Assembly Standing Committee on Arts, Entertainment, Sports, and Tourism

Well, good morning. I wanna welcome you all to 2026 and to today's hearing of the Assembly Committee on arts, entertainment, sports, and tourism. We have two items on our agenda today. AB 1706 by Assemblywoman Sanchez, was pulled from, the agenda at the request of the author. Each bill in this committee will have up to two main witnesses in support and two in opposition, and each witness would receive up to two minutes to be able to present the bill.

I invite you to feel free to submit written testimony through the position portal on the committee's website, which will become part of the official record of the bills. This morning, we are in State Capitol Room 444. And for those attending in person, please know that any conduct which disrupts, disturbs, or otherwise impedes the orderly conduct of the hearing is prohibited. Continued disruptions will result in individuals being escorted from the Capitol by assembly sergeants. Importantly, I wanna take a moment to recognize our new committee secretary for her first hearing.

Would you please welcome Veronica Blevins? Yeah. And I would certainly like to invite all members of the committee to Capitol Room 444 at this time. We have a short agenda, but an important one, and we'd like to invite up through a subcommittee our first author, Assemblymember, Alanis. When you are ready, you may approach the, presentation table and begin.

Good morning. Thank you, Mr. Chair and members. Everyday, hundreds of thousands of students participate in school athletics. They place their trust in the adults responsible for making sure their games and competitions are safe and fair. AB 1572 aims to strengthen that trust by requiring the California Interscholastic Federation, or CIF, to conduct annual reviews to make sure that sports, sports officials, such as referees, umpires, and judges have met the highest safety training and qualification standards.

This bill will also create an an accessible online platform for schools and athletic programs to easily verify the qualifications and certification status of officials. By improving transparency and accountability, schools will be better equipped to ensure that only properly qualified individuals are officiating students' sporting events. With me today is Michelle McKay Underwood who represents CIF to answer any technical questions and thank you.

Thank you very much. Did you have a presentation or just here for Q and A?

Nope. I know you have a busy day. Michelle Underwood on behalf of the California Interscholastic Federation. The State Office and its 10 sections are in support and here to answer any questions you may have.

Thank you very much. Is there any other members of the public here wishing to register support for this bill? Okay. Do we have the microphone up? Yes. I see it. Is there any witnesses in opposition? I have no opposition on file. Okay. Is this late opposition? Okay.

And do I sit over there, or do I just sit here?

You're welcome to a minute there.

Okay. So, my name is Beth Born, and I represent the coalition of sane people and mothers that are concerned about, CIF, the California Interscholastic Federation, having coaches believe or actually being forced to tell children, that they are born in the wrong body and that a boy can compete in girls' sports and a girl can compete in boys' sports if they have a transgender identity, which

I'm sorry, ma'am. I'm not sure, are you speaking to the merits of this bill?

Oh, yes. So, why would we require that coaches be registered? Right? Right now, it's worked in the past where we've allowed coaches who are trusted by the school principals, the school athletic director, the school administration. They've already gone through the process, the background checks.

What this is trying to do is force coaches to comply with this insane, California Interscholastic Federation, which it's child abuse to tell children that they could be born in the wrong body and that girls should allow boys in their locker rooms and in their sports. Thank you very much.

I'm not sure that's germane, but okay, thank you for your testimony. Is there any other witnesses here in opposition?

...This bill if you want to protect children.

Thank you for your testimony. Any other witnesses, members of the public, here in opposition to the bill? Alright. Seeing none, we'll turn this back to committee members. We do not yet have a quorum, but feel free to ask any questions or comments. Assemblymember Zbur.

Yeah. It's a great bill. I'd love to be added as a co-author.

Thank you. I will.

Thank you. At a time we have a quorum, we'll be able to take a motion. That's alright, Mr. Vice Chair. I appreciate it, the enthusiasm. With that, we don't have a quorum yet, but I invite you to close, and we'll take a vote at the time that we have a quorum.

I just wanna thank you and your committee for being part of this, and welcome to the committee as well. And, just when the time is right, I ask for an aye vote. Thank you.

Thank you, Assemblymember Alanis. Certainly recognize your passion in this area. You've done several pieces of good work here to be able to further, the support for our students, and, and the health that they have through a lot of our CIF related sports activities. I know this is an extension of a pilot program that has actually proven very well and everything, so we wanna make sure, when something is working well, that it's becoming the new norm. We know that referees are officials that interact daily with our student athletes.

They do play a very critical role in ensuring fair competition and maintaining a lot of maintaining a lot of order in the field and or on the court. So, we do appreciate that this bill does aim to ensure the safety and well-being of our high school athletes by holding a lot of those individuals, officiating our school contest to a baseline level of vetting comparable to other adults who work with students. I think at this time, we do have a member of our committee joining us, so we will go ahead and pause to establish quorum. Madam secretary, please call the roll.

[Roll Call]

And we have a quorum. And I think earlier, we had noted a motion by Vice Chair Lackey, and I will impose a second on Assemblymember Zbur who coauthored the bill. With that, madam secretary, would you please call the roll on the item?

[Roll Call]

That will pass. Has five votes. We will hold the roll open for absent members.

Thank you, everyone.

Thank you. I see our second and final author of the day, Miss Assemblymember Pacheco, who's here to present AB 1665. If you wanna get yourself situated, no rush. When you are ready, you may begin your presentation.

Good morning. We missed you this morning, by the way. Okay. Good morning, Mr. Chair and Members. Today, I am here to present AB 1665.

Children and teenagers are facing a mental health crisis. More than twenty percent of children confront mental health issues, and three out of every ten teenager faces serious psychological distress. And these numbers are increasing. At the same time, more young people than ever are participating in school sports programs. Athletics are intended to be a fun physical and mental outlet, but increased competition and pressure to perform at high levels can intensify stress for young athletes.

At our schools, adults are in positions of authority and are expected to have the training and tools to provide students with resources and guidance for mental health struggles. AB 1030 I'm sorry. I'm here to present 6 okay.

Alright. AB 1034 by Assemblymember Avila Farias signed into law last year, took an important step by requiring teachers to undergo youth mental health training to receive their teaching credentials. As we equip teachers with the training to support mental health, we should also consider other trusted adults in students' lives who may not yet have the tools to do so. As trusted mentors, coaches are often the first to hear about student athlete mental health challenges. They have the unique opportunity to spot mental health crisis and point students towards appropriate resources.

School coaches are required to complete training to support student athlete physical health, including education on concussions, cardiac arrest, and heat illness. Yet these safety courses do not include any instruction about how to support student athletes' mental health, even though physical and mental well-being are closely connected. AB 1665 requires sports coaches to complete a mental health training course approved by the California Department of Education. The bill will equip coaches who see and interact closely with student athletes to recognize when a student may be struggling. The committee amendments ensure that the bill applies to all school coaches K-12 and align the bill with the California Interscholastic Federation's existing statute.

With me today in support of the measure is Danielle Domenichelli. Mhmm. Former high school, college, and pro athlete and current sport and development director of- for the Sacramento Running Association. I will now hand it over to her.

Thank you.

Good morning. She mentioned I'm Danielle Domenichelli. I'm a former student athlete and currently serve as the sport development director for the Sacramento Running Association, and I'm here today to support AB 1665. I grew up playing multiple sports, but ultimately found my great- greatest success in cross country and track. After high school, I went on to keep compete at the division one level where I earned all American honors and let later spent a year competing as a sponsored professional athlete.

While I achieved success in my sport, I also experienced challenges that I now recognize could have been mitigated if my coaches had been better equipped to understand mental health concerns. When I first started distance running in high school, I asked one of my previous coaches if I should try to lose weight to look less like a soccer player and more like a distance runner. He said something along the lines of, yeah. That could help. Maybe try and clean up what you eat.

At the time, it seemed like a small harmless comment. But for me, it reinforced the idea that I didn't yet look the part. And so throughout my running career, I compared my physical appearance to women excelling in sports. I became convinced that restricting what I was what I ate was necessary to perform at the highest level. Looking back, I now understand I was struggling with body dysmorphic disorder, which led to disordered eating and a condition known as relative relative energy deficiency in sport.

Although I had great moments of success in my running, toward the end of college, I suffered my first stress fracture. After graduating, I struggled to complete workouts and experienced significant declines in both my physical and mental health. It took me many years to rebuild a healthy relationship with my body and my sport. I have met many athletes with similar experiences in today's world where social media amplifies pressures around appearance and performance. I believe these challenges are becoming even more widespread.

In my current role, I work with athletes of all ages, from elementary school students to professional athletes. I see firsthand how critical mental health is, not only for performance, but for confidence, belonging, and overall well-being. Athletes are often their own toughest critics, and the environment we create for them matter deeply. Providing coaches with training to recognize warning signs, communicate responsibly, and support athletes in accessing help is essential. I respect respectfully urge you to support AB 1665.

Thank you very much. Are there any members of the public here in support of AB 1665? Please approach the microphone and name, organization, and position.

Good morning. Leah Barros on behalf of California Hospital Association in support.

Andrew Govenar on behalf of San Francisco Forty Niners, Los Angeles Dodgers, Los Angeles Angels, the A's, San Diego Padres, San Francisco Giants in support. Apologies for not getting our letter in on time, but we'll have one shortly.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Thank you. Good morning. Dylan Elliott on behalf of the California State Association of Psychiatrists, also in support. Thank you.

Thank you very much. And are there any witnesses in opposition to the bill?

Yeah. We can.

Yep. I have your letter on file. Yes.

Here.

That's a good option. And you'll have up to two minutes.

Good morning Chairman Ward and Members of the Committee. My name is Meg Madden, speaking on behalf of Women Are Real, a California based, nonpartisan women's coalition advocating for the sex based rights of women and girls. About 65% of this group is Democrats, and over 75% are Lesbian or bisexual. Women are Real strongly supports the mental health and well-being of student athletes, especially girls. We firmly oppose AB 1665. The bill requires mental health training for high school coaches that is defined and approved by the California Department of Education and the California Interscholastic Federation, two organizations that have repeatedly shown they cannot be trusted to protect girls' mental health.

The CIF and the CDE direct coaches to allow boys into girls' locker rooms and onto girls' teams. This profoundly erodes girls' safety, dignity, privacy, as well as their trust in the adults meant to protect them. This practice is also not mentally beneficial to any boy who has been misled to believe that he is somehow female. Ironically, boys and girls with trans delusions often suffer from eating disorders and body dysmorphia. There is no credible evidence that so called social transition prevents suicide or improves long term mental health outcomes.

The ACLU itself conceded this before the Supreme Court. Worldwide, health health bodies are retreating from these interventions due to weak evidence. Bills history shows us bills like AB 1665 are used to push ideological hogwash about gender identities. This time, under the guise of mental health for athletes. We urge you to reject AB 1665 and protect California's girls from policies that place ideology above their safety, dignity, and genuine well-being. Thank you, and I welcome any questions.

Thank you. And a second witness.

Chairman Ward and Members of the Committee, good morning. My name is Beth Born representing CAUSE, the Californians United for Sex Based Evidence and Policy and Law, a nonpartisan coalition. We strongly oppose AB 1665 which would mandate mental health training for CIF high school coach approved by the California Department of Education. California Volunteer coaches already compete extensive record, that additional training is necessary or would be helpful. But even if there were, the CDE nor CIF can be trusted to develop or approve safe effective training in this area.

Both have embraced extremist gender identity ideology, encouraging school staff, including coaches to identify, affirm, and even secretly facilitate social transitions for students without parents' knowledge. Lawsuits against districts like LA Unified after secret interventions by the school allegedly led to a young man's suicide. And at Palo Alto Unified, two trans identified minors took their lives in the space of a year, despite school and family affirmation, there is no credible evidence that affirmation prevents suicide, as even the ACLU has admitted. There's no evidence that this bills mandate would be helpful and every reason to fear misuse to push activist agenda over genuine therapy. We urge you to vote no on AB 1665 to protect students.

Thank you for your time, and I welcome any questions.

Thank you very much. Are there any other witnesses and members of the public here in opposition to AB 1665?

David Bullock, SSP Alliance in opposition. Thank you.

Thank you.

Leslie Sawyer, acting as myself, chair of Moms for Liberty in opposition.

Thank you very much. Any other members of the public wishing to register a position? Okay. We'll turn this back to committee member questions or comments? Assemblymember Quirk-Silva.

Thank you to the author. I appreciate this bill. Mental health for our students, whether it's in sports or on high school campuses is certainly essential, particularly with the data that has been, showing regarding after, the pandemic, with many of our students still struggling. As far as the comments related to gender, this is the same old rhetoric, the same old story. It's tiring.

It's old, and it's not accurate. So you can keep coming to these committees and keep spewing your hate. And you are gonna find a few followers, but most people want to see success for their students on a campus. And if that means getting mental health support, I'm gonna support it. And I just really exhausted from you all. Thank you.

Assemblymember Zbur?

So I just wanna thank you for bringing this bill. I think it's an important bill to really help advance children's mental health and making sure that we're protecting all kids in schools. And, obviously, we have, you know, support from all the hospitals and everyone who basically focus on the set of issues. I too am tired of groups that are sort of hijacking and making bills about protecting kids, about other things. And, you know, I'm tired of sort of the- the focus and the hijacking of bills and, that are based on demonizing and hating other kids.

And so I thank you for bringing the bill, and we'll be supporting it today.

Thank you.

Thank you very much. Seeing no other questions or comments, is there a motion for the bill?

Motion to move.

By Assemblymember Quirk-Silva and a second by Assemblymember Zbur. Well, Assemblymember Pacheco, I do wanna thank you for bringing your bill forward today. I wanna get clarification if you're accepting the committee's amendments as well on page five.

We are. Yes.

Thank you for that. Those are important technical considerations, especially as this issue is being worked on sorta two related bills as well by some members, Gabriel and Irwin. And I wanna thank you for working with our staff to be able to thread all these together and make the bill work well because, of course, we know that coaches- coaches do play a large role in a child's life and their success and- and their development. We know they serve as role models. They provide guidance, advice.

They are certainly in the best interest of the- of the- of the youth. And we have had a number of training requirements over the year passed by this committee and really enshrined into law because these are basic necessities, to be able to make sure that a, ecosystem is available that's gonna support, best practices for the youth in that development. We think about concussion and heat stroke, sudden- sudden cardiac arrest, as very common ones that coaches will often entertain, will be required to be able to take to be able to participate in these roles. But we know that these trainings in some ways also can become practical day to day, and there are new insights and new practicalities that we have to build into this set of requirements. So I- I'm glad that you and- and- and your supporters have been able to reach and- and- and identify this as also a necessary component.

We wanna be able to have provide, the training for coaches so that they can recognize when a student is struggling, connect them with the help and additional resources they need, and, really, it's crucial to the health and well-being, of all of our k-12 students. So we'll be supporting your bill today and invite you to close.

Thank you. And- And I would just wanna thank you all for this opportunity to present AB 1665. And to the comments, thank you so much, because protecting our student athletes is important. And I am working with Assemblymember Gabriel and Assemblymember Irwin on their bills as well. And so for me and for us, protecting our student athletes are important.

Assemblymember Irwin actually has a story, what happened in her district, with, an athlete committed- committing suicide, and that just goes to show why these three bills are so important and so vital to protect our student athletes. And with that, I respectfully ask for your aye vote.

Thank you, miss Pacheco. Assembly- Madam Secretary, please call the roll.

AB 1665. Motion is do passed with amendments to the Assembly Committee on Education. [roll call.]

That bill will be out. Has seven votes. We'll hold the roll open for absent members.

Thank you.

Thank you. And Madam Secretary, we'll go back to item number one to pick up any absent members. And when you are ready, you may reopen the roll.

AB 1572 motion is do passed to the Assembly Committee on Education. [Roll Call]

The bill is at eight votes, and so we will hold the room for perhaps members. Thank you all for being here this morning. Madam Secretary, please open the roll on both items. AB 1572. Call the roll. For absent members.

[Roll Call]

That bill is out with 9-0. Sure.

AB 1665. [Roll Call]

Current roll is 8-0. We're gonna hold the roll up and practice the numbers. Thank you very much. And, Madam Secretary, please reopen the roll on AB 1665.

AB 1665. [Roll Call]

That bill has nine votes and, no no votes, so that will be out. And with that, we are adjourned for the day.