Assembly Standing Committee on Elections

Good morning. Good morning. Good morning. The 08/05/2026 hearing of the Assembly Elections Committee is called to order. I'd like to welcome everyone who is here in the hearing room today and who's watching online.

Hearing, we are accepting witness testimony in person, and we are also accepting written testimony through the legislature's position letter portal. That portal can be accessed through the committee's website at aelc.assembly.ca.gov. Today's hearing is an informational hearing on the subject matter of Assembly Bill 1923 by Assembly Member Soria. Because this is an informational hearing, we do not need a quorum, but thank you. Welcome to our vice Chair and to Assemblymember Ellis, and we will not be voting on the bill.

Although this is an informational hearing, we will proceed as much as possible in the same manner as if it were a regular bill hearing. So we will hear from a maximum of two primary witnesses in support and two primary witnesses in opposition to the bill with a limit of two minutes per witness. As a reminder, primary witnesses in support are those designated by the author. Other witnesses are limited to providing their name, the organization they represent, if any, and the position their position on the bill.

Additional comments will be ruled out of order.

We seek to protect the rights of all who participate in the legislative process so that we can have an effective collaboration, deliberation, and decisions on the critical issues facing California. In order to facilitate the committee's business and public participation in today's hearing, We will not permit conduct that disrupts, disturbs, or otherwise impedes the orderly conduct of legislative proceedings. Violations of these rules may subject you to removal or other enforcement actions. With those announcements out of the way, we will move on to the committee's agenda.

The only item on this agenda today is AB 1923 by Assemblymember Soria.

Assemblymember, you may present your bill when you're ready.

Thank you, madam Chair, for the opportunity to present this, and thank you to the members that have joined us this morning. AB 23 is a very simple bill. It would ensure that the Fresno County Transportation Improvement Act appears on the November twenty twenty six general election ballot, and give, Fresno County voters the chance to decide the future of transportation funding in their county. Since 1986, the voter approved measure c has provided a consistent stream of funding for transportation projects and services in Fresno County.

Whether through road repairs, highway improvements, or ride services for seniors, students, and farm workers, measure c has been a foundational part of transportation in Fresno County.

That's how communities have been built. That's how neighborhoods exist, and, that measure has been extremely important. However, this funding source is set to end on July 2027. If the voters do not have the ability to see a successor initiative put on the ballot. Currently, the only initiative poised to succeed measure c is what is in front of you guys today, the future of transport of the Fresno County Transportation Improvement Act.

It has secure signatures needed to qualify for placement on the ballot, and, we are asking today, to allow that to happen. This initiative represents, what is a lengthy process of outreach to locals to develop a transportation initiative that serves the diverse, needs of the county residents in Fresno.

However, despite meeting all the requirements to qualify for placement on the ballot, there were three supervisors on the board of Fresno County, decided to essentially, take advantage of, the election law to subvert the will of over two 32,000 signatories, and deny, half a million registered voters to the opportunity to choose for themselves in this upcoming November election, With no replacement funding mechanism, which you will hear about the impacts today, Fresno County Transportation Services, its residents depend on forgetting to work, attending school, or reaching medical care, could cease to exist without no future plan.

Repairs needed to keep our roads safe, would be put on hold for who knows how long. AB, 1923 will give the voters of Fresno County their choice to back, by ensuring this initiative that should qualify for inclusion on the upcoming general election ballot.

The board of Fresno County will claim, and you guys probably have heard that this violates their local control authority. But the authority to decide which election a voter submitted initiative appears on its on its not a power held by counties. It is something they had to invent as a legal anomaly in our election process.

The board of Fresno County will claim that they just want to appropriately study the effects of this initiative, but they could have asked for this study as early as January when this initiative was submitted to them. Instead, they waited until the last possible moment when they could use it to subvert the election process.

A B 1923 simply bypasses this bad bait bad faith maneuver and ensures that Fresno voters get the chance to choose this November. Here with me to testify in support of AB 1923 is mayor of the city of Kerman, Maria Pacheco, and mayor of the city of Mendota, Mister Victor Martinez.

Welcome, and you each have two minutes.

Thank you. When we talk about better roads, safe streets, it's easy to focus on miles of pavement of dollars invested. But for the people I represent, transportation is about opportunity. Reliable transportation is what connects a student to a college classroom, a parent to a good paying job, and a senior to a doctor's appointment. Several years ago, our community partnered to create a transportation program that allows Kerman students to ride public transportation to Fresno City College at no cost.

Doors for to higher education for students who otherwise could not afford the cost of commuting or owning a vehicle. Similar transportation services help students from other rural communities as well. Delaying construction projects. We're talking about limiting educational access, reducing mobility for working families, and making it harder for rural residents to participate in the economy.

Current planning documents note that the expiration of measure c would leave a significant gap in local transportation funding beginning in 2027, affecting roads, transit, and the county's ability to leverage additional state and federal transportation dollars.

This is also about fairness. We spend so much of our time educating our constituents on the importance of voting and engaging with their elected officials and empowering their them to use their voices. More than 32,000 Fresno County residents signed petitions asking that this citizen led initiative be placed before the voters. AB 1923 simply preserves their opportunity to decide its future at the ballot box after a procedural delay has threatened to push the measure beyond the November deadline.

As someone who has spent their entire life in rural Fresno County, I know what it means to wait years for infrastructure that larger communities often take for granted.

Our residents are not asking for special treatment. They are simply asking for the chance to vote and invest in safer roads, stronger transit, and greater opportunity for the next generation. Fresno County has three supervisors

If you

can wrap up, please. Thank you.

Versus 11 mayors, 30 council members, and 32,000 constituents who signed the petition.

Thank you.

Thank you. And you have two minutes.

Yes. Thank you very much. Good morning, Chair and members. My name is Victor Martinez, mayor for the city of Mendota and chairman for Fresno Council of Governments, a small rural community of about 12,000 people in Western Fresno County. In agriculture communities like Mendota, we have a continuing need for ongoing transportation investments to keep our streets in good repair and make sure our residents are safe during the long commutes that are a fact of life in the Central Valley.

For forty years, Measure c have sent transportation sales tax has played this vital role. This money not only directly funds critical projects, it also serves as the matching funds needed to compete for state and federal transportation grants. As a disadvantaged community of predominantly farm workers, we will not be able to raise these matching funds ourselves without measure c, and so we will be cut off from most sources of road safety funding.

For these reasons, I am proud to support measure c successor initiative, the Fresno County Transportation Improvement Act, as it collected the signatures necessary to get on the November ballot. But now that the board of supervisors have weaponized procedural delays to keep this initiative off the November ballot, communities like Mendota are facing a road safety crisis.

This funding is not a luxury, not something that we will be just nice for us to have. This is a questions of life and death if measure c is allowed to lapse. Someone like me who utilized the transportation services when I was 17 years old fighting leukemia, going to the hospital, it was critical for me because our communities, in our rural communities, we do not have the specialists, the oncologist to treat this disease.

So we have to go to, greater metropolitan areas like Fresno to get those services. That is why I'm proud to support AB 1923 and thank Assemblywomen Soria and Senator Caballero for author authoring the measure.

This bill does not decide the outcome of the initiative. All we're asking is to respect the will of the people. More than 30,000 people signed this to be in November ballot. Thank you, and I respectfully urge the committee to please support AB 19, 23.

Thank you so much. We'll now hear from any witnesses in opposition to the bill. Come on up. You have two minutes.

Morning, madam Chair and members. The lawyer here today on behalf of Fresno County Board of Supervisors. The board of the county of Fresno respectfully opposes AB 1923 in its current form. I wanna thank the committee staff for including basically the county's letter verbatim in the analysis. I appreciate that.

Before I start or go any further, I wanna correct a fact about the board waiting until the last minute. I think that's really, really important for all the members in both houses to understand. The board agenda is this item at the next board meeting available to it after the signatures had actually been verified by the elections officials in the county. I wanna be clear about that. There's no gaming of that.

So this is an informational hearing. I'll keep my comments as brief as I can, but I do wanna make sure the members know there's additional opposition. A lot of it's listed in the Senate analysis for the committee later today where a vote will be taken, but the Fresno County Farm Bureau, the Fresno Area Hispanic Foundation, the Fresno Bandera, Kings Tulare Building, and Construction Trades, the AFL CIO, and I've heard that the California State Association of Counties may list concerns this afternoon because of the precedent.

So a couple of things. You're being asked to take extraordinary action in in a frankly a non extraordinary, with all due respect, circumstance.

In the Senate analysis for the hearing this afternoon, they state, quote, committee staff is unaware of any other legislation that placed an item on a local ballot contravening the action of the county board of supervisors as this bill would do. Any legislation ever. Peter Chacon, then assemblyman Peter Chacon, and I may be the only person in this room that worked with Peter Chacon, in 1987 put this law on the books. 1923 does not propose to do anything. I know.

I'm dating myself. No. I was here then. Yeah. Okay.

Alright. This club is formed. This bill does not propose to change the law. This bill proposes to change the law in Fresno County this year. Right?

A law that's been on the book since 1987. The tax, in fact, doesn't expire until July 1. The revenues collected up until July 1 will, in fact, be available for expenditure for quite a while after that.

You're over two minutes, so I'm gonna give you like fifteen more seconds

to wrap up.

I'm the only can I have the other guys opposition two minutes too?

because he didn't show up today.

I'll give you

Speak thirty

Okay. Let me go faster. How about this? I'm gonna quote from the building trades letter. Okay?

And this has to do with the thirty day study and the necessity of it. Not just from the board's perspective, but from the building trades perspective. The proponents own economic analysis illustrates the need for an independent review as if it misstates and overstates job creation through modeled employment generated indirectly through suppliers and induced employment re resulting from household spending. Even the direct job category includes spending assigned to public transportation operations, administration consulting, and other activities that are not necessarily construction work performed by local tradespeople.

That's not the board of supervisors that I represent.

That's organized labor saying a study is necessary for at least many reasons. So let me conclude. Madam Chair, thank you for being generous. I also wanna make sure the members understand I don't want any members surprised if this leads to litigation. And so in terms of the urgency or the the press for the urgency, the statement that this is urgent, I think court proceedings will actually make it, possibly make a lot of what this bill seeks to achieve moot.

Thank

Thank you.

Thank you.

you so much. Are there any witnesses in the room in support of the bill that would like to just come up and add on as me too's? Yeah. I think that's a lot of you in the room.

Hi. Good morning, Chair. Thank you. Veronica Garibay on behalf of Leadership Council for Justice and Accountability and Support. I'd also like to register a Me Too for Hmong Innovating Politics, Moo California, Safe to School, Public Advocates, Fresno City Employees Association, Sierra Club California, and NextGen California.

Thank you. Yeah. You just all step up to the mic, state your name, organization, if any, and position. We'll then have after you go through through the the ones in support, we'll ask for anybody in opposition. So thank you.

Mayor Balchurn from City Of Parlier, and I'm I'm in in a I approve this. Thank you.

Good morning.

My name is Gilbert Garcia. I'm mayor for

the city of Orange Cove, and

I also support AB 1923. Thank you very much. Good morning. Ray Leon, mayor of City Of Huron, the heart of the valley, here in strong support. Thank you for being here.

Good morning. Genoveva Islas, board president of Fresno Unified School District and executive director of Cultiva La Salud, and I rise to give my full support of AB 1923.

Christina Solberg with the Central Valley Community Foundation. Fresno County is one of the key counties that we cover at the foundation here in strong support.

Sue Hammond, Clovis, California. I'm in full support of AB 1923.

My name is Nico Montano. I'm a resident of Fresno California county, and I am in strong support of AB 1923.

Good morning, madam Chair, members of the committee. Ashley Swearingen, Central Valley Community Foundation, resident, Fresno, California, strong supporter of this bill. Thank you.

Good morning. Reverend Simon Biassel, pastor of the Big Red Church in the beautiful, Fresno High neighborhood.

That was fair.

Jim Grant, Saint Paul Catholic Newman Center, very strong supporter of this bill going through.

Sarah Centeno, I'm a resident of friend Fresno, and I support this bill.

Good morning. My name is Waldo, and I'm a resident of Fresno, and I support this bill.

My name is Ariana Contreras. I'm from Fresno, and I support this bill. Hi. Good morning. My name is Eva Ramirez, and I'm from Fresno County, and I support this bill.

Alan Peroz, Chair Emeritus, Central Valley Community Foundation, only one to vote for the two previous versions

of this bill, and I'm

a strong supporter of this one as well.

Hi. My name is Jonas Palos. I depend on the bus. I'm visually impaired. That's the only way I can get around, and I'm representing veterans on the street.

And this they're huge recipient of this, and I'm in support of this bill. Thank you.

My name is Janelle Cabrera. I am a resident of Fresno County, and I am I am in support of bill AB 1923.

Good morning. My name is Brian Abarca. I'm from Fresno County, and I support this bill.

Good morning. My name is Silvano Roboyero, and I stay here for support and for the for support everything the for the bill.

My name is Juan. I'm a resident of Fresno County, and I'm a supporterless.

Good morning. My name is Asel Valdez. I'm a resident in Fresno cal Fresno California, Fresno County, and I support this bill.

Good morning.

My name is Genevieve Aguilar, and I'm a resident of Fresno, and I support this bill. Good morning. My name is Jasmine Cisneros, and I'm in support of this bill.

Good morning. My name is Sherm. I'm a director with the Youth Leadership Institute, resident of Fresno County, and I'm in strong support of this bill.

Good morning. I'm Orlando Rodriguez, organizer for local ninety nine Carpenters Union. We are in strong support of this bill.

Good morning, everybody. My name is Palamon Frauso. I'm a field representative with the North Coast States Carpenters Union representing Carpenters Local ninety nine, Fresno, Madera, Tulare, Kings, and Kern County, and I'm in strong support of this bill. Thank you.

Good morning. Sandra Saledon with Fresno Building Healthy Communities. I'd like to register our support. I'd also like to register the support of Community Justice Center, Climate Plan, California Bicycle Coalition, Live Again Fresno, United San Joaquin, Fresno Interfaith, Climate Alliance. Thank you.

Good morning. My name is Kaylee Alvarado. I'm a resident from Fresno County, and I support this bill.

Good morning. My name is Fermin Aguilar Salas, and I'm from Fresno County, and I support this initiative. So good morning. Bye. Thank you.

Good morning, ma'am, Chair members. Mari Lopez with the California Nurses Association in support.

Doctor Esmeralda Diaz, I support the AV 20 913 for in behalf of organ session of spine chest.

1923.

1923. Hi. My name is Gloria. I'm from SEIU, and I support AB 1923. Thank you.

Hello. My name is Brianna, and I and I'm from SEIU two thousand fifteen. And I support a v nineteen twenty three.

Yeah. That's okay.

Good morning. My name is Oscar. We're with SEIU twenty fifteen. We represent caregivers all across Fresno County, and we are in support of this, bill.

Good morning. I'm Olga Valle, and I am, the on the executive board for SCIU twenty fifteen and, represent the home caregivers, and we, I support this bill. It's very important for our community and who we represent.

Thanks.

Good morning. My name is Ada Yumasak. I'm a resident of Fresno County, and I support this bill.

Good morning. My name is Margaret Yang. I am a resident of Fresno of Fresno County, and I support this bill.

My name is Rosa Mariana, and I'm a student at Fresno. And I rely on the transportation, and I support this bill. My name is Jose Perez. I'm a resident of Fresno, and I support this bill.

Good morning. My name is Ril, and I'm a resident of Fresno. And as a student, I utilize the transit system all the time. It's very crucial to my education, and that's why I'm in support of this bill. Thank you.

Good morning. My name is John. I'm a resident of Fresno, and I support this bill.

Good morning. My name is Andy. I'm a resident of Fresno, also a member of the Fresno Unified School Board, and, also, I support this bill. Also proud to register support on behalf of the following organizations, the California Faculty Association, Fresno Chapter, State Center Federation of Teachers, the Fresno Unified School District, the Fresno Teachers Association, Every Neighborhood Partnership, California Enviro Voters, Jakara Movement, the Children's Movement of Fresno, Planned Parenthood Advocates Marmonte, Friends of Calwa, and the Central Labor Council. Thank

you. Good morning. My name is Gerardo. I'm a resident of Fresno, and I support this bill.

Good morning. My name is Leticia, and I'm a resident on Fresno, and I support this bill. Hi. I'm Ulises. I I I'm a resident of Fresno.

I support 1923. Hello. My name is Eileen, and I support this bill because my mom relies on public transportation. Thank you. Hello.

Good morning. My name is Juliana Behar. I'm a Fresno County resident, and I support this bill.

Good morning. My name is Esther Ramirez. I live in Cantuah Creek in Fresno County, and I support this bill. Thank you. My name is Ivanka Saunders, resident of Fresno, and I support this bill.

Thank you.

Good morning. My name is Yedera Torres. I'm a resident of Fresno County, and I strongly support this bill.

Phoebe Seaton with Leadership Council for Justice and Accountability, registering support for Fresno State Center For Community Voices, Medical Advocates for Healthy Air, Faith in the Valley, Mothers Helping Mothers, Climate Citizens Lobby of Fresno, and Central Valley Partnership. Thank you.

Good morning. Dawn Wilcox, California Conference of Carpenters in strong support of this measure. Thank you.

Good morning. My name is Sylvia. I'm a resident from Fresno County, and I support this bill. Thank you.

Hello. Good morning. My name is Guillermo Aruelez, and I am a resident of Fresno, and I support this bill.

Good morning. Carrie Catalano. I'm a resident of Fresno County, and I support this bill. And thank you, Assemblymember Soria.

Miguel Arias, Fresno City Council member. Our council unanimously supported this transportation initiative as did our mayor. And for the record, the consultant's comments were completely falsehoods. We'll be happy to expand on that later.

One of those. Ray Leon, I forgot to mention that Latino Equity Advocacy and Policy Institute, the organization that I founded to serve farmworker families throughout rural Fresno County, is also in support. Thank you.

Thank you. I think that takes into account everyone who's a me too in support. We'll now move on to the me too's who are in opposition to the bill. Please step up to the mic. State your name, organization, and your position, please.

Good morning. Emma Jungwirth on behalf of the California State Association of Counties. We do not have a formal position yet, but I do just wanna express concerns about, local control and overriding the the vote of the board. But thank you.

Thank you so much. We'll now bring it back to our committee of three of us. Any comments or questions? Vice Chair Johnson.

Thank you so much. Good afternoon. I first wanna thank what a a great representation of support both I always appreciate when come up when people make the time to come up and let us know, so appreciate that. With that being said, I do have some serious concerns for AB 1923, both in the terms of the underlying policy as well as the procedural approach that that is being taken to push the bill through.

And I think this very much can be considered an inappropriate overreach by the state in a very local matter, and I'm very deeply concerned about those and and more so the precedents that this action will set.

You know, as someone who served on a city council for thirteen years and as a mayor, I feel strongly that local matters should be decided by the city or even the county level when possible. That is especially true in cases where local representatives have taken action directly in opposition of policy proposal. So this bill, in in the way I've interpreted it, the bill strips away local control and overrides the will of the elected officials, chosen by the residents in Fresno County.

Sacramento should not be injecting its own political winds in this matter. We need to stand by the decision of the of the county board of supervisors and respect their insight, their oversight, and their authority.

Overriding this decision, directly undermines local control and will the will, more importantly, of the voters of the Central Valley. I think the the intention of the bill isn't the most important part. It is wrong for the legislature to intervene, and I encourage my colleagues to consider the facts as we leave the committee today. I know we are not voting, but I just wanted I wanted to make these concerns very clear.

For these reasons, I I I cannot be in support, and I know we're not taking a vote today, but I wanted to make sure that was heard on the committee floor so it's not a surprise on the floor.

Thank you.

Thank you so much. Any other comments or questions? No? Good morning. How are you?

We're at the point where we're asking committee members if you have any comments or questions. Are you having to share anything?

I have a question for your staff.

Okay. Okay. Very good. Well, thank you. You know, the elections code lets the board of supervisors ask for re report on a proposed initiative to help the board decide whether to adopt the measure itself or send it to the voters.

So that was the reason that was put into law. But that choice doesn't exist here. Because the Fresno initiative would impose a tax, the California constitution doesn't allow the board to adopt it outright. So the board's role is actually ministerial. It must submit the met it must submit the measure to the voters.

So requiring a report before the board refers the measure to the ballot doesn't serve the purpose of the elections code. The report can't inform a decision that the board has no authority to make. So the practical effect of this, please withhold your applause. The the, the practical effect is simply delay, and delay for delays sake is not what the elections code contemplates. So Fresno voters gather the signatures necessary to qualify this measure for the ballot.

I know that's no simple task. I too am very grateful for everyone who showed up today to make your voices heard. And the voters of Fresno County should have the opportunity to vote on this in the fall we have said, this there's no vote being taken on this measure today. We're just hearing the voices, and the issues around it. But Assemblymember, you may go ahead and close.

Thank you, madam Chair. And I appreciate, obviously, your comments. As someone that has, tremendous experience with our election code, you are, exceptionally right when you're mentioning that the power that, really, the board of supervisors has is ministerial, and they are essentially using a technicality, to do what they're trying to do to push this initiative off to 2028, which is not right. The voters deserve to have a vote.

And that's what this measure is today, and I'm grateful for this public hearing, because we are going through the process, in the legislature to have this discussion, you know, hear the concerns.

And to the opposition, I just wanna say, no one is against the study. We welcome the study. We look forward to the study. The study can be utilized, during the next several months to decide, you know, where voters want to be, on this measure. But, ultimately, what we want is, the democratic process, to allow this initiative to be on the ballot in November, of this year.

So, again, with that, I thank you guys for, you know, hearing us out and for I wanna thank all the folks that came from Fresno County, which is not an easy track. It demonstrates how critically important it is for our communities to be able to have a voice and to have a decision and not allow three people, to think that they have the power to derail the democratic process.

And today, while you guys are not gonna vote, I do respectfully ask that you consider supporting this measure when it gets, to the Assembly floor. Thank you so much for the opportunity to be here this morning.

Thank you so much for your leadership on this issue. Thank you again to everyone who drove up to have your voice heard. And with that, this informational hearing is adjourned.