Senate Floor

Secretary, please call roll.

[Roll Call]

A quorum is present. Would Members and our guests beyond the rail and in the gallery please rise. We will be led in prayer this afternoon by Senator Durazzo, after which, please remain standing for the Pledge of Allegiance to the flag. Senator Durazo, you are recognized.

Thank you, Mr. President. The book of Proverbs says, above all else, guard your heart, for everything else flows from it. Creator, God, give us a heart like yours that inspires us to love without reservation, to step out in courageous service to one another and never to dig up in doubt what we have planted in faith.

Fortify us with your grace to speak kindly, to keep our actions on the upswing and to refuse to allow any discouragement to infiltrate our spirits. Let your light shine through the cracks and the splinters of our less than perfect portions of our hearts. May we forgive ourselves, our imperfections and in response, return needed compassionate forgiveness to others. Amen.

Members, please join me in the Pledge of Allegiance to the flag. I pledge allegiance. Members, we are moving to privileges of the floor. Senator McNerney, you have guests with us today. You may introduce.

You are recognized. Well, thank you, Mr. President. Today I have the honor and privilege of recognizing St. Mary's High School football team from Stockton for winning this 2025 state championship. On December 16th, St. Mary's Rams defeated Bakersfield Christian High School in the CIF Division 22 AA state high school title game.

This was St. Mary's first state high school football champion. And it was the first high school football title for any Stockton team. Joining me on the floor today are St. Mary from St. Mary's our team. Coach Tony Franks, athletic Director Adam Lechter and players Landon McClendon, Mason Igel and Jeremy Krause. And Jaden Galvin.

The rest of the team is in the galley. Would you stand up wherever you are in the galley so we can see you? Okay, There they are. I want to say a few words about this groundbreaking champions. First, Coach Franks, who himself is A graduate of St. Mary's has led the Rams on an amazing 248 wins.

Most of them the most of any active coach in the region. Franks recently completed his 27th season at St. Mary's during that time, St. Mary's had only two losing seasons under his leadership.

St. Mary's is currently riding a 61 Game League winning streak dating back to 2013, the 9th longest in California history and the 3rd longest active streak. This year. Coach Franks was named a 2025 Cal hi Sports Coach of the Year.

But Coach Franks couldn't do this without a team of great players and these guys know what it takes to be champions. In fact, all the players here are on the today are named on the San Joaquin County All Star team.

In addition, star wide receiver Kenneth Moore III was named 2025 San Joaquin County Offensive Player of the Year and defensive lineman Luke Lineman Luke and Jake Lusoptello were named San Joaquin County 25 co defensive players of the Year. The championship game from Bakersfield Christian wide receiver ayan Huarta finished 171 yards and a touchdown.

Kenneth Moore III added 86 receiving yards and a touchdown and three pass breakups. And Diego Hernandez rushed for 105 yards. Defensive lineman Lucitello forced a fumble and both Mason Igal and Nick Anudic snagged interceptions. Colleagues, please join me in giving a round of applause for the pride of Stockton, the state champions St. Mary's Rams.

And we have additional Members up in the gallery. Welcome to the Senate. Congratulations St. Mary's football. Members. If you would like to have a photo in the back with the team, please feel free to join. Senator McNerney. Thank you to our St. Mary's football Members that are up in the gallery. We will move on to the next item. Senator Weber Pierson, you have guests with us today. You are recognized.

Thank you. Thank you Mr. President. Today the California Legislative Black Caucus and the California Black Chamber of Commerce honored small black owned businesses that serve both economic engines and cultural anchors in our communities. These entrepreneurs transformed tradition, creativity and perseverance into opportunity, creating jobs, strengthening neighborhoods and carrying our culture forward.

Senators, please warmly welcome to the Senate Chambers. Please owners of those black owned businesses that were honored from our districts for their lasting impact and commitment to our communities. They're standing in the gallery.

Welcome to the Senate. And we will now move to Senator Alvarado-Gil who can introduce your guest as well.

Thank you Mr. President and colleagues, please join me in giving a warm Senate welcome to the Alder Creek Middle School home of the Cougars.

We have students from the Civics Focused, US History and Avid Aligned courses who are joining us today in their Capitol tour along with teacher Margaret Lally, School Counselor Rachel Coles and community interpreter, translator and liaison Ivana Cobos Ramirez. Welcome to Sacramento.

Welcome to the Senate. Good to have you here. On behalf of Senator Allen and Senator Hurtado, we welcome to the Senate chamber award winning singer Songwriter Mariano Barba. In addition, on behalf of Senator Allen, please welcome Rachel Bailit and John Lacy to the Senate chamber. In the gallery, please stand. They are filmmakers and screenwriters. Something like that.

Thank you. Senator Allen, welcome to the Senate. We're glad to have you with us today. Thank you so much. And next is Senator. On behalf of Senator Cabaldon, please welcome his district office interns to the Senate chamber. Please stand. Welcome to the Senate. On behalf of Senator Cabal. Messages from the Governor will be deemed read.

Messages from the Assembly will be deemed read. Reports of committees, Secretary, Please read.

The Committee on Rules has ordered the following measure to third reading Senate Resolution 77.

Motions, resolutions and notices without objection, the Senate journals for February 22026 through February 52026 will be approved as corrected by the minute Clerk. Introduction and first reading of bills will be deemed read. Moving to consideration of the daily file. Item 50. Senator Grove, you are recognized.

Thank you, Mr. President. Colleagues, item number 50 is a confirmation of Tyler Sadwith, a chief deputy Director, Healthcare programs for the Department of Healthcare Services. He also serves as a state Medicaid Director, a position that he's held since 2024.

From 2021 to 2024, he led the department's behavioral health programs, first as the assistant deputy Director and then as the deputy Director. And he also worked for seven years at the center for Medicare and Medicaid Services in the US Health and Human Services Agency. He was approved by the Rules Community Committee. Excuse me.

On a 5-0 vote on January 21st. Respectfully ask for an aye vote.

Thank you, Senator. Secretary, please call roll.

[Roll Call]

ayes 33, no, zero. The appointment is confirmed. Members moving to Senate supplemental file number one, item 69, SR 77. Senator Weber Pierson, you are recognized. Secretary, please read

Senate Resolution 77 by Senator Weber Pierson relative to condemning racism. Senator Weber Pearson.

Thank you, Mr. President. Senators, I rise today to present SR 77, a resolution. Just a few days ago, I had no idea that I would need to present because I thought that we were living in the year 2026, not 1926, not 1826. Nevertheless, this President is determined to try to take this country back.

Back to a time when the malignant narcissist views of some dominated the American culture and became ingrained in this country's foundation. A foundation that we have yet to fully break free from.

A foundation that this President and many of his followers desperately cling to with an abhorrent desire to fully reinstate in order to make America great again in their eyes.

So today I rise on behalf of the California Legislative Black Caucus to condemn the racist and and dehumanizing video displayed by President Donald Trump against President Barack Obama and Mrs. Michelle Obama. This imagery has no place in our country, no place in our democracy, and absolutely no place coming from the President of the United States.

For black Americans, the depiction of our people as apes is not merely offensive. It is a violent, centuries old racist trope used by slave traders and white malignant narcissists to justify enslavement, racial terror and lynching.

No matter how much they try to gaslight us, this was not an accident, it was not a joke, and it is not meme culture. It was a calculated act of racial subjugation intended to strip black people of our humanity and our dignity.

And this isn't a one off or an isolated event for the individual currently occupying the White House. It is a part of a long documented pattern of this President targeting persons of African descent. From the racist birther conspiracy to his targeting Haitians and Somali immigrants to this latest attack on President and Mrs. Obama.

We cannot allow our children to grow up in a country where the leader of the free world openly spews racism and hatred. At a moment when children are watching, learning and forming their understanding of leadership and values, this Administration is teaching them that cruelty, bigotry and dehumanization are acceptable, and they are not.

This act occurred during the hundredth anniversary of Black History Month, a time meant to honor the resilience, contributions and humanity of black Americans. And instead, this President chose to amplify the very racism our ancestors fought and died to overcome. When those in power engage in this rhetoric. It does not just exist in in a vacuum.

It fuels hatred, emboldens extremists, and increases real world threats and violence against black communities. California has a moral obligation to stand in solidarity with black communities and refuse to tolerate this dehumanization, especially when it comes from the most powerful office in this world. Silence in the face of this behavior is complicity.

And I will repeat that silence in the face of this behavior is complicity. To remain quiet while black leaders are attacked with racial slurs is to allow racism to flourish unchecked.

We are demanding a public apology to President and Mrs. Obama and to every black American forced to endure the pain and harm of seeing these dehumanizing tropes repeated yet again. This resolution declares that California will continue advancing policies that confront systemic racism and affirm that black people deserve to live free from targeted hate and state sanctioned dehumanization.

As a black woman and a legislator, I know that this post is not just about a post on social media. It's about the safety of our children, the future of our democracy, and the respect owed to our ancestors who built this country.

I want to thank those legislators who have already publicly spoken out against this, including some Members from the other side, such as the Senator from Fair Oaks, the Senator from San Diego, and the Senator from Santa Clarita.

And I also want to thank those legislators who reached out to me and other Members of the California Legislative Black Caucus after this occurred, including our pro tem and the Senator on the other side from Jackson. California will not normalize this gutter language and imagery of white malignant narcissism.

And since we don't have the maturity that is needed at the federal level to lead this nation, California will stand in the gap. We will stand with the Obamas. We will stand with black communities. We will stand for the dignity and humanity of every black American. And with that, I respectfully asked for an aye vote on SR77.

Senator Smallwood-Cuevas, you are recognized.

Thank you so much, Mr. President. On behalf of the Legislative Women's Caucus, I rise in strong support of SR77. And I thank my good colleague for bringing this important condemnation forward.

I, along with the Women's Caucus, unequivocally condemned Donald Trump for weaponizing White House platforms to spread racist, dehumanizing video footage targeting former President Barack Obama and former first lady Michelle Obama. And I want to be clear that this isn't about images. The images really are just a symptom of the malignancy that my dear colleague spoke about.

And we know that the dehumanization of black folks, not just in this country, but around the world, has resulted in millions of people in the continent of Africa not having life saving vaccines. This dehumanization has resulted in over 3 million federal workers losing their jobs, largely black women and other women of color.

We know this dehumanization has resulted in hundreds of millions of dollars being defunded from worthy causes that address the disparities in our health care systems. Defunding programs that treat sickle cell anemia, for example, or black male AIDS projects here at our very own institutions of higher learning. So this isn't about images. It's about what the images represent.

And that is what Bryan Stevenson has always reminded us. It's racial terror. Bryan Stevenson from our equal justice programs in Alabama calls this racial terror evolution. It may no longer wear hoods or carry torches, although we know in Charlottesville they were carrying torches saying that Jews will not replace us.

So we know the racism is real and visible, but it runs so deep and it creates legacies and generations of humiliation, of lies, of hate that inflict real harm on people's lives and cost real lives when we think about the policies that are behind them.

For generations, dehumanizing images have been used to strip black people of, of their dignity, of their citizenship, of their equal treatment under their due process, under the law. It's a way to justify violence.

And we see the justification of violence over and over and over in our streets as our Latino community, our immigrant community, is being so deeply racially profiled and abused. The history is not behind us. It is being recycled in real time. This is not an isolated incident.

It's part of a pattern of a President who has separated families, targeted immigrants, rolled back hard fought civil rights for women in all communities. And it is one that is costing the lives of good American citizens who just stand up on the Constitution to protect themselves and their neighbors. The harm is not symbolic.

The dehumanization shows up and we know it's fear based. It's harassment. It's violence and its policies that erodes all of our safety and all of our humanity. The harm is not abstract or symbolic. And silence in moments like these is not neutrality. It is permission. It is enabling.

Every elected leader has a responsibility to call this out clearly and without qualification. And I want to thank those who acted swiftly, particularly our house leader, Pro Tem Limone. Senators, we reject these kinds of politics rooted in cruelty and division. We have to stop the scapegoating. We have to stop the harm.

It is setting us too far back, back to the era of birth of a Nation. We will not normalize racism. We cannot, we will not excuse it, and we will not look the other way. We must organize for common decency, for what is right. We have to fight back.

We have to protect our communities because we have fought this racism, this very raw dehumanization for centuries. And we thought we had agreement, but here we are begging for the protection of our communities. I respectfully asked for an aye vote on this important resolution. And I hope that we meet this moment together.

I hope we can stand up together. I hope we can continue to send clear messages together that enough is enough. We are what the moment has been waiting for, and the moment is here. And with that, again, I respectfully ask for your aye vote.

Senator Gonzalez, you are recognized.

Thank you, Mr. President. On behalf of the Latino Caucus, as the chair, I rise in very strong solidarity with my colleagues in the Black Legislative Caucus.

They've said this all too eloquently and have written a beautiful resolution that has said that the State Senate calls on all elected officials, regardless of party affiliation, to join condemning this racist act. President Trump has exacerbated the racism in our country.

And anyone who refuses to speak up has been mentioned or stays silent and complicit and refuses to denounce the president's racist and criminal behavior should be ashamed of themselves.

We are used to President Trump's late night venting via social media, but the sharing of a racist post against two of the classiest President and first ladies is really nothing more than just disgusting. As usual, Trump tried to blame someone else and change the topic, as has already been done time and time again.

But the damage is already done and what did not occur was an apology, not even an acknowledgement that the post was offensive. Since since there was no apology, I can assume that this message of hate was intentional and should disqualify anyone who is President from actually holding office or actually serving this great nation that we all love.

But don't take it from me. Take it from 29 year old constituents. Permission to read, Mr. President?

Without objection. Permission granted.

Oftentimes, you know, we talk and speak and it seems very political back and forth, like we're just attacking our friends on the other side of the aisle. But that is not the case. My 29 year old constituents wrote letters and today one of them said it isn't fair that just because I'm white, I'm protected.

We should all be protected. Who cares if you're Black or tan or even white. We should all be equal. That was from Adeline, her twin sister Claire. The United States of America isn't united anymore because Trump is disuniting us. Again. Don't take it from me. Take it from 29 year olds who are our future. And with that, I respectfully ask for an aye vote.

Senator Caballero, you are recognized.

Thank you, Mr. President. I rise in solidarity with my colleagues in the Legislative Black Caucus. The racist image shared by President Donald Trump depicting our first black President and first lady, the Obamas, is inhumane and vile and dangerous. It is not satire. It is dehumanization. Drawn from the oldest traditions of white supremacy.

Former President Barack Obama and former First Lady Michelle Obama embody black excellence, leadership, grace and family unity. They inspired a generation to believe they belonged in every room where decisions are made. Attacks like this are meant to strip away that dignity and make black Americans feel that even at the highest levels, they can still be targeted.

That is why silence is not neutral. Silence is complicity. Black history, leadership and excellence are central to the story of this nation. I am proud to stand in solidarity with love, with the Legislative Black Caucus and black communities everywhere. Hate has no home here. I ask that you vote Aye on SR77.

Senator Becker, you are recognized.

Thank you, Mr. President. I rise on behalf of the California Legislative Jewish Caucus to express our unified support for SR77 and our condemnation of this racist post from President Donald Trump.

The Jewish Caucus stands shoulder to shoulder with the Black Caucus, our sister caucuses, and those who have been impacted by this egregious and racist post about President Obama and Mrs. Obama during these times. We cannot stay silent. I'm encouraged by the voices that have spoken up about across this country, including some Republicans, Senator Tim Scott, Permission read

Without objection. Permission is granted.

Senator Tim Scott called it, quote, the most racist thing he's seen from this White House. Representative Mike Lawler said the president's post is wrong and incredibly offensive, whether intentional or mistake, and he asked for an apology. But as of this date, no apology has been forthcoming. This post is an act of dehumanization.

As my colleague from Los Angeles so eloquently laid out, the consequences of dehumanization. And the Jewish people know what happens when human beings are stripped of their dignity and reduced to caricatures.

My daughter recently did a paper on Nazi propaganda, and I saw there very clearly what I learned growing up, that the Nazi propaganda machine used caricatures and cartoons as a staple of their propaganda leading up to the Holocaust to make Jews Subhuman and enemies of the state.

Dehumanizing people based on race, ethnicity, religion, sexual orientation, gender, other identity is offensive and abhorrent. We see actions like this over and over from this President and laughed away as a joke. But this is not a joke. This fuels fear, legitimizes cruelty, and embolden those who are already inclined to hate.

I call on all Americans of good conscience to condemn this unequivocally. Today, the Jewish Caucus stands firmly in support of the Black Caucus, our black community, and those who continue to come under the target of this Administration. This moment demands courage. It demands clarity. This is our moment to stand up for American values.

What will our children and grandchildren say of how we presented ourselves, how we stood up, how we spoke? In this moment, we all have to act as if the future of this country depends on our individual actions.

This moment demands that we unite and say together that this has no place and hate has no place in our politics. I urge an aye vote.

Senator Cervantes, you are recognized.

Thank you, Mr. President. Today I rise as Vice Chair of the LGBTQ Caucus in support of Senate Resolution 77. I want to thank our colleague, the Senator from San Diego and Chair of the Black Caucus for bringing this timely resolution forward. This debate is not about partisan allegiance. It's about values.

We must ask ourselves whether the sharing of racist content by a sitting President meets the basic standards of leadership, dignity and responsibility that the American people deserve. Racism has no place in democracy, and least of all when it is amplified from the person inside the Oval Office.

There is nothing amusing about imagery or language that dehumanizes the entire group of people using harmful, century old stereotypes rooted in racism. When the President spreads or legitimizes that kind of content, it places communities that have long faced discrimination at even greater risk. The LGBTQ community is not a monolith.

Our community includes black, Asian, Latino, Pacific Islander, indigenous, immigrant, multiracial people whose lives are shaped by the intersectional threats of both racism and anti LGBTQ bias. The LGBTQ community would not be where it's at today if not for the leadership, courage and sacrifice of black LGBTQ leaders.

So today, like every day, we stand in lockstep with the black community, as we call this reprehensible, dehumanizing and unpresidental conduct by the current occupant of the White House. This moment demands moral clarity. Silence is complicity, and enables this racist rhetoric to persist and to spread.

Every Member of this Senate, regardless of party, has a responsibility to reject what President Trump has done because when the President traffics in racism against our black community, he not only dishonors the office he holds and the Constitution he swore by, he invites his followers to engage in even more discrimination and violence against Members of that community.

Senate Resolution 77 is about promoting accountability and protecting California values. It affirms that racism, no matter the source, must be called out, rejected and condemned. We expect our leaders to use their platform to unite, not divide, to protect, not endanger, to lead with dignity, not disgrace the offices that they hold.

It is for these reasons I respectfully stand in the strongest terms possible for an aye on SR77.

Senator Padilla, you are recognized.

Thank you very much, Mr. President and colleagues. First, I stand in very strong support of the resolution, strong support of the Legislative Black Caucus. Black individuals throughout this country and everywhere who are even aware of this disgusting, continuing example of unbridled racism seems to plague our culture, our society and our nation. Again, it's sad and disgusting.

Colleagues, I'm reminded that many decades ago, 1963, President John Kennedy spoke to his countrymen and said, you know, we are just upon one century from civil war, a civil war that tore the nation asunder.

And today, at that time, he spoke of the fact that the heirs of enslaved persons, the heirs of persons discriminated against, were not fully free. Because he understood, perhaps unlike the current incumbent, that freedom is a living thing that must be given life by all of us through our words and through our deeds.

It is indeed a great idea, but it only is great if we make it so. Freedom must be given life or it is worthless when people are not fully free at any time, if they have to live with the yoke of hatred and discrimination and ridiculous ideas about racial supremacy by any person or any race anywhere.

I remember well. I remember well as a gay person of color watching the current president's first campaign for office. And there are some images I will never forget, and one of them was some detailed coverage of a very large political campaign rally wherein there were people who showed up at the rally, people of color.

In one particular case, a young black woman, a student with a placard, who was attending the rally to voice her frustration and pain at someone who, right out the gate seeking the nation's highest office, had made the fundamental underpinning of that campaign about otherizing anyone who is different, particularly people of color, particularly immigrants, casting aspergens, perpetuating racist ideas about entire classes and racists of people, entire people who are in a position to want to emigrate to this country, calling everyone a criminal to play cynically on frustration and anger and hatred for a political advantage.

And I remember watching this young black woman with the placard in the rally was lifting her voice in opposition in objection to the idea someone seeking the nation's highest office would even trade in this garbage. And I will never forget what I saw.

I saw two elderly gentlemen that I would normally salute and honor wearing VFW caps, punch and shove and knock this young black woman to the ground. How American. Because she dared to speak out against such garbage. That image is forever, ever in my mind. Another one during that same campaign. A grown man seeking the United States presidency.

Physically impersonating, I suppose, or mocking a developmentally disabled person. That same individual speaking in ways about women, physically assaulting women that would have cost any other candidate their candidacy instantly. For some reason, that was explained away. When someone shows you who they are morally at their core, believe them. Believe them.

And it's a helpless feeling for people like me and certainly for our dearest black colleagues and black people all over this country.

It's a feeling of helplessness at times to hear the person who's supposed to represent all of our ideals and all of our hopes and all of our dreams and all of our better angels appealing to the worst in us cynically with a wink and a nod, encouraging people to listen to their darkest instincts instead of rising to their better instincts.

On every dollar. E Pluribus unum. America is an idea out of many one. And the fundamental responsibility of any President of the United States at any time is a moral one. It is to live and to get up every day to try to make that idea real instead of false.

I am outraged and I am sickened that in the year 2026, decades after we put people on the moon, we have to stand on the floor of the Senate of the largest state in the union and condemn that.

The White House and this President have yet again shown us, unfortunately, some of what they really think at their core. It's disgusting and it's heartbreaking, and I condemn it in the strongest of terms. And I ask for an aye vote.

Senator Reyes, you are recognized.

Thank you, Mr. President. I first want to begin by thanking the Legislative Black Caucus for acting quickly so that we recognize exactly what we're talking about. Today, I rise in strong support of SR77, which condemns President Donald Trump's racist post and dehumanization of our black leaders and of all of our black brothers and sisters.

With the respect due to the office of the President of the United States, I will still say Donald Trump is a coward and a disgrace. His public displays of racism are disgusting and shameful. They are also an attempt at distracting us from what many of us agree are some of his horrific other acts.

Protecting powerful pedophiles, using government forces to kill innocent Americans, destroying our economy and alienating our allies, Committing criminal acts of war. We're all human, worthy of respect and dignity. Trump's constant dismantling of our social contracts and laws is harming real people. Families, workers, businesses. Trust that his threats can inflict great harm on us all, even you. Today.

It is a dehumanization of a great President Obama. California will not be distracted, though, from the fight for justice. We denounce the racism, and we recognize that no matter how hard he tries, Trump can never hope to be half the President Obama was for our country. I am heartened to see that on this.

This disgraceful dehumanization of President Obama and First Lady Michelle Obama. I am heartened to see our colleagues from the other side of the aisle also denouncing his acts.

I call on all of my colleagues, regardless of party Affiliation, to support SR77, condemn this act, and call on President Trump to issue a public apology to President Barack Obama and First Lady Michelle Obama and all of our black communities for the use of dehumanizing imagery against black Americans.

Senator Rubio, you are recognized.

Thank you, Mr. President. Ladies and gentlemen of the Senate, I also stand in strong support of SR77. And it's with a heavy heart that we all have to speak on this floor because it is something that should not be tolerated. As a teacher and as a human being, I am outraged by.

By the words I heard, by the imageries I see and the continuation of attacks on just humans. I'm outraged that it's become our new normal when the most powerful office in the nation amplifies the humanizing images. Then when he's asked, he doubles down, shrugs, and says, I didn't make a mistake.

He knows he did it, and he still said he did not make a mistake. It sends a chilling message about who we are and what we stand for and what we are willing to tolerate. Mistake or not, the fundamental duty of a leader is to comfort, unite, lead and set the example. This is not leadership.

It is cruelty. Normalized. His campaign began by disparaging Latinos, but it has never stopped. The attacks on people continue. Humiliating others has become a sport for him. He repeats it often and often, and he thinks that it becomes fact. We must refuse and we must condemn it.

We must call it out every time because hatred does not become acceptable through his repetition. The racial slurs are grotesque. The imagery aimed at the Obamas are disgusting. I would call them childish, but my third graders knew better. My third graders would never hurt someone so egregiously, would never disrespect a human being like that. They knew better.

Our children deserve better. They deserve leaders who honor the ancestors of black Americans who endured enslavement, violence and erasure, and who recognize the dignity of those who carry that legacy. Today, my third graders know more respect than the President. Today, an apology is owed, plainly and unequivocally to the Obamas.

Not as a political calculation, but as a moral obligation to this nation and to the children of this country. Anything less tells our children that power excuses cruelty. As long as you have a title, you can attack, embarrass, humiliate, tear families apart. And the list goes on and on.

I want to add my voice very strongly and demand an apology to the Obamas. They deserve better. They let with dignity and grace, and I hope that we continue to insist that he apologize. With that, I ask for an aye vote.

Thank you, Senator Perez. You are recognized.

Thank you, Mr. President. I rise in support of SR77. I was utterly shocked last week to see the President of the United States share dehumanizing racist imagery of former President Barack Obama and former first lady Michelle Obama.

What example does this set for our children when the most powerful man in the world encourages racism and bigotry toward the black community? But I want to be clear. This is not an isolated incident of racism from this President. For years, he has engaged in conspiracy theories about the birthplace of former President Barack Obama.

And he has spent the last 13 months targeting black serving institutions under the guise of his war on diversity, equity, and inclusion. He has eliminated critical grant funding to nonprofit institutions, universities, and charitable organizations for their work to serve black communities. Let's be very clear.

But I think it's important to recognize the most obvious truth as to where Trump's obsession with the Obamas comes from. It comes from racism and hatred, yes, but it also comes from jealousy. President Barack Obama and First Lady Michelle Obama have genuine talent, a loving family, and integrity. They are not convicted felons.

They are not in the Epstein files. They have not been found liable for sexual abuse. I cannot say the same for Donald Trump. While I hope President Trump publicly apologizes for promoting racist imagery of former President Barack Obama and First Lady Michelle Obama, I won't hold my breath because President Donald Trump is a racist. I urge an aye vote.

Senator McNerney, you are recognized.

Thank you, Mr. President and colleagues. I rise today to simply and clearly. Denounce the actions of President Donald Trump in circulating his hateful and disgusting images. And as for an aye vote on SR 77.

Thank you very much, Mr. President. I stand strong with my sisters and brothers and siblings in the black community in support of this resolution. Violence, again and again and again is what they face. Racism again and again and again. Threats again and again and again. Violations of our United States Constitution. Again and again and again.

But I want to say that not only do I stand in solidarity, but I ask everyone, everyone to do something, starting with the resolution today. Yes, but do something. Take an action. Join a march. Join a vigil. Wear a button, but do something. And I want to just share with you. Last week, so proud.

I got a call from my granddaughter who's a teenager in high school, and she called me, and she was so excited. I said, what's up? This is noon. You're supposed to, you know, don't usually call your grandma. And she says, I'm so proud that I went out on the march today.

And some of you might think, well, of course she was. She's my granddaughter. But the difference is, she did it on her own. I didn't have to take her with me. I didn't have to Drag her with me. She did it on her own and she was so proud of the action that she had taken. I want to end because I said the prayer today, if I could, with your permission,

without objection. Permission granted.

Part of it says fortify us, dear God, with your grace to refuse to allow any discouragement to infiltrate our spirits. I proudly and Strongly stand with SR77.

Senator Menjivar, you are recognized.

Thank you, Mr. President. I rise today as an embarrassed American. Embarrassed for what the most powerful leader in our country continues to do.

Embarrassed that we continue, as the Senator from Los Angeles said over and over and over and over again, have to take up energy and space here to denounce the attacks on close to 80% of the identities of this entire body.

But I guess we're waiting until all 100% of this body gets attacked for us to really do something. And I'm wondering and questioning where do we draw the line? How many more lines need to be blurred?

How many more times do we just stand up and we'll continue to do it locked arms with our caucus sis but how many more times is it going to be enough? We cannot continue to be deflected and gaslit by this Federal Administration that deflects time and time again. We are all elected officials.

The buck always stops with us. Regardless of what our staff does or does not do, we are held responsible for our entire office. For individual to be the highest ranking elected official to deflect to a staffer making minimum wage probably isn't first outright lie and a really, really weak excuse.

But then the President changed his rhetoric and said well I didn't finish the video, I just reposted it not knowing that was at the end of the video. For a President of the United States before they speak, they're not going to do their work for a President of the United States before they post something.

They're not going to finish a video. But that's the rhetoric we get from this White House. Incompetence, incomplete research, just speaking to speak and take up air. Like the Senator from Baldwin park mentioned.

We ask more of our 10 year old, we demand poise and kindness of 10 year olds and we excuse the President of the United States ongoing attacks of anyone but white, of every other race but white.

I stand with the Black Caucus who have stood hand in hand with the Latino community as we continue to denounce this embarrassment that continues to come out of the White House. Instead of focusing on people, I also ask for a public apology.

Because right now what would be beneficial as being a big individual and saying I made a mistake because that would help us move forward. The continuation of deflecting in this situation continues to make it worse. I'm sick and tired.

But every single attack they'll come at us will continue to get up and continue to denounce for what now two more years, two and a half more years of this. Respectfully asking for Nybor and SR 77.

Senator Arreguin, you are recognized.

Thank you, Mr. President. I want to join all my colleagues who have made such eloquent comments about the importance of this resolution. Because words matter, actions matter, and speaking out when racism and discrimination happens in our country matters. I want to thank the Senator from San Diego and the Legislative Black Caucus for bringing this resolution forward.

And when I first heard about this, I honestly thought it was a joke. How could the President of the United States during Black History Month post such a deeply offensive video denigrating the first black President and first lady?

One would think that the President would be recognizing Black History Month, recognizing black excellence in this country, as opposed to posting such racist tropes and dehumanizing videos. Once again, words matter. Actions matter, especially from the highest office in this land. But as my colleagues had noted, this is not an act of isolated behavior.

Rather, it is a pattern of racist actions by this President against the black community and other communities of color in this country. Even before he ran for President, he was publicly questioning whether President Obama was a legal citizen of this country, demanding that he show his birth certificate.

He and his Administration, his party, and the majority in the Supreme Court have gutted essential protections that we have fought so hard for for many generations for voting rights and civil rights in this country, led a partisan gerrymander in Texas to strip black representation in Congress, have led to racist attacks on diversity, equity and inclusion in this country, and threatening federal dollars to states like California, who dare say that DEI is a good thing, recognizing that diversity is our strength in this.

And frankly, this is part of a pattern of systemic racism and brutality against black people that they've experienced since the first enslaved people were kidnapped. Remind you, kidnapped and brought to this country as slaves.

And this foundation of systemic racism in terms of housing and jobs and voting rights that we have had to fight to dismantle and to say that black Americans are just as important and equal as white Americans in this country. So things like this, it's not an accident.

And it is important because it takes us backwards when we should be moving forwards as a country. So this isn't a joke. This Dehumanizing, it's wrong and frankly, it's un American.

So I just want to close by just referencing a comment that the Obamas had made in response to this video and building on the famous statement by Michelle Obama, which is when they go low, we choose love, respectfully ask for an aye vote on SR 77.

Thank you, Mr. President. I was not shocked by the post and perhaps that was the most frightening thing of all, that it has become normal and questions whether it's a joke or humor, you know.

Last year, as the Senator from San Francisco was presenting a piece of legislation, the Senator for Jackson rose to a point of order, pointing out that the Senator from San Francisco was referring to the President solely by his last name and that it was disrespectful to the officers of the presidency to call the President merely by his last name alone.

That point of order was upheld because the Senator from Jackson was precisely right. Our democracy depends on a respect, a reverence for our institutions and for the people who occupy them, however temporarily.

And so to see a President of the United States post about any President in the manner that we saw this weekend and that we have seen others so many other times before, is an assault on our very democracy.

It is that notion that each of us serves in a role that is a long, unbroken commitment to freedom, to justice, to liberty, to the Declaration of Independence, the Constitution and the Bill of Rights, to that we are mere vessels of that work and that each of us in those roles deserves that respect, that our democracy depends on that mutual respect.

Now, it's been said that the by the esteemed author of the resolution, that this was an effort to bring us back.

But although it's very clear that she is correct, it is also true that if we did go back, let's go back 100 years to 1926 and had any of social media existed in 1926, the President of the United States at the time never would have posted something of this nature. This was completely unacceptable in 1926.

There were still caricatures, there were cartoons. All of that was available. There are many ways to express your racism, but this could not have happened in 1926 because no President of the United States of any party would have done it.

We can go back to 1826, when John Quincy Adams was President of the United States, a strong anti abolitionist, anti discrimination leader for the country. There's no way that he would have posted an image like this if social media were available to him.

He knew, as most Americans did at the time that we had to move into a transition in this country towards rights and justice and equality for all. And that the last way we would accomplish were through these sorts of demeaning caricatures.

Now, on behalf of the API caucus, the Asian Pacific Islander Caucus, I just want to emphasize we, just like every other caucus on this floor, every other Member of our communities, have seen the results.

It always starts with a cartoon or in the age of AI, it always starts with a generated photo of you doing something or you being something other than what you are. Something laughable, something funny, something amusing, something, something just for a weekend laugh.

But then that is always followed by legislation, by nighttime raids, by calls to action, for lynching, for internment, for something else. It is always a prelude to something much more violent and permanent and anti American. And it is why we must adopt these.

California must stand up and we must lead the nation and fight back, all of us of both parties, because it is American to stand up for our institutions, for our people, and for the very idea of what it is to be American and to fight back against this sort of racism. I urge and I vote.

Senator Blakespear, you are recognized.

Thank you. I rise in strong support of SR77, denouncing the racist imagery depicting President Obama and First Lady Michelle Obama as dancing apes. This is just the latest example of President Donald Trump's racism and deeply held white supremacy. There are so many examples of his despicable, offensive and dehumanizing racism.

White supremacy and anti black hatred are plausibly his most deeply held beliefs that motivate all of his decisions, from questioning Obama's citizenship, to attacking dei, to immigration raids, to refugee status and asylum for white South Africans only, to his colonization and imperialism in South America.

I strongly stand in support of SR77 and I thank my good colleague from San Diego for bringing it.

Senator Cortese, you are recognized.

Thank you, Mr. President. My first inclination when I heard of these racist tropes was kind of an old style, maybe old school political response internally, which was this does not even merit the dignity of a response.

I realize that we have to respond and we in part have to respond because this President has sent a message to the rest of the world that this entire country lacks dignity. That's what's happening here.

This is the leader of our country, the leader of the free world, telling the rest of the world that we're not dignified enough to treat human beings with the dignity that they deserve. All of us, not just African Americans. The Senator from West Sacramento talked about John Quincy Adams. And I wanted to go back to that.

In 1841, John Quincy Adams, pro bono, as an attorney at 73 years old, took on a case that was memorialized in a movie called amistad, represented over 50 Africans, not African Americans, Africans who had been captured on a boat. They had been brought over to be enslaved. And he filed suit on their behalf to liberate them.

That suit went all the way to the United States Supreme Court. And they prevailed, and John Quincy Adams prevailed and they were released to return to their homeland. All this President would have to do, the current President, is walk down to the United States Capitol Visitor center and he could read that story.

He could read the story about how a truly great President, who was really trying to, to make America great, gave up of his own time to understand the human stories of the individuals captured on that boat, on that ship, in order to give them both the dignity and the liberty that they deserve.

If you were to ever watch the movie, you'll see it's based on the actual transcript of the suit. And Adams made it clear that you can't win a case like that unless you're willing to bring forward the dignity of the individuals that you're representing.

So this President attempts, as our good colleague pointed out, not just to reverse the Civil Rights movement or the Emancipation Proclamation, which occurred over two decades after John Quincy Adams took that case, but to reverse 185 years of presidential leadership with one racist trope. Shame is an inadequate word.

I think, if anything, most of us are at a loss to come up with a word to contradict what's been done and what's been said. But my main point was this. I hope the President's communications people indicate to him what happened here today. And I'm sure he'll be dismissive as. Usual. To a bunch of US Senators.

But if he wants to be dismissive toward John Quincy Adams in the history of this country since the sixth President of the United States, Good luck with that.

Thank you, Mr. President. Senator Allen, you are recognized.

I think. So many outrages from this President. It's gotten exhausting and I think in many respects folks don't always know when even to speak up.

But I'm really, if there's any silver lining in this incident, I'm glad that finally he still didn't make an apology, but he took it down and people from his own party did condemn him. I want to thank our minority leader for standing with our pro tem and coming out with a statement opposing this outrageous post.

They called it offensive and unacceptable content like this should be condemned. So thank you to the Senator from Santee, thank you to our pro tem for organizing that important statement. This casual cruelty, this casual racism finally struck a chord with people. And people starting to see that this President needs to. Just needs to stop.

Needs to stop this ridiculousness, needs to stop this. This dangerous white supremacy. So this is a very important resolution. As our athletes are competing on our behalf on the other side of the world, we want them to be proud of our nation. We want them to be proud of our President. We can do better.

My favorite image from this Olympics is someone who put up a sign at one of our competitions and they said, apologies. We will fix ourselves, Members. Let's fix ourselves. This resolution is an important part of that process. I thank the author for bringing this forward. And I urge, and I vote.

Senator Alvarado-Gil. You are recognized.

Thank you, Mr. President. As a Member of the California Hispanic Legislative Caucus, the Legislative Women's Caucus, and the Senate Republican Caucus, we are all united in condemning racism in all its forms. California governance has no place for the dehumanization of our black brothers and sisters under God. Love must always be stronger than hate, especially in politics.

It is my belief that every person is made in the image of God and is endowed with inherent dignity. And reducing anyone to an animal based on race is a moral failure that cheapens our national character and corrodes the social fabric that binds us together as Americans.

Let us all call on our leaders today, social media platforms and Americans alike, to reject racial hatred unapologetically and to model the character, restraint and respect that a strong nation requires. America at its best is when we affirm the dignity of every individual and judge one another by character and conduct, not by our skin color.

Conservatism stands for personal responsibility, respect for the rule of law, and equal treatment under that law. Racism violates all three. While we defend free speech as a cornerstone of liberty, freedom does not absolve individuals of accountability. Speech that dehumanizes others, invites division, fuels resentment and undermines the civil trust for which self government depends.

Senate Resolution 77 does condemn racism, and it also proceeds to attack the President of the United States. The letter of the resolution invites division. And as a proud patriot, I'm unwilling to support the language as it is written. When we take actions on this floor, we must do so in collaboration with public participation and truth.

I pray for healing in the hearts of all who have been elected to serve on this floor. Healing for all Americans and for the strength and prosperity of our great nation and its leaders. Thank you for the opportunity to address this floor.

Senator Seyarto, you are recognized.

Thank you, Mr. President. Members, today I rise and frankly, this makes me sad. It makes me sad that a post like that can be made. And, you know, there's a lot of implications in a post like that, and I think a lot of them have been eloquently stated.

But at the same time, this is a great opportunity, a great opportunity for all of us to be able to send a collaborative message, not a message from one side that the other side has to agree with every single sentence in it to be able to support it. And that's what's happened here.

Again, and we have talked about this before. We have talked about resolutions that come out, and those resolutions have actually gone through a process. This one came out this morning. You guys came out this morning. We condemn this type of posts. We would never, ever support something like that.

And yet when we don't collaborate, we wind up making it about something else. And about the thing that, you know, we're all here for politics, but that's what that is. It's politics.

Collaborate with us. We can come up with a very strong message, but it doesn't have to be more of the hateful rhetoric in response to what many view on your side view as hateful rhetoric. And if we continue to do that, we're never going to solve any problems. We're never going to be able to collaborate.

If you want to be united in a message, then for Pete's sake, collaborate with us. We do not like this any more than anybody else does, but there is a way for us to convey that message from all of us. And really what you're just asking us to do is to convey your message on our behalf.

And there's a lot of people and a lot of statements in there that we probably have a different perception of or a different view of.

And if we don't talk about those and discuss them before we go out and put out a resolution on the morning of the weekend, we get back and all of a sudden we're discussing it on the floor.

No, we don't have time to make the eloquent speeches that everybody has made, but all we can ask is that you be collaborative with us so that we can condemn these types of tropes that go out and they can be more effective.

So you probably won't get the result that you want, which is this United Front, but you will get the results you want in a united front. That this type of social media post coming out of Administration is to be condemned. Thank you.

Senator Ashby, you are recognized.

Thank you to our presiding officer for guiding us through this conversation. Today I rise to stand in support of the good doctor, Senator and chair of the Black Caucus from San Diego on SR77. It is my fundamental belief that she should not bear this alone.

And I am heartened to see so many stand up on this floor to help shoulder the heavy, heavy weight of this moment. It's difficult to underestimate how each of us is feeling, feeling and in each of our corners of the world, how this is being received.

And as the Senator from Santa Monica said, particularly troubling as we are engaged in the Olympics and we have these young people all the way on the other side of the world representing us and apologizing for us at the same time. Time. That's heavy. It hurts.

In my community, often I am met by people who feel really bad about the moment that we're in.

And like many of you, as I try to console them and look for points of light and hope, I want you to know very often it is each of you and Your stories that I turn to in this particular moment, I was heartened that within a few moments of putting up my own post, the colleague who shares Sacramento county with me not only made his own post, but went on mine and shared his condemnation too.

United we were in Sacramento, I will say that. And I thank you always for stretching yourself to stand in the gap. Senator, people are hurting. The behavior of the President of the United States of America is unbecoming and unbefitting of the position. And SR77 is the least that we can do.

Senator Wahab, you are recognized.

Thank you. I rise in support of the black American community here in the United States. In particular, I want to just commend the Legislative Black Caucus on bringing this forward. Here is the reality. What we have seen in this nation in the last couple of years is nothing more than a divide and conquer mentality.

It has been to subjugate individuals on issues that are very, very sensitive to many people. Identity politics, separating people, gender orientation, religion, race, age, and so much more. And it is really disgusting to actually see this happen in every single day to every single community.

And something as simple as even a Super bowl halftime performance became what is American and what is not. What is we the people, what is they are different. And what we saw regarding President Obama and First lady is absolutely horrendous. And it's not just politics. There are people that believe in this and have not spoken out.

And what we see, whether it is the hateful crimes that we see in our streets, whether we see the things that are happening on our borders, in our detention facilities and in our prison system, in every single facet of what we see as the American system is incredibly problematic today.

And I want to say that I specifically rise today in support of the humanity and dignity of all people and more specifically the black community. Every single civil rights that we hold near and dear as an immigrant, as a woman of color, as anything, is literally because we stand on the shoulders of our black American leaders.

And I say this as a person of color, as a minority amongst minorities that often feels overlooked. This literally is about the humanity and the dignity of all people.

When they are literally screaming to be seen and heard and respected, and we have individuals in the highest office forcing people to again, fight to prove that they belong, fight to prove that they are good enough, fight to prove that they are smart enough or qualified enough, what does that say to we the people when we have people literally questioning the humanity of community Members of leaders in this country?

Again, the humanity. And I really want to drive that home. Because putting the face of two of our leaders on animals cannot be justified, it cannot be forgiven, and it cannot be tolerated. And so, again, I want to thank the legislative black Caucus for continuing to push the rights of all people.

All people, Black, Latino, Muslim, Jewish, immigrant, five generation American. We stand with you and we appreciate the work that you guys do and the fact that you guys are the fabric of America. So I respectfully ask for an aye vote. Thank you.

Senate pro Tem Limon, you are recognized.

Thank you very much, Mr. President. Thank you to the chair of the black Caucus, to Members of the Black Caucus, for bringing this forward. But also in the moment on Friday morning, when I had the opportunity to connect, I couldn't help but only feel hurt. And I thought to myself, what could it feel like?

What does it feel like to live this and see this every day? And you reflect on the fact that this is, as has been said, an everyday occasion.

Now, it was also on Friday morning when I woke up and I saw this, that I was getting my daughter ready to go to school, and she asked mommy, what's going on? Because she can tell when I'm on the phone and trying to figure things out.

And I couldn't get myself to admit to my child what was happening in the world because I knew that she wouldn't fully comprehend that while we as a nation are celebrating the centennial anniversary of black history, the wrongs that we have tried so hard to improve and to correct, that we were now at a place where those wrongs that generated the need to recognize, to uplift the contributions of black Americans all over our country, that we had gone so backward, and we continue to go backwards.

It was a difficult moment, and again, it was a humbling moment because I understood that every day there is an attack on all people and that when humanity hurts, we all continue to hurt. This is not something that any of us want to be recognizing. We were going to recognize this month as Black History Month.

As a matter of fact, the Black Caucus has prepared resolutions, events, celebrations, recognitions. And we find ourselves having to face a reality of centuries ago that continues to be present and prominent in this country and know that there is more work to do.

Because by us not speaking out, it also means that while we're recognizing centuries of dehumanization, not speaking out opens the door to see it for centuries more in the future. And so this is why we are speaking out. This is why we are all taking a stand.

And I know that the method that we take a stand might feel at odds to some. But the point is we have to take a public stand. The voters of California have given us the ability to represent, to be a voice for our district.

And it is because of that voice, it is because of the platform that our voters have put us in, that we have a responsibility to use it in a way that sets the tone for the present and for the future. Thank you for bringing this forward.

Thank you for everyone who has spoken out and for those who sit with feelings of what could be done differently.

I hope that we start with ourselves and think about what we each can do differently, the role that each of us plays in making sure that the present and the future of California and this country is one that is driven with inclusivity, one that recognizes and calls out every ism, racism, and every other ism that exists and that is loud and vocal.

That is not what we want for California. It's not what we want for our country. It is not what we pledge the allegiance to. It is a justice and liberty for all. And that is why we are here. Thank you to the Black Caucus, to my colleagues who have reached out for the conversations we've had.

And I wish, too, we weren't here in this moment. But I know that us speaking out is speaking for many voices that don't have the privilege to speak out and that have to hear this in the school, in a workplace, when they're walking in the neighborhood, when they walk into a store. This is not okay.

We will speak out against racism today and every day. I respectfully ask for an aye vote.

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

Thank you, Mr. President. It is definitely unfortunate that we have to be here discussing this, presenting this resolution forward today. It was not in my cards when I left session on Thursday that the Caucus would need to do this.

But based on what happened on Friday from the leader of this nation, it was imperative that we act and that we act with swiftness. I want to thank all of my colleagues who stood up in support of SR77. I want to thank those colleagues who have also already voiced their disdain publicly.

I really want to thank our PT who allowed for us to be able to bring this resolution and worked so closely with the Black Caucus and making sure that we're able to get this done today. You know, I started off by saying that this is not 1926. This is not 1826, and I meant it.

The history of black Americans in this country is very complicated and extremely hurtful. In 1915, there was a movie that came out, that was shown at the White House. President Wilson in the White House.

The first time the White House ever showed a movie, showed Birth of a Nation, a movie that glorified the KKK and once again spewed dehumanizing images of black Americans.

So when I said, this is not 1926, I meant it because I understood as a black individual the history of this country when it comes to black people and what was happening in the early 1900s and in the 1800s and who was doing it.

But the reality is this resolution is more about us and who we are than the current individual who is occupying the White House. And that is because we know who he is. This is the same individual who was sued for housing discrimination against black individuals. This is the same individual who lied about New York Central Park 5.

This is the same individual who spewed the birther lies about President Obama. This is the same individual who started his campaign off with lies about immigrants. We know who he is. But the question is, who are we? Who are the people who surround him, who allow for these things to be said to go out unchecked?

Who are the people in this chamber who will silently say that's wrong, but won't say anything publicly and won't support this resolution? This resolution is factual. And I ask anybody to go through it and tell me what is not factual or what you can debate. So the question is, who are we? Right is right.

Wrong is wrong, and if we do not call it out, it will continue to grow like weeds and choke the very essence of what this nation has the potential to become. And we are better than that. And with that, I respectfully ask for your aye vote on SR77.

Secretary, please call roll.

[Roll Call]

Ayes 28. No, zero. The resolution is adopted. Members, we will now return to Assembly messages. Secretary, please read.

Mr. President, I am directed to inform your honorable body that the Assembly amended and on this day passed as amended Senate Bill 106 and respectfully request your honorable body to concurrent set amendments. Sue Parker, Chief Clerk of the Assembly above your order to unfinished business.

Members, we will now move to Supplemental file number two. File item 70, SB106. Secretary, please read

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

Senator Laird, you are recognized.

Thank you, Mr. President. Senate Bill 106 is a budget Bill junior that amends the 2026 Budget Act to provide funding for reproductive health providers. It is an early action budget item. It establishes a one time $90 million grant program at the Department of Health Care access and information to support family planning providers.

This basically deals with cuts that were in the federal HR1 that took effect on July 42025. It is worthy to note that in that Bill there was only one item that had an immediate effect in a cut. It is this item. And there has been discussion about why this and not other things.

It's because of the urgency of these medical care services, roughly $335 million in California, to not go away, to not stop those services. And when asked why, why aren't you doing something else? Other cuts are still to come. In fact, the Budget Committee will be having a hearing on Wednesday on the major impacts of HR1.

And then we will have a discussion and begin a discussion on the other cuts that are across the board in that Bill. But what is in front of us right now is the one cut that was immediate, that will be sustained without state action.

So this program provides a critical lifeline to support family planning providers that were more specifically targeted by Congress in H R1. And this will come close to making that program whole. This investment will ensure Californians in all communities maintain access to these essential health care services. I respectfully ask for an aye vote.

Senator Niello. You are recognized,

Mr. President. We had quite a spirited discussion about this in our budget Committee last week. And I was fully anticipating that this Bill would come up last Thursday because we had a rule waiver to bring it up last Thursday. I guess that was a rule waiver of convenience as opposed to one of necessity, which I find interesting.

But one thing that is important to understand, especially after I heard all of the discussion in the Committee, is that underlying this is the pro choice, pro life debate, which I'm not going to get into. That isn't the point. But I think it is important to acknowledge that.

But aside, there is so much more to dislike about this. First, the embedded secrecy. It waives the public contract rules and the Public Records act, and that is just, quite frankly, an invitation to fraud. We're not going to know where this money goes.

We're going to assume we're going to know, but it will be a third party who actually will distribute the funds. To whom we don't know, nor do we know how the money is eventually going to be spent.

And since a budget is an expression of priorities, which fundamentally that's what it is, it's important to point out what isn't in our current budget and the governor's proposed budget. First of all, in discussing the need for this additional allocation, my friend from West Sacramento pointed out that voters have ratified the right in California to an abortion.

And I don't deny that. But voters also passed by almost 70% Proposition 36, which is wholly inadequately funded in the current budget. And so far, nothing proposed for the 26-27 budget. Additionally, services for developmentally disabled, particularly the self determination program, are significantly reduced in this budget, some of which could be restored by these funds.

There is nothing in the current budget to pay down unemployment insurance, which because we have such a huge debt, which I'm sure I don't need to remind you, but I'm going to remind you.

California is the only state in the country that did not pay off that unemployment insurance debt from the pandemic when our economies fundamentally shut down.

Every other state in the country that borrowed money, and I think about half of them did, to meet that obligation, they paid the money back primarily with the significant amount of additional funds that came from the Federal Government in 2020 and 2021. California did not.

And because of that, unemployment insurance premiums will continue to rise for our businesses, putting a drag on employment. We already have an extremely weak employment economy, the fourth largest in the world, notwithstanding the a weak employment economy, the weakest in the country. And we are now even discouraging employment growth.

Lastly, inadequate help for rural hospitals, which are struggling. A couple of items to that point in our discussion at our budget Committee meeting. One being, we have a crisis and that's why we need the funding for the clinics for Planned Parenthood. Well, we have a crisis with regard to rural hospitals. They're going broke.

And it means, interestingly, since we're talking about reproductive health, relative to this proposal, we have labor and maternity wards in those rural hospitals that are being completely closed down. That means somebody having a baby has to travel miles and miles for those services. I would suggest that is a crisis. Clinics serve an essential role. Wouldn't you say?

That is an essential role? And there was also a lot of debate about whether or not these funds could be used for abortions. And it was stated because of the Hyde Amendment, federal dollars cannot be used for abortions. And so therefore, this additional funding could not be used for abortions.

Problem is, the money's coming from the state were supplementing the money that the Federal Government had cut back. There is no restriction on state money. So that, quite frankly, is not true. So as I said, Aside from the underlying debate that I stated at the outset of my comments, there is so much about this proposal to dislike. I urge a no vote.

Senator Blakespear, you are recognized.

Thank you. Members, I rise today in full support of this legislation to provide Planned Parenthood the funding it needs in the aftermath of federal cuts to the organization. In California, we stand strongly for reproductive rights and a woman's right to decide on her own about her health care, her family planning, contraception, and what happens with her body.

Even though federal money, according to the Hyde Amendment, cannot be used for abortions, the Federal Government is prohibiting federal reimbursements for Planned Parenthood. This is a malicious attack on women's health care. Planned Parenthood has 114 clinics in our state that serve over 1 million patients a year. Without it, many Californians would not get care.

And what does Planned Parenthood provide? It's contraception and family planning, its cancer screenings, it's testing and treatment for sexually transmitted infections. It's prenatal care, vaccinations, preventative health screenings, referrals for mental health support, and all sorts of other health care. It also, yes, provides safe and legal abortions, too. Abortion care is health care, full stop.

Abortion care is foundational women's health care. Women need to be able to determine when, whether, and with whom to bear children in order to have full agency over their lives. Women have always and will always need abortion care as part of their health care.

Voters supported this by 66% in 20 in 2022 when they enshrined the fundamental right to reproductive freedom in the state constitution. In California, we will not turn our back on women and their access to basic family planning and basic health care. In California, we stand for reproductive freedom.

We stand for the health and dignity of all Californians, for all women. And we will not let the Federal Government destroy California's values. Thank you.

Senator Caballero. You are recognized.

Thank you, Mr. President. I rise in strong support of AB106. The federal administration's defunding of Planned Parenthood is a direct attack on California's values and and on our most vulnerable communities.

Planned Parenthood's health centers provide a full spectrum of essential health services beyond the abortion access, including prenatal care, cancer screening, STI testing and treatment, and preventative health care. But let me be clear.

Access to safe and legal abortion services is a human right and an integral part of comprehensive sexual and and reproductive health care and must be protected.

The fact is California is already facing a severe health care crisis, particularly in my district where access is significantly diminished by provider cuts and workforce shortages and where Planned Parenthood was forced to close a clinic already due to the lack of funds.

When a rural health center closes, people in poor health, people of color, seniors and people experiencing poverty suffer the most. Closures mean more distance to life saving care and treatment and less access to services that keep people healthy and thriving.

In 2023, it was reported that nearly 50 maternity units had closed in California since 2012 and that number continues to grow. We were able to open Madera Hospital once it filed for bankruptcy and it closed and they reopened without a maternity clinic. Healthcare desert simply should not exist in the fourth largest economy in the world.

We have to do better and protect our communities from federal cuts on healthcare. I respectfully request your aye vote on SB 106.

Senator Grove, you are recognized.

Mr. President, I rise in opposition of SB 106 that provides $90 million to no bid contracts for abortions in clinics in California. The sad irony is is that the Bill would spend money on abortion clinics when hospitals across the state are struggling to keep their maternity wards open. Two of them specifically in my district.

This is especially true in rural areas where many pregnant women travel further than they need to to have care, and especially in rural or isolated communities. There is one hospital in my district where if the maternity Ward goes back onto just emergency services only, the travel is almost two hours. California's budget situation is not good.

And with the deficit somewhere between 2 billion and $18 billion in facing an infrastructure annual $20 billion deficit, we have priority decisions that need to be made. If you spend $90 million to prioritize the straight financially distressed hospitals. Think about the numbers this way. Out of roughly 40 million Californias in the state of California, 19.64% are women.

6.67 million women are under the age of 45. So let's just assume those are the ones that might seek Planned Parenthood or abortion services. Not all of those women will seek that service.

So not everyone in the state, not every woman under the age of 45, the roughly 6.67 million women in that age group would seek an abortion, but certainly every one of us. It says nearly, permission to read

Without objection, seeing none. Permission granted.

Even if you ask chat GTP or you put it out on the Internet. It says while the specific lifetime projections of the entire California population are not published in a single figure, many healthcare data indicates that nearly every Californian in bold will interact in a hospital at one point in their life either for birth, emergency care or age related illnesses.

I bring that up because working on the financial distressed Hospital loan program for $90 million, we could see financially distressed financially distressed loans forgiven for Kawea Delta and Rich Crest in my district.

Watsonville Community Hospital, represented by the current budget chair, Sonoma Valley Hospital by our pro tem emeritus, who is speaking after me, Hazel Hawkins Memorial Hospital in Hollister by this current speaker of the Assembly, Chinese Hospital in San Francisco, the former budget chair on this floor floor, Palos Verdes Hospital in Blyth by my colleague in San Diego.

The MLK Hospital in Los Angeles by the Senator in San Pedro and the Fremont Hospital in Mariposa by the Senator in Jackson. That speaks volumes of our priorities and so I respectfully ask for it to be considered. Please vote no on this what is considered emergency legislation.

And let's address our financially distressed hospitals, which affects more of our constituents in California and obviously more of our districts and the people that we serve. Respectfully ask for a no vote.

Pro Tem Emeritus McGuire, you are recognized.

Thank you so much, Mr. President. Rise in support of SB106. I want to say thank you to our budget chair and of course the Budget Committee for their work. We'd like to be able to focus on two areas within SB106. First is the issue of rural health care. The second is the issue of Planned Parenthood.

I think it's important to remember what the majority of this chamber did over the last 24 months. This chamber passed a distressed hospital Fund that focused on keeping the doors open of some of the most vulnerable rural hospitals in this state.

Over 300 million went into that distressed hospital Fund and over $300 million has now been advanced in rural communities to either reopen hospitals or keep their doors open. Number two, we passed legislation last year to ensure that birthing centers can open up in rural parts of the state.

In fact, the first birthing center will open up in Plumas county under their public hospital District to ensure that there is maternal and maternity Ward within rural parts of the state.

And number three, what has not been mentioned is the biggest threat to rural hospitals in the United States of America and right here in California, it's the cuts to Medicaid.

Why isn't anyone mentioning that when they rise up against SB 106, tens of billions of dollars will be taken out of the health care system by President Trump, takes effect at the end of this year, just so happens to be after the midterm elections, so that those who voted to cut health care for tens of millions of Americans they think won't face the consequence.

Guess what? The American people, they see through that the biggest hit to rural health care in a generation are the Medicaid cuts that President Trump has championed. If you support rural health care, you support restoration of the Medicaid cuts. You support the restoration of the $32 billion in subsidies, the Medicaid, that was done late last year.

The state of California has done their job. We've supported the Distress Hospital Fund and hope that we will continue to see that investment here in the months to come. I now would like to be able to direct the remarks to Planned Parenthood. And I want to speak plainly about what's happening and why this $90 million matters.

And I want to say thank you to Madam Pro Tem and to the budget chair for the work on this. This 90 million comes after this Legislature advanced over 100 million to keep the doors of every Planned Parenthood health center open in every corner of California.

Last year, when the Federal Government cut Medicaid, Medicaid reimbursements to Planned Parenthood, they pulled the rug out from cancer screenings. They pulled the rug out from STI testing and birth control and basic primary care that 1.3 million of the most vulnerable patients in this state rely on every damn year. In rural California, these budget cuts sit differently.

We're talking about communities, communities where the nearest hospital may be 90 minutes to two hours away, where Planned Parenthood is literally the only option for reproductive health care or primary care or prenatal care for pregnant moms.

When These clinics lose 80% of their operating budget overnight, rural patients are the ones who lose local access to care, full stop. And over the past two years, nearly 8,000 women from across America have come to California for safe, confidential abortion care. Over 8,000.

The Golden State is a shelter in the storm for President Trump's war on women. California is now often the only place that women can turn to, since health centers, Planned Parent health centers have had to shut their doors in 18 states. Unacceptable. And these closures. These closures have put millions of the most vulnerable patients. Healthcare at risk.

California, thanks to so many in this chamber, is literally a lifeline for women who. Who have nowhere else to turn to in the United States of America because of the war on women by Donald Trump. And rural communities deserve the same access to healthcare as anyone else. I'm gonna wrap it up right here with this.

Planned Parenthood provides critical access, critical access to some of the most medically vulnerable patients in the Golden State, including reproductive health care systems. The vast majority of Americans support women making their own choice when it comes to their bodies and to their own health care. And California will always stand for that right. I respectfully ask for an aye vote on SB106.

Thank you, Mr. President. I rise in opposition to SB106, and I raise an up rise in opposition, not because I am against women's health care. If I were against women's health care, I could never go home again. I have three daughters and a wife.

And they would not agree that we should deny women basic healthcare, especially some of those with the STD, the cancer screenings, all screenings and all of those. The issue with me is that we can't get the numbers to know how much money we actually need for that part of it.

How much we need to provide the abortion care that is legal here in California for Californians versus how much we are paying for people that are out of the state because we did have that law that we have invited everybody to come here to California.

Are they paying up front for that, or is that a California taxpayer burden? Because what's really difficult for me is to tell a developmentally disabled young person that, you know what? We're not spending the money you need because we're spending the money on somebody from Atlanta. That doesn't make sense, folks.

And if we can't get those numbers, and we can't, because we were asking and we can't. They won't give us the numbers because apparently we're not keeping track, folks. We just need to know what these numbers are. How much is needed to provide that part of the women's health care? How much is needed for.

For the abortion part of it that we have promised women in California specifically that they can have access to? And how much has been deleted out. We've heard the number, but how much of that actually goes to the health care versus how much we put in ourselves? How much goes to advertising?

That's another question we need to ask. Where is the money going? And you can't get answers for that. We cannot have programs that just say, hey, we need $400 million more. We need 90, not $60 million. When I ask why 90, not 60, you know what I was told? I was told, well, because there's data.

Well, what was the data? The data was that more people are accessing than we had anticipated. With our new rules of everybody can come to California and get an abortion. We are not saying they shouldn't be able to do that because the law says they can.

What we're saying is we need to take care of our budget here first. Now, when we asked what facilities you were working with, we were told, well, several. And then we asked to name them. And you know what the answer was? Well, just one. It's Planned Parenthood. I get it. They're the main people that do some of these women health care issues take care of these.

So the secrecy behind how those monies are being spent is more the issue for a lot of us, and especially when we're dealing with a budget deficit like we keep dealing with, especially when we're cutting vital services to developmentally disabled people or steering money away from saving hospitals.

And one more thing our colleague brought up was the Medicaid issue with the Federal Government. The Federal Government does not pay for undocumented immigrants health care.

Just because you make a shell game where you use this type of money and you do an MCO tax and you do all this, doesn't mean that they aren't going to catch on to our little scheme. They did. They've never paid for that.

Not this Administration, not the one before them, and not the one before them and the one before them and the one before them. They have never paid for that particular part of medical care. So we took that on ourselves when we expanded our program. And now it's $13 billion of program that we never expected.

And then we get mad because the Federal Government won't bail us out. Well, you know what? They're not here to bail us out. They're here to put in their fair share.

When their share is brought into question, well, then maybe we need to look at that, and maybe we need to just be honest with our California taxpayers and tell them this is how much we expect all of you to put in to be able to Fund this program. That's all we need is a little bit of honesty.

So, yeah, there's a lot of problems with these. They're not as cut and dry as everybody wants them to seem like. And when we go from 60 to 90 million dollars, we need a little bit of an explanation, but we don't need the secrecy.

That's why I'm voting against this until we become a little more responsible and a little more honest about how this money is being spent. And by the way, those folks have a $60 million pack.

I think they can use some of the money to donate and help with some of this healthcare, the healthcare issues that they were telling us we need to donate more for or produce more for.

But more than that, we need to know where the money goes, what money we need so we can provide what we're supposed to provide and how much money we're spending outside for people outside of the state. And we can't get any of that information. That's wrong. So with that, I would ask for a no vote on this.

I think it's back to the drawing board. Get honest with us. Tell us what we really need to know to make responsible decisions about our budget in this state. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. President. Senators, I rise today in support of SB106. SB106 preserves critical family planning services that are currently under attack by this Federal Government. As the great Senator from Fair Oaks noted, there was a very long discussion, Budget Committee Committee, about what this Bill would do.

And I want to ensure that some of the comments that I made in Committee are echoed today. So this budget Bill funds the Department of Health Care access and information for $90 million to support grants for family planning providers backfilling federal funding which has been cut.

And as was stated, since the Federal Government does not, I will repeat, does not provide any funding for abortion services, this money will not go to providing abortion services for people who live here in California or anyone who may come outside of California.

And the reality is, we already funded our abortion services in our budget that we passed last year. There's also a question about, well, how much money will you need? Anyone who practices medicine understands that the number of clients and the services that you will need vary year by year.

And especially in this time when you have situations such as HR1, which is cutting healthcare services, clinics are closing more hospitals or having to close their doors, people are losing their insurance and having to go on Medi Cal, it's really difficult to try to assume that the numbers that you did from the previous year or two years ago are going to be the same ones that you're going to need for this year.

So this funding will go to small communities, rural communities and Planned Parenthood providers offering preventative care such as mammograms, pap smears, birth controls, STI screening and early pregnancy care. And there are a couple of colleagues that really talked about the closure of maternity wards. And I am 100% with you.

The fact that we are having to deal with this in this state is extremely disheartening. Which is why I, as a board certified OB gyn have had two bills that have gone through that this Governor has vetoed.

That specifically focused on the fact that our maternity wards in this state are closing at a rate that is absolutely unacceptable. But that has nothing to do with this particular funding. And what this funding will do if we did not do it.

What you would see to those very same hospitals and in large cities and in rural areas that are already low on staff and overflood with patients is that they would then be flooded with management of patients with cervical cancer, breast cancer, pelvic inflammatory disease, unintended pregnancies. Why?

Because they didn't have the ability to go and get the preventative care, the preventative screening to prevent many of these long term and very expensive things that would need to be treated later on. And so SB106 ensures that health centers can continue seeing patients and pays for health care services provided to Medi Cal patients.

These costs have normally been paid as Medi Cal reimbursements, but unfortunately, because of this current Administration, Planned Parenthood could not submit those claims and get the reimbursements for those services anymore due to HR1. This money will be going to clinics that serve an essential role in our communities, providing essential services for our constituents to access. And because of that, I respectfully ask for an aye vote on SB106.

Seeing no further discussion. There is one more. Senator Wahab, you are recognized.

Thank you. I want to be clear about this. Planned Parenthood is a lifeline for people with limited health care options and economic means. And if we do not support some of these institutions throughout our state, it actually does trigger a lot of pressure on the safety net hospitals that are already struggling.

What HR1 has done is literally decimated the lower income health care services that we provide to so many Americans across the board. And we are one community. I want to highlight that for low income, uninsured or marginalized communities, Planned Parenthood is often the primary health care provider.

This is especially true in rural communities throughout California, which we have talked about. I also want to flag that backfilling and increasing funding will support life savings preventative services Like STI testing and treatment, cancer screening, birth control and prenatal care. To be very clear, many, many people rely on these services just to live their life.

It is not just about one particular aspect or another. Health care is a human right. And this is not about politics. It is truly about making sure that people take care of themselves. We cannot normalize the defunding of this. You know, specifically was mentioned that there is no transparency in the data. The reality is this one.

Every single nonprofit has to file their reports every single year. They have audits that can take place. The state has also had several Subcommitee meetings regarding healthcare and much more. Every single person in this room can request more information from the organizations themselves. And when Planned Parenthood loses funding, people go without care. That is the bottom line.

Supporting this funding is a direct investment in public health and stabilizes health infrastructure by closing the gap in health inequities. I respectfully ask for an aye vote. Thank you.

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

Thank you very much, Mr. President. I really appreciate the animated debate that we just had. I think it raised a lot of the importance, important questions. And some of the answers are clear. It was asked, why does this Bill really go to one organization? Because federal HR1 targeted only one organization.

Why isn't this going for other items? It's because this is the only cut that is immediate. Failure to approve this Bill will be a $90 million cut in existing medical services in California. It was raised about rural hospitals.

On my way up this morning, I talked on the phone to the CEO of one of my more challenged rural hospitals. And what's his problem right now? His problem is federal HR1.

The fact that the cuts, not just in medical rates, but in dish money in other hospital money is really making a difference about their ability to stand up. And that's the irony to sort of say HR1 cut these medical services. HR1 cut rural hospitals.

Let's have a debate about what we're going to put our limited money to back up the cuts. The real issue is, and many people on this floor did, it is speak up against HR1. Because what that did is create the situation that we are addressing right now. These cuts were limited to one year.

They passed a continuing resolution recently. It did not extend these cuts. There's a question about, geez, why 90 million, over 60 million and all this stuff. It is really to cover $335 million of cost clinic services in California. The 90 million gets us to the last piece of that restoration.

And it is really about covering the existing services. It has been raised the whole issue of abortion. Well, as the Senator from San Diego said, abortions are covered. Now we are backing 335 million and trying to replace it. We're not a penny of that money went to abortions. So we are replacing $335 million of direct medical services.

That is not abortion. That is what we are replacing. It is really clear. So this is vital. And we will have our hearing on Wednesday in HR1. And we will have a five month budget process where I suspect many of us will agree on rural hospitals, many of us will agree on the level of medical care.

But that's not the cut that's taking place right now. This is the cut that's taking place right now. And that is why it is urgent that we pass SB106. I respectfully asked for an iPhone.

Secretary, please call roll.

[Roll Call]

Secretary, please call absent Members. Ayes 26, noes 9. The Assembly amendments are concurred in Members. We are moving to motions. Returning to motions and resolutions to address adjourning memory. Senator Choi, you are recognized for your adjourn in memory.

Thank you, President. I rise with a heavy heart today to ask to adjourn today's Senate session in memory of Mitzi Ortiz. Mitzi Ortiz, City Manager of Aliso Viejo, passed away on December 22, 2025. She is remembered first and foremost as a loving mother, daughter, sister and friend whose presence brought warmth and strength to the lives around her.

Family was at the center of Mitzi's life. She was a devoted and proud mother, deeply committed to her children and their futures. The same sense of care extended beyond her family to the wider community. Mitzi believed deeply in helping people achieve better lives and in the responsibility of public service to lift others up.

Whether through her years in the municipal Clerk profession or later as City Manager of Aliza Viejo, she remained committed to doing the work that improved the daily lives of residents. She understood that the real change happens through compassion and service, and she carried those values throughout her career.

Mitzi believed behind many loving lives, many loving family Members, including her son, Arsene and her daughter, Maya. Mitzi Ortiz will be remembered not only for her professional accomplishments, but for who she was as a person, someone deeply devoted to the people she loved.

Her losses are profound, and she will be deeply missed by her family, friends, colleagues, and all who had the privilege of knowing her. Please join me in adjourning in memory of Mitzi Ortiz.

Thank you, Senator Choi, please bring the name of your adjournment memory to desk so that it can be properly memorialized. Senator Caballero, you are recognized for your your adjournment memory.

Thank you very much, Mr. President and Members. I rise today to ask that we adjourn in the memory of Sally Weld Strawbridge Magnuson, a remarkable woman whose life of 99 years reflected her unwavering commitment to family, community and the public good. She passed away peacefully at her home in Bellico, California on December 24, 2025.

Born in Germantown, Pennsylvania, on November 1020261926 she moved with her family to Palo Alto, California, where her lifelong love of nature, learning and community took root. When she was 16.

Her mother died, and because her father was serving in World War II Coast Guard arrangements were made for her to live with relatives in Philadelphia, where she began a new life. After returning to California following World War II, Sally Strawbridge Magnuson enrolled at San Jose State College majoring in art.

At the fall registration dance, she met a young soldier just back from serving in Europe named Charles Walter Magnuson, who became her husband and lifelong companion. Shortly after marrying, they moved to Davis where Charlie Magnuson enrolled as an animal science major at UC Davis.

And upon his graduation, they moved to the Magnuson family farm in the Merced River Valley, which is an incredibly beautiful valley. Sally and Charlie Magnuson shared many things over the course of their happy 70 plus years of marriage, including a love for the outdoors, a deep rooted intellectual curiosity, a progressive worldview and seven children.

Sally Magnuson's optimism, boundless energy and desire to create a well rounded life for her children spurred her into civic and community engagement.

She was pivotal on local education issues, at 1.0 loading her station wagon with her four young children and driving through the Crecy and Bellico areas to convince parents to enroll their children children in a new kindergarten.

She was a tireless volunteer and gave her time and energy as a leader of the Brownies, the Girl Scouts, the Cub Scouts, as chaperone on countless school and church field trips, as a PTA President for three schools, not to mention coordinating and facilitating facilitating the daily life and caring of seven children.

Despite her busy life, Sally Magnuson found time to nurture her artistic and personal interests like photography, gardening, baking, reading and summer swimming in the nearby Merced River.

And as her children grew older, she enlarged her community activities and joined, became a founding Member of the Merced County League of Women Voters, Merced Area Democrats, Merced Mental Health association and more. She and her husband were active in Democratic politics, which is how I got to know her.

The Sierra Club and numerous family farm organizations and civil and human rights political campaigns including anti war marches. She was a Member of the Merced County Library Commission and was appointed by the Governor to a four year term to the California Board of Reclamation.

Throughout her life, her priorities were family, friends and a deep love of nature and animals, environmental protections, equality and freedom for all. She was a passionate photographer, writer and reader of newspapers, classic literature, nonfiction histories. Anything that came across her desk was something she loved to do.

She was especially known for her generosity, opening her heart and home to visiting exchange students, conducting farm field trips, hosting overnight stays for a Member of the Unitarian Church, and providing safe harbor for people facing hardships.

When asked how she was doing as her health declined, Sally Magnuson always said she was happy and that she had lived a wonderful life is what she told me. May we honor her memory by striving as she did, to leave our community stronger, fairer, and more equitable. I respectfully ask that the Senate adjourn in her memory today.

Senator, bring the name of your adjournment memory to the desk to be properly memorialized. Senator Blakespear, you are recognized for your adjournment in memory.

Thank you. Members, I rise today to honor the life and legacy of Del Mar resident Harvey P. White, a visionary leader, philanthropist, and champion of discovery who passed away on December 18, 2025 at the age of 91. Harvey White's life was defined by service, innovation and an unwavering belief in the power of human potential.

Born in 1934 in Providence, Rhode Island, to an immigrant father and raised in Parkersburg, West Virginia, by his mother and her husband, White says he felt like an outsider in high school. At 6ft 7 inches tall, everyone expected him to be an athlete.

But he focused instead on chemistry and mathematics and went on to earn a degree in economics from Marshall University. There he did start playing basketball, and he got involved in a fraternity and in political and social organizations on campus.

He credited these campus activities for teaching him how to organize, how to work with people, and how to lead. Harvey then embarked on a career that traversed industries and spanned decades, from aerospace and industrial systems to the forefront of global wireless technology.

In 1872, Harvey brought his talents to San Diego, a region that would not only become his home, but a global hub for innovation. In large part because of his work, his leadership at Linkabit set the stage for the wireless revolution.

And in 1985, together with six colleagues, he co founded the now iconic San Diego communications firm Qualcomm in a modest storefront in La Jolla. There, with vision and resolve, Harvey helped guide the global deployment of CDMA cellular technology, forever changing how the world connects.

In 1998, he led the launch of Leap Wireless International, which, under his leadership, created Cricket Wireless to introduce affordable, inclusive wireless service, a practical example of how innovation can expand opportunity for everyday families. And yet, Harvey's contributions did not end in the boardroom.

Perhaps what resonates most is that not only did Harvey build these things, but it's how he built them. With integrity, humility, with mentorship and generosity, he walked the halls of industry, not just as a leader, but as a teacher. Ever curious, ever optimistic, and always ready with a word of encouragement.

And while he said that his business success was based on instinct and determination, Harvey also understood that a life of impact must extend beyond business. He was deeply committed to education, the arts, science, and civic life.

He served on boards from the American Indian College Fund to Salk Institute to the San Diego Museum of Art, and underwrote programs that enrich our community, including the Cheryl and Harvey White Theater at the iconic Old Globe in Balboa Park.

Harvey's optimism was genuine, a belief that things would work out and that our collective future was worth the work needed to shape it. To his beloved family, his wife, Cheryl, his children, his sister, and his 10 grandchildren, he was a source of love, joy and pride here in California.

We are fortunate to benefit every day from the culture of innovation and civic leadership that Harvey helped foster. His impact is woven into the fabric of our region and felt well beyond our borders.

So today, as we adjourn in his memory, let us honor Harvey P. White, not simply for what he accomplished, but for the spirit in which he lived with optimism, generosity, and a deep commitment to improving the world around him. Thank you.

Senator, please bring the name of the journal memory to the desk to be properly memorialized. And Senator Ochoa Bogh, you are recognized for your adjournment and memory.

Thank you, Mr. President. Ladies and gentlemen of the Senate, it is we. It is with great sadness that I rise to adjourn in memory of Gorman Dana Hobart, longtime Rancho Mirage City Councilman, who passed away on October 4, 2025 at the age of 93. Devoted, thoughtful, compassionate.

These are some of the words that I use to describe Dana. He was born and raised in Los Angeles, so served in the U.S. air Force in Korea. And following his service, he attended CSU Los Angeles, where he graduated with honors. He then went on to attend USC School of Law, where he earned a J.D. in 1963.

During his long and distinguished law career, Dana was a renowned trial attorney, was elected President of the Consumer Attorneys of Los Angeles, and was recognized for decades in Best Lawyers in America. In 1993, he and his wife moved to Marina Del Rey, to Rancho Mirage.

In 2002, Dana was elected to the Rancho Mirage City Council, where he served for nearly 20 years, five times as mayor. Outside of work, Dana traveled extensively and was known for his deep love of animals, especially dogs. He also loved to ski and hike and enjoy tennis, golf, and, yes, roller skating.

Dana survived by Vicki, his wife of 44 years, and many children and grandchildren. I wish Dana's family and friends comfort during this time of deep sorrow. I would be honored if this body would adjourn in memory of Dana Hobert.

Thank you, Senator. Senator, please bring the name of your adjournment memory to the desk to be properly memorialized. And if there is no other business, which I see, none pro tem Limon. The desk is clear.

Thank you. Members, the next session is on Friday, February 13, at 9am thank you.

The Senate is adjourned. We will reconvene Friday, February 13, 2026 at 9:00am Have a good evening.