wake them up, as I do every morning, painfully waking them up.

And my kid is used to me having the news on when I walk into the bedroom and we listen to it together while we're getting ready and driving in the car sometimes. And my kid is, as many of you know, has been in this space a lot, has, is incredibly politically astute.

And when I saw this, I gasped. And I still haven't talked to them about it. I couldn't tell them about it because it was so horrible. It was so horrible. And some of you may know that my kid is biracial.

You know, President Obama looks like their dad, like half of my family who are veterans and educators and public servants like the Obamas. And it was so shameful to see the President of the United States put something like this out. The kids are going to see about people who look like them. And I just.

I hope kids are not seeing this, but I know they are. And it's not by accident. This doesn't happen by accident. I have three staff and myself who approve everything that goes on my social media. And I'm just a state Assembly Member.

If the President doesn't have better checks on what goes in his social media, then I am worried about how all decisions are made in the Oval Office. This is something we cannot be silent about.

And I think there's a number of issues that we are raising as a Democratic caucus to our colleagues on the other side of the aisle lately, because we are seeing a crisis that is happening before our eyes. We are seeing a crisis in humanity and humility in leadership and empathy in democracy.

And while I know there's a lot of frustration for, you know, my colleagues across the aisle on a regular basis not having more power in this body in the state of California, you have a lot of power right now federally.

Your voices are so important, and your children are going to ask you where you were in moments like this. And we hope that you will stand with all of our children and speak up when your voices are needed like this. I urge an aye vote on HR 84.

Assemblymember Schiavo. Assemblymember Gipson, you are recognized.

Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. I want to, I rise and want to thank my colleague from Los Angeles for bringing HR84 before us. I want to commend his steadfast leadership for elevating this issue with a sense of urgency that it deserves. I, time and time again, have quoted Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. When he said that silence is a form of betrayal.

Certainly that you will not find the Legislative Black Caucus being silent in this moment in time, that the Legislative Black Caucus will not stand silent, especially during black history, as we celebrate the 100th anniversary of Black history in this country, especially when we have been sucker punched, as we have just last week.

My mother always said that to my sisters and I, sticks and stones may break your bones, but words would never hurt. And I had to challenge my mother on that phrase because words do hurt. Words cut, words kill, and actions kill. And what we saw come out of the White House. It was disrespectful to every black person in the United States of America.

It was disrespectful to elect the first African American President in these United States of America and to celebrate black excellence and brilliance and to have that presence in the Oval Office with Barack Obama and Michelle Obama, and then to have both of them depicted as apes, primates, by this President was a disrespect to every African American in this country.

It was hurtful, it was unacceptable, and it cannot go unchallenged by this caucus. And I am indeed grateful that this caucus is standing together in solidarity. So let there be no doubts that this act is deliberate in an attempt to normalize the racism in this public discourse in this country.

It is cowardice display to aim a discourse to flame the racial tension that exists in this country. And when you have the President of the United States doing something like this, it's a green light for racism to stand up in every place in America, not only towards African American, but to every race that is not white.

And we have to call it out, and we have to call it out in every form that exists. And so this President had an opportunity to apologize, but because he's a coward, he did not apologize. He did not take the kind of responsibility that we were all looking for, that he did not do this. So simple put.

I call on my colleagues in this body to denounce and we also had individuals that's on this floor to apologize. And I want to commend those individuals who did that. And I want to underscore and I want to say thank you very much, but there are more than just you who did that.

I think it was only one or two. And there's many other people that needs to also denounce what this President has done. And that shows real leadership and that shows strong leadership. And again, we know that racism used to wear sheets and a full cloth. They don't wear them anymore.

Sometimes they wear skirts and dresses and shirts and ties. And we will see the reflection of that in this vote today. If you really stand in solidarity, it will be reflected today. So let us demonstrate a strong Aye vote. Let's stand together against racism and the disrespect that this President has called to bear.

Because we believe that we're better than this, California is better than this, and we need a time to heal as Americans. And we believe in HR84. And we ask for a strong Aye vote.

Thank you, Assemblymember Gibson. Assemblymember Tangipa, you are recognized.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I want to make sure that my colleagues hear me loud and clear. What was done over the weekend was wrong. It was wrong. The President knows that it was wrong. He wouldn't have taken it down. I know that it's wrong, and I stand in solidarity with you because you deserve that respect.

We understand right now that we need people to work together in this time where we're at each other's throats. But this is not something controversial for me. I understand that it's wrong. I share that sentiment with you and I wanted to make sure that my words were on record in this building.

To call that out, to share my opinions with all of you. This was wrong. It's proven by the actions that were out there. And on behalf of Assembly District 8, I'll stand here and I'll apologize on that. Thank you.

Thank you, Assemblymember Tangipa. Assemblymember Wilson, you are recognized.

Thank you. Mr. Speaker and Members. I rise today in support of HR 84 and with deep concern about the post that we've all, so many have stood up to talk about by President Trump that used racist imagery to demean President Barack Obama and First Lady Michelle Obama.

At a time when the President should be celebrating those who contributed to black history, this President chose to denigrate them. This is not about a partisan disagreement. It's not about whether racism is tolerated, normalized, or rejected in our political discourse. When our President engages in racist tropes, it does not exist in a vacuum.

Words from positions of power matter. They send a signal about what behavior is acceptable in public discourse. I speak today not only as a legislator, but as a black woman serving in political office. In response to routine legislative work, my office has received numerous communications that are explicitly racist and dehumanizing.

We have been sent messages using racial slurs, degrading sexual language, and threats meant to demean and intimidate. We have also received correspondence invoking white supremacist ideology, asserting that black lives are a burden on society, that black women and children are undeserving of health care, and that efforts to support their health and well being should be opposed.

That was a letter signed directly by the Western United White Knights that was sent to my office. Let me be clear. This hatred was provoked by ordinary policymaking. The act of governing while being black. The act of governing while being a woman. This is real world consequences of racist rhetoric from our nation's leaders.

It gives permission for hate to move from the margins of society and into our inboxes, our institutions and our democracy. There's a saying, and my colleague noted it before. Sticks and stones may break my bones, but words will never hurt me. We said that as children with bravado. But we know as adults that is not the truth.

We know that words can harm multiple times over, recovery taking even longer than physical harm. Racism in Pollux does not only harm those it targets, it corrodes public trust and undermines the values this institution is meant to uphold. So I, along with my colleagues, will continue to serve with dignity and resolve.

And I urge every leader at every level to. To reject racism unequivocally and to understand that words carry consequences and word does lead to action that can harm. For those that stand with the Black Caucus and its Members, we thank you. And with that, I strongly urge an unequivocal Aye on HR 84.

Thank you, Assemblymember Wilson. Assemblymember Rubio, you are recognized.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I stand today in support of HR84. I want to remind us the same. People who condone the post by staying. Silent are the same people who asked. To have separate water fountains. We are in dangerous ground. We don't want to go back 50 years. We must be and I urge a strong Aye vote on HR 84.

Thank you, Assemblymember Rubio. Assemblymember Ramos, you are recognized.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. And I stand as chair of the California Native American Caucus here in solidarity with my brother from Los Angeles and the Black Caucus. These racist depictions have absolutely no place in our society at a time when our nation is becoming more divided.

We cannot stand by and see racism continue in the manner that it is and see that it repeats history, a history that this body has moved forward in to acknowledge the past of the state of California and the United States, to right the wrongs of all the people of color on this floor.

We cannot stand by to see history start to repeat itself, as it's starting to do. To my colleague from Clovis who said that the President knows it's wrong. So if the President does know it's wrong, why hasn't he apologized for it?

If you're stating that the President knows he is wrong, and when he fails to offer an apology, does that change your perspective of him himself?

It's time now that all people in the state of California and the United States that have a moral compass to stand united, stand united against these things that are bringing division against our people, all of us. It's time that we stand united to ensure that. That we push back against this blatant racism that's coming our way.

This body has stood time and time again to stand up for California's first people against derogatory names, derogatory names that have been changed in the state of California.

We've stood together to bring down a school name that brought atrocities and genocide towards California's first people, we cannot stand now and watch history repeat itself right in front of us. It's time that we stand together. We stand together on things that bring us together.

And certainly pushing back against this blatant racism is something that truly brings us together as people. As people, we continue to lift one another up, but we also continue to have to lift up our brothers and sisters on things that are coming at them through social media, distorting the facts that are talked about on this floor.

And as that hatred continues to spread, the lives of individuals come into focus. It's time that we stand together. It's time that we stand united on the things that bring us together. To those that know that this is wrong, then let's stand together and start to work to make sure that California, California moves forward.

In making sure that that moral compass that we have pushes back on this racism and that hatred that continues to come our way. That's the only time we're going to be able to defeat this. We have to look back in history. It seems that history is repeating itself. But we have a blueprint.

A blueprint on how we overcome. And when we overcome, we stand united. And when we overcome, we stand together. To ensure that the people's voices are truly heard in this chamber and in the state of California, I urge an aye vote on HR84.

Thank you, Assemblymember Ramos. Assemblymember Elhawary, you are recognized.

Thank you. Thank you, Mr. Speaker and Members. HR 84 is being introduced during Black History Month. Let that sit with you. A time meant to celebrate the black excellence, black leadership, and black contributions to this country. But instead of celebrating black history, we're standing here confronting racism from the highest office.

Racism that didn't belong in the past and that sure as hell does not belong in the present. In today's climate, racist demonization has become louder, more visible and normalized, especially online. It's disturbing and it's disgusting. Instead of celebrating black history and black excellence, we had to introduce a resolution in order to condemn racism.

And not just by anonymous users on the Internet or immature young kids, but by the President of the United States of America. The same President that didn't even know, didn't even realize that he represents Puerto Rico. When racist dehumanization is normalized online, it desensitizes people to the real harm that has real world consequences.

And when it's normalized by the leadership of this country, it doesn't just spread hate, it encourages and normalizes authorizes it. Racism has become too visible. It's all over the place and we're being asked to accept it as normal. We've stood on this floor to defend immigrants, communities of color, religious minorities and anyone who's forced to face adversity.

We cannot fall silent when racist dehumanization is directed at black people. Our forever President, our first lady, any black people, especially during Black History Month. California is a leader everywhere. We are made up of diversity and we have an obligation to reject racism in California. We don't look away. We speak up. Look around this Assembly floor.

We are a diverse body and every single one of us represents black constituents who are watching how we respond to this. They all deserve, we all deserve dignity and respect. This is not a partisan issue. The color of our skin shouldn't be denigrated. No matter what side of the aisle you're on a racist post.

Racist rhetoric, racialized hatred. No matter how you identify that, if it comes from the President, that should outrage you. This racist in chief and what he says should outrage you. And if it doesn't, we have a problem. A real problem. Thank you.

Thank you, Assemblymember Elhawary. Assemblymember Quirk Silva, you are recognized.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I too rise in solidarity with our Black Caucus, but also all of our caucuses. Because what is happening with this post is just one of many. This President has shown a pattern abuse, not just to black individuals, our former President and his wife, but to so many.

When he made the comment using the word retard. When he has his pet names for so many something, it's funny, all you have to do is Google and there is a list of well over 20 names that he has called professionals. All you have to do is look at how he treats women, particularly women journalists.

Calling them nasty, calling them many names. This is a pattern of abuse. Any of us in our jobs here on the floor as we take ethic training would be fired if not written up for these types of posts or remarks. And in fact, there have been elected officials who have resigned.

In Los Angeles, a remark was made by the President of the Los Angeles Council and she in fact resigned. In Orange County in 2011, a council Member from Los Alamitos actually posted about the Obamas being monkeys and he resigned. If you google this pattern, you will see these type of comments that have come out.

This is not the first time. Sadly, it won't be the last time because we have normalized calling names again. As a teacher, what do we teach our kids in the classroom? To be respectful, to be kind. All of these things.

And yet when The President from the highest office in our United States thinks it's cute or funny to call names. This is what we see happening and then we get gaslighted for calling it out. This has become everyday pattern and it is a pattern of abuse at the highest office. Silence is also a response.

Saying nothing, not speaking out when someone has crossed the line, is a part of this abuse. As we could get fired in our jobs. This President should be fired. With that, I encourage your support of HR84.

Thank you, Assemblymember Quirk Silva. Assemblymember Bonta, you are recognized.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker and Members. I rise also today in support of HR84. I rise today for the black girls and the black boys who call my district home and in California who call California home.

I rise today because we must all confront and reject the growing normalization of racism we are witnessing at the highest levels of government and by this White House and by this President.

Whether it's federal action that disproportionately targets communities of color, official government platforms, echoing neo Nazi white supremacist rhetoric, or presidential communications that traffic in demeaning and dehumanizing imagery rooted in long standing racial tropes, this moment demands our attention and our response.

Let me tell you why, and why complicit silence is not the response that we need right now. With every posting, with every offhand comment, with every depiction of hate intended to be a lash felt not upon one body, but the bodies and souls of all of us, we lose our basic humanity.

We lose our shared sense of decency, and we lose our ability to find each other, to come back to each other and to find common ground.

And it's certainly deeply shameful that we are having to do this during Black History Month, that we have been forced to reckon with national leadership that portrays our black people in ways that strip us of dignity and humanity. Our struggles are deeply interconnected and this moment requires solidarity.

As Dr. King reminded us, injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere. These racist tropes and these callbacks to supremacy are intended to do one thing. They're intended to create division, to create a two United States, and to fill the void with hate so that we have no way of coming back to each other.

It is a fracture that is growing so large that we are being pushed to a point of no return. And so in this moment, we need all of us to be able to stand up and call it what it is. I want to appreciate our Member from Clovis for saying so on this floor.

And certainly our Member from Tulare for also calling the question. We all watched the super bowl yesterday. Some of us got to hear Benito Antonio Martinez Ocasio, a fellow Boricua Puerto Rican and of the African Diaspora, remind us so powerfully just yesterday. Together, we are America. And the only thing more powerful than hate is love.

We in this body have the ability to lead with love, to lead with understanding, and to lead our community to recognize that we are one United States.

We need every one of us to speak up and call the question so that we can have a chance of making sure that every single child, elder, community Member knows in this state and in this country that we stand together despite our ideological differences, despite our political differences, that we have the ability to hold each other in this moment. With that, I respectfully request your aye vote.

Thank you, Assemblymember Bonta. Assemblymember Soria, you are recognized.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I rise in strong support of HR 84, a resolution that clearly and unequivocally condemns racism and hateful rhetoric in our country.

I do so not only as a legislator, but as a wife to a black man, a mother of five black children, and a grandmother to a beautiful black granddaughter who deserves to live in a country that values their dignity and humanity. The reason racist posts targeting President Barack Obama and First Lady Michelle Obama was painful.

It was despicable, and it was beneath the office of the President of the United States. This was not politics. This was blatant racism. It was demeaning, dehumanizing and dangerous. When the President of the United States, Donald Trump, uses racist language or imagery, it sends a message. It gives license for others to spew this same type of hate.

And when that message goes unchecked, we normalize hate. We excuse cruelty. And we wonder why division and violence continues to grow in this country. We need leaders who will unite us, not divide us.

Leaders who recognize the inherent value and dignity of every single person, regardless of the color of their skin, the country, of their origin, their accent, their faith, or who they love. Silence is complicity, and I refuse to be silent. Today, I proudly support HR84, and I will always stand against racism.

I hope all of us on this floor can stand united together against racism. Members, I ask that we all support HR84, sending a loud and clear message to the entire country that Democrats and Republicans in California together stand against racism.

Thank you, Assemblymember Soria. Assemblymember Sharpe Collins, you are recognized.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. And to the Members, as I did before, Happy Black History Month. Today, I rise on behalf of the Legislative Women's Caucus in support of HR84. Disgusting. I'm going to say it again. Disgusting. That is the only word that fits what happened last week.

Donald Trump posted vile, racist imagery and then took it down as if it was going to change the outcome of everything. Taking it down does not make it better. It confirmed that he knew exactly what he was doing. Erasing the post. That does not erase the overall intent. Trump did not make a mistake.

He made a deliberate choice. Rooted in the long and violent history of racial dehumanization, Depicting black people as animals, including portraying the Obamas as monkey, is one of the oldest tools of white supremacy. It was used to justify slavery. It was used to justify lynching.

It was used to deny black Americans humanity, dignity and and protection under the law. When you convince people that someone is less than human, you make cruelty easier to excuse. That history is not abstract. It is well documented and it is well understood. So let us be clear for the record, this was not a joke.

This was not Internet culture. This was not offensive but harmless speech. This was racial dehumanization amplified by a former President of the United States and directed at the only black President and first lady in our nation's history. And he is not speaking into a void.

He is speaking to people who already want to believe that black lives are worthless. They don't matter. That racism is being, what, exacerbated. You know what I mean. It's being put on as extra. Racism does not exist. That cruelty can't be brushed off as politics. This is proof that racism truly exists.

We see the real world consequences of that mindset in rising hate, in emboldening extremists, and in the deadly outcomes tied to aggressive and dehumanizing policies such as, let's see, let's talk about it, ICE and Border Patrol tactics fueled by a climate that dehumanizes black and brown communities that have already cost so many people's lives.

Renee Nicole Good, Alex Pretti and Keith Porter have been murdered as a direct result of these aggressive politics. Somali child care centers are being targeted by Trump's harmful rhetoric. This is the human cost of normalizing cruelty. We must also stop pretending that accountability begins and ends with an apology, because it doesn't.

Black communities should not be required to wait for remorse from people who have shown us again and again their cruelty is the point. We have been sounding the alarm for years. We have seen this pattern for centuries, from racially charged rhetoric to the open circulation of racist imagery. This is not an isolated incident. This is systematic.

It is strategic, and it is dangerous to those who continue to support Donald Trump while remaining silent in moments like this. Understand this clearly. Silence is not neutrality. Silence is being complicit when racism is excused, minimized, or ignored. It spreads when it is amplified by people in power, emboldened extremists, and puts black communities at greater risk.

This year marks 100 years of Black History Month. At a time when this nation should be honoring black achievement and resilience, we are instead confronting the normalization of racist dehumanization at a highest level of public life. California has a moral obligation to reject that normalization.

This body has the responsibility to say clearly, as we have been without qualification, that racism has no place in our politics, our institution, and in our leadership. But as we stand here to condemn things alone, I can tell you that that's not enough.

We must recommit ourselves to advancing policies that confront systemic racism, protect civil rights, and ensure that all Californians can live free from discrimination and hate. Because this is not just about what was posted. It is about what is being normalized. And what we tolerate today becomes the standards towards tomorrow.

So to those who still want to look away, still want to excuse it, or still want to call it something less than what it really is, I want you to remember this. We saw it. We called it out. And we will not forget. We will do actually instead of what we would do.

I want to ask you, who do you want this country to be? How do you want this country to look? Your vote is your stand. We are not just talking about black Americans. We're talking about all of us in this room, every single one of us. He has ridiculed and let us down.

And too long we have let it slide. And it's time to stand together and unite. So what kind of President represents the United States if he tears down the very people he's supposed to serve? If you do not stand with justice, equality and humanity, then you're standing with him against the values of this nation.

During my church service yesterday, my pastor said during his title sermon called Loud but it says loud but lost, he said, you will not be known by your past. You will only be known by where you're going. So with that, I want to know, what kind of ancestor do you want to be?

30 seconds.

Think about that. And when you think about it, as generation say, clock it. When you think about it, stand on it. So with that, on behalf of the Legislators Women's Caucus, I ask you, and I urge your aye vote on HR84. Remember. What kind of ancestor do you want to be? Stand on that and clock it.

Thank you. Assemblymember Sharp Collins. Assemblymember Jeff Gonzalez. You are recognized.

Mr. Speaker, Members of this august body and fellow Californians. I rise today not merely to speak on policy, but to speak on the soul of our Commonwealth. We stand in the chamber that represents the diverse tapestry of the Golden State, a state that has always been a laboratory for the American experiment.

But as we deliberate on the laws of man, we must never lose sight of the higher law that governs the human heart. The great communicator who once occupied the corner office of this very building, reminded us that that freedom is never more than one generation away from extinction.

I submit to you today that our unity is equally fragile. Racism is a ghost that haunts our history, but it does not have to be the architect of our future. As we look across the aisle, let us remember the words of Acts 10:34. God shows no partiality.

If the Creator of the universe, the one who fashioned the majestic Sierras and the vast Pacific, does not see a hierarchy in humanity, then by what authority do we?

Every constituent we represent, from the bustling streets of Los Angeles to the quiet farmstead in Imperial County, bears the same imago dei, the image of God mentioned in Genesis 1. When we allow prejudice to seep into our discourse, our statues or our statues, we aren't just failing a political test.

We are violating the inherent dignity of our neighbors. In this chamber, we often talk about justice, but the prophet Isaiah gave us the true definition. To seek justice and correct opposition. Excuse me. And to correct oppression. This is not a partisan suggestion. It's a moral imperative.

The Scripture tells us in James 2 that if we show partiality, we commit sin. In California, we pride ourselves on being a shining city on a hill for the rest of the world to see.

But that light is dimmed every time a young man is judged by the shade of his skin rather than by the depth of his character. It is dimmed every time the stranger residing in our land is treated with anything less than the love we owe ourselves. As Commanded in Leviticus 19.

I have a dream today that this Assembly floor will not be a place of division, but a place of reconciliation. I dream that we look upon each other and see what the apostle Paul saw. That there is neither Jew nor Greek, neither slave nor free. For we are all one.

We are a diverse multitude, much like the vision in Revelation 7 of every nation, tribe and tongue. That diversity is not our burden, it is our blessing. It is a source of our strength and the fuel of our innovation. Let us resolve as leaders of this great state to walk humbly. Let us look past the outward appearance.

For as 1 Samuel 16 teaches us, man looks at the surface, but the Lord looks at the heart. Let us craft laws that reflect the content of that heart. Let us build a California where every child, regardless of their zip code or their heritage, can stand tall and say, I am an American.

I am a Californian, and I am free. Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I yield the floor.

Thank you, Assemblymember Jeff Gonzalez seeing and hearing no further debate. Assemblymember Bryan do you wish to close?

Thank you to all of my colleagues, including those across the aisle, who are going to support this measure. Also thank you to our colleague from Tulare who's not here today but posted support or condemnation, I should say, of the President online for a brief moment is seeing what it feels like to be a black legislator.

Seventeen years ago, I was sitting in my junior English class. I was failing that class, and I watched the inauguration of President Barack Obama. And it was the first time in my life I knew of more. I saw more of what I could be.

Prior to that, I was coming to grips with the idea that I wasn't going to play college basketball. And I didn't know what was next. Probably running the streets and running my mama crazy like my friends.

It was the election of President Barack Obama that helped me transition into political science student of the year my senior year and ultimately onto this Assembly floor when I was 29 years old. That's the power of an example. And not at any point did I see him as a primate.

I saw him for the smooth, swaggered out brother that he was cloaked in brilliance and black excellence. And I believed I could embody that to the Republicans who left the floor earlier.

I understand that you don't see that in the White House today, that you see a coward who would rather blame an unnamed staffer for the racism spewing out of his truth social media account than to take accountability and responsibility for the hatred and division that he's calling. But let's be clear.

It wasn't an unnamed staffer who called Texas to gerrymander black districts. It wasn't an unnamed staffer who dismantled the Department of Education that gives funding to poor, disadvantaged black schools. It wasn't a black staffer who removed references to black history from federal websites. It wasn't a black staffer who cut the health care from struggling black families.

That was your President. And he hasn't apologized for any of those efforts. But in this instance, you can't cloak it. You can't hide it in rhetoric. It was clear. It was shameful. It was harmful.

And to the 10 million black children across this country who don't know how to see themselves in the mirror because their President has told them that they are primitive, that they are subhuman, that they are less than I hope that you see California standing up to today.

I hope you see the Members of this Legislative Black Caucus, and I hope you know that the biggest state in this union has your back. Because here in California, you are not subhuman. You are not less than. You are not a monkey. You are brilliant. You are beautiful. You are full of potential.

And we are going to do everything we can to help you realize that potential. I respectfully ask your aye vote.

Thank you, Assemblymember Bryan. Assemblymember Bryan, do you wish for the first roll to be open for co author? Okay. Assembly Member has asked for the first roll to be open for co authors. The Clerk will open the roll. All Members vote who desire to vote. This is for co authors Members. All Members vote who desire to vote.

This is for co authors. All Members vote who desire to.

Clerk will close the roll. There are 59 CO authors added. We will take a roll call. Vote on this. All Members vote. Clerk will open the roll. All Members vote who desire to vote on the resolution. All Members vote who desire to vote. All Members vote who desire to. The Clerk will close the roll. Tally the votes.

Ayes. 61 Noes 0. The resolution passes. Excuse me. The resolution is adopted. Members, we're going to be moving on to adjournments in memory. The quorum call is now lifted. Please take your conversations off the floor. Let's give our respectful attention to those who were granted prior permission to speak on their adjournment in memory.

Assemblymember Patel, you are recognized for your adjournment in memory.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker and Members, Today I rise to adjourn in memory of Sharon Rachel Cinder, a beloved wife, mother, community leader and a true Tzedekit, a righteous woman whose life was defined by mitzvah, acts of service, integrity and love for others. She was just 55.

Born in Erie, Pennsylvania, in 1970, Sharon's life was grounded in deep commitment to education, community and justice.

She studied at Brandeis University, earning a bachelor's of Science in Human Service Studies and from Cornell University's College of Human Ecology, and later completed graduate work at Syracuse University in Women's Studies and Cultural Foundations of education, shaping a lifelong dedication to empowering young people and strengthening families.

From her early work with the Jewish Jewish Youth Organizations and the Jewish Federation of North New Jersey to the many ways she served after she and her husband, Dan, made San Diego their home in 2004, Sharon consistently showed up where she was needed most.