Senate Floor

Secretary, please call the roll.

[Roll Call]

A quorum is present. Would Members and guests beyond the rail and in the gallery please rise. We'll be led in prayer this morning by our chaplain, Sister Michelle Gorman. After which remain standing and I shall lead you in the pledge.

We gather in God's presence. Gracious and merciful God. Today we ask for perseverance through the pains of our lives and a broad vision to help us transform our sufferings into new life for the benefit of others. The poet Wendell Berry invites us to have such a vision.

He says, if we will have the wisdom to survive to stand like slow growing trees on a ruined place, renewing, enriching it, then a long time after we are dead, the lives our lives prepare. We'll live here, their houses strongly placed upon the valley sides. Fields and gardens rich in the windows.

The river will run clear as we never knew it. And over it birds song like a canopy. Families will be singing in the fields. They will take nothing from the ground. They will not return whatever the grief at parting memory will spread over it like a song.

The abundance of this place, the songs of its people and its birds will be health and wisdom and indwelling light. This is no paradisal dream. Its hardship is its possibility. Amen.

Please join me in the pledge to our flag. I pledge. So, we do have a few Members missing this morning. One that is not listed is me. I've been experimenting with artificial intelligence. And what you see here is a hologram of me. And this meeting is going to be run entirely by artificial intelligence.

What could possibly go wrong? Let's get started. First of all, Senator Hurtado has a birthday tomorrow. Is Senator Hurtado here? Well, in her absence, we will wish Senator Hurtado a happy birthday. And also we have introduction. We have in the gallery today, I believe, up here.

Up there, a seventh grade class from Contra Costa Jewish Day School and their teacher, Ms. Penegore. Welcome to the Senate chamber. Please join me in welcoming them.

So, messages from the Governor will be deemed read, messages from the Assembly will be deemed read, reports of committees will be deemed read and amendments adopted due onto motions and resolutions are there any motions or resolutions? Seeing no mics raised, we will move on to consideration of the daily file. Assembly third reading please read

Senate Resolution 82 by Senator Perez relative to Children's Dental Health Month.

Senator Perez, you are recognized.

Thank you, Mr. President. Members SR82 acknowledges February was National Children's Dental Health Month. This resolution serves to remind everyone how important it is to establish good oral health habits with children and keep them up to date on dental care. Research has shown that maintaining good oral health is important for overall health.

The number one infectious disease affecting children, although largely preventable, is tooth decay. The impact of tooth decay has on our children is significant. Untreated cavities can cause pain and infections that may lead to problems with eating, eating, speaking, playing and learning in school.

If cavities are not treated, children can become sick enough to need emergency room treatment and their adult teeth can be permanently damaged. Unfortunately, by third grade, 6 in 10 California children have experienced tooth decay and 22% have untreated tooth decay. California children miss 874,000 days of school each year due to dental problems.

These problems persist and worsen over time if left untreated. SR82 also draws attention to oral health inequities that are still experienced by many Californians. California has made significant investments in recent years to improve the oral health infrastructure in the state, including provider rates increases via Prop 56 and efforts to expand preventative dental services in Medi Cal.

That's important because half of all children in California are enrolled in Medi Cal. While expansions to Medi Cal have created unprecedented access to dental services in the past decade, barriers and disparities continue undermining health equity. These disparities are primarily related to race and or ethnicity and socioeconomic status.

Among Latinx children, 72% have experienced some form of tooth decay. Black children experience untreated tooth decay at the highest levels at 25.8%, or 1 in 4 children and 72% of socioeconomic disadvantaged children experience tooth decay and 26% experience untreated tooth decay. Oral health is important throughout every stage of a person's life.

A child's first dental visit should begin around their first birthday. Brushing should start early by wiping a baby's gums twice daily with a washcloth before their first tooth comes in. Brush for 2 minutes twice a day with the fluoride toothpaste, floss regularly and avoid sugary drinks like soda.

Visit a dentist for regular checkups and ask about sealants for permanent molars and aim to see a dentist at the first sign of pain or infection. Because a small problem, like a cavity caught early can be treated before it turns into a bigger problem, like gum disease. For all of these reasons, I ask for your aye vote.

Secretary, please call the roll.

[Roll Call]

Ayes 31 knows zero. The resolution is adopted. Moving on to item 30, please read

Senate Resolution 84 by Senator Caballero relative to Women in Construction Week.

Guys, Senator Caballero, you are recognized and if we could have everybody's attention. If you have conversations, take them off the floor please.

Thank you, Mr. President. I rise today to present SR84, a resolution to commemorate women in construction and an invitation and a call to action for any teen or woman who has thought about working in the construction industry. You are wanted and you are needed.

Women in Construction Week highlights the important and growing role women play in building California's home and infrastructure and economy. Today, women make up about 11% of the overall construction workforce nationwide. But only around 4% of the workers in skilled trades showing there is a significant room for growth.

At the same time, the construction industry continues to face major workforce shortages. Especially as California works to meet its housing and infrastructure goals. We need more workers.

Expanding opportunities for women in construction is one of the most practical ways to strengthen the workforce while creating access to good paying middle class careers that do not require a four year degree. Apprenticeship and pre apprenticeship programs are critical pathways that help women to enter and succeed in the trades.

Supporting safe, inclusive and respectful job sites is also essential to improving recruitment and retention. I had the opportunity to visit an all woman apprenticeship program called Valley Build now in Fresno and to speak with the women that are learning new skills. And it was really amazing. The skills they learned were electrical, masonry, carpentry and cement work.

And the stories shared were transformational. It changed their lives and they loved it. We, we have to Continue to enact policies that expand workforce pipelines, support apprenticeship programs and ensure California's construction workforce reflects the full diversity of our state.

During Women in Construction Week, we celebrate the women already building our communities and recommit to break down barriers for the next generation. Please join me in recognizing women in Construction Week and in celebrating the talented women who are helping to build California's future future.

Together, let us continue working to expand these opportunities to strengthen our workforce, support apprenticeship access and ensure the construction trades are open and accessible to all. I respectfully ask for your aye vote on SR84.

Secretary, please call the roll.

[Roll Call]

Aye. The Ayes are 31, the noes are 0. The resolution is passed. And let me go back to a previous announcement. Senator Hurtado, who was just at her desk. There she is. Happy birthday tomorrow. Happy birthday. And now we have some Committee Assembly announcements. I think three. Senator Perez, you're recognized.

Yes. Budget Subcommitee number one will be meeting at room 2100 at 9:30 or upon adjournment of session.

And Senator Reyes, you're recognized.

Budget Subcommitee two will be meeting 15 minutes after adjournment in, I'm not sure what room.

2200. I.

2200. Thank you.

Senator Richardson, you are recognized.

Good morning, Mr. President. I'm happy to report that the Budget Fiscal Review Subcommitee number five, we will be meeting five minutes after we adjourn today. The subjects that we're going to be covering is Office of Emergency Services and the Department of Justice. It will be in room 112 immediately, five minutes after we adjourn. Thank you.

And we are happy to know that. Thank you. Now, moving on to motions and resolutions, it's time for adjourn in memory, resolutions First, Senator Alvarado-Gil. You are recognized.

Thank you, Mr. President. Colleagues and honored guests who join us in the gallery and via live feed, I rise with solemn duty to request that we adjourn the State Senate in memory of the lives lost on February 17th of this year.

When an avalanche struck, the deadliest in modern California history and one of the deadliest in the United States. Amid the beautiful landscape of the California Sierra Mountains are painted trails of wild backcountry skis that invite avid outdoorsmen and women in some of the most angelic scenery that our state has to offer.

On this blustery Tuesday, dense layers of new snowfall blanketed the sloping mountains during an extreme winter storm, causing a catastrophic avalanche to strike a guided group of skiers returning from the Frog Lake backcountry huts near Truckee. The nine were all passionate, knowledgeable adventurers with a deep seated love and respect for these majestic mountains.

So let us remember them fondly as we recognize them today.

Andrew Alessandratos, a 34 year old Tampa native living in Verde, Nevada, Ottawa born adventurer Nicole Nikki Chew, age 42, of South Lake Tahoe, California, remembered as an advocate for diversity in outdoor sports and for her adventurous spirits, often stating that one must risk it all to get the biscuit.

Michael Henry, age 30, of Tampa Bay, Florida, living in Truckee, California. All three were skilled professionals with Blackbird mountain guides and friends who shared many mountain adventures together. Their loss is being felt throughout the mountain communities and among the outdoor enthusiasts across the northern continent.

Our most sincerest condolences go out to their families and loved ones, a close knit group of six Bay Area moms who bonded together through their love for the outdoors and their children. The women have ventured out to the Tahoe region on regular trips and were experienced skiers.

We remember them as wives, daughters, sisters and friends who cherish their time together in the mountains. Sisters Lizbeth Liz Clabaugh and Caroline Sakar Liz was 52 years old and was coming to visit us from Boise, Idaho. And Ms. Caroline Sakar, age 45, of Soda Springs, living in San Francisco.

Her husband, Mr. Kiran Sakar, describes her, his wife of 20 years, as a woman who spread joy and enthusiasm to her circle of friends, her children's school and her neighborhood. Carrie Atkin, age 46, of Soda Springs, California. She often volunteered in her daughter's fourth grade classroom and coached her son's middle school cross country and track teams.

She's also survived by her husband, Pete Aiken. Danielle Keatley, age 44, of Soda Springs, also living in Larkspur, California. She worked in the biotech industry and opened a winery with her husband, Kate Morse, age 45, of Soda Springs, also living in Tiburon, California.

She also worked in the biotechnology field and Catherine Vitt, age 43, of Green Bay, California, a mother of two elementary students. Ms. Vitt worked as a vice President in product operations and customer success at Sirius Xm. She's also survived by her husband, Jeff Vitt.

Many of the victims of this tragedy knew the Sierra mountains as their home or cherished outdoors retreat. This loss unites us in grief and reminds us of nature's vast power. It highlights the risk we accept in pursuing what we love and the need for vigilance, press preparation and respect for the Sierra's unpredictable conditions.

I've seen deep sorrow mixed with incredible resilience. Candlelight vigils throughout the district, in Truckee, Soda Springs in the Bay Area, neighbors rallying with meals and memorials shared stories of the victims love of the mountains and their roles as guides, parents and friends. The response from the local community shows the unbreakable spirit of of our mountain towns.

To the families, loved ones and friends that are witnessing this today, we hold you close in our thoughts and prayers and we join you in mourning the loss and offer our most sincerest condolences. May the memories of their beauty, laughter and passion for life inspire us all to cherish every moment as a blessing.

So, with a heavy heart, Mr. President and colleagues, I move that the California State Senate adjourn in the memory of Andrew Alessandrados, Carrie Atkin, Nicole Nikki Chu, Lizbeth, Liz Clabaugh, Michael Henry, Danielle Keatley, Kate Morse, Carolyn Sakar and Katherine Vitt. Thank you.

Such a tragic disaster. Please bring the names forward to the desk so they may be properly recognized. Next. Senator Wiener, you are recognized.

Thank you very much, Mr. President. Colleagues, it's with great sadness that I rise today to ask that the Senate adjourn in memory of Camille Moran, a proud resident of San Francisco and transgender woman who devoted her life to her community and to advocacy.

Camille will be remembered and mourned by San Franciscans for her buoyant energy, her humor, and the lasting mark that she made on the city and the community that she loved so deeply. Camille was a beloved poet and painter, excuse me, who expressed struggle, truth and resilience through her art. We'll remember Camille for her extraordinary resilience.

Camille transformed her experiences of injustice and hardship into a lifelong commitment to advocacy and compassion. As an adult, Camille became a leading voice calling for the necessary removal of Gender Identity Disorder from the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders. She also served her community as a Member of the San Francisco LGBT Community Center Board of Directors.

That's how I first got to know Camille and on the Transgender Task Force of the San Francisco Human Rights Commission. Camille loved cooking for friends, creating beautiful art, and volunteering to support psychiatric survivors and the LGBTQ community.

She she cherished time spent with her chosen family, her friends, the Grace Cathedral Vine Community, and her art companions at Onlock Senior Center. Camille will be missed by the many who knew and loved her and by those inspired by her guiding light, wisdom and kindness.

Please join me in adjourning the Senate in memory of the life and legacy of Camille Moran.

Thank you, Senator Wiener. Please bring the name forward to the desk so it may be properly recognized if there is no other business and my experiment has been entirely successful, no hallucinations from my artificial intelligence being and I'll see you next time I preside, or actually preside. Senator Grove, the desk is clear.

Thank you, Mr. President, colleagues and Members, I hope you have a blessed weekend with the constituents in your district and seeing spending time with your families. The next floor session is scheduled for Monday, March 9th at 20:26 at 2:00pm

The Senate will be in recess until 3:30pm today at which time an adjournment motion will be made and as said, we will reconvene Monday, March 9th at 2 p.