Senate Floor

Secretary, please call the roll.

[Roll Call]

A quorum is present and so would would members and our guests beyond the rail and in the gallery please rise. We'll be led in prayer this afternoon by Senator Arreguin, after which we will say the pledge.

As we bring ourselves into awareness of God's presence today, we pray for all who still long to experience God's heart of mercy. For all who suffer and struggle alone, may they receive healing and support. For all who experience injustice and persecution, may they receive strength and courage. For all who grieve and mourn, may they receive comfort and peace. God of love and mercy, all of the days of our lives are in your hands.

Help us to know your presence in each unfolding event, your active enabling grace in every circumstance, and your enduring call to follow you each day with courage and gratitude. Amen.

Now, please follow me in the pledge to our flag. I pledge allegiance There we have several members here disguised as empty seats. So if everybody could come to the floor. On behalf of, Senator Allen, please welcome the twenty twenty six leadership Torrance class participants and organizers here in the gallery. Welcome to the California State Senate.

Senator Niello, you are recognized from the majority leader's desk for your guest introduction.

Thank you, very much, mister president. I am honoring a very distinguished career. Randy Howard, has over forty years of service in public power, plus, six years in the United States Air Force. Now since 2015, Randy has served as the general manager of the Northern California Power Agency, contributing his extensive knowledge that I'll refer to in a moment to that organization. Prior to, joining NCPA, Randy was at the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power, the nation's largest public power system from 1988 to 2015.

For education, and his is an example of someone who believes in lifelong earning learning, he is a Sacramento State Hornet, stingers up. He is a USC Trojan, Phyton, and a Pepperdine wave. He holds an MBA from in finance from Pepperdine, a master's degree in electrical engineering from USC, and a bachelor of electrical engineering from our own Sac State.

His he has been deeply involved in his community and also has been very actively engaged in state and federal policy discussions over the many over many decades, many times providing expert witness and and promoting practical solutions for electrical safety, affordability, and reliability. He's represented the public, public power on the Western Energy Imbalance Market Nominating Committee, Launch Committee for the Westwide Governance Pathways Initiative, and served as a board member of the California Municipal Utilities Association and as cochair of the electricity subsector coordinating council wildfire working group.

As I said, a very accomplished individual with much experience and contributions to this industry. He, is well, joined here with his family, his, wife, Lisa, and two of his three sons, Everett and Logan. They're in the gallery. The couple also has three daughters in law, Jessica, Lindsay, and Cassandra. And he looks forward to spending time, and this is the ultimate reward of parenthood, spending time with his four grandchildren.

As I often say, no offense to my kids, and I'm sure he shares this with me, but version two is better than version one. His third son and daughter-in-law, Andrew and Cassandra, reside in Washington state. So, again, he's had a long history of leadership in the industry. And as he retires, please join me in expressing gratitude, to Randy for his service to California, his few employers, and remember, Stingers up.

Senator D'Orazo, you are recognized from the majority leader's desk for your guest introduction.

Thank you very much, mister president. I am pleased to welcome back Occidental College, which is in my district, Occidental College graduate and a former trustee of Occidental College, somebody who's no stranger to the California legislature, former assembly member, Hector De La Torre. Hector De La Torre served in the California state assembly from 2004 to 2010, representing the 50th District in Southeast Los Angeles.

He, prior to serving the assembly, he served eight years on the city council of his native city of Southgate, including two years as mayor, and he currently serves as executive director of the Gateway Cities Council of Governments, and this is his first time back, visiting us in the legislature. So please join me in welcoming back Hector de La Torre to our Senate floor.

Group picture in the back. Anyone interested? Don't be apprehensive. And members, we are going to continue with guest introductions. Senator McNerney, you are recognized from majority leader's desk for your guest introduction.

Thank you, mister president and colleagues. Please join me in welcoming Christopher Callahan, president of the University of the Pacific. This is in Stockton, California in my district. President Callahan is here on the floor with three other college presidents, along with a group of other university presidents and academic dignitaries in the gallery. Members, California is not only blessed with the best public university system in the world, but we also have a home to some of the finest independent colleges anywhere.

One of them is the University of the Pacific, California's first ever university. President Callahan is the president's twenty sixth is the Pacific's twenty sixth president, has been serving in that role since 2020. He joined Pacific after more than twenty five years in higher education leadership, most recently as the founding dean of the Walter Cronkite Walter Cronkite School of Journalism and Mass Communication at Arizona State University.

Before entering higher education, president Callahan was a journalist for the Associated Press in Washington, DC and his state capitals in New England. At Pacific, president Callahan is focused on building the strengths of California's first university, namely the personalized education of a small college combined with choices of a major university.

Also joining us here on the floor today are Karen Hoffman, president of the Art Center College of Design in Pasadena. And Michael Beals, president of Vanguard University in Costa America. In the gallery, we have Storm Treker, president of Pritzker College. Brett White, president of Golden Gate University. Leslie Martin, provost.

LaSalle University. Doctor William Brown, provost and academic and chief academic officer of the Chicago School. Kristy Chung, provost and private and vice president for academic affairs at Palo Alto University. Denise Diaz, senior director of public affairs at the Chicago School. Alex Karam, senior director of strategy of the Alder Graduate School of Education.

And Hector Dela Torre, trustee Emeritus of Occidental College. Please stand up in the gallery and members, please join me in giving these academic giants a round of applause here in the Senate floor.

Oh, yes. Doctor. Choi, you are recognized.

Thank you, chair and members. I would like to welcome, doctor, Michael Beals from my district, Costa Mesa Vanguard, the university president. I had the privilege of, visiting the school and had a tour. And then also, I have a wonderful, staff member who's a graduate of Vanguard. So we have a special relationship, and, that is a hidden jewel.

And your children can look up Vanguard University as a Christian university. And then I had the chance to meet the greet him at the airport a while ago. I wish I had a little more extensive background study. But, anyway, I welcome you to the capital.

And Hector De La Torre and I served in the assembly together just a few years ago. Picture? Anybody else care to join in the photo? Please step up. And then Yeah.

Then then we go on to And Senator Becker, they say it's your birthday. Is it true? Today? Happy birthday, Senator Becker. How old are you?

Oh, never mind. All right. Moving ever so swiftly along. Messages from the governor will be deemed read. Messages from the assembly will be deemed read.

Reports from committees will be deemed read and amendments adopted. Moving on to motions, resolutions and notices. Without objection, the Senate journals for 04/06/2026 through 04/09/2026 will be approved as corrected by the minute clerk. Do we have any other motions or resolutions? And seeing no mics raised, moving on to consideration of the daily file, second reading file.

Please read. Secretary, please read.

[Second Reading]

And moving on to governor's appointments, Senator Reyes, you're recognized. Governor's appointments. File item eight.

Thank you, mister president. File item eight is a confirmation of Vadilian Curral for appointment as a member of the California Community Colleges Board of Governors. Since 2002, she has been the vice president of the Open Technology Institute at New America. Leading their core programs on technology as a tool to advance democracy, strengthen human rights, and reduce inequality. She is also an adjunct professor at University of Southern California.

She was approved by the rules committee on March 11. I respectfully ask for your aye vote.

This is a two thirds majority vote. Secretary, please call the roll.

[Roll Call]

Senator Reyes moves the call. Now, item number 10. Senator Reyes, you're recognized.

Thank you, mister president. Final item number 10 is a confirmation of Justin Hought for reappointment to the board of behavioral sciences. He is a licensed marriage and family therapist and first joined the board in 2021. He is also a lecturer at Cal Poly San Luis Obispo, an adjunct lecturer at El Camino College and CSU Fullerton, and an instructor at UC Riverside. He was approved by the rules committee on March 18. I respectfully ask for your aye vote.

Secretary, please call the roll.

[Roll Call]

The, ayes are 26. The noes are seven. That appointment is rather accepted. Item number 11. Excuse me, Senator Reyes, you're recognized.

Thank you, mister president. File item number 11 is a confirmation of Kelly Ranasinghe for reappointment to the board of behavioral sciences. He is a senior deputy county counsel for Imperial County and previously served as pro bono counsel for the Imperial County LGBT Resource Center. He was first appointed in 2020 and serves on the board as a public member. He was approved by the rules committee on March 18, and I respectfully ask for your aye vote.

And, that previous item was confirmed. I used the wrong word. Secretary, please call the roll.

[Roll Call]

The ayes are 26. The noes are seven. That appointment is confirmed. Item number 12, Senator Reyes, you're recognized.

Thank you, mister president. And members, file item 12 is the confirmation of doctor Annette Walker for reappointment to the board of behavioral sciences. Doctor Walker has served on the board since 2021, and over the course of her career, held various roles at California State University, East Bay, and Holy Names University. She is also a former member of the Hayward Unified School District Board of Trustees. She was approved by the rules committee on March 18. I respectfully ask for your aye vote.

Secretary, please call the roll.

[Roll Call]

The ayes are 27. The noes are seven. That appointment is confirmed. Moving on to Senate oh, excuse me. I'll we'll lift the call on item number eight.

Please call the roll.

[Roll Call]

The ayes are 27. The noes are zero. That appointment is confirmed. Now, we'll move on to Senate third reading. Secretary, please read item 33.

Senate Concurrent Resolution 140 by Senator Wiener relating to Parkinson's disease awareness month.

Senator Wiener, at the majority leader's desk, you are recognized.

Thank you very much, Mister President. Colleagues, I rise today to present Senate Concurrent Resolution 140, which recognizes April as Parkinson's disease awareness month. Parkinson's disease is among the most prevalent and deadly neurodegenerative neurodegenerative diseases in our country. An estimated 1.6 million Americans and 130,000 Californians endure symptoms ranging from slow slow movement to cognitive impairment, to dementia. In recent years, scientific research has greatly contributed to our understanding of Parkinson's disease.

Organizations like the Michael j Fox Foundation have been at the forefront of advocating for greater awareness and setting the stage for the breakthroughs that we've seen. California stands at the epicenter of Parkinson's disease research and treatment innovation, yet another, reason why we need to support scientific research funding in this country, in this state. It's critical that we continue to foster investment in understanding, and community awareness around Parkinson's.

I'm delighted to be joined here today on the floor by advocates and members of the Parkinson's community who have come from all across the state to discuss the issues most central to their lives. I'm honored to promote Parkinson's awareness and visibility, and I ask for your aye vote.

Senator Stern, you are recognized.

Thank you, Mister President. I'll just briefly add on my voice and support a proud co-author. I I'm gonna be supporting this bill, in honor and in the memory of my mother-in-law, Margaret Kaufman. May her memory be a blessing, and my wife who keeps fighting on this issue. My mother-in-law was was born in Hungary and spent her childhood in an attic during the Holocaust.

She was she had to be physically restrained by her mother in that attic so that they didn't make a noise. And the stress and trauma that a one and two year old goes through for an experience like that where you have to have your mouth taped shut to be given alcohol to sedate you, to be hidden in a, in a cabinet. These kinds of of traumas for children, are part of a growing body of research that we've learned in Parkinson's, actually contributes to neurogenerative disorders.

Not everyone will go through what Margaret went through as a baby, but this isn't just about the cutting edge research we're trying to find when it comes to treatment, which we know we're breaking through. And it takes steel will from from those who suffer from it, and the ability to punch through it, literally.

We found that things like boxing, swimming, you know, ways to keep your mind moving and keep talking, human interaction, which is why COVID was such a death sentence for so many people struggling with Parkinson's, but also on the prevention side. And dealing with those traumas early on, in life and finding ways to address them early can actually be part of the cure too. So thank thank you so much for bringing this forward and even beyond your tenure here, I I pledge to to keep this going.

Senator Grove, you're recognized.

Thank you, Mister President. I'd like to applaud the author for bringing this resolution forward. The president of the NorCal Parkinson's Association is a dear friend of mine, Harry Starkey. He's up here walking the halls to bring awareness to, what this disease and debilitating disease really, how it affects individuals and the people that we love.

And so I just thank the author for bringing this forward, and I thank Harry for being involved and has in his incredible testimony about the the the debilitating things that he is suffering and the life change and what drove him to be able to be an advocate for this, Parkinson's and the organization that he represents.

Senator Wiener, you may close.

I respectfully ask for an aye vote.

Secretary, please call the roll.

[Roll call]

The ayes are 36. The noes are zero. That is adopted. And, under privileges of the floor, I believe you have some guests.

Yes, Mister President. Thank you. Joining us here today is, Stephanie Murray from the Parkinson's Association of San Diego, and Jen Whitney from the Parkinson's Association of Northern California. Please join me in welcoming them to the Senate floor.

And continue on third reading, item number 56. Please read.

Senate resolution 92 by Senator Becker relative to California Holocaust Memorial Day.

Senator Becker, you are recognized.

I thank you, Mister president. I rise today as Vice chair of the California Legislative Jewish Caucus to present SR 92. This is our Caucus' most solemn resolution in recognition of Yom HaShoah, Holocaust Remembrance Day. This designates 04/14/2026 as Holocaust Remembrance Day in California. On Yom HaShoah, we remember the Holocaust, the murder of 6,000,000 Jews at the hands of Adolf Hitler and the Nazi regime.

What is often overlooked is that Hitler did not personally carry out these atrocities. He spread hatred and that hatred took hold in ordinary people enabling them to commit unimaginable acts. And if we're honest with ourselves, we know how easy, how easy it is, how easily people can be persuaded to judge, to divide, to dehumanize others. But if hatred can spread, so too can compassion, so too can courage, so too can love. Today, as you observe Holocaust Remembrance Day, we say, never forget and never again.

We carry responsibility to those who perished to keep their memory memories alive so we can remember the lessons of the Holocaust. Remember the lessons of the holocaust. Because ignorance too is contagious. Today, one in five Americans, and from what I've seen, one in five Californians as well, either doesn't know about the Holocaust or believes the Holocaust is a myth. In my area, we had just the end of last year in December, eight students who formed a human swastika on a football field took a picture of it.

One of them posted it with his actual name on Instagram. And when the principal investigated and by the way, the other kids hearing about this went to the football field and and created a peace symbol. So there is a hopeful message there as well. But the principal found most of the kids, not all of them, but most of the kids just really did not appreciate the significance. They didn't understand the impact that this would have on the community.

But it's a reminder of how far we have to go. The holocaust did not begin with concentration camps. It began with rhetoric, with the erosion of democratic norms, with the targeting of institutions, with the systematic dehumanization of a people. We have seen how this story unfolds and we can take a different path. 6,000,000 Jews were murdered.

Two thirds of the Jews in Europe. And Jews were not the only victims. Millions of Roma, LGBTQ people, individuals with disabilities, political prisoners, and others were also persecuted and killed. And these are not just numbers. These were lives, families, entire communities, futures.

Today there are still fewer Jews alive today than there were alive at the time of the holocaust. And the number of survivors who can share their story is declining. So this day is not only a day of mourning, it is a call to action. Never again is not a passive phrase, it's a responsibility. We must continue to work of education, of remembrance, of vigilance to ensure these atrocities are never repeated again, not for any people.

And while we reflect on the past, we also recognize how far we've come and the work that still lies ahead. Antisemitism and violence against the Jewish community is on the rise. In California, Jewish communities remain the most targeted by far religion' religion based hate crime. We cannot ignore that reality. As Martin Niemoller wrote in First They Came, "silence in the face of injustice is not neutrality, it's complicity". We must stand together against hate, against division, and against those who seek to undermine our values.

With this resolution, we honor the victims of the Holocaust not only in remembrance but in action. We recommit ourselves to confronting hate wherever it appears, to defending truth in the face of denial, and to ensure that the lessons of history are not forgotten. And I see my colleague from Bakersfield. I was at a church yesterday.

A friend of mine was giving a a lecture there, and a woman came up to me afterwards talking about immigration and what's happening now with immigration, and she was talking about how her father had liberated the concentration camps and how he was traumatized for the rest of his life.

Choose to speak. Let us choose to act. And let us choose to stand together.

May we honor the lives of those who were taken by building a world worthy of their memory. I respectfully ask for your aye vote on SR 92.

Senator Grove, you're recognized.

Thank you, Mister President. I've said this before on this floor, but oftentimes all of us have the opportunities to go on these incredible trips because of your legislative position that you have and you get invited. I was invited to Israel a few years ago and we did a Birkenau trip. And, those are things in that camp and the way it was replicated that will haunt you for the rest of your life if you ever have the opportunity to do it.

But it also brings you back to a reality of how evil humans can actually be to their fellow human race.

We started at the rail cars where they would drop hundreds, if not hundreds of thousands of people off as they walk down the rail cars carrying their belongings. The first facility they went into, they took all their luggage and all their belongings, their treasures, their menorahs, their clothing. And then the next room that you went into and luggage was stacked, like in this room, all the way to the ceiling.

And then the next room that you went into was all their shoes, adult shoes, men's shoes, women's shoes, little girl shoes, baby shoes. And then the next term you went into was hair, where they shave their heads.

You could tell what was men's, what was women's, ponytails and buns still still intact. And when you got to the little parts where there were pink little ribbons wrapped around braids, and again hair stacked as tall as this building that we're in right now in the chamber. Six million people lost their life during the Holocaust.

My father, which he was very we were very estranged with him because I think partly because of stuff that he endured as an individual who had to go into these camps all over Europe and rescue individuals. He was actually one of the first one of the first in one of the first groups where when the units found these individuals out in these concentration camps, they gave him food.

And they actually I think one of the things he wrestled with a long time was because the food that they gave him actually killed them because they hadn't eaten in so long. They weren't able to digest the food that they had. But it was just out of generosity and compassion that these soldiers gave them what they had to eat because they were skin and bones and in their striped pajamas. Like I said, six million Jews were killed and in the Holocaust.

And we need to remember that and not let any part of our future be any part of that. Permission to read?

Permission granted?

Although I am not Jewish, I am I am a follower of Christ, sometimes a bad follower because I always make mistakes, but I ask for forgiveness. I wanna read Genesis 12:1-3 in the Old Testament. God's foundational promise to Abraham, the Father of Israel, quote, this is the Lord speaking. Now the Lord said to Abraham, go from your country and your kindred and for your father and from your father's house to the land that I will show you. And I will make you a great nation, and I will bless you and make your name great so that you will be a blessing.

I will bless those who bless you, and to him who dishonors you, I will curse. And in all in you, all your families of the earth shall be blessed. This is the starting point in the very first book of the bible about the covenant that God had with Abraham, who is the father of Israel and his people.

And I truly believe that Israel's people are God's people, and we should always do our best to defend them and protect them and those that are here in The States or in Israel abroad. Respectfully ask for an aye vote.

Senator Perez, you're recognized.

Thank you, Mister President. I rise today on behalf of the California legislative LGBTQ Caucus and the Women's Caucuses in support of SR 92. Today, we remember those who lost their lives during the Holocaust and honor the survivors of this heinous attempt at extermination. Alongside the Jewish community being the primary target of Nazi persecution, LGBTQ+ people were also targeted.

Many are aware that the Nazi regime persecuted gay men forcing them to wear the pink triangle to mark them as homosexual, akin to the yellow star imposed on Jewish people.

What is less often recognized is the persecution of queer women whose experiences during the holocaust have too often been overlooked and erased. In 1910, the German government attempted to criminalize Lesbian relationships but abandoned those efforts in the face of strong feminist opposition. While Lesbians were not explicitly criminalized, they were far from accepted. When Germany later codified the criminalization of homosexuality under paragraph 175, it focused exclusively on gay men.

Instead, the Nazi regime targeted lesbians and queer women by isolating them, raiding meeting places, surveilling communities, and erasing their visibility.

Many were imprisoned under the label of asocials, a broad and dehumanizing category used to detain those deemed outside Nazi norms. These individuals were marked with a black triangle. This category included a wide range of people, among them queer women, making their persecution less visible than that of gay men, but no less real. Despite this, lesbians and queer women resisted. They organized, they fought, and money gave their lives in the pursuit of Fremont freedom.

One such individual was Frida Belifante. Born in 1904 in Amsterdam, Frida was an accomplished musician who in 1941 became the first woman in Europe to serve as the artistic director and conductor of an ongoing professional orchestra. During the Nazi occupation, she joined the Dutch resistance, helping forge identification papers and participating in the 1943 bombing of the Amsterdam population registry, which destroyed thousands of records and disrupted Nazi tracking efforts. As the Gestapo intensified its crackdown and resistance, members were arrested and executed.

Frida went into hiding, disguising herself as a man before escaping to Switzerland by crossing the Alps in the winter 1944.

She later immigrated to The United States settling in Laguna Beach where she continued her musical career. Though she also faced gender and sexual orientation discrimination that led to her dismissal from the orchestra that she founded. Despite this, she mentored young musicians and contributed to her community for decades. Eventually, receiving recognition for her work including the re-designation of Frida Belifante Day. Frida passed away in 1995, leaving behind a legacy of courage, resilience, and leadership.

Today, as we bear witness to the horrors of the Holocaust, let us honor those who fought for what was right, who risked their lives in the face of a fascist government and fascist regime so that all people could live free of oppression. Let us remember people like Frida. Thank you, Mister President and senators. I respectfully urge your aye vote on SR 92.

Senator Padilla, you're recognized.

Thank you very much, Mister President and colleagues- excuse me. I rise in strong support on behalf of myself and the Latino Legislative Caucus. And I thank the author. The Holocaust experience in modern times was the fusion of industrial capability with hatred on a scale unprecedented in human history and certainly in the modern world. And beyond the tragedy itself, it forced the world.

To reflect. Upon, the very scary thought of the depth to which the human condition can allow some to sink. The depth and the darkness. That hatred and intolerance and injustice and violence towards those that are different remains a plague among humanity even today.

It is for those very reasons, I think, that the lessons, that the memory, that the understanding from generation to generation must live so that the evil can die. I would encourage my colleagues and all those who hear our conversation today. If your life ever affords you the opportunity to visit the Holocaust Museum in our capital, do so, but block a lot of time. I have traveled and been blessed to travel to Israel more than once. I have been to Yad Vashem in Jerusalem.

It is a life changing experience. It is tragic that in contemporary American society with each generation, the future leaders of our world and our nation have less and less an understanding of the Holocaust, less and less an appreciation or a connection to what is still possible. So let's never forget. Let's let the lessons live so that the evil dies. I urge and aye vote.

Senator Richardson, you recognized.

Thank you, Mister President. I rise today on behalf of the California Legislative Black Caucus. We stand in solidarity today with our colleagues of the Jewish Caucus, but really frankly, all of us. We honor the 6,000,000 Jewish lives that were lost and the millions of other lives that were systematically ended during one of the darkest chapters in human history. But we also stand because not only did it impact those lives, but it impacted lives for generations to come, including ours.

I'd like to read permission to read a little bit of background of the Jewish American community, thank you, and how they supported many of us in the African American community. Dating back in the 1960's in the civil rights movement, it was the Jews who, worked with the African American community. 50% of the white freedom writers and young volunteers participated in the 1964 Mississippi Freedom Summer.

Motivated by a shared history of persecution and social justice values, they provided significant funding, legal aid, and leadership to organizations like the NAACP, SCLC, and SNCC. Leadership and legal action, prominent Jewish figures including Jewish figures including Joel Arthur Spingard, he was involved with the NAACP, Stanley Levinson, adviser to Doctor King, and Jack Greenberg, NAACP Legal Defense Fund.

The Freedom Summer Rides, as I mentioned, many Jewish activists participated in the 1961 Freedom Rides, but in particular, many of you have heard about in 1964 when Andrew Goodman and Michael Sherwirner were murdered alongside James Chaney in Mississippi while volunteering to register black voters. Rabbis also, including Rabbi Abraham Joshua Heschel, who marched alongside Doctor King in Selma, joined demonstrations, and were equally arrested in efforts to desegregate public places.

As I close my comments, my colleague mentioned the call for never again, and I would say that can't be a simple nice platitude because we know there is currently a rise of antisemitism right now in this country. So as Doctor King famously noted and many of us honored just a few months ago, let's remember that injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere, and that threat still goes on today. I respectfully ask for an aye vote on Resolution SR 92.

Senator Rubio, you're recognized.

Thank you, Mister President. And ladies and gentlemen of the Senate, I too stand in strong support of this resolution SR 92. Today, we pause to remember the 6,000,000 Jewish lives lost in the Holocaust. 6,000,000 Jewish people that never came home. We honor them not only with our words, but with our commitment to never forget the consequences of silence, indifference, and unchecked hatred.

Denying this history can be very dangerous. History has taught us that hateful speech, when normalized, can become the seed of violence. It begins with words, but it does not end there. On this day of remembrance, let us choose dignity over division, truth over denial, and compassion over cruelty. We honor their memory by doing better as human beings, by looking after each other, by standing together, and speaking out, and ensuring that humanity always leads the way forward, not hate.

I also have the privilege of visiting the country along with some of my colleagues from the Jewish Caucus, and it's undeniable what you get to see. And like the Senator Becker from Bakersfield, you get to see it, the shoes, the luggage, the IDs, it's really heartbreaking. And I also encourage those that haven't had the opportunity to visit because, you know, when you get to talk to survivors and they tell you their stories personally, it is really difficult not to put yourselves in their shoes.

And I will only tell you about a little girl who was four years old, who was able to escape, who had the barbed wire seared in her back, bloodied. She ran for three to four days to find safety.

And if it wasn't for a good family that took her in, she would not have survived. When I spoke to her, she was in her eighties. But the scars, physical scars, the emotional scars never went away. And so they're real people with real trauma, with real families, and it's so hurtful to hear when people denied that history. Let's not deny their history.

Let's uplift those who have families, generations that came after them, and let's stand with them and their memory. With that, I ask for an aye vote. Thank you.

Senator Wahab, you are recognized.

Thank you. And I wanna thank my colleague from The Bay for bringing this forward. Today, we remember the 6,000,000 Jews murdered in the Holocaust and all those destroyed by hatred, cruelty, and silence. And I wanna highlight that it was more than just one community that was completely decimated. And the Jewish community has faced the burden of carrying this for generations.

The Holocaust did not begin with camps. It began with words, with lies, with fear, with people taught to blame the vulnerable for their pain. That is why remembrance is not only about history, it is about now here in America. When immigrants are turned into enemies, when poverty makes people invisible, when truth is bent by fear, and when cruelty is dressed up as policy, we must have the courage to say, this is how dehumanization begins.

We honor the victims not only by mourning them, but by refusing to become numb, by defending the dignity of every human being, by choosing conscience over convenience and humanity over hate.

Never again is not just a promise to the past, it is a demand on the present. So with that, I respectfully ask for an aye vote.

Senator Stern, you're recognized.

Thank you, Mister President. I'll just, I'll be very brief. I'm so inspired that this body from such a diverse group of people is standing up today, with such, eloquence, about this this awful day. If only it were the same in the rest of California right now. As, my my good friend, the Senator from Pasadena, well knows, and I credit her deeply for for helping bring this to the fore last year.

The Holocaust is being edited out of our our classrooms right now because it's an uncomfortable topic. The notion of a genocide in general is just an uncomfortable conversation for people to have. So it's easier to just if you're a social studies teacher, a history teacher in a California classroom to just talk about World War II and move on.

We, thanks to your your work, have changed that in California law, and so every school district in the state is now getting a reminder under SB 472 that, the Holocaust is in the education code, and that it's not optional. It's not something we can just edit out because it's uncomfortable in this moment to talk about.

It'll be crucial that we follow through on that, not just by having that mandate to teach out there, but the funding necessary to train teachers to do that because this is a hard moment. And when you hear words like genocide constantly strewn about on the Internet, you don't know how to engage with that in your classroom and you don't wanna get, involved. Or maybe you do when you have your own agenda and you're trying to prosecute that agenda in the classroom.

But the point is that we need standards and we need ways for teachers to be able to see this through, because it's one thing for us to stand here on the Senate floor and hallow this holy and awful day.

But it's another to make sure the next generation does not believe that it didn't happen or never knows what Auschwitz was, and that this becomes a relic of history and that totalitarianism is somehow seen as some relic of the past where it's very much alive in all of us every single day that willingness to somehow bow down to power and have faith in in in leaders that are truly evil in dangerous moments and in unsure moments of our history.

And so we we currently will have a a a conversation in our budget. There's a $10,000,000 proposal to implement, SB 472 from the governor. I'm hoping we we follow through on that commitment. We've trained about 5,800 teachers in the state of California already. Not just about the Holocaust, but about genocides of all kinds, in Cambodia, in Armenia.

Turns out the Armenian genocide, was part of the origins of the Holocaust, where the Ottomans actually trained the Nazis. And in turn, the Nazis then trained, the Muftis of Jerusalem at the time, afterwards, who trained with the SS how to go finish the job that Hitler couldn't.

My father-in-law was stuck in DP camps after surviving five camps and losing his entire family and made it on a boat to Israel, and immediately found himself in a war as a teenager almost dying of starvation or of being exterminated at a gas chamber and then suddenly to find yourselves immediately in a war for your survival simply because you're Jewish and you want to exist in the state of Israel.

And so, that kind of history is is, in a dangerous moment on both the right and the left from being lost and from being contorted. So I think the brave people on this floor who represent such a diverse range of political views and of diverse backgrounds are gonna be crucial to seeing us forward.

So thank you for bringing this forward and, yeah, I stand in support.

Seeing no other microphones raised, Senator Becker, you may close.

Well, thank you. I thank all my colleagues who spoke. I wanna thank my colleague from Los Angeles, all the work he's done on Holocaust education. I appreciate all the words and I respectfully ask for an aye vote on SR 92.

This measure is eligible for unanimous roll call. Seeing no objections, the ayes are 36. The no's are zero. The resolution is adopted. Now, assembly, third reading, item number 69, please read.

Assembly bill thirteen eighty nine by Assembly member, Blanca Harabedian act relating to tribal gaming and declaring the urgency thereof to take effect immediately.

I think I'll be recognizing the other Rubio, but in a moment.

Yes. Thank you, mister president, for your patience. Ladies and gentlemen of the Senate, today I rise, to present, AB 1389 by Assemblymember Blanca Rubio. I rise as chair of the Synagio Committee to present this bill. AB 1389 will ratify the second amendment to the tribal state gaming compact between the state of California and the Yurok tribe of the Yurok Reservation executed on 12/18/2025.

AB 1389 does not change the substantive terms of the existing compact. The bill simply preserves continuity under the existing framework through 12/31/2026, And the urgency clause appropriately ensures that ratification takes effect immediately to protect the tribe's economic development, stability, and self sufficiency at the earliest possible time. This bill passed out of the assembly and the Senate Geo Committee with zero no votes and bipartisan support. There is no opposition. I respectfully ask for an aye vote.

Thank you.

This measure is also eligible for unanimous roll call. Seeing no objection, The ayes are 36. The noes are zero on the measure. The ayes are 36.

The noes are zero on the urgency. The measure is the measure passes. Now, I think we've got a couple of committee announcements. Senator Cabaldon jumps right up.

Thank you, mister mister president. The Committee on Privacy, Digital Technologies, and Consumer Protection will meet upon adjournment downstairs in Room 112, which is not our normal room. So just a note, downstairs in Room 112.

And Senator Allen, you are recognized.

The Senate Committee on Energy, Utilities, and Communications will convene in Room 1200 in the swing space ten minutes after the adjournment of the floor session.

And now, returning to motions and resolution, this is the time to address adjourn in memory motions. First is, Senator Arreguin, who I believe has two.

Yes. Well, thank you, mister president. I rise today to honor two amazing Senate District 7 constituents and leaders. First, it's with a heavy but also grateful heart that I rise in honor of John Bean, a championship winning football coach for decades transformed the lives of youth both on and off the field. Mister Beam began his coaching career in 1979 and joined the coaching team at Oakland Skyline High School in 1982.

As head coach at Skyline, coach Beam brought the Titans many seasons of success with a record of 160 wins, 33 losses, and three ties. And after his impressive career at Skyline High, coach Beam joined the coaching team at Oakland's Laney College in 2004, becoming the head coach in 2012. He led the Laney Eagles to win the California Community College Athletic Association Championship in 2018, and gained national fame after being featured in the Netflix docuseries, Last Chance You, in 2020.

After retiring from coaching, Coach Bean became Laney's athletic director. Coach Bean was more than a legendary football coach in Oakland.

He was a builder of futures. For over four decades, he dedicated his life to youth, especially those who far too often go unseen, unheard, or underestimated. He didn't just see potential in underserved youth. He insisted on it. And through the power of sports, he created opportunity.

On the field, he taught discipline, resilience, and teamwork. But off the field, he taught people the power of believing in oneself. He showed his students that wherever you come from does not define where you can go. By building self confidence, he showed younger generations that the future is theirs to define. Thousands and thousands of young athletes were inspired by coach Beam's mentorship.

He taught them that they were capable, they were worthy, and they are not alone. Many went on to college, some played in the NFL. Importantly, many ended up getting back to the community with careers in education, health care, or public service. Coach Bean didn't measure success in wins or championships. He measured it in lives changed.

And second, chances given. In the quiet moments when a young person chose a better path because someone someone believed in them. Didn't just coach football. He coached Coach Bean was a giant in the Oakland and East Bay community. And many of you may know that he was sadly killed, last November.

East Bay community have mourned and honored Coach Beam's life, and I'm honored to honor his life here on the floor of the California State Senate. We're joined by his family members in the gallery today. Sonha Phillips, David Phillips, Jenny Kopp, Susan Kopp, and Kayla Standard. Thank you for being here today, and our deepest condolences to you and your family. I ask the Senate adjourn in coach Beam's memory today.

Your guests are in the gallery up there, I believe. Welcome to the Senate. And please bring the name forward so it may be properly recognized, and you are recognized for your second adjourned memory.

Thank you, mister president. I rise today in honor of Cynthia Brantley Pierce, a trailblazer who helped women across the country break the glass ceiling and close the gender gap in public offices. Cynthia was an early supporter of Close the Gap California, helping women across the state win elected office. And as we know, Close the Gap was created in 2013 with the goal of achieving gender parity in the California State Legislature by 2028.

Despite a fifteen year period to overcome a major gap with women accounting for just 25% of the legislature time, Today, we're on the cusp of achieving that goal with the state senate, this body, achieving gender parity in 2024.

Some of my colleagues would not be sitting beside me today if it wasn't for Cynthia's incredible work and dedication. She also played a key role in helping elect my two predecessors, former senators, Nancy Skinner and Lonnie Hancock to this body. It was just last month that this body passed SR 76, honoring women's history month where many members spoke eloquently of how the world is a better place when women are in positions of power.

And Cynthia was the embodiment of that belief and continued fighting for that cause even while her battling her own fight with cancer. Cynthia was deft in her ability to connect with people, inspiring others to support causes that advance women's equality.

Her mastery of fundraising also made her unstoppable force, helping elevate women on the local, state, and national level. People who know Cynthia would describe her as a kind, passionate, and joyful person. Attributes that we need now more than ever in the world of politics. I take comfort in knowing that her legacy will live on with the thousands with the countless women hundreds of women who helped she helped achieve electoral success. And the foundation she created that will inspire women for generations to come.

And we're honored to be joined here in the Senate, in the gallery, by members of her family and friends. With us today in the gallery are Curtis Pierce, her husband, Clayton Pierce, her son, Will Pierce, her son, Polly Paganhart, family member, and a whole host of friends, Lisa Solomon, Finn, Sharon, Eleanor Moses, Lisa Griffin, and Anne Ziegler. We thank you for being here today to honor Cynthia's amazing contributions to the state of California.

And colleagues, I ask the Senate also adjourn in honoring in honor of Cynthia Brantley Pierce.

Please, bring the name forward so it may be properly recognized. And welcome to your guests to the Senate gallery. And now recognize recognize Senator Rubio.

Thank you, Mister President, ladies and gentlemen of the Senate today. With a heavy card, I would like to close on behalf in the memory of detective Armando Santana. Detective Santana was a devoted officer of Almani Police Department and a proud member of the community he so faithfully served in Almani. In his career, he served as patrol officer, school resource officer, and detective. Building on his passion for public service, he served as a proud member of PORAC.

Building on his passion for everything that he loved in his community, He was very involved and also coached Little League. Not only did he coach his children, but also everyone else's children. Outside of that work, Mondo, as he was so lovingly called, was also known to play baseball, basketball, and he also played at a college professional level. He was an avid sports fan and loved to play golf as well with his colleagues, and he made friends everywhere he went.

Mondo's constant positive attitude, a dedication to his family and service, and infectious smile will always be remembered by all of us who knew him.

Family was incredibly important to him. He was a devoted husband and proud father of two children and his passing leaves behind his family facing such an unimaginable loss. But knowing the family as I had an opportunity to speak with them, I learned one thing and that is that their faith is very strong and their faith will carry them through.

In every call he answered, every life he touched, in every moment he stood between danger and the innocent, Mondo embodied what it meant to serve something greater than oneself. His commitment was not measured only in years but in impact.

He was beloved in his community. He grew up in Omani. He wanted to coach his kids in Omani and he was a police officer there that only highlights again the commitment he had and he always wanted to serve in a place where he grew up. Again, he was also a a devoted husband, and I had the opportunity to hear his wife speak about her husband. He was always there.

He was always present. He was always looking out, not only for his children, but for for his neighbors. And his wife remembers just how he always invited everyone over. He loved barbecuing. He loved expanding on his friendships.

And everywhere he went, he always created lifelong friendships that he cherished. Let us now carry forward his spirit of service. Let us honor his memory, not only in words, but in the way we look after one another, in the way we strengthen our communities, and in the way we never forget those who stand in the front line and put their lives on the line for all of us. Detective Santana watched his end of watch might have ended, but his impact will endure.

In the hearts of those who loved him in the streets, he helped keep safe and in the enduring gratitude of a community that will never forget his name.

Once again, ladies and gentlemen of the Senate, please join me on the forget his name. Once again, ladies and gentlemen, please join me in adjourning in the memory of detective Armando Mondo Santa Ana. Thank you.

Please bring his name forward so it may be properly recognized. If there's no other business, Pro Tem Limon, the desk is clear.

Thank you, mister president. Today, we recognized and we honored the memory of victims of the holocaust. In remembrance of those we lost, we reminded ourselves that such hatred and injustice can never be allowed to take root again. Not then, not now, not tomorrow. With that, our next floor session is scheduled for Thursday, April 16 at 9AM.

The Senate will be in recess until 03:30. In other words, six minutes from now, at which time an adjournment motion will be made. We will reconvene Thursday, April 16 at 9AM.