Assembly Floor

Assembly is now in session. Assembly member Todd notices the absence of a quorum. Sergeant Arms will prepare the chamber, bring in the absent members. Clerk 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 Noshta will offer today's prayer. Reverend Oshita.

Please join me in a moment of reflection. I'd like to share one of my monthly notes to our infant grand nephew. Happy ninth birthday, little one, and welcome to your first spring season. Your uncle Bob loves the spring and summer. Your auntie Patti loves the autumn and and winter.

I guess that's a way of saying, every season of the year has its own charm and is wonderful. And this is your first spring season. The days and months will quickly pass. The seasons change and the years will go by. Soon, you will take for granted the seasons thinking they are an endless cycle.

We all have done that, but how many springs will be ours to enjoy? However many, that number that number is limited. This awareness will grow in meaning the older you become. For your auntie and uncle, this is especially meaningful because we are old. We know that the seasons we now enjoy have always been limited, and so we do our best to just enjoy them all.

I remember your great grandpa, my dad, looking around the dining room when our whole family gathered for a Thanksgiving feast. Your dad was maybe seven years old at the time. Great grandpa looked so content. Then I heard him quietly say, now is the best time just because we are all together. Your great grandpa knew that anytime we can be together with family is a moment to cherish.

We wish you a long, full life, little one, and we hope you learn to appreciate every season holding close to people you love while you have them. Love your auntie Patty. Let us all appreciate every season and hold close to people we love while we have them. Let us live with kindness and gratitude beyond words.

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

Please join me in the pledge. I pledge allegiance to the flag of The United States Of America.

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 of Chamber of Sacramento, Wednesday, 03/25/2026. The assembly met at 7AM. The honorary Leticia Castillo member

Majority leader, Aguiar Curry, moves, and miss Sanchez seconds that the reading of the previous state's journal be dispensed with. Presentation of petitions, there are none. Introduction and reference of bills will be deferred. Reports of committees will be deemed read. Amendments deemed adopted.

Messages from the governor, there are none. Messages from the Senate, there are none. Moving on to motions and resolutions, the opposite of the day will be deemed read and printed in the journal. Onto, procedural motions. Thank you, members.

Members, can I have decorum, please? Take your seats, members. Thank you members. Thank you members. Please take your desks.

Madam majority leader, you're recognized for your procedural motion.

Good morning, mister speaker. I request unanimous consent to suspend assembly rule one one eight a to allow assembly members of Michelle Rodriguez, Garcia, and Pappen to have guests in the rear of the chamber today.

Without objection, such shall be the order.

I move to withdraw AB 2148 Muratsuchi and AB 2341 Fong from the Appropriations Committee and order the bills to the second reading file. The bills are not keyed fiscal.

Without objection, such shall be the order.

Pursuant to assembly rule 97, I request unanimous consent to re refer file item 94 AB 2655 Valencia to the Appropriations Committee.

Without objection, such shall be the order.

Pursuant to assembly rule 51, I request unanimous consent to re refer to refer AB 2615 Zbur to the education committee.

That objection, such shall be the order.

At the request of the author, please remove file number one seven two ACR 129 Haney from the consent calendar.

Clerk will note.

Pursuant to assembly rule 96, I request unanimous consent to re refer the following bills to committee. AB 1750 Colosa from the higher education committee to the education committee. AB 1770 Garcia from the health committee to the Judiciary Committee. AB 1805 Ransom from the communications and conveyance committee to the emergency management committee. AB 1850 Irwin from the Judiciary Committee to the appropriations committee.

AB 1869 Haney from the Revenue and Taxation Committee to the Labor and Employment Committee. AB 2060, Muratsuchi from the Public Employment and Retirement Committee to the Education Committee. AB 2119, Jackson from the Judiciary Committee to the Appropriations Committee. And AB 2318, Elhawary, from the Judiciary Committee to the Appropriations Committee.

Without objection, such shall be the order.

I request unanimous consent to suspend assembly rule 56 to allow the following committees to notice bills pending rereferral. Judiciary to set AB 1557 Pappen for their hearing on Tuesday, April 21, pen pending rereferral from the transportation committee. Privacy committee to set AB 2285 Valencia for their hearing on Tuesday, April 21, pending rereferral from the banking commit and finance committee.

Higher education committee to set AB 2606 Ellis for their hearing on Tuesday, April 21, pending rereferral from the natural resources committee. Local government committee to set AB 1751, Quirk Silva, AB 2296, Pappan, AB 2480, Avilla Farias, AB 2576, Harabedian, and AB 2601 Lee for their hearing on Wednesday, April 22, pending rereferral from the Housing Community Development Committee.

And, energies and excuse me. Utilities Energy Committee to notice the following bills for their hearing on Wednesday, April 22. AB 2163, Jeff Gonzales, pending rereferral from the economic development and growth and household impact committee. AB 2647, Calderon, pending rereferral from the natural resources committee. Governmental Organization Committee to notice the following bills for their hearing on Wednesday, April 22.

AB 1578 Jackson, pending rereferral from the local government committee. And AB 2653 Lee, pending rereferral from the privacy and consumer protection committee.

Without objection, such shall be the order. Assembly member Castillo, you are recognized.

Thank you. Mister speaker, I move to suspend the rules to take up AB 2670 immediately without reference to file in order to protect vulnerable Californians from the ongoing medical fraud crisis and hold criminals accountable.

Okay. Okay. Thank you, Assemblymember Castillo. That requires a second before before thank you, mister De Maio. Before we go on, members, I wanna caution you.

When you are making a motion, you must speak to the motion. You may not argue the motion while you're making the motion. Please do not continue doing that. Okay. That motion has been moved and seconded by mister DeMaio.

Members, this is not a debatable motion. It takes 54 votes to suspend the constitution and the three reading requirements on the bill. It is not debatable. The clerk will open the roll. Miss Castillo is asking for an aye vote to suspend the constitution.

The majority leader is asking for a no vote. All members vote who desire to vote. All members vote who desire to vote. All members vote who desire to vote. Miss Castillo is asking for an aye vote.

The majority leader is asking for a no vote. Clerk will close the roll, tally the votes. Ayes 18, noes 39. The motion fails. Assemblymember DeMaio, you are recognized.

Thank you, mister speaker. Pursuant to assembly rule 96, I make the debatable motion to re refer AB 2624, the stop Nick Shirley act, back to the privacy committee.

Excuse me, mister DeMaio. Just a moment. I'm so sorry. Members, can I please have decorum? Take your desk.

Thank you. Mister DeMaio, if you wouldn't mind, would you mean mind beginning thing? Thank you.

Pursuant to assembly rule 96, I make the debatable motion to re refer AB 2624, the Stop the Nick Shirley Act, back to the privacy committee. Assembly Republicans are here to debate fraud

and Mister DeMaio mister DeMaio, as I cautioned earlier, we are making a motion. We are not arguing the merits of that motion. So your motion is to move the bill back to committee. Is that correct?

I can see. Thank you. We understand the rules. We understand the rules. Requires a second, seconded by Mr. Tangipa.

The reason why I make the motion

Just a moment, mister DeMaio. Mister DeMaio, I really appreciate your patience. Thank you very much, sir. I wanna caution you. This is debatable motion, but I do wanna caution you that debate is limited to the motion itself.

It is not on the merits of the bill. And I certainly don't wanna interrupt your talking points. So please proceed, sir.

I understand, mister speaker, and we will, keep our comments to the propriety of the rereferral of AB 2624, the Stop Nick Shirley Act. The reason why we are asking it to be rereferred to the privacy committee is that the author of this bill misrepresented contents of the bill, lied to committee members. And as a result, the privacy committee was denied their opportunity to a fair vetting of the bill.

I urge this body to send this bill back to the privacy committee so that they can revote on this bill. I do not believe that the members of the committee would vote to advance it out of committee as they did last week.

Point of order? If they knew

Excuse me, mister De Maio?

Point of order.

It's your point, madam majority leader.

Mister speaker, no one should be talking about one of my members on the floor that they are a liar.

Your point is well taken, mister DeMaio. Please use decorum in your talking points.

Thank you, mister speaker. The confusion created around this bill can easily be resolved if the bill is sent back to privacy committee and the language of the bill is actually vetted. Section sixty two one eight point one nine was misrepresented at the privacy committee as not stopping citizen journalists from recording and posting Internet evidence of fraud. That's exactly what this bill does. Read the language yourself.

It is plain English. First amendment lawyers are appalled by this. Journalist organizations are appalled by this. This is an infringement on the first amendment rights of individuals and journalists to go out and uncover fraud. The privacy committee deserves the right of proper, truthful information as to what the contents and the effect of a bill would be.

Assembly bill 2624. When I questioned the author at committee, she denied that her bill had the these provisions in the, the text. And now we find just looking at the plain English provisions, section sixty two one eight point one nine prohibits an individual from posting a a video online if the fraud organization says you can't do that. The fraud organization can then, quote, seek injunctive and declaratory relief in a court of competent jurisdiction.

The citizen journalist then could be bankrupt with high costly, attorney's fees and penalties.

I believe, mister speaker, that if the privacy committee had the proper, accurate, truthful information on the contents of this bill, that it never would have been referred out of the privacy committee. The best way to do this bill is to refer it back to privacy committee, and that's why I'm making this motion under assembly bill 96. Republicans are concerned about this bill, and we would like you to hear out our, arguments in favor of the rereferral.

Thank you. Assemblymember DeMaio. Madam majority leader, you are recognized.

I move to lay the motion on the table. I'd like to offer a substitute motion to move to business on the daily file.

The majority leader has offered a substitute motion to move business on the daily file. Is there a second? Okay. Seconded by mister Gipson. Members, substitute motions are a two step process.

The first step is whether or not to accept the substitute motion to replace the main motion. This requires a majority of those present in voting. It is not a vote on the merits of the substitute. Majority leaders' substitute motion is accepted. The main motion falls away.

The new motion is put before the body for consideration and a vote on its merits. However, if the substitute motion is not accepted, it is discarded. We will return to mister De Maio's motion pending before the body. Majority leader has made a substitute motion to move on to the business on the daily file. Kirk will open the role whether or not to accept the majority leader's substitute motion in place of the main motion.

Majority leader is asking for an aye vote on accepting the substitute motion. All members vote who desire to vote. Majority leader is asking for an aye vote. Mister DeMaio is asking for a no vote. All those vote who desire to vote.

All members vote who desire to vote. Clerk will close the roll and tally votes. Ayes, 44. Nos, 19. The house has decided to accept the substitute motion, so so we will now take a vote on moving to the business on the daily file.

Clerk will open the roll. All members vote who desire to vote. Majority leader is asking for an aye vote. Miss Sanchez is asking for a no vote. 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, 44. Nos, 19.

The motion passes. We're moving to business on the daily file. Second reading. Clerk will read.

[Second Reading]

All bills will be deemed read and all amendments deemed adopted. Members, before we go on to concurrence and Senate amendments, I I need to do some guest introductions and announcements. Tomorrow is actually Assemblymember Wynne's birthday. Will you please join me in wishing her an early happy birthday, everyone? Tomorrow also happens to be assembly member Pacheco's birthday.

Will you please join me in wishing her a happy early birthday? Last but not least, over at first base, assembly member Haney's birthday is tomorrow as well. Please join me in wishing him an early happy birthday. Assemblymember Papan, you are recognized for your guest introduction. Dequorum members.

Thank you, mister speaker. Good morning, members. We've got a very special treat today. So it's truly my honor to recognize captain Zenos Krestaikis and lieutenant colonel Fousekis and the Evzones who serve as Greece's presidential guard and stand as a powerful symbol of Greece's heritage, as well as the enduring values of democracy, which of course brings us all here, and the rule of law.

I also wanna extend my sincere thanks to the United Hellenic societies of California for organizing the visit of the EV zones, as they're called.

That's our version of soldier. EVZones to the Bay Area and the California legislature. The legacy of EVZones is deeply intertwined with the issue of Greece across centuries. From the fight for independence in ancient times and into modern times, they have been instrumental in the development of modern Greek modern Greece. Today, they stand as a proud symbol of Greek culture at home and across the globe.

Legacy through their ceremonial duties with their distinctive uniforms. They bring to the life Greece's rich history and deep sense of tradition. Each and every one of these guards Has, demonstrated incredible dedication, discipline, and unwavering commitment to honoring those who came before them with the utmost respect. As a proud Greek American to the members of the Evzones, I say we are honored to welcome you to California, and we thank you for your service in representing the culture and the traditions of Greece. So thank you for being here. Please recognize my distinguished guests.

Okay. Thank you, members. We have another guest introduction from our colleague from Rockland, Assemblymember Patterson. Just get some order in here, sir. Great. Thank you, members. Assemblymember Patterson, you're recognized for your guest introduction?

Great. Thank you, mister speaker. Members today, I rise to to recognize an extraordinary group of student athletes, whose dedication and discipline has brought great pride to their school and community. The Whitney High School Girls Cross Country Team, this is the high school in which, I actually live pretty much right across the street. They're all my neighbors.

In November, this remarkable team won the twenty twenty six division two state championship, again earning the state title. But even more impressive, this team has secured the Sac Joaquin section title for four consecutive years. So in the gallery up here, we have head coach, Jerry Dodge, coaches Dave Kopek, Hunter Schwab, athletic director, Meredith Kane, assistant principal in charge of athletics, Penny Shelton.

And I also gotta recognize the amazing athletes, of course, Sophie Hutchinson, Ava So to, Jane Landon, Kaylee Smith, Addie Ewers, Ava Huron, and Isabel Lael. I do wanna say one other thing is that Jane Landon, I should say this, is actually the granddaughter of former assembly member Susan Bonilla, who is right back here in the back of the chambers. So welcome, miss Bonilla, back to the chambers as well.

Members, let's let's recognize former Assemblymember Susan Bonilla in the back.

But she came she came up to me and she said she too wanted to be here to recognize her granddaughter and recognize the entire team for their successes, and that was really important to her. So congratulations to my neighbors and these amazing young women and the amazing job you've been doing over several years. So thank you very much.