Assembly Floor

The assembly is now in session. Assemblymember Alanis notices the absence of a quorum. Sergeant Arms will prepare the chamber, bringing the absent members. Clerk will call the roll.

[Roll Call]

Members of 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. Assemblymember Rodriguez will offer today's prayer. Assemblymember Rodriguez.

Please join me in prayer. Heavenly Father, this morning, we pause to remember the opening words of our California state constitution. We, the people of California, grateful to the almighty God for our freedom. Lord, we are truly grateful for the gift of life, the blessings of liberty, and the honor of serving the people of this great state.

As we begin today's work, we ask your guidance, grant us strength to lead with diligence and integrity, humility to listen well, wisdom to choose what is right, and the unity to serve the common good.

Protect us from pride, selfish ambition, division, and confusion. May our decisions be shaped by justice, compassion, and sincere desire to do what is best for the California and our nation. We offer this prayer in your holy name. Amen.

We ask our guests and visitors to remain standing and join us in the flag salute. Assemblymember Hart will lead us in the Pledge of Allegiance.

Please join me in reciting the national pledge of allegiance. I pledge allegiance to the flag.

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, Thursday, May 7, 2026. The Assembly met at 9 a.m. The honorable Josh Lowenthal, speaker pro tempore. The Assembly presiding chief.

Majority leader Aguiar-Curry moves. 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 absence of the day are as follows for legislative business, Assemblymember Celeste Rodriguez. For illness, Assemblymember Quirk-Silva.

For personal business, Assemblymember Johnson. Onto our procedural motions. Madam majority leader, you are recognized for your procedural motion.

Good morning, Mr. Speaker. I request unanimous consent to suspend Assembly Rule 45.5 to allow Assemblymember Haney to speak in adjournment in memory today.

No objection. Such shall be the order.

I request unanimous consent to suspend Assembly rule one one eight a to allow Assembly members Ransom and Soria to have guests in the rear of the chamber and to allow Assembly member Alan Nees to have guests seated at his desk today.

Not objection. Such shall be the order.

Pursuant to Assembly Rule 96, I request unanimous consent to re-refer the following bills to committee. SB 381, Wahab, from the health committee to the Judiciary Committee. SB 1015, Strickland, from the privacy and consumer protection committee to the appropriations committee. SB 1181, Hurtado, from the emergency management committee to the education committee.

Objection. Such shall be.

Pursuant to Assembly Rule 51, Rule 51, I request unanimous consent to refer the following items to committee: SB 1075 to Natural Resources Committee and SCR 155 Jones to the Transportation Committee.

Objection. Such shall be the order.

I request unanimous consent to suspend Assembly Rule 56 to allow for the privacy and consumer protection committee to notice SB 1292 Richardson for the July 1 hearing pending rereferral from the transportation committee.

Objection. Such shall be the order.

I request unanimous consent to suspend joint rule 62a, the file notice requirement, to allow the national resources to set SB 1075 Reyes for their hearing on, on Monday, June 29.

Without objection, such shall be order.

At the request of the author, please remove file item 99 SB 1347 Nilo from the consent calendar.

Clerk will note.

I move to suspend Assembly rule 96 and 63 to withdraw ACA 20 Gabriel from the rules committee and allow Assemblymember Gabriel to take up the measure today without reference to file for the purpose of adoption.

Without objection, such shall be the order.

Pursuant to Assembly Rule 97, I request unanimous consent to re-refer for file item 80, SB 1288 Laird, and file item 89, SB 946, Seyarto, to the Appropriations Committee.

Objection, such shall be the order. Members, before moving on to guest introductions, we're first gonna take up item 69. That's SB 417, Limon, presented by Assemblymember Wicks. The clerk will read.

Senate Bill 417 by Senator Limon and others, an act relating to housing by providing the funds necessary therefore through an election for the issuance and sale of bonds of the state of California and for the handling and disposition of those funds and declaring the urgency thereof to take effect immediately.

Assemblymember Wicks, you are recognized.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker and members. It gives me great pride to bring to the floor here SB 417 by Senator Limon. I think we all know the issues that face many of the people in our district, our lowest income folks, those experiencing homelessness, those on the precipice of experiencing homelessness, those dreaming to own a home for the first time. We have over a 180,000 people experiencing homelessness. We have rent burden folks.

We have the lowest homeownership rates, the highest homelessness rates in the nation. And data says that we need 1,200,000 units of affordable housing to address the crisis that our communities are faced with. That's why this bond is so critical. Every single one of us on this floor understands the need for it regardless of what party you are on. These are the types of resources and what our government should be doing for people in our communities.

This is a 10 billion dollar housing bond that, if passed through this house and through the senate, will be on the ballot, and the voters will ultimately decide if this is something they wanna support. Within that is 5 over 5 billion dollars for the multifamily housing program, which is our workhorse for affordable housing. One over 1,000,000,000 for permanent supportive housing for formerly homeless folks, 15 percent of which can be used for interim housing. Over one billion dollars for home ownership programs to help people permanently climb up the economic ladder.

Nearly one billion dollars to make sure we don't lose the affordability of existing units, so those folks don't get put out on the streets.

450 million dollars for farm worker housing. 350 million dollars for student housing. 200 million dollars for tribal housing, and 500 million dollars for infrastructure grant money. We also put in 200,000,000 for our regional housing trust funds. So this is a critical investment, and there's such a big need in the state for these resources.

When we talk about this money though, I wanna talk about what it's actually gonna get us. Right now, there are over 40,000 shovel-ready project units ready to be built today. They just need that investment. We can also provide down payment assistance for over 30,000 low-income families to be able to buy a home. And provide 5,000 veterans with affordable mortgages so that they can also have a roof over their head.

And when we talk about the dollars, when we talk about the units, what we're talking about is families. Families who need the stability so that they can focus on their Thanksgiving dinners, so that they can celebrate their graduation, so that their children can do their homework at night and not worry if their parents are gonna be able to forward the roof over their head. That is what we are talking about. And, you know, I introduced this bill for the first time four years ago.

This has been four years in the making of painstaking conversations with each and every one of you, of all of you being leaders in this fight to say this is a caucus priority for the Assembly to stand strong and say we need to do this.

And the other thing I wanna say is, since I've been in this legislature, we've done a lot of hard work in the senate, in the assembly, and people before us to actually streamline so that there's an ROI on this money. What used to take six years to get permitted now takes six months. That's the hard work we've done. That way, when we make these investments, they, they're gonna happen faster. It means roof over the head faster.

We've done that hard work. So I'm honored to be presenting to this, this today. And I just also wanna thank the governor for his leadership in standing strong saying we need these resources. I wanna thank our speaker who has fought tirelessly to make sure that this is our priority. The Senate pro tem, who has prioritized this this year in in her leadership, she quickly, decisively acted, moving these bills through their house.

30 seconds.

And Senator Cabaldon as well. So I humbly ask most of your co-authors, humbly ask for your support on this historic investment, and ask for an aye on SB 417.

Thank you, Assemblymember Wicks. Assemblymember Demaio, you are recognized.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I rise in opposition to SB 417. Let me start first with my disgust that veterans are being used as window dressing on a bad bond. The original discussion on this proposal was, let's do a 10 billion dollar bond for our friends, the labor unions, the rich developers. Let's borrow 10 billion dollars at taxpayers' expense.

Give them the money. But you know what? You took it to the, the pollsters and they said, well, the voters aren't really wanting to go into more debt right now. They're kinda concerned about the financial condition of California. And they've heard all the stories about what these rich developers have done with the money we've already given them.

Million dollar per unit condos in so-called affordable housing projects. So we don't think this is gonna pass. But you know what you can do? Let's get the vets, and let's put them front and center and say it's all about the vets. Everyone loves veterans.

Shameful. The window dressing on an absolutely awful package. This package does represent 11 billion dollars plus in debt that taxpayers will add to their credit card with no reforms. We know the cost of building in California is extraordinarily, exponentially higher than it needs to be. We've seen the studies, independent cost comparisons between the same architectural plants, the cost to build in California versus Florida versus Texas or the average for the nation.

Not in not counting land. I'm just talking about building the same structure in California is the cost is double to some jurisdictions, nearly triple what it would cost anywhere else. We have got to fix that. We have to reform that by cutting the mandates, the costly regulations. No reforms are contained in this bill.

Now with due respect to the, supporter, the, author of this, or coauthor of this measure, I do know that she does support a number of common sense proposals for streamlining. Not nearly adequate enough and not contained in this bond, not linked to this bond. There is a bill right now that organized labor is trying to kill that would streamline construction. Modest reforms that many of you have supported, and they're trying to kill it.

We need reforms first before we take out the credit card and borrow money.

Otherwise, our purchasing power isn't there. And finally, take a look at the fine print in this initiative. Developers with political connections, labor unions with political connections get special provisions in this bond to enrich themselves, again, at taxpayers' expense. This isn't about helping veterans. That's the most offensive thing about this.

I would have risen in opposition on the basis of the debt, the lack of reform, and the cost of construction of housing, and the giveaways. But what is truly appalling is that we're using veterans as the window dressing to sell bad policies to voters. I urge a no vote.

Thank you. Assemblymember Demaio. Assemblymember Bennett, you are recognized.

Thank you very much, Mr. Chair. Members, this bond focuses and prioritizes funding for affordable housing. It is the culmination of four years of incredible work by the member from Oakland in terms of bringing this forward, and I think it's very appropriate in terms of representing the priorities of the leadership of the legislature here, and it is essentially important for the working people of California. I respectfully ask for an aye vote and congratulate the Assembly member from Oakland for four years of tremendous work. Thank you.

Thank you, Assemblymember Bennett. Assemblymember Haney, you are recognized.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker and members. I first wanna echo the gratitude for the member from Oakland. I know that this has been a not on not just a, a, a journey, but, this in many ways has been your passion since, since you got here.

You have fought so hard, not only to as we've heard again and again and seen, to change all of these broken laws in our state that have prevented housing from being built and market-rate housing and affordable housing, but you've never lost track of the fact that we also need to make significant, huge, actually, investments, public investments in affordable housing. And I'm very proud to be standing here today as a joint author and very grateful for your leadership.

I know we would not be standing here if it wasn't for your leadership. This is an over 10 billion dollar investment in California's present and in California's future. We live in a state that has the lowest rate of homeownership in the country. Our residents, whether they rent or they own homes, take on a greater burden in how much they pay for housing than nearly anywhere else in the country.

And we know that is because we have not invested in affordable housing, and we have not built the amount of housing that we need for our residents.

We are over 3,000,000 units short homes short for our state, over a million units of affordable housing short for our state, and this bond will ensure that tens of thousands, likely hundreds of thousands of people will be able to access homes that wouldn't otherwise. That is a that that is as essential for anything that we could possibly do here.

If you go and you talk to small businesses and you ask them what their challenge is, what they'll tell you is, in many cases, they have a hard time getting employees who can live anywhere near or keeping employees because they have to commute an hour or two hours away because they can't afford to live near where they work.

If you talk to teachers, if you talk to healthcare workers, if you look at all of the things that we wanna do in our state, our, our, our UC and CSU system, how are we gonna be able to support students to be able to thrive for the future if they can't find an affordable place to live. This bond addresses the entire continuum of these challenges, not only the multifamily program, but also looking at farmworker housing.

We've talked a lot about what is happening in our rural areas and the particular challenges that we face there where we it invests in student housing. And I also wanna call out one of the pieces of this that, that, we should also be very proud of, which is that it's not just about building new affordable housing, it's also about maintaining and preserving housing that currently exists.

We have people who are at risk of displacement, who live in units that may end up being acquired that could put them out on the street, or the deed restrictions will run out. They live in units that need renovation, modernization, investment. If we lose folks from housing they currently have, it is going to be much more costly to replace that housing and to help those folks get back into housing.

We cannot grow as a state. We cannot improve as a state. We cannot take care of the people right now or our economy without investing in essential infrastructure. Housing is essential infrastructure. And, this is long overdue.

It is something that I think we should be very proud of. And and and and lastly, let's, let's have some common sense here. If you care about the crisis of homelessness on our street, all of us on our way over here walked over here and saw people who are sleeping on the sidewalks, who don't have a place to live, who don't have a place to go. In order to confront that challenge, we have to build more affordable homes.

We have to build interim housing as well, and we have to make sure that everyone in our state can find an affordable home to live.

That's not gonna happen without public investment and leadership, like we are demonstrating today. Very proud to be a joint author of this bond, and I, I look forward to seeing shovels in the ground, but more importantly than that, keys in people's hands so they can have a place for them and their family to live with safety and dignity that can support not only their family, but the future of our state. With that, respectfully ask for your aye vote on SB 417.

Thank you. Assemblymember Haney. Assemblymember Tangipa, you are recognized.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. And I too rise in opposition to this bill, mainly because, as I have continuously beat this drum, we have a record budget and record revenue. Why do we need to borrow money? If we wanted to appropriate money right now to take care of our veterans, to make affordable housing, you would do so in a record budget.

Just a few years ago, with a 98 billion dollar surplus, you would do so with a massive surplus, but instead, we are using a Trojan horse, in which I believe the people of California are growing very wary of.

The misleading ballot titles, utilizing veterans in order to pass an agenda to say that we're doing more things when we measure our metric of success on spending instead of focusing on outcomes. The National Association of Home Builders just released a report, a study that stated that in the state of California, the average cost of just government regulations to build a home is $132,000 Why not take on that $132,000 and cut it by a $100,000 lowering the average home cost of over 900,000 to 800,000.

In a county like mine in Fresno, that would lower the cost to about 350,000 as an affordable rate. That would make a monumental impact on every single Californian instead of pulling a bond during a record budget year and leveraging the future. Your children's future, your grandchildren's future, my future as one as the youngest legislator in the state, how many more bonds do we need to realize that this is a bad deal?

If we wanted to prioritize our veterans, we would do so in the budget, just like we do so for illegal immigrant services of over $11,000,000,000. But our line item right now for veterans is under half $1,000,000,000, and yet we'll borrow. During a record budget. Can you tell me where your priorities lie? This isn't about affordable housing.

We just like saying the words affordable at $1,000,000 a door. That's wrong. We do not have an affordable housing crisis. We have an available housing crisis because the rules, regulations, and debt that we are putting on the California citizens. And for those reasons, I respectfully ask for a no.

Thank you. Assemblymember Tanguypa. Assemblymember Avi Laffarias, you are recognized.

Thank you, Mister speaker and colleagues. I rise in as a proud co author of SB 417. I first would like to thank my colleague from Oakland. Her leadership and is very important for this initiative. As someone who has spent thirty years in the affordable housing and communities development space, I can tell you that affordable housing isn't free.

Decades of rising cost and underbuilding have created a severe lack of affordable housing. The reality is without public investment, affordable housing does not get built. Nearly 40,000 affordable homes that could serve more than 432,000 low income households are awaiting final funding to begin construction in California. Let that sink in. These shovel ready projects that can house countless Californians over the next fifty five years.

When affordable housing doesn't get built, California's most vulnerable populations, our seniors, our young adults, and our young families are unable to get housed. In front of us, we have a vehicle to finance housing that meets the needs of veterans and all Californians. Let's get this let's get this sent to the voters, and I respectfully ask for your aye vote.

Thank you. Assembly member Avi Laffaria. Seeing and hearing no further debate, Assembly member Wicks, do you wish to close?

Thank you. I just wanna appreciate the comments of, all of our colleagues. Appreciate the support on on this side of the aisle. And to, my Republican colleagues, I really wanna thank them. We've worked really hand in glove on a lot of the streamlining work, and I know we will continue to do so.

So I appreciate that. I also wanna thank the Republicans who voted for this bill when it was, in the house of origin earlier this year. And I would simply ask them to support our veterans community this year again and support, this bond and support our folks that need it the most. And with that respect, please ask for an aye vote.

Thank you, Assemblymember Wicks. 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.

All members vote who desire to vote.

Clerk will close the roll tally votes, ayes 54, nose seven on the urgency. Ayes 54, nose seven on the measure. The measure passes. Media transmittal of the Senate.

K. Moving on to our next side of business without reference to file ACA 20 by Assemblymember Gabriel with amendments by Assembly member Tangipa. The clerk will read on the amendments.

Assembly constitutional amendment 20, with amendments by Assemblymember Tangipa.

Assemblymember Tangipa, you may open. Just a moment, sir. You may proceed.

Thank you, Mister speaker. I present these amendments today, because I do recognize the work of the budget Chair and what a lot of people are asking for here in California of fiscal responsibility. And, with these amendments, I believe it prioritize the exact goals that we are trying to do here in California by prioritizing the people. So first, this amendment focuses on actually increasing the rainy day fund from 10% to 21%.

It also codifies into law what the business community is asking for, a repayment of the unemployment insurance debt that we need to take on today, because every single business owner is about to have an increase in employee payroll tax because the state of California has refused to pay off that unemployment insurance. So this amendment would make sure that that would be paid through law.

The next amendment is that it would keep the expenditure, the constitutionally mandated expenditure of 1.5% mandated into the rainy day fund anytime we're under 10% as part of our expenditures in the state of California that could trigger the spending limit. And the last thing that it does is that it makes sure, when we draw from the rainy day fund, that it prioritize the citizens of The United States Of America when it gets hard here.

It prioritizes when the state of California enters into an emergency situation that those emergency funds make sure that lawful legal residents here in the state of California are the first and foremost prioritized individuals.

And for those amendments, I respectfully ask that you adopt them, and I ask for a yes vote. Thank you.

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

I move to lay the amendments on the table.

Thank you, madam majority leader. That is seconded by Assemblymember Ortega. This motion is not debatable. It takes majority of those present and voting. This is a procedural vote.

Clerk will open the roll. Majority leader is asking for an aye vote. Mister Tangipa 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, tally the votes, ayes 48, and noes 17. The amendments are laid on the table. Clerk will now read on ACA 20.

Assembly constitutional amendment 20 by Assemblymember Gabriel and others in accolade in the state finance.

Assemblymember Gabriel, you may open.

Thank you very much, Mister speaker. Good morning, colleagues. I am very pleased today to be able to present ACA 20, the Save for California's Future Act. This is a proposed constitutional amendment that would strengthen and modernize our Randy Day Fund.

And I wanna be clear that the premise of this amendment, the premise of this proposal is the common sense wisdom of California families, that when you have good times, you should set aside a little bit of money so that you could be prepared for downturns, that you could be prepared for unexpected emergencies. And there's a lot of technical details in here that only a budget won't could love.

But at its basis, at its core, this is a practice that businesses, that families, that nonprofits, that anyone who believes in responsible fiscal management would adopt because it's fundamentally about making sure that we're saving for a rainy day. And I wanna begin just with some important acknowledgments. I wanna thank our speaker, who has been a steadfast champion of responsible budgeting.

I wanna thank our colleague from Anaheim who has been a vocal champion on this issue since he came to this legislature, and I wanna thank our colleague from Santa Barbara who in his capacity as a budget subchair has held a number of very important hearings where we've heard from fiscal experts and where we have heard from the LAO about why this proposal is so important, and it is really the feedback from our partners at the LAO that have informed this proposal.

So colleagues, let me say this. Over the past couple years, we have grappled with turbulent budgets. And at the same moment that I have thought a lot about how we can meet this moment and address the challenges that are in front of us, I've also thought a lot about how do we make sure that people who come after us don't find themselves in this situation?

How is it that the next people who sit in our chairs will not be faced with the series of choices that we have in front of us?

Because a lot of those choices are unsatisfactory. We've had to debate a lot of things that none of us have wanted to do. And more importantly than us and the people who come after us are our constituents.

How do we make sure that they know that when the state goes through a downturn as it inevitably will, because we all know that California has vital revenues, how can they feel confident that there will be funding for schools, that there will be funding for fire departments, that there will be funding for safety net programs that families are relying upon? How can middle class families and working families know that they're gonna be okay?

And the answer is to make sure that we stay for a rainy day. To make sure that we are following the common sense wisdom that they have. And so I wanna talk you through what this ACA does. It's very simple and I wanna make sure that there isn't confusion because I think there is a little bit confusion. The ACA does four things.

First of all, it increases the maximum size of the rainy day fund from 10% of general fund revenues to 20% of general fund revenues. It it takes that cap up so that we can save more. It increases the size of mandatory deposits into the rainy day fund in the years where state experiences especially strong growth. So we have an exceptional year, we should set a little bit more aside.

And it also makes a change to how the Gann Limit applies so that it applies to withdrawals from the rainy day fund rather than deposits to the rainy day fund. And I wanna emphasize this point for my Republican colleagues because I I wanna make sure people understand this.

Paul Gann himself, who drafted the Gann limit and put it before the voters and was probably the most widely respected taxpayer advocate in California history, proposed exactly the treatment that this ACA would adopt and was later the signatory to a ballot proposition that said that we should have a rainy day fund in 1988. So there is nothing inconsistent about being someone who wants to look out for taxpayers and also understands the common sense wisdom of setting aside money for a rainy day.

I guarantee you that anyone anyone of you that has run a business, that has run a nonprofit, that has done budgeting in your family, has made sure that your your savings account is not zero.

You keep some money in there so you have money for a rainy day. So this is common sense. It is, as I would view it, fundamentally an investment in future generations about Californians. This is not about this year's budget. It's not about the choices we're making in this year's budget.

This is about where we're gonna be in ten years from now and fifteen years from now. And if someone with three little, occasionally well behaved boys who's thinking a lot about the future, I view strengthening our rainy day fund, modernizing our rainy day fund as a gift to future generations and in and an investment in sound fiscal stewardship. And so with that, would humbly request your aye vote on ACA 20. Thank you, Assemblymember Gabriel.

Assemblymember Demaio, you are recognized.

Thank you, Mister speaker. I rise in strong opposition to ACA 20. Quite clever. The more complicated, more green eye shade a topic, the easier it is to pull off a scam. That's exactly what ACA 20 does.

ACA 20 eviscerates the voter approved spending limit in our state constitution. Let's be very clear. Let's start with what you're trying to do here. First and foremost, you want to get rid of the spending limit. Oh, it's still there, but you raise it so far high up that, well, you all can continue to waste and waste and waste and spend and spend and spend without any sort of concern that you'll ever hit this spending limit.

By making a number of very complicated accounting changes in our state constitution and our budget, you eliminate any spending limit controlling Sacramento budgets. The reason why we enacted a spending limit is that we don't wanna see what's been going on in this chamber in the last decade. Record revenues. We do not have a revenue problem. Revenues are off the charts, and yet you still have a structural budget deficit of 20 to $30,000,000,000.

It is not a revenue problem. Taxpayers are paying more and more and more. The problem is that you are spending at a much faster rate than they can possibly earn and possibly be charged in their taxes. Since governor Gavin Newsom took office, spending is up 75.76%. During the same period, the CPI has only raised by 31%.

And let's talk about population flight. The cost of living in California is so high. The quality of life is so miserable that people literally are packing up and leaving this gorgeous state for the hot, humid Texas and Florida communities. We do not have a a a revenue problem. The spending problem is real.

Now how do you get around the spending limit? You do it by stealing the rebates that taxpayers would be owed under the GAM limit. Oh, this is another complicated shell game of this ACA 20. The spending limit is there so that when the politicians hit the spending limit, any revenue that's collected beyond that spending limit must be spent on education and, yes, returning the money to the hardworking taxpayers of California. But you don't wanna do that.

You want to cancel their taxpayer rebates, and instead keep that money so you can continue to spend in the out years. I finally ask those of you observing ACA 20 to consider the source. The backers of ACA 20 say that they wanna be fiscally responsible. They don't wanna spend too much money. They don't wanna raise taxes.

But in this budget where we have record record revenue, they have spent us into a structural deficit. And with record revenue, we are raising taxes in this budget, including health care premiums are going up by some 97%. Consider the source. When they say we're here for fiscal responsibility, it's like the devil offering a bible study. Don't buy it.

It is a scam. I urge a no vote on ACA 20.

Thank you. Assembly member Demaio. Assemblymember Wilson, you are recognized.

Thank you, Mister speaker. Members, I happily rise to support ACA 20, and, I encourage you to do so as well. This is a simple bill, complex in nature because of the technical aspects, but what it's doing is simple. It's saying that we should put more resources away, when we have our surpluses. And we talk a lot about our budget, and we liken it to how California families do their own budget.

Well, I will tell you California families, when they get surpluses, which are generally called bonuses, if they're being wise with their resources, they are putting some of that money away and maybe splurging on a few things. Right? But what I advise people all the time, having a background in finance and accounting and talking to my colleagues in private industry prior to coming to here, is when they do those splurges, don't splurge on everyday expenses.

Because what happens when you do them on everyday expenses, you get a thing called lifestyle creep. And that's where you use your bonuses to pay for things that should just be out of your regular income.

And pretty soon you're living beyond your regular income means. And then on those years when you don't get a bonus, guess what happens? You struggle, and you struggle for real. And so this is important so that when we have this volatile budget where we get record revenues, that that we put things away so that in those lean years, we can actually take care of the business of the state.

If you're a person of faith, of the Christian faith, you'll remember that there was a a a story about storing away, wisdom storing away in in the in the times of feasts.

So that in the times of famines, you can take care of things. If if you have other beliefs about your finances, you know that this is the wise thing to do. My colleagues across the aisle will talk about this being a ruse and all that stuff. And especially when it comes to the 1.5% deposit that is now outside of the Gann limit, which is a good thing. We want to make sure we're saving no matter what the year is.

But I and they say it should go back to the to the taxpayers. It should go back to the people of California. But we've had, like, $200,000,000,000 budgets. 1.5% of that is somewhere about 30,000,000,000, I believe, or 30,000,000. And then when you start to or 30,000,000,000.

And when you decide to divide that by the number of people in the state, you get to about $75. Well, I will think that $75 in the pocket of our taxpayers might not do as much as they would like to do, That we can do when you aggregate that. So we're not talking about a lot of money in terms of a rebate. But we have an opportunity to take care of our citizens and the people who live here. Also know one other thing.

When you think about our revenues, we are outpacing in revenues, but we're also outpacing in expenses. And part of that is because of what has happened with the federal administration and the pulling back of resources from our state, minding we are a donor state, but also for taking people off health care, for taking people who need resources in terms of disabilities, Those type of cuts, we are deciding as a state that they are a priority, and we're backfilling.

So, yes, we have record revenues, but we also have record expenses based on what is happening at the federal administration. So I applaud our budget chair, our our colleague who is also a author coauthor of this bill for being sound, for being prudent, and to making sure that we're giving to the voters. Remember, this decision is not final today.

People are saying we're overturning the will of the voters. We absolutely are not. We are giving our voters the opportunity to readjust based on the information we know now and have experienced over these last few years. And I would say that anybody else who has their mic up, should be saying this is about time. They should be saying finally.

They should be saying this should have happened a long time ago. Glad we're doing it. And with that, I respectfully ask for an aye vote on ACA 20.

Thank you, Assemblymember Wilson. Doctor Bains, you are recognized.

Hey speaker and members, yes. This is a long time coming. Compliments to our budget Chair, compliments to our speaker. Putting money away for a rainy day is so important. It is fiscal responsibility, especially given the fact that since Trump took presidency, every day has been an emergency.

Whether it's one thing or another, every single day we're faced with difficult decisions because of the cuts at the federal level. And every day is gonna be an emergency moving forward. So putting together a rainy day fund is fiscal responsibility. Big compliments to everybody here, compliments to the budget Chair, compliments to speaker. This is a long time coming and very good step, especially in response to what's happening at the federal level cuts.

Strongly support an aye vote.

Thank you, doctor Bains. Assembly member Tangipa, you are recognized.

Thank you, Mister speaker. And I actually just wanted to take this moment to thank the budget Chair, and a lot of others for the actual robust debate that we had yesterday. I believe that it was respectful in manner, was focused on data, talked about our priorities, and actually that needs to be recognized a lot. So I I have great gratitude, for the individuals. But again, as as I'm listening here today, you know, when we talk about federal cuts, typically, those would materialize in less money.

The numbers today is $355,000,000,000 with never more money available to us. And so as we opine and blame the federal administration and Ghost and everybody else, we've never been better, in a better position. And and I it's insanity to say that. Like, it's we are in the greatest position, which should be commended, and yet it's demonized as somebody else's fault. I'm trying to make that compute for me.

When I think about how we're talking about unemployment insurance and paying off in the rainy day fund itself, we, right now, have not maxed out the 10% constitutionally mandated rainy day fund. And now we want to increase it by 100% to 20%. We have about $15,000,000,000 that should be invested into the rainy day fund today to meet the 10% constitutionally mandated position. So we're not even at the 10%. We want to go to 20%.

We've suspended and put emergency ordinances around the budget, which has avoided the 1.5%. And I'm still trying to figure out where the math is mathing, where the words match the data. And and I believe the the same as, the assemblywoman from the Napa Ish area.

That I I believe in the story of Joseph. I believe that there's seven years of famine and seven years of feast. He didn't need climate change to say the famine stuff, but I'll leave that alone. But on those feast years, we should be doing that, but we have been in the feast years since 2019, since 2020. The budget in 2016 was about 170,000,000,000, and today it's over 350,000,000,000.

We have been in the feast portion, and now we're talking about savings. We should have been saving for a long time. We should end the emergency declaration on the budget. We should invest the 1.5% already constitutionally mandated. We should meet the 10% minimum threshold, and then we should have conversations about increasing and doubling it.

That is simply what I am asking for. That is simply what I believe a lot of others are asking for. And for those reasons, I respectfully ask that for a no vote.

Okay. Assembly member Tangipa, Sassoon, Napa Ish, Sol, California. Assembly member Patterson, you are recognized.

Thank you. Trump, Trump, Trump, Trump, Trump. Sorry.

I thought it was a requirement to start my speech off that way in the Assembly floor. You know, I think it's important this this legislation does not create a rainy day fund. It doesn't enhance the rainy day fund. We don't have a rainy day fund in California. The voters thought they were passing a rainy day fund, but they didn't get a rainy day fund.

All this does is create a bigger slush fund for money to be used the following years instead of returning money to the taxpayer. It just creates a bigger slush fund, for this. So let's not pay back the schools, the $3,000,000,000 that we owe schools. Let's not return money to taxpayers. Let's create a slush fund that's very easy to take money from.

In fact, this current budget year, revenues are up $60,000,000,000 than what we projected. And still, the budget proposal that was just approved, I'm old enough to remember, like a few days ago, took $14,000,000,000 from the rainy day fund. It wasn't hard to do. It just passed with almost a unanimous vote from the majority party, and that rainy day fund is being used pretty easily. So there's no such thing as a rainy day fund.

The voters wish we had a rainy day fund. And when this goes on the ballot, the messaging will be we're creating a bigger rainy day fund. But really, we're just creating a bigger slush fund, so when revenues are bigger, you can continue to spend it instead of paying the obligations that you have, instead of paying off the school debt that you have, instead of paying the unemployment debt that we have. We're the last remaining state to not pay the unemployment debt.

But instead of doing meeting our obligations and instead of keeping taxes low, let's continue to collect god awful amounts of money and do everything we can to prevent doing those things or giving the money back to the taxpayer. So with that respect, we ask for a no vote.

Thank you. Assemblymember Patterson. Assemblymember Bauer-Kahan, you are recognized.

Thank you, Mister speaker and members. I rise because I think it's really important that we talk about why this is incredibly critical. And those of us that were here the year we hit the Gann limit, no. We wanted to put more into the rainy day fund and we could not.

And so we are taking action here to say that when California has a good year, when we have more taxes coming in, we can do the right thing and put it into the rainy day fund for when things are more volatile.

I will note that the my colleagues across the aisle just mentioned are using the rainy day fund right now because Republicans in Washington are stripping health care from Californians and making sure that they won't be able to show up at the doctor and have their lives saved, we've had to spend some of the rainy day fund to save Californians' lives.

I believe my constituents want more fiscal responsibility, more in the rainy day fund, and they want us to take care of Californians, which is what we're doing here. I respectfully ask for your aye vote.

Thank you, Assemblymember Bauer-Kahan. Assemblymember Valencia, you are recognized.

One of the other Mister speaker and members, I've enjoyed listening to the diverse perspectives on this very issue. Something that I am very passionate about is prudent governance and ensuring that the decisions that we make here in this chamber and as a government are in the best interest of California, not just for today, but for the future as well. There's been some points raised today, and I'd like to add some humble context around the expenses that we're having to make today.

The context is this is an unprecedented situation. And the very investments that we have made are able to allow us to continue to invest and generate the revenue that we have done so this year.

This is all a long term plan. Governance should not be done in silos. Governance should not be done day by day. A blueprint, a smart blueprint, needs to be developed and implemented. And that's why I'm so grateful for the conversations that have taken place over the last several years, at least in my time serving on this floor through our steadfast leader of the budget, our sub seven Chair, the governor, our speaker.

They've done an incredible job in keeping the conversation alive and finding the right time to move this policy forward. It's simple. When you have additional resources, you have the ability to save on cuts or not increase taxes to enhance when there's changes that are unexpected like we're dealing with today. I wanna share a little bit about my background. Born and raised in the lovely county of Orange to Mexican immigrant parents.

They came here humbly in the early eighties and started a small business. Every day, seven days a week, I would watch my father and mother go to our grocery store fifteen, seventeen, sometimes twenty hour days. Again, seven days a week to make ends meet. And what helped them push my brother and I forward, our humble family forward, was their ability to plan, to save for the future because there were things that were out of their control.

And the fact that they had that foresight not only allowed for our family to move forward and have a decent quality of life, but the impact that it had to the surrounding communities that the business that my parents owned provided.

That's why I'm so passionate about this specific issue. Because this is one of the best decisions our body can make for future generations. We can't control what will come, but we can control what happens today. And these decisions will nourish a better California, and that's why I'm so passionate about supporting ACA 20. With that, I respectfully ask for a yes vote.

Thank you. Assemblymember Valencia. Seeing and hearing no further debate, Assemblymember Gabriel, do you wish to close?

Yeah. Thank you very much, Mister speaker. I wanna thank my colleagues for the robust conversation. I know we are at a moment in the legislative cycle when we're all exhausted and cranky and ready to go home to our families, and I will put myself in that category. But I just wanted to lift our heads up a little bit as we are having this conversation about what this means and what this is really all about.

And I think there's a couple points here that bear repeating. One is that the rainy day fund is not a construct of the legislature. It's a construct of the voters. It's the voters that ultimately, instructed us to do this, to put this in the state constitution.

And it has worked well, and we have seen that, and we have heard testimony from fiscal experts and from the legislative analyst office, our nonpartisan legislative analyst office, that there are ways to strengthen and modernize it and make it work better so that we can better protect future generations in California.

And so what we would like to do with ACA 20 is to humbly go back to the voters and give them the opportunity to put even a little bit more away for a rainy day, to take advantage of those years when we have plenty so that we can be prepared for those years when we don't. And I guess what I would ask everybody in this body to do to think about is we're gonna go this is this is a fork in the road.

And again, I know that a lot of the debate now has been focused on this year's budget, and we can all debate different investments and different choices we made in this year's budget. This ACA is not about this year's budget. It's about a budget ten years from now.

It's about a budget fifteen years from now. It's about looking our kids in the eye when they're gonna ask us what we did in this moment to prepare for that moment. And we're gonna go down one of two roads because there is ultimately gonna be some some some bad years ahead. That's inevitable. That's how the economy works.

That's how, California's budget cycle works. And we're gonna and and depending on which fork of the road we go down, we're gonna be in a moment where veterans and seniors and businesses and workers and people on safety net programs and children are gonna come to this legislature, and they're gonna beg them not to make cuts. They're gonna beg them not to do some of the things that we've had to think about over the past couple years. They're gonna say, please don't take away those benefits.

Please don't take away that food assistance. That is so essential to my family. And that's the road that we may go down if we don't strengthen our rainy day fund.

But if we do, in fifteen or twenty years from now, we're gonna be in a different position where the state's gonna have a robust rainy day fund to rip into to dip into, to help soften to to cushion the blow of those down years, to make sure that people are protected, workers and businesses and seniors and veterans and middle class families and working families.

And so I would ask you not not in the spirit of conversation about this year's budget and the choices we're making, but with an eye towards the future, with an eye towards fiscal prudence and fiscal responsibility, with an eye towards what kind of choice do we wanna make in this moment, and what kind of conversation do we wanna have in our kid with our kids in fifteen years, I would ask you to choose the path of protecting future generations and managing our money in a way that benefits those generations, and respectfully request your aye vote on ACA 20.

Thank you, Assemblymember Gabriel. I'll 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. All members vote who desire to vote.

Clerk will close the roll, tally the votes. Ayes 54, Nos eight. The ACA is adopted immediate transmittal to the Senate. Moving on to our next item, we'll now take up item 90.

That's SB 623 by Senator Umberg presented by Assembly member Papan. The clerk will read.

Senate bill 623 by Senator Umberg and others and app related to transportation.

Assembly member Papan, you are recognized.

Well, thank you, Mr. Speaker. Good morning, members. I rise today to present, SB 623, which strikes a very careful balance by enacting several targeted reforms to the ride share business, otherwise known as transportation network companies, TNCs. The medical lien industry and attorneys relationships to the medical lien industry. SB 623 creates a system that's safe, fair, and accountable by protecting patients from unnecessary treatment and overcharging, ensuring access to medical care and legal representation, and strengthening TNC safety measures.

Bear with me folks. I'm going to get you through this bill. Alright. In order to address concerns in the medical lien industry, and for those of you who may not be familiar with it, what the medical lien industry is is that if you're injured in an accident, you can actually get medical care without paying for it upfront, but the medical provider will have a lien against any recovery you might have in the future.

And so this bill addresses concerns about the medical lien industry, their relationship to attorneys.

Who doesn't love attorneys? You all better love attorneys. Alright. While ensuring that victims get access to care. So SB623 does several following several things to TNC accident cases and only TNC accident cases.

So for accidents occurring on or after January '27, if a plaintiff receives treatment from a lien based medical provider, the plaintiff generally cannot recover more than 70% as shown in the fair health database for that particular service in that particular geographic location. Charges above this amount cannot be collected from the plaintiff and will be considered void. It requires standardized itemization. I won't be up here for a while, but I'll try to go as fast as I can.

Require standardized itemization of all lien based medical bills so that you have the same codes for the same treatment, Aye.

E. Like a chiropractor will be X code or Y code. And if a chiropractor will be X code or Y code. And if a lien based care provider sells their lien to the third parties, and this was happening where liens were getting sold to folks on Wall Street. If you wanna do that now, well, guess what?

You won't be able to get a differential from buying a lien at a low rate, and then once you settle, you might get a higher rate. You can only recover for the face amount of what you paid for that lien. So this is to kinda keep Wall Street out of the lien world. It also makes it unlawful for an attorney representing a person under a contingency fee agreement to refer their client to a health care provider that the attorney might have an interest in.

I. e., your husband's a chiropractor and you're the attorney and you refer your client to that chiropractor.

It also makes it unlawful for an attorney to receive a kickback or a fee split by referring a client to a lien based provider or provide bonuses or incentives for referring a client to a lien based provider. Finally, it prohibits attorneys from charging an additional contingency fee or an administrative fee, management fee, or similar fee based on reducing or resolving a client's medical lien. So now let's talk about what this bill does with respect to TNCs. I'm sure you know them.

I'm not gonna mention any company names, but you get it.

So this bill on the TNC side will make it give them several reforms, to protect passengers and create greater accountability. The first thing that it does is it requires an initial ballot ground check before activating a ride share driver and annual background checks thereafter. It adds additional crimes like violating a restraining order in a child abuse case to the list of crimes that disqualifies a potential TNC driver.

It also expressly allows women drivers to only request women passengers, and it allows women passengers to only request women drivers. Members, this bill gets five stars, and I say let's transfer to a new day.

I respect the request, and I vote.

Thank you. Assemblymember Papan. Assemblymember Boerner, you are recognized.

Today, I rise in support of SB 623. As Chair of the communications and conveyance committee, I wanna lend my voice to this policy discussion. I'm proud to support this bill because it reflects a thoughtful compromise, and it enhances safety for everyone who utilizes ride sharing apps. The bill improves the background check system for ride sharing drivers, so those with a history of reckless driving or sexual predation are weeded out. And it creates a secure legal avenue for women riders to request women drivers.

It also protects the victim's path to accessing the justice system when violations do occur. During my time as Chair, we have had extensive discussions about TNC operations and where there is room for improvement to ensure affordable and safe rides for all. I commend the author for working with the stakeholders on a compromise that upholds the values that we all share. I would encourage an aye vote.

Thank you. Assemblymember Berner. Assemblymember Kalra, you are recognized.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. As Chair of the Judiciary Committee, I rise to offer my strong support for AB 623 and thank the stakeholders sitting down and putting in the hard work to forge a thoughtful compromise, and it was a lot of hard work over many, many hours. This bill continues the legislature's work to rein in abusive practices within our legal industry while safeguarding access to justice for those who suffer harm.

This measure recognizes that the overwhelming majority of rideshare drivers are simply hardworking Californians trying to make a living for their families. But as any of us who drive on California's freeways and roads frequently know, accidents happen.

This bill preserves the rights of those injured to recover the damages necessary to help them recover while protecting rideshare companies from needless overbilling by reforming the medical lien process. Finally, while most rideshare passengers and drivers will never experience harms to sexual harassment or assault while using these platforms, this bill strives to ensure that every person using a platform, whether passenger or driver, will have the same safe experience.

Again, I applaud the author, floor manager, and stakeholders for their hard work and urge your aye vote on SB 623.

Thank you, Assemblymember Kalra. Seeing and hearing no further debate, Assemblymember Papan, would you like to close?

Yes. Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I just wanna say to my colleagues, this bill represents good government. It represents what happens when parties come together, When they try to be sensitive to each side's respective positions, they can make a compromise, and this bill is gonna work for all California. So I respect the request and I vote.

Thank you. Assembly member Papan. 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 67, Nos zero. The measure passes. Media transmittal to the Senate.

Okay. Let's, exhale just a moment here. And will you all join me in wishing our good friend, Mr. Gipson, a very happy birthday today, Mr. Gipson? Happy birthday, sir. Happy birthday.

'31. '31? '32. '32. '32.

Okay. Members, can can you all direct your attention to first base, please? And we're gonna recognize Mr. Alanis for a very important guest introduction on a very important

Well, thank you, Mr. Speaker. Hi, everybody. Today, I rise to recognize my parents, Barbara and Oliverio Alanis. You can stand up if you want.

Tomorrow, my parents will be celebrating their fiftieth wedding anniversary. Yes. Both my parents met around fourth grade. So they've been around and got to be around each other since fourth grade. They enjoyed spending the evenings together in middle school and at local record stores.

They also went to the drive in movies during high school. My mom used to watch my dad when he would play football on Friday nights. My parents were married on 06/26/1976. And since then, they've built a close knit family that includes five sons, which I'm the oldest of. 10 grandchildren and four great grandchildren.

And joining us here in the gallery is my lovely wife. My kids, Spencer, Corbin, and their wives, Ari and Tristan up there. And then my four grandchildren who we have, Isaac. Wave, Isaac. He's eight.

We got Juliette who's getting ready to turn four. I got Gemma who just turned two. And then we have Gianna who's five months old. Two of my other children who had to leave unfortunately left already. So thank you guys.

Congratulations. Assembly member Ransom, you are recognized for your guest introduction.

Well, good morning everyone. Thank you, Mr. Speaker. It is an honor to welcome the inaugural cohort of Assembly District thirteenth's Young Leadership Program to the state capital. Today, we are celebrating a group of students who represent the future of our communities in San Joaquin County. These young leaders took the initiative to learn how government works, understand the legislative process, and discover how they can use their voices to make a difference.

The young legislators program in our district was created with a goal to invest in the next generation of leaders and ensure that young people have the tools, knowledge, and confidence to participate in civic life. Over the past six months, these students have stepped into the world of public service, engaging with local and state leaders, exploring policy issues, participating in community service, and developing leadership skills. This first cohort represents the incredible diversity and the talent of Assembly district thirteen.

We have 16 students enrolled representing nine high schools across Stockton, Tracy, Mountain House, and French Camp. 33% are first generation students.

11 have already enrolled in college. Students from across our district came together with a shared commitment to leadership and service. Proof that when we create opportunities, they will rise to the challenge. So already, this cohort has made a meaningful impact. They've completed 22 leadership workshops, participated in 12 guest speaker series, served at 20 community events, and achieved a 100% student engagement throughout the program.

So we are very proud and honored of the accomplishment and confidence these students have gained in our program. And so I'm honored to represent and to present. We have six behind us here in the gallery, and then we also have 10, 10 in the gallery and six behind us on the floor. Please help me welcome the inaugural young leaders from District 13.

Okay. Members, decorum, please. Can I have your attention? Continuing on with guest introductions, Assembly member Caloza, you are recognized for your guest introduction.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker, colleagues. I'm so excited, to welcome some very special guests at the capitol today, as Chair of the Assembly select committee on Asia, California, trade, and investment, it's my honor to welcome a distinguished delegation of business leaders from across California, throughout The United States, and from Japan. I had the pleasure of working with many of these leaders on my select committee in strengthening the partnership between California and Asia, including on our most recent trade mission to Japan.

Please join me in recognizing our guests in the gallery from the Japanese Northern Business at California Chamber of Commerce and the Japanese Business Association. Daisuki Arai, vice president of JCCNC, Akemi Koda, government relations vice president, vice Chair of JCCNC, Steven Tarooka, member of the JCCNC government relations committee, Kijiro Hora, executive director of the JCCNC, Yoshiyuki Hiroka, president of JBA, Hiroki Baba, business and commerce committee vice Chair of JBA.

The Japanese Northern California Chamber of Commerce represents approximately 270 members, including Japan affiliated and California based businesses that help strengthen economic ties between Japan and our beautiful state. The Japanese Business Association is composed of nearly 420 Japanese corporations conducting business throughout California and contributing to the vitality of our economy. Japan remains one of California's most important economic partners, investing nearly 16,000,000,000 in our state, supporting local jobs, driving innovation, and contributing significantly to our global competitiveness and economic growth.

We are grateful for your continued partnership, your investment in our communities, and your commitment to California success. I look forward to working with you on our select committee and beyond on behalf of the California State Assembly.

Welcome to the Capitol.

Thank you. Assembly member Caloza. Okay. Members, one final very important guest introduction, Assemblymember Carrillo. You are recognized for your guest introduction.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker, colleagues. It's an honor for me to do the welcome to the Michoacan delegation. With us, we have Ingeniero Alfonso Jesus Medina, Presidente Morelia. Welcome. The ties for me to Michoacan, as many of you know, I came here from Guadalajara, from the state of Jalisco.

The ties to Michoacan for me come through my mother. My mother is from Sinapa, Michoacan, and it's really quite an honor for me to welcome you and the delegation. Thank you, Thank you very much. Welcome. I know that you came in late at midnight last night, and I know that the pilot kept updating you on the game on Mexico last night too on the way here.

Thank you for being here, and thank you to, our our colleague, David Alvarez for leading the, select committee on binational relationships between California and Mexico. Looking forward to a delegation to Michoacan. Colleagues, please help me well give them a warm welcome.

Okay. Members, we're moving back to business on the daily file. We're gonna begin with the second reading. That's file items one three forty five. Circle read.

Assembly bill 2796, Senate Bill 11541255 with amendments, 1328 with amendments, 1173, 1307, 1211, 1285, 1004 with amendments, 1009 with amendments, 1401 with amendments, 1186 with amendments, 1057 with amendments, 1124 with amendments, 16 with amendments, 96 with amendments,898 with amendments, 947 with amendments, 876 with amendments, 1301 with amendments, 1159 with amendments, 28 with amendments, 1192 with amendments, 33, 719, 722, 918, 927, 935, 963, 1051, 1126, 1204, 1235, 1236, 1264, 1273, 1434, 308 with amendments, 575, 939, 1038, 1306, 1350, and Senate Bill 1230.

All bills will be deemed read, and all amendments will be deemed adopted. Madam majority leader, you are recognized for your additional motions.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Pursuant to Assembly rule 97, I request unanimous consent to re refer I file item 5, SB 1173 Caballero to the Appropriations Committee.

The objections, such shall be the order.

At the request of the author, please remove file item 25 SB 719 Cabaldon from the consent calendar.

That objection, such shall be the order.

I request unanimous consent to suspend Assembly rule 56 to allow the communications notice SB 1190 Grove for their hearing on Wednesday, July 1, pending re referral from Human Services Committee.

Without objection, such shall be the order. Okay. We are going to go to concurrence file items 46 through 48. We're gonna pass temporarily on those items. Reconsideration file items 49 through 51, all items shall be continued.

That brings us to the Assembly third reading file. File items, 52 to 65. 52 to 65, we're gonna pass through your tandem file lines, 52, 53, 54. Bilateral 55 is HR 116 by Assembly member Ward. The clerk will read.

House Resolution 116 by Assemblymember Ward, relative to California Craft Beer Week.

Thank you, members. Let's give our respectful attention to the author. Assemblymember Ward, you may open.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I am pleased to present and raise the metaphorical glass to HR 116, which recognizes the invaluable impact the craft brewing industry has had in California. California has been a pioneer in the craft brewing industry throughout the years.

So did you know in 1965, California began the craft brewing movement with the Anchor Brewing Company that brewed authentic handcrafted beers, continued in this legacy in 1977 by being the birthplace of microbreweries in Sonoma County, as well as in 1979 becoming the home to second largest craft brewery in the United States in Chico with the Sierra Nevada Brewing Company.

Now we recognized the importance of this industry in 1982 through AB 3610, which ended restrictions to on-site sales of craft beer and fostered an increase in brewpubs throughout the state, especially in my own district members, the 78th Assembly District, which has the distinction of hosting the most craft breweries of all of our Assembly districts in California.

Now statewide, this industry contributes almost five billion dollars to the state's economy at nearly 50,000 jobs in a variety of fields. California has more breweries than any state in the country, with current counts numbering over 1,000 independently owned craft breweries that produce one in five craft beers in the United States. Our craft breweries are nationally and internationally recognized, receiving numerous accolades for both the World Beer Cup and the Great American Beer Festival, cementing not only the quantity but the quality of California craft beer.

These breweries stand as a model for sustainable practices and practice some of the largest conservation strategies and techniques in the private sector. And as seen by the legacy that craft breweries have left and continue to contribute to the history, economy, and communities of various regions of California, especially my own, I ask the assembly proclaim July 17 through the 26th as California Craft Beer Week, and respectfully ask for your aye vote.

Welcome the first roll to be open for co-authors.

Thank you, Assemblymember Ward. All debate having ceased, the clerk will open the roll. Members, this is for co-authors. All members vote who desire to vote. This is for co-authors.

All members vote who desire to vote. All members vote who desire to vote. Clerk will close the roll, tally the votes. There are 55 co-authors added. Without objection, we'll take a voice vote on the resolution.

All those in favor, say aye. All those opposed, no. The ayes have it. The resolution is adopted. Assemblymember Ward, you are recognized for your guest introduction.

Well, thank you again, Mr. Speaker. So, to recognize California Craft Beer Week, we have members of the California Craft Brews Association in our gallery today. Please welcome Kelsey McQuaid-Craig, the executive director of the California Craft Brews Association, Alicia Barr, Dave Goll, Julian Trago, and a, who represent the 55, New Helvidea, Urban Roots, and Oak Park Brewing Company as well. Welcome to the assembly chambers today, and thank you for being great entrepreneurs and artisans.

Okay. We are gonna pass and retain on File Items 56 and 57. That brings us to File Item 58: ACR 225 by Assembly Member Rubio. The clerk will read.

Assembly Concurrent Resolution 225 by Assembly Member Blanca Rubio, relative to the 9/11 remembrance flag.

Assembly Member Rubio, you are recognized.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker and members. I rise today to proudly present ACR 225, relative to the Freedom Flag. September 11th, 2001 was one of America's darkest days with the coordinated hijackings and attacks claiming the lives of nearly 3,000 people. This year marks the 25th Anniversary of the attacks of September 11th, 2001, a solemn milestone in our nation's history.

As we approach a quarter century since the tragic-- since that tragic day, it is especially important that we preserve opportunities for remembrance, reflection, and education so that future generations understand both the profound loss suffered by our nation and the resilience and unity that emerged in its aftermath.

Despite the severity of this tragedy and its numerous connections to our state, California does not currently have an official flag or symbol dedicated to the remembrance of the tragedy that took place on September 11, 2001. This concurrent resolution would recognize the Freedom Flag as our official state symbol for remembrance of 09/11/2001.

The designation of the Freedom Flag as California's official symbol of remembrance comes at a particularly meaningful time, ensuring that the 25th Anniversary serves not only as a moment to honor those who were lost, but also as a renewed commitment to keeping their memory alive for generations to come. The Freedom Flag was created on September 20th, 2001 near Richmond, Virginia as a simple sketch to commemorate the events which had occurred just nine days earlier. The symbol was first officially recognized as Virginia's official flag of remembrance for 9/11.

The four red stripes of this flag symbolize the lives lost at the four attack sites. The three white stripes represent the heroic first responders, fire, police, and rescue. The five white bars and white stars represent the organized protection of our freedoms and our military, and the blue field represents all Americans united together for freedom, which was the feeling we shared on September 12th.

To date, the Freedom Flag has been flown or displayed in all 50 states, including in over 2,500 schools, fire stations, and civic buildings. While 09/11/2001 will forever be one of the United States's darkest days in history, what many do not know about the day is that all four flights involved were originally bound for California, and over 50 Californians lost their lives in that fateful day.

Approximately 25% of our population was born after 9/11 or was too young to remember the attacks, meaning that nearly 10 million Californians and nearly 100 million Americans have no living memory of that day. As those of us who experienced and remember the tragedy of 9/11 grow older and the population born post-9/11 grows larger, it is imperative that we hold true to the promise of never forget.

By adopting the Freedom Flag as the official remembrance symbol of 9/11 in California, we will be providing a unique and unifying reminder and an opportunity to reflect and educate others on the lives lost and sacrifices made as well as the collective unity displayed by Americans in the wake of that tragedy. I would like to thank the Freedom Flag Foundation for their dedication to this work and their thoughtful and approachable educational campaign impacting and enhancing communities across the country. For that, members, I want to thank you, and members, I respectfully ask for your aye vote.

Thank you, Assembly Member Rubio. Assembly Member, do you wish for the first roll to be open for co-authors?

Yes, please.

All debate having ceased, the clerk will open the roll. Members, this is for co-authors. All members vote who desire to vote. All members vote who desire to vote. This is for co-authors. All members vote who desire to vote. Clerk will close the roll; tally the votes. There are 66 co-authors added. Without objection, we'll take a voice vote on the resolution. All those in favor, say aye. All those opposed, no. The ayes have it. The resolution is adopted. We will pass and retain on File Item 59 and 60, and that brings us to File Item 61.

That's HR 122 by Assemblymember Nguyen. The clerk will read.

House Resolution 122 by Assemblymember Nguyen relative to Probation Services Week.

Assemblymember Nguyen, you are recognized.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. And members, I rise today to present House Resolution 122 recognizing July 19 through July 25 as probation services week in California. Everyday, probation professionals take on one of the most challenging jobs in public service. They help protect our communities while working with individuals who are trying to get their lives back on track. They balance accountability with rehabilitation, often making a difference long before the public ever sees the result.

Members, California probation workforce is also incredibly diverse. More than 72% identify as non white and more than half are women. And you know what happens when more than half are women, they get things done. So today, we recognize their professionalism, their compassion, and their unwavering commitment to about service. I respectfully ask for your aye vote on HR 122.

Thank you. Assembly member Nguyen. Assembly member, do you wish for the first role to be open for co authors?

Yes, please.

Assembly member has asked for the first role to be open for co authors. Clerk will open the role. All members vote who desire to vote. Members, this is for co authors. All members vote who desire to vote.

All members vote who desire to vote. Clerk will close the roll, tally the votes. There are 65 co authors added. Without objection, we'll take a voice vote on the resolution. All those in favor, say aye.

Aye. Let's do that again. All those in favor, say "aye". Aye. All those opposed, "no."

The ayes have it. The resolution is adopted.

Okay members. I'm, I'm gonna need to ask for decorum in the chamber. We are actually gonna take up an adjournment in memory at this time.

It is a very important adjournment in memory. If you do need to continue conversation, please take it off the floor. Appreciate your cooperation. Assemblymember Haney, you are recognized for your adjournment and memory.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker, members. Today, I ask that we adjourn in the memory of my grandmother, doctor Dorothy Viola Calvin of San Francisco, who passed away peacefully on March 24 at the age of 96. Many of you in this assembly had the opportunity to meet Dorothy when she visited us here a number of times on the assembly floor with my grandfather. If you spend even a few minutes with her, you quickly understood who she was. She was warm, deeply curious, and incredibly sharp.

She had a wonderful sense of humor and a quick wit, and she also had remarkable honesty. She never sugarcoated anything. And if you asked her for her opinion, you got the truth. Sometimes not the answer you wanted to hear, but always the answer she believed you needed to hear. She believed honesty was a form of respect, and she challenged the people she loved because she believed in them.

My grandmother lived a remarkable life defined by service, lifelong learning, and an unwavering commitment to making her community better. She was raised on a farm in Holland, Michigan, earned a degree in psychology from Michigan State University when very few women from where she lived and grew up went and completed university. It was there that she met my grandfather, Alan, and after a whirlwind three month romance, they eloped beginning a marriage that would last an extraordinary seventy two years.

Their marriage was one of the defining examples of my life. They weren't simply married for a long time.

They were true partners. They built a family together. They built careers together. They stood up for justice together. They traveled together, learned together, and grew together.

They shared an endless curiosity about the world and a belief that life should be spent serving others and continuing to learn. Beginning in the nineteen sixties, they became active supporters of the civil rights movement. Their work brought them into contact with leaders, including doctor Martin Luther King Junior and Coretta Scott King. Following doctor King's assassination, my grandparents and family hosted Coretta and their children here in California, providing them with a place of refuge and peace after the loss of her husband.

My grandmother became close with Coretta and stayed close with her throughout her life.

For them, the civil rights movement wasn't simply something they witnessed. It was something they participated in because they believe deeply in equality, justice, and human dignity. My grandmother refused to believe that there was ever an age when learning should stop. At a time when very few women worked in technology, she taught herself computer programming in the nineteen seventies, managing a team of programmers at Pacific Bell, taught at Skyline College, City College of San Francisco, and Canada College, and even authored a book on DOS programming.

Then at the age of 61, she earned her doctorate from the University of San Francisco, proving through her own example that it is never too late to pursue a new dream or master a new skill.

Her commitment to public service extended well beyond her career, devoting countless hours to the League of Women Voters, Grace Community Church of San Francisco, and many other civic causes. She embraced life with enthusiasm. She ran her first marathon in her fifties. She loved to travel the world, researching our family's history across Europe and Israel, and she conducted Holocaust research that now lives at Yad Vashem. She loved gardening, sports, animals, and welcoming people into her home.

There was always a thoughtful conversation to be had at her table and usually chocolate hidden somewhere in the house for her grandchildren. As her grandson, I am incredibly incredibly fortunate to have learned from her example. She taught our family that education matters, that public service matters, that standing up for what is right matters, and that integrity matters, and she lived those values every day.

She is survived by my grandfather, Alan, their children, grandchildren, great grandchildren, and many loved ones whose lives were enriched by her wisdom, humor, generosity, and unwavering example. My grandparents showed us all of us what a life of purpose looks like, and together they showed us what a true partnership looks like.

Their 72 year old marriage was built not only on love, but on mutual respect, shared values, and an enduring commitment to making the world better than they found it. In honor of doctor Dorothy Viola Calvin, my grandmother, and her extraordinary life of service, learning, courage, love, and leadership, I ask that today's Assembly session be adjourned in her memory.

Thank you, Assemblymember Haney. Members, we are gonna go back to our business on the daily file. We're gonna now move on to the second day consent calendar. We'll first take up item 96 for the purpose of adding co-authors. The clerk will read the resolution on the consent calendar.

House Resolution 121 by Assemblymember Alanis relative to California Wildfire Week.

Clerk will now open the role to allow any member to add on as a co author on the resolution. All members vote who desire to vote. Members, this is for co authors. All members vote who desire to vote. All members vote who desire to vote.

The clerk will close the roll. There are 63 co authors added. Moving on to a vote on the consent calendar, we're gonna pass and retain on file item 97. Item 99 has already been dispensed with. 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.

Assuming Concurrent Resolution 125 by Assembly member all of these relative to CRE Malformation awareness month.

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.

Aye 65, No zero. The consent calendar is adopted. Clerk will read the remaining items on the consent calendar.

House Resolution 121.

Aye 65, No zero.

Senate bill 1058.

Aye 65, No zero.

Senate bill 1438.

Aye 65, No zero.

Senate Concurrent Resolution 181.

Aye 65, No zero.

And Senate Concurrent Resolution 187.

Ayes 65, Nos zero. Members, we are now going to recess until 12:00. The quorum call is lifted. However, we are beginning precisely at 12:00 be in your desk at 12:00 to continue business. We are under recess.

The Assembly is back in session. Members, there's a Democratic Caucus in the member's lounge now. Please, all Democratic members report to the member's lounge.

Okay. House is back in order. Thank you, members. All right. Madam Majority Leader, you are recognized.

Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend Assembly Rules 46, 63, and 66 to allow Assembly Member Wicks to take up ACA 21: Rivas without reference to file.

Without objection. Okay. Without reference to file, ACA 21 by Speaker Rivas, presented by Assembly Member Wicks. The clerk will read.

Assembly Constitutional Amendment 21 by Assembly Speaker Robert Rivas and others, an act relating to voting.

Assembly Member Wicks, you are recognized.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker and members. ACA 21 will remove ACA 13: Ward 2023 from the November ballot. ACA 13 would have required an initiative constitutional amendment to comply with any increased voter approval threshold that it seeks to impose on future ballot measures. And with that, respectfully ask for an aye vote.

Thank you, Assembly Member Wicks. Leader Flora, you are recognized.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I rise in strong support of ACA 21 and just appreciate all the stakeholders and the author for their hard work on this, and we look forward to supporting it.

Thank you, Leader Flora. All debate having ceased, the 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: 62; no: zero. The measure is adopted. Immediate transmittal to the Senate.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I move to suspend Assembly Rules 46, 63, and 66 to allow Assemblymember Wicks to take up ACA 22 Wicks without reference to file.

Without objection. Without reference to file ACA 22 by Assembly member Wicks. Clerk will read.

Assembly constitutional amendment 22 by Assemblymember Wicks and I'm applying to taxation.

Assemblymember Wicks, you are recognized.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker and members. I rise to present ACA 22. ACA 22 effectively amends a destructive measure that is currently qualified for the November ballot. Politics is about choices, and we often must navigate challenging decisions. Big picture, the vote today protects vital resources for our local communities, and it removes the greatest threat to our cities and their fiscal health, which is the Taxpayer Protection Act.

With that, I respectfully ask for your aye vote.

Thank you. Assemblymember Wicks, leader Flora, you are recognized.

Thank you, Mister speaker. I rise in strong support of ACA 22 and respectfully ask for your aye vote.

Thank you, leader Flora. I'll 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 64, noes one. The measure is adopted. Immediate transmittal of the Senate.

Okay, we are moving on to announcements and ordering the desk to remain open to process amendments. Session schedules as follows: Friday, June 26, no floor session, no check-in session. Monday, June 29, floor session at 1 p.m. All remaining items will be passed and retained.

All motions shall be continued, seeing and hearing no further business. Ready to entertain a motion to adjourn. Majority leader, Aguiar-Curry, moves, and Ms. Sanchez seconds. This house stands adjourned until Monday, June 29, at 1 p.m. Quorum call is lifted.

We are adjourned.