Assembly Floor

Good morning, California. The assembly is now in session and it is Assembly member Chiavo notices the absence of a quorum. Sergeant Arms will prepare the chamber and bring in the absent members. Circle will call the roll.

[Roll Call]

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

Please join me in a moment of reflection. NASA's First Moon mission since 1972, the Artemis two, is on its way back from the moon. On Easter Sunday, comment made by one crew member, captain Victor Glover, from our own Pomona, California, went appropriately viral when captain Glover said, we are so far from Earth and looking back on the beauty of creation. Up here, I can really see Earth as one thing.

You guys are talking to us because we're in a spaceship really far from Earth, but you're on a spaceship called Earth that was created to give us a place to live in the universe, in the cosmos.

And I'm trying to tell you, and trust me, you are all special. In all this emptiness that we call the universe, you have this oasis, this beautiful place that we get to exist together. He added, I think as we go into Easter Sunday, thinking about all the cultures around the world, this is an opportunity for us to remember where we are, who we are, and that we are the same thing and we have to get through this together.

Frank White, author of the book overview effect wrote, astronauts who leave Earth generally come back with a greater distaste for war and violence and a desire to do something to improve life on Earth. Seeing Earth from a distance, seeing our home, our people, our lives as one, has the power to change something within us.

It's a potent reminder that for all our uniqueness, we are all one. William Shatner who went into space at the age of 90 in 2021 felt this oneness deeply and said, earth and life are so fragile. We hang by a thread. Seeing humanity from that distance, put conflicts between humans in perspective. We're entangled with each other then added, we have wars.

The stupidity of it all is so obvious. Let us try to feel the truth of what so many astronauts have felt and shared. In the biggest picture, we are one we are all one. And as captain Glover shared, we've got to get through this together. May we try to live with kindness and gratitude beyond words.

We ask our guests and visitors to remain standing to join us in the flag salute. Assembly member Chen will lead us in the pledge of allegiance.

Please put your right hand over your heart. Ready. Begin.

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

Assembly chamber Sacramento, Wednesday, 03/25/2026. The assembly met at 7AM. The honorable Leticia Castillo, assembly member 58

Assistant Majority leader Garcia moves, and Miss Sanchez seconds that the reading of the previous day's journal be dispensed with. Presentations and petitions, there are none. Introduction and reference of bills will be deferred. Reports of committees will be deemed read and amendments deemed adopted. Messages from the governor, there are none.

Messages from the Senate, there are none. Moving on to motions and resolutions. The office of the day will be deemed read and printed in the journal. Onto our procedural motions. Assistant majority leader Garcia, you are recognized for your procedural motions.

Thank you, mister speaker. I request unanimous consent to suspend assembly rule 45.5 to allow assembly members, Aaron, and cholera to speak on an adjournment memory today.

Without objection, such shall be the order.

I request unanimous consent to suspend assembly rule one eighteen a to allow assembly member Pacheco to have guests in the rear of chamber and assembly members Lowenthal and Wicks to have guests seated at their desk today.

Objection. Such shall be the order. Please continue.

Pursuant to assembly rule 96, I request unanimous consent to re refer the following bills to committee. AB 1612 Alanis from the Natural Resources Committee to the Environmental Safety and Toxic Materials Committee and Public Safety Committee. AB 1898 Schultz from the Judiciary Committee to the Appropriations Committee. AB 1918 Dixon from the Public Safety Committee to the Appropriations Committee. AB 1927 Krell from the Insurance Committee to the Appropriations Committee.

AB 2151 Pacheco, from the public employment and retirement committee to the Public Safety Committee, and then back to the public employment and retirement committee. AB 2163, Jeff Gonzales, from the utilities and energy committee to the economic development growth and household impact committee, and then back to the utilities and energy committee, and AB 2322 PAPN from the water, parks, and wildlife committee to the environmental safety and toxic materials committee.

Without objection, such shall be the order.

I request unanimous consent to suspend Assembly Rule 56 to allow the Public Employment and Retirement Committee to set AB 2151 Pacheco for their hearing on Wednesday, April 22, pending re referral from the Public Safety Committee.

Without objection, such shall be the order. Okay. Members, we're gonna move on to guest introductions. Decorum, please let's give our attention to our colleagues. Thank you, members.

Assemblymember Pacheco, you are recognized for your guest introduction.

Thank you, mister speaker and members. We all know how important it is to have our district team be there to represent us when we're not in the district. And so today, I have the luxury of recognizing my district staff who flew up from LA County just to be here with all of us today. They are an amazing group of individuals. We have my, district director, Ari Ruiz.

We have my field rep representatives, Christopher Kent, who loves to dance. Natalie Tong and Genesis Pompa. Members, let's give them a round of applause for everything that they do in my assembly district.

Okay. Continuing on with guest introductions, let's give our attention to Assemblymember Hoover. You are recognized for your guest introduction.

Thank you, mister speaker and members. I am very happy to introduce the Citrus Heights leadership class who is joining us in the gallery today. Leadership Citrus Heights focuses on developing leaders who shape the future of Citrus Heights. It is a hands on nine month program that gives participants behind the scenes access to how the city works from a local government and public safety perspective, as well as education and business.

In the gallery today, we have a Citrus Heights Mary, Mary Jane Lopez Taft, Citrus Heights vice mayor, Portia Middleton, Citrus Heights council member, Kelsey Nelson, Chamber Executive Director Sherry Merrick, Chamber Membership and Operations Coordinator Katie Berlin, as well as a number of people, from our fire districts, water districts, police departments, and small business community.

Please join me in welcoming leadership Citrus Heights in the gallery. Thank you.

Citrus Heights. Let's go. Let's go. Welcome, madam mayor. Welcome, welcome.

And I'm gonna take this opportunity, Citrus Heights, to recognize something that's coming this weekend. It will be assembly member Hoover's birthday, as a matter of fact. Members, happy birthday, mister Hoover. Happy birthday. Okay.

That's okay. Members, we're moving on business on the daily file. We start with our second reading file items one through 79. Clerk will read.

[Second Reading]

Members Our reading, Clerk, mister David Bowman. Mister David Bowman. All bills will be deemed to end. All amendments be deemed adopted. Concurrence and Senate amendments is next.

That's file item number 80. We're gonna pass and retain. Reconsideration file items 81 through 83. All items shall be continued. That brings us to the assembly third reading file.

File items 84 through one zero two, we're gonna pass and retain on file item 84 through 96. That brings us to file item number 97. That's AB 2180 by Assemblymember Ward. Just a moment, mister Ward. Thank you, members.

Let's have the quorum. We have an author presenting a bill. File item number ninety seven eighty twenty one eighty by Assemblymember Ward. The clerk will read

Assembly bill twenty one eighty by Assemblymember Ward and accrualating to local government finance.

Assemblymember Ward, you are recognized.

Thank you, mister speaker. Members, if you wanted to vote for a bill that's be able to help most of your, water rate payers in your district be able to lower and keep a stable a lot of their water rate bills, then I have a bill for you. AB 2180 is gonna provide clarity, consistency, and practical framework consistent with long standing industry best practices for water agencies and setting proportional rates that are in compliance with the constitutional requirements of prop two eighteen.

To meet strict proportionality requirements of prop two eighteen, public water suppliers routinely hire experts to develop proportional rates that are supported by rigorous cost of service data and analysis. And despite this diligence, high water users have regularly challenged these rates in courts. Now recent appellate court decisions have reached conflicting decisions regarding the methodologies used by water providers when setting water rates, and this has caused widespread uncertainty for water agencies attempting to comply with prop two eighteen's proportionality requirements.

AB 2180 would address this issue by establishing clear legal standards that protect both water agencies and rate payers by reducing costly ensuring that low use customers are not subsidizing the infrastructure costs induced and driven by high use customers while preserving core constitutional requirements that rates do not exceed their proportional cost of service. I respectfully ask for your aye vote.

Thank you, Assemblymember Ward. Assemblymember De Maio, you are recognized.

Thank you, mister speaker. I rise in strong opposition to AB 2180. This is not a a bill that is consistent with Prop two eighteen. Look no further than the backers of prop two eighteen, the experts in taxpayer protection than the Howard Jarvis Taxpayers Association, which opposes this bill because it directly guts prop two eighteen requirements. Prop two eighteen was a taxpayer rebellion in this state that said enough with the overcharging of ratepayers.

We know that there's a little scam in go in government where they basically say, it's not a tax, it's a fee, and we're only recovering the cost of the service we're providing. But this bill, AB 2180, allows government officials to cook the books and overcharge ratepayers. That is a tax, not a fee for service. Enough of the accounting gimmicks and games, enough of the fraud. Vote no on AB 2180 and uphold taxpayer protection under prop two eighteen.

This bill, if passed, will lead to litigation, and the state of California will lose that litigation.

Thank you. Assembly member DeMaio. Seeing and hearing no further debate, Assembly member Ward, do you wish to close?

I do because I'd like to set the record straight. You know, we wanna talk about fraud and gimmicks, and I couldn't, you know, think more clearly than some of the disinformation and arguments that are out there. Look, two things. Let's explain what we're talking about when we cost about long standing decades long use formulas that are used. And I'm gonna oversimplify this for the body.

You have an area in your district that serves a 100 people and a 100 homes, and it costs a $100 for a 100 units of water. Now 50 of those water users decide that they wanna go ahead, hog wild, and be able to up their demand, to be able to put in a lawn, be able to build a pool, be able to basically be water hogs.

So conflicting appellate court decisions, one of which is actually we're trying to codify here, and that's Durer v, the city of LA, actually says that for those 50 people that decided they wanna be water hogs, they're causing upstream pressures. Right? You have to build new pipes.

You have to build new pumps. You have to build all this infrastructure to serve those 100 homes, but who pays for that? Should those low use customers have to subsidize for the new water hogs that are actually trying to increase water demand on the entire system? That's something that has been long standing industry best practice to make sure that if you're doing your part to be water conscious, that you're not subsidizing and you're not paying more for the high use water users.

And I would also add that we've done that cost of service analysis to my colleague and my neighbor from San Diego, right there in our own backyard in San Diego.

And that cost of service analysis showed that for two thirds of those single family homes, if we don't fix this problem, they're gonna see their water rates increase and subsidize one third of those homes who are the high water users who would actually see their rates decrease if we don't fix that. That's not fair, and it's not consistent with what we wanna see when we're thinking about a water smart future.

For those reasons and setting the record straight, mister speaker and colleagues, I respectfully request your aye vote.

Thank you, Assemblymember Ward. All debate having ceased, clerk will open the roll. All members vote who desire to vote. All members vote who desire to vote. All members vote who desire to vote.

Clerk will close the roll, tally the votes. Ayes, 41. Noes, 17. The measure passes. We are going to pass and retain on file items 98, 99, 100, 101, 102. Brings us to the Senate third reading file, file items 103 to 108. We're gonna pass and retain. Members, we're now moving on to the second day consent calendar.

That's file items 110 to 125. Does any member wish to remove an item from the consent calendar? Seeing and hearing none, the clerk will read the second day consent calendar.

Assembly Bill 1853 by Assemblymember Pellerin, an act relating to elections.

Clerk will open the roll on the consent calendar. All members vote who desire to vote. All members vote who desire to vote. All members vote who desire to vote. Clerk will close the roll and tally the votes.

Ayes, 52. Noes, zero. Consent calendar is adopted. Clerk will read the remaining items on the consent calendar.

[Roll Call]

Ayes, 52. Noes, zero. Assemblymember Pacheco. Okay. Thank you, members. We have one final guest introduction.

Appreciate your attention. Assemblymember Pacheco, you are recognized.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker and members. I know everybody is rushing for a flight. Today, I rise to introduce Rosie Rios. Miss Rios serves as chair of America 250, the bipartisan congressional commission, leading our nation's commemoration of the twenty—250th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence. This anniversary marks an opportunity to reflect on our history and consider the future we are building as a country.

Miss Rios previously served as the 43rd treasurer of The United States and also oversaw the Bureau of Engraving and Printing and the US Mint. She led the effort to place a woman on US currency for the first time in more than a century. Her career has focused on economic development and expanding opportunity in many in communities across the country. She is a member on the Council on Foreign Relations and was named one of USA Today's Women of the Century. Members, please join me in welcoming Rosie Rios to our assembly floor.

Members, we're going to be moving on to adjournments in memory. The quorum call is lifted. Let's give our respectful attention to those who were granted prior permission to speak on their adjournment in memory. Again, the quorum call is lifted. Please take your conversations off the floor.

Thank you, members. If you could please take your conversations off the floor.

Members, let's please give our respectful attention to those who are granted prior permission to speak on their adjournment in memory. Assemblymember Ahrens, you are recognized for your adjournment of memory.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker and colleagues. It's with a heavy heart that I rise today to adjourn in the memory of former Santa Clara County Supervisor Rod Diridon Sr., a devoted public servant, political and transit activist whose impact was immeasurable in the South Bay Area and Santa Clara County. Born in Yerka, California in the late 1930s, Rod moved to San Jose to pursue an education at our San Jose State University.

After graduating with his degree, like many of his peers, he joined the United States Navy and served in the Vietnam War, serving two combat tours. After returning home from his time in the navy, he began his career of public service, first on the Saratoga City Council and then on the Santa Clara County Board of Supervisors.

Rod served five terms as a member of the Santa Clara County Board from 1975 until 1995, serving as the Board's Chair a total of six times. In many ways, Rod will be remembered for his transit advocacy and in and around the Bay Area, being the figurehead of a movement to bring light rail service to Santa Clara County, expanding the Caltrain commuter rail services down throughout the county.

After moving on from the County Board of Supervisors, Rod was appointed to the California High Speed Rail Authority, stepping down in 2010. To many in San Jose and in, in the Santa Clara County area, though may—they may—not know Rod personally, his legacy will live on as the name of San Jose's primary train station, Diridon Station. Rod is survived by his wife, Gloria, his two adult children, and will be dearly missed by many in my district. I request that we adjourn in memory in his honor.

Thank you, Assemblymember Ahrens. Assemblymember Kalra, you are recognized for your adjournment in memory.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. And I, I'd like to join my colleague in asking the assembly to adjourn in the memory of Rod Diridon Sr., the. the father of modern transit. And as mentioned by our colleague, Diridon Station in my district that is slated to become one of the most significant transit hubs in the West Coast in the years ahead when high speed rail finally ends there, in the heart of San Jose.

Rod Diridon Sr. was an extraordinary human being, and he lived his life in a way that was so passionate and so committed and has been a role model for so many of us, countless numbers of elected leaders, community leaders, policy advocates, that his impact will be felt, for many generations. He was someone that was involved in politics for decades but never let the bitterness of politics ever make him bitter.

He was someone that was so committed and so truthful, and yet never let his self-righteousness bleed into arrogance. Always so kind, even with those that weren't so kind in this world to him or others. And whether you come to San Jose, Santa Clara County, the Bay Area today, or generations from now, the reality is that you will enjoy community benefits that are there because of Rod Diridon Sr.

And whether it's a bike path or high-speed rail and everything in between, there are gonna be marks of his legacy for many years to come. And ever so proudly, with our train station, Diridon Station, we have a landmark for the next several generations as we continue to grow that station.

And I know every single time so many of us walk in and out of that station, we'll be thinking about Rod, about his impact, not only on the community at large, but on each and every one of us, individually. And we will smile and we will be grateful, because he was always smiling and grateful for the world around him.

Thank you, Assemblymember Kalra. Members, please bring the names to the desk to be printed in the journal. All requests to adjourn a memory will be deemed read and printed in the journal. Moving on to announcements, session schedules as follows. Friday, April 10, no floor session, no check-in session.

Monday, April 13, floor session at 1:00 PM. Seeing and hearing no further business, I'm ready to entertain a motion to adjourn. Assistant Majority Leader Garcia moves and Ms. Macedo seconds that this house stands adjourned until Monday, April 13 at 1:00 PM. The quorum call is lifted, and we are adjourned.