Senate Floor

Secretary will call roll.

[Roll Call]

Will the members and our guests be on the rail and in the gallery, please rise. We will be led in prayer this morning by our Senator Senator Durazo, after which please remain standing for the pledge of allegiance to the flag. Senator Durazo.

Thank you, Mister president. Creator God, source, hope, as we begin the work entrusted to this chamber, we pause to honor the common humanity we each carry into this room. Carrie Newcomer writes, I'm learning to sit and listen, to Pat myself on the knee, lay my hand on my heart, take a deep breath, and laugh at myself, to befriend my mistakes, especially the ones that show me how I most need to change.

May the listening we practice in this moment steady our steps and guide us gracefully to the work of change. Amen. Amen. Please join me in the pledge of allegiance. I pledge allegiance to the flag of The United States Of America, and to the Republic for which it stands, one nation under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all.

Privileges of the floor, there are none. Messages from the governor will be deemed read. Messages from the Assembly will be deemed read. Reports of committees will be deemed read and amendments adopted. Motions, resolutions, and notices.

Pursuant to Senate rule 29.10 d, file item 34 SB the following bills will be referred to the committee on rules. File item 34 SB 457. File item 37 SB 526. File item 38, SB 534. File item 40, SB 632. File item 42, SB 700. File item 53, SB 969. Members, we are moving to consideration of the daily file. Secretary, please read second reading file.

[Second Reading]

Second reading file will be deemed read. Moving to unfinished business. File item 31. Secretary, please read.

Senate Bill 1117 by Senator Cervantes an act relating to land use.

Senator Cervantes, you are recognized.

Thank you, Mister speaker, Mister President for allowing me to present Senate Bill 1117, which will clarify strength in existing ADU Law. Senate Bill 1117 will help reduce impact fees for homeowners in California. Amendments in Assembly Local Gov were taken with the intent of addressing the potential equitable impacts of this bill.

With the additional amendments, the bill will only apply to no more than two ADU units on a lot. This bill has received unanimous bipartisan support. Respectfully ask for your aye vote.

Thank you, Senator. Seeing no mics raised for discussion or debate. Ssecretary, please call roll.

[roll call]

Senator Cervantes moves the call. Members, before we go further in business, I do want us to be mindful of the fact that we do have the five minute rule in effect as far as speaking on bills.

With that, we will move to the next item on file item, file item 32, SB 1166. Secretary, please read.

Senate bill 1166 by Senator Arreguin an act relating to public employment.

Senator Arreguin, you are recognized.

Thank you, Mister president. I rise present SB 1166, which is back on concurrence. Amendments taken in the Assembly clarify what conduct by management and transit union employees will constitute an unfair labor practice providing both parties with clear protections. This language will further assist PERB in promulgating regulations under this bill. I respectfully ask for an aye vote.

Thank you, Senator. Seeing no mics raised for discussion or debate, secretary, please call roll.

[Roll Call]

Senator Adegaine moves the call. We are moving to item 33, SB 222. Secretary, please read.

Senate bill 222 by Senator Weiner and equity into housing.

Senator Weiner, you are recognized.

Thank you, Mister president. SB two two two is back on concurrence. Amendments in the Assembly were technical and addressed chaptering issues. This bill is co sponsored by the building decarbonization coalition, SPUR, and the Bay Area Air District. It's part of a large coalition, and I respectfully ask for an aye vote.

Thank you, senators. Seeing no mics raised for discussion or debate, secretary, please call roll.

Alan. Hi. Alvarado-Gil. No. Archuleta.

Hi. Arreguin. Hi. Ashby. Hi.

Becker. Hi. Blasphere. Aye, Cabaldon. Aye, Caballero.

Aye, Cervantes. Aye, Choi. Aye, Cortezi. Aye, Dali. Durazo.

Aye, Gonzales. Aye, Grayson. Aye, Grove. No. Hurtado.

Aye, Jones. Laird. Limon. McGuire. Aye, McNerney.

Aye, Menjubar. Aye, Nilo. No. Ochoa Bog, Padilla. Aye, Perez.

I Reyes. Richardson. I Rubio. No. Small.

I Stern. Strickland. No. Umber. Aye.

Volodares. Wahab. Aye. Weber Pearson. Aye.

Weiner. Aye.

Senator Wiener moves a call. Moving to item 35, SB 501. Secretary, please read.

Senate Bill 501 by Senator Allen, an act relating to solid waste.

Senator Allen, you are recognized.

Thank you, Mister President, members. This bill would expand California's extended producer responsibility program for loose batteries to include medium format batteries such as those found on e bikes and outdoor lawn equipment and portable power systems. The amendments to the Assembly added detail on how multiple stewardship organizations could interact with each other, provided some more flexibility for rural areas on the minimum number of collection sites, and made some additional clarifying changes. I respectfully ask for an aye vote.

Thank you, Senator. Seeing no mics raised for discussion or debate, secretary, please call roll.

Alan? Alright. Alvarado-Gil. No. Archuleta.

Alright. Aye. Ashby. Aye. Becker.

Aye. Blake Spear. Aye. Cabaldon. Aye.

Caballero. Aye. Cervantes. Aye. Choi.

No Cortesi. Aye, Dali. No Durazo. Aye, Gonzales. Aye, Grayson.

Aye, Grove. Aye, Jones. No Laird. Limon. Maguire.

Aye, McNearney. Menjivar. Aye, Nilo. No, Ochoa Bogadia. Aye, Perez.

Aye, Reyes. Richardson. Aye, Rubio. Aye, Sciarto. No.

Smallwood Cuevas. Aye, Stern. Strickland. No. Umberg.

Aye, Volodares. No. Wahab. Aye, Webber Pearson. Aye, Weiner.

Aye.

Senator Allen moves a call. We are moving to item 36, SB 503. Secretary, please read.

Senate bill 503 by Senator Weber Pearson, inequity to health care services.

Senator doctor Weber Pearson, you are recognized.

Thank you, Mister president. Senators, today I rise to request concurrence on SB 503. This bill requires developers and deployers of AI clinical decision support systems to identify tools that have a risk of bias impacts, proactively mitigate those risk, and require deployers to monitor those symptom those systems once deployed across their patient population.

Amendments taken in the Assembly reframe artificial intelligence systems to clinical decision support system to align with similar policies, require developers to provide high level summaries of important information to deployers, clarify the scope by providing that the captured systems must be developed for the systems must be developed for the use of health programs or activities, and remove enforcement from CDPH's jurisdiction and all reporting requirements.

SB 503 is a priority of the California Legislative Black Caucus and it's now supported by the California Medical Association, California Hospital Association, and Kaiser Permanente along with others, and has enjoyed bipartisan support on the Assembly floor.

Respectfully ask for your aye vote on concurrence of SB 503. Thank you.

Thank you, Senator. Seeing no mics raised for discussion or debate, secretary, please call roll.

Allen. Hi, Alvarado-Gil. Hi, Archilada. Hi, Arreguin. Hi, Ashby.

Hi, Becker. Hi, Blaisebier. Hi, Cabaldon. Hi, Caballero. Aye.

Cervantes, Aye. Choi, Aye. Cortezi, Aye. Dali, Aye. Durazo, Aye.

Gonzales, Aye. Grayson, Aye. Grove, Hurtado, Aye, Jones. Aye, Laird. Limon.

Maguire. Aye, McNearney. Aye, Menjivar. Aye, Nilo. Aye, Ochoa Bog, Padilla.

Aye, Perez. Aye Reyes Richardson. Aye Rubio. Aye Seattle. Aye Smallwood Cuevas.

Aye Stern. Strickland. Aye Humbert. Aye Valdez. Wahab?

Aye. Weber Pearson? Aye. Weiner? Aye.

Senator doctor Weber Pearson moves a call. We are moving to item 50, SB 950. Secretary, please read.

Senate bill 950 by Senator Weber Pearson and equanimity to health care coverage.

Senator doctor Weber Pearson, you are recognized.

Thank you, Mister president. Good morning, senators. Today, I rise to request concurrence on SB 950. This bill would ensure timely access to FDA approved, medically necessary treatments for Californians with early stage Alzheimer's disease. Amendments taken the Assembly aligned terminology across the policy for consistency, clarify the preservation of utilization management and prior authorization, and remove coverage parameters to ensure that we are not inadvertently weakening existing law.

Respectfully ask for an aye vote on SB 950. Thank you.

Thank you, Senator. Seeing no mics raised for discussion or debate, secretary, please call roll.

Allen. Aye, Alvarado-Gil. Aye, Archuleta. Aye, Aregin. Aye, Ashby.

Aye, Becker. Aye, Cabaldon. Aye, Caballero. Aye. Cervantes.

Aye. Choi. Cortezi. Aye. Dali.

Aye. Durazo. Aye. Gonzales. Aye.

Grayson.

Aye.

Grove. Hurtado. Aye. Jones. I Laird, Limon, McGuire, I McNearney, I Menjivar, I Nilo, I Ochoa Bog, Padilla, I Perez, I Reyes, Richardson, I Rubio, I See Arto.

I Smallwood Cuevas. I Stern. Strickland. I Umberg. Aye.

Aye. Volodares. Wahab. Aye. Weber Pearson.

Aye. Weiner. Aye. Aye. Aye.

Senator

doctor Weber Pearson moves the call. Moving to item 52, SB 964. Secretary, please read.

Senate bill 964 by Senator Smallwood Cuevas, and act relating to health care coverage.

Senator Smallwood Cuevas, you are recognized.

Thank you, Mister president. Good morning, colleagues. I am proud to present SB 964, which is back on concurrence. This bill helps ensure that patients with chronic and complex medical conditions can continue receiving the medications they need without unnecessary delays. Amendments were taken in the Assembly, including clarifying language on implementation and provisions regarding coverage for off label use.

I respectfully ask for an aye vote.

Thank you, Senator. Seeing no mics raised for discussion or debate, secretary, please call roll.

Allen. Hi. Alvarado-Gil. Hi. Archilada.

Hi. Hi. Hi. Hi. Hi.

Aye, Blakesphere. Aye, Cabaldon. Aye, Caballero. Aye, Cervantes. Aye, Choi.

Aye, Cortesi. Aye, Dali. Aye, Durazo. Aye, Gonzalez. Aye, Grayson.

Aye, Grove. Hurtado. Aye, Jones. Aye, Laird. Limon.

McGuire. McLearney. Aye, Menjivar. Aye, Nilo. Aye, Ochoa Bog.

Padilla. Aye, Perez. Reyes, Richardson, Rubio, Sciarto, Smallwood Cuevas, Stern, Strickland, Humbert, Humbert, Hovoladeres, Hovolade, Wahab, Aye. Weber Pearson? Aye.

Weiner? Aye.

Senator Smallwood Cuevas moves the call. We are moving to item 59, SB 1012. Secretary, please read.

Senate bill 1012 by Senator Smallwood Cuevas in equity link to corrections.

Senator Smallwood Cuevas, you are recognized.

Thank you again, Mister president. This bill is a support support bill, and I'm happy to present SB 1012, which is back on concurrence. Assembly amendment amendments narrow the focus of state approved apprenticeships specifically to the construction, craft, labor, occupation, and push back the implementation date until 07/01/2027. Respectfully ask for your an aye vote.

Thank you, senators. Seeing no mics raised for discussion or debate, secretary, please call roll.

Allen. Hi. Avrado Gill. Hi. Archuleta.

Hi. Hi. Hi. Hi. Hi.

Hi. Hi. Hi. Hi. Hi.

Hi. Aye, Blake Spear. Aye, Cabaldon. Aye, Caballero. Aye, Cervantes.

Aye, Choi. Aye, Cortezi. Aye, Deli. Aye, Durazo. Aye, Gonzales.

Aye, Grayson. Aye, Grove. Hurtado. Aye, Jones. Aye, Laird.

Limon. McGuire. Aye, McNearney. Aye, Menjivar, Nilo. Aye, Ochoa Bog, Padilla.

Aye, Perez. Aye, Reyes, Richardson. Aye, Rubio. I Seearto. I Smallwood Cuevas.

I Stern. Strickland. I Humbert. I Voladares. I Wahab.

I Weber Pearson. I Weiner. Aye.

Senator Smallwood, Cuevas moves the call. Members, we're moving to item 68 SB 1218. Secretary, please read.

Senate bill 1218 by Senator Adegin and AccuLinked to Vehicles.

Senator Adegin, you are recognized.

Thank you, Mister president and members. I rise to present Senate Bill 1218, which is back up concurrence. This bill is intended by an for enforceability mechanism to deal with the persistent issue of illegal dumping, which affects communities throughout California. Assembly amendments change the scope of the bill to give local authorities the ability to use a vehicle immobilization or booting as a way to hold repeat illegal dumping offenders accountable. I respectfully ask for an aye vote.

Thank you, Senator. Seeing no mics raised for discussion or debate, secretary, please call roll.

Allen. Hi. Aye. Arroyo Gill. Aye, Durazo.

Aye, Gonzales. Aye, Grayson. Aye, Grove. Hurtado. Aye, Jones.

Aye, Laird. Limon, Maguire, Aye, McNerney, Aye, Menjivar, Aye, Nilo, Aye, Ochoa Bogadia, Aye, Perez, Aye, Reyes, Richardson. I Rubio. I Seattle. I Small Workuelas.

I Stern. Strickland. I Humber. I Volodares. I Wahab.

Members, we are back together here. Item 74, SB 1267. Secretary, please read.

Senator Bill twelve sixty seven by Senator Allen, enacranate to common interest developments.

Senator Allen, you are recognized.

Thank you, Mister president, members. SB 1267 is back on a concurrence with some clarifying amendments to the Assembly. I respect for Ester and I vote.

Thank you, Senator. Seeing no mics raised for discussion or debate, secretary, please call roll.

Allen. Hi. Alvarado-Gil. Hi. Archuleta.

Hi. Hi. Hi. Hi. Hi.

Hi. Hi. Hi. Hi. Hi.

Hi. Hi. Hi. Hi. Hi.

Hi. Hi. Hi. Aye, Cortezi. Aye, Delhi.

Aye, Durazo. Aye, Gonzales. Aye, Grayson. Aye, Grove. Aye, Jones.

Aye, Laird, Limon, Maguire. I McNearney, I Menjivar, I Nilo, I Ochoa Bog, Padilla, I Perez, I Reyes, Richardson, I Rubio. I Seattle. I Smallwood Cuevas. I Stern.

Strickland. I Hamburg. I Volodares. Aye, Wahab. Aye, Weber Pearson.

Aye, Weiner. Aye.

Senator Allen moves the call. Item 79, SB 1299. Secretary, please read.

Senate bill 1299 by Senator Adeghin, inaccurating to fire suppression.

Senator Adagun, you are recognized.

Thank you, Mister president. I rise to present SB 1299, which is back for concurrence. Amendments taken in the Assembly address technical changes, specifically the bill was renamed the Sprinkler Fitter Certification Act. The amendments deleted water or chemical base from the definition of a fire suppression system and made additional clarifying changes governing the certification, supervision, continuing education, and enforcement requirements. This bill, has enjoyed bipartisan support and respectfully asked for an aye vote.

Thank you, Senator. Seeing no mics raised for discussion or debate, secretary, please call roll.

Allen. Hi. Avrado Gill. Hi. Archuleta.

Hi. Adegein. Hi. Ashby. Aye, Becker.

Aye, Blake Spear. Aye, Cabaldon. Aye, Caballero. Aye, Cervantes. Aye, Choi.

Aye, Cortesi. Aye, Deli. Aye, Durazo. Aye, Gonzales. I Grayson, I Grove, Hurtado, I Jones, I Laird, Limon, McGuire, I McNearney, I Menjivar, I Nilo, I Ochoa Bog, Padilla.

Aye, Perez. Aye, Reyes Richardson. Aye, Rubio. Aye, Ciardo. Aye, Smallwood Cuevas.

Aye, Stern, Strickland. Aye, Umbert. Aye. Volodares. Aye.

Wahab. Aye. Weber Pearson. Aye, Weiner. Aye.

Senator Adeyin moves the call. Moving to item 83, SB 1412. Secretary, please read.

Senate bill 1412 by Senator Rubio in equity to parental engagement.

Senator Rubio, you are recognized.

Thank you, Mister president. Ladies and gentlemen of the Senate, I rise to present AB 2790 on behalf of Assembly communication communication and conveyance committee. This bill would expand the scope of educational facilities eligible for discounted Internet services through the California teleconnect fund or CTF administered by the CPUC. The program helps schools, libraries, and community based organizations close the digital divide by assisting those organizations with the cost of Internet service.

This bill also deletes outdated sections of the public's utilities code and makes technical and conforming changes in light of recent federal changes to E rate, which is a federal counterpart to CTF.

And with that, I respectfully ask for an aye vote. Thank you.

Just to clarify, Senator Rubio, this is item 83 SB 1412?

That's what I

you know what? We're gonna have to come back then. Yeah. That's all.

Okay. Thank you. We'll strike that testimony on that. You ready? So let's reintroduce

Sorry. I was just gonna have to come

Okay. We'll come back to you. Thank you so very much. My apologies for not stopping you earlier. We're going to move to item 95 AB 2297.

back today.

Members, we're going to move actually to Assembly third reading at this point. Item 95, AB 2297. Secretary, please read.

Assembly bill 2297 by Assembly Member Stephanie, inequity into restitution.

Senator Blake Spear, you are recognized.

Thank you, Mister president and members. Arise to present AB 2297 by Assembly member Stephanie. AB 2297 establishes consistent standards for victim restitution across California's diversion programs, ensuring victims have the same opportunity to receive restitution regardless of which diversion program a defendant enters. Under current law, restitution requirements vary across diversion programs for no good reason. This can create complexities and inconsistent outcomes for victims.

AB 2297 brings greater consistency and aligns diversion programs with California's long standing commitment to victim restitution. This bill does not eliminate diversion or limit who is eligible. It simply ensures that accountability to victims remains part of the process. I respectfully ask for your aye vote.

Thank you, senators. Seeing no mics raised for discussion or debate, secretary, please call roll.

Allen. Aye, Arvada Gill. Aye, Archuleta. Aye, Adegein. Aye, Ashby.

Aye, Becker. Aye, Blake Spear. Aye, Cabaldon. Aye, Caballero. Aye, Cervantes.

Aye, Choi. Aye, Cortesi. Aye, Dali. Aye, Durazo. Aye, Gonzales.

Aye, Grayson. Aye, Grove. Hurtado. Aye, Jones. Aye, Laird.

Limon. McGuire. Aye, McNerney. Aye, Menjivar. Aye, Nilo.

Aye, Ochoa Bogadia. Aye, Perez. Aye, Reyes Richardson. Aye, Rubio. Aye, Ciardo.

Aye, Smallwood Cuevas. Aye, Stern. Smallwood Cuevas. No. Stern.

Strickland? Aye. Aye. Aye. Valadares?

Aye. Aye. Aye. Aye. Weber Pearson?

Aye. Weiner? Aye.

Senator Blake Spear moves the call. We are moving back to unfinished business, item 83 SB 1412. Secretary, please read.

Senate bill 1412 by Senator Rubio and equity into parental engagement.

Senator Rubio, you are recognized for SB 1412.

Thank you, Mister president. Ladies and gentlemen of the Senate, I rise to present SB 1412, the School Family Engagement Opportunity Act, which is back on Senate concurrent recent amendments in the Assembly education committee. Just clarify that nonconsensual recordings are not allowed during virtual meetings. The bill has support from CTA, the state PTA, and no opposition. With that, I ask for an aye vote.

Thank you.

Thank you, Senator. Seeing no mics raised for discussion or debate, secretary, please call roll.

Allen. Aye, Alvarado-Gil. Aye, Archuleta. Aye, Arreguin. Aye, Ashby.

Aye, Becker. Aye, Blake Spear. Aye, Caballero. Aye, Cervantes. Aye, Choi.

Aye, Cortesi. Aye, Deli. Aye, Durazo. Aye, Gonzales. Aye, Grayson.

Aye, Grove. Aye, Jones. Aye, Laird. Limon. McGuire.

Aye, McNerney. Aye, Menjivar. Nilo. Aye, Ochoa Bog, Pavia. Aye, Perez.

Aye, Reyes, Richardson. Aye, Rubio. Aye, Seattle. Aye, Smallwood Cuevas. Aye, Stern, Strickland.

Aye, Humbert. Aye. Aye, Volodares. Aye, Wahab. Aye, Weber Pearson.

Aye, Weiner. Aye.

Senator Rubio moves the call. Returning back to Assembly third reading, item one zero six AB 502. Secretary, please

read. Assembly bill 502 by Assembly Bill 502 by Assemblymember Pellerin, inaccordating to elections and declare the urgency thereof to take effect immediately.

Senator Blake Spear, you are recognized.

Thank you, Mister president, members. I rise to present AB 502 by Assembly Member Pellerin. Today, malicious disinformation facilitated by AI generated deep fakes can skew voter behavior by rapidly deceiving voters, discouraging voter turnout, calling election results into question, and generally undermining faith in our elections. In 2024, the governor signed AB 2839, which prohibited the distribution of digitally altered materially deceptive campaign advertisements and other misleading election communications during critical times around an election.

Several entities challenged the law and eventually a federal district court struck down the law, finding that it target constitutionally protected speech.

AB 502 revises the statute of AB 2839 to better withstand constitutional challenge. This bill adds flexibility for election related satirical content, limits those who can seek relief, and narrows the time frame during which these protections would apply from a hundred and twenty days before an election to thirty days before an election. These changes will make it easier for a court to uphold key provisions of AB 2839 and better protect election integrity in the age of AI.

On behalf of Assemblymember Pellerin, I respectfully ask for your aye vote.

Thank you, Senator. Senator Strickland, you are recognized.

Thank you, Mister president, members. I rise in opposition to AB 502. This bill does not significantly address the protections of free speech moving forward. What will happen is we'll move forward and it'll get struck down again by the courts. For those reasons, I ask for a no vote on AB 502.

Seeing no further discussion or debate, no mics raised. Senator Blakesberg, would you like to close?

Thank you. I respectfully ask for your aye vote.

Thank you, Senator. Secretary, please call roll.

Allen. Aye. Alvarado-Gil. No. Archuleta.

Aye. Aye. Ashby. Aye. Becker.

Aye. Aye. Aye. Aye. Aye.

Aye. Aye. Durazo. Aye, Gonzales. Aye, Grayson.

Aye, Grove. Hurtado. Aye, Jones. No, Laird. Limon.

McGuire. Aye, McNerney. Aye, Menjivar, Nilo, no, Perez, Aye, Reyes, Richardson, Aye, Rubio, Aye, Seattle. No. Smallwood Cuevas.

Aye, Stern. Strickland. No, Humbert. Aye, Volodares. No, Wahab.

Aye, Webber Pearson. Weiner. Aye.

Senator Blake Spear moves the call. We are moving to item one thirteen, nine twelve. Secretary, please read.

Assembly bill 912 by Assembly member Wilson, and I can relate to the Vallejo Flood And Wastewater District.

Senator Caballon, you are recognized.

Thank you, Mister president. This is a, technical district bill. The Vallejo Flood and Wastewater District is currently comprised of the entire Vallejo City Council plus another member that's created challenges for project delivery for the delineation of fiduciary duties, and recusal cannot function because the entire council is a member. This bill simply reconfigures the membership. It has no opposition as and and and is supported both by the district and all of the affected government agencies.

I'd ask for an aye vote.

Thank you, Senator. Seeing no mics raised for discussion or debate, secretary, please call roll.

Allen. Hi, Avaradogill. Hi, Archilada. Hi, Arregin. Hi, Ashby.

Hi, Becker. Aye, Blake Spear, aye, Cabaldon, aye, Caballero, aye, Cervantes, Choi, aye, Cortesi, aye, Dali, aye, Durazo, aye, Gonzales, aye, Grayson, Aye, Grove. Aye, Jones. Aye, Laird, Limon, McGuire. Aye, McNerney.

Aye, Menjivar. Nilo. Aye, Ochoa Bogadia. I Perez. I Reyes Richardson.

I Rubio. I Seattle. I Smallwood Cuevas. I Stern. Strickland.

I Hamburg. I Volodares. Wahab? Aye. Weber Pearson?

Weiner? Aye. Senator Cabaldon moves the call.

We are moving to item one fifteen, AB 1821. Secretary, please read.

A Senate bill 1821 by Assembly member Pacheco and equating to public records.

Senator Caballon, you are once again recognized.

Thank you, Mister president. This bill merely, a chain clarifies that the deadline for the for cities and counties to reply to public records act request is for at ten business days. And you may have heard of this bill earlier in the year. It included many more provisions. It attracted a lot of attention.

The amendments and Senate committees have stripped all of those out. All the bill does now is is is set response timelines at business days rather than calendar days. It's important to note, agencies are experiencing a 73% increase in these requests, which they are required to meet in that time frame, and this will allow them to allow them to to meet those demand those requests and assure that public and press access to those records is assured, I'd ask for an aye vote.

Thank you, Senator. Seeing no mites raised for discussion or debate, secretary, please call roll.

Allen. Hi, Avrotto Gill. Hi, Archuleta. Hi, Adeguin. Hi, Ashby.

Hi, Becker. Laird, Limon, Maguire. McNearney. Aye, Menjivar. Nilo.

Aye, Ochoa Bog, Padilla. Aye, Perez. I Reyes, Richardson, I Rubio, Aye, Cierto, Aye, Smallwood Cuevas, Aye, Stern, Strickland, Aye, Hamburg, Aye, Volodares, Wahab, Weber Pearson? Weiner? Aye.

Senator Cabaldon moves the call. Moving to item one seventeen, AB 1997. Secretary, please read.

Senate bill 1997 by Assemblymember Lee in acclimate to housing.

Senator Allen, you are recognized.

Thank you, Mister president. Members, I rise to present this bill on behalf of Assemblymember Lee. This measure shortens the review period for 90% affordable housing projects after the agency has certified the EIR. This bill is intended to accelerate one portion of the approval process for affordable housing projects for very low and extremely low income households. These projects are the most critical to the most vulnerable, and they can make a difference between homelessness and a safer path forward in life.

It's a narrowly tailored measure, and it's focused on streamlining projects that help support the most vulnerable in our state, and I respectfully ask for an aye vote.

Thank you, Senator. I see no mics raised for discussion or debate. Secretary, please call roll.

Allen. Alright. Alvarado-Gil. No. Archuleta.

Alright. Aragon. Alright. Ashby. Alright.

Becker. Alright. Blake Spear. Alright. Cabaldon.

Alright. Caballero. Aye, Cervantes. Aye, Choi. Aye, Cortesi.

Aye, Delhi. Aye, Durazo. Aye, Gonzales. Aye, Grayson. Aye, Grove.

Cortado. Aye, Jones. Laird, Aye, Limon, Maguire, Aye, McNerney, Aye, Menjivar, Nilo, Ochoa Bog, Padilla, Aye, Perez, Perez, Richardson, I Rubio, I Seattle. No. Small work.

I Stern, Strickland, Humbert. Aye. Aye. Volodares. Aye.

Aye. Aye. Weber Pearson. Weiner. Aye.

Strickland, aye.

Senator Allen moves the call. We are moving to item one nineteen, AB 2168. Secretary, please read.

A Senate bill 2168 by a Senate member Wicks and equinates transportation.

Senator Blake Spear, you are recognized for AB 2168.

Thank you, Mister president. I rise to present AB 2168, which makes a series of modest improvements to ensure California's active transportation program funds are spent effectively and efficiently. AB 2168 modernizes the definition of safe routes to transit, shifting focus toward transit rich corridors, infill opportunity areas, station walk sheds, and underserved or rural areas.

It adds transit access as an explicit project selection criteria, aligning with California's broader climate and housing goals, And it establishes a graduated penalty structure for grantees who fail to spend funds on time, helping ensure awarded dollars move from paper to pavement without delay. These reasonable reforms sharpen the program's focus, reward strategic investment, and hold awardees accountable.

More than 45 state and regional organizations are in support of this bill. I respectfully ask your aye vote.

Senator Choi, you are recognized.

Thank you. I rise in opposition to AB 2168. California's roads are deteriorating. Congestion is worsening, and the state already faces a multibillion dollar annual highway funding shortfall. Yet AB 2168 encourages the California Transportation Commission to shift limited gas tax supported transportation funding away from road capacity projects and toward the bicycles and the pedestrian infrastructure.

As California faces out gasoline powered vehicles, the revenues available to repair and expand our aging road system are already expected to decline. Our priority should be maintaining safe roads, repairing, deteriorating infrastructure and reducing congestion for the millions of Californians who must drive every day. For these reasons, I respectfully oppose AB 2168. Please vote no on this measure.

Senator Strickland, you are recognized.

Thank you, Mister president, members. This war on the automobile here in California has to stop. It's really driving people out of the state of California. Yet another example, there's a reason why we have the highest gas tax in the nation, the highest car tax.

And now when we spend money on roads and highways because of the high gas tax, now we're trying to divert the money away from roads to go to bicycle lanes and and mass transit that quite frankly, a lot of the masses don't use.

The bottom line is this war on the auto vehicle has not worked. Cars are part of our livelihood here in California, and then these policies just have not worked. And what ended up happening is now you're actually making it harder for people to put food on the table because they need to drive their car to get to work.

Now you're making sure that we have crumbling infrastructure and transportation by transferring these dollars away, and you're making them pay the highest gas tax in the nation, the highest gas prices in the nation. These deaths by a thousand cuts has not worked, and all it's done is make it harder for hardworking California families to put food on the table.

And that's one of the main reasons why people are leaving the state of California because it's unaffordable, and that's why a lot of families are now visiting their kids and grandkids in states like Arizona, Nevada, Florida, and Texas because we have not been we're doing this to death by a thousand cuts, and this is just another example of this philosophy to steal money from the transportation for roads and highways and put it to other areas that people don't use.

For those reasons, I ask for a no vote.

Senator Blake Blakespare, would you like to state your point of order?

Yeah. Those comments are unrelated to the bill, so we need to stick to the bill.

Thank you, Senator Blake Spear. Just a reminder, folks, when you're speaking, make sure you're speaking directly to the bill that's at hand. Thank you very much. Senator Eddigen, you are recognized.

Thank you, Mister president. I rise in support of AB 2168, and I wanna thank the the Senator from Encinitas for clarifying that this is not about the gas tax. This is about making sure that, while we're paving roads and putting in, other transportation infrastructure that we're also prioritizing, safe routes to schools improvements to make sure kids can actually get to school safely and not get hit by cars.

And people can actually walk and bike around our communities as one of many modes of mobility. We know that California's roads are extremely dangerous.

And there's a lot of work that we've done over the last several years to lower speed limits and address the issue of impaired driving. This is one additional step to make sure we can create safer ways for people to walk and bike, and kids can get safely to school. That's what this is about, making sure we're while we're investing in road repaving and other transportation infrastructure that we're also prioritizing these critical safety investments, safety investments, respectfully, astronaut vote.

Senator Wiener, you are recognized.

Yeah. You know, sometimes in politics, everything is viewed as this, like, zero sum game, or as opposed to, like, additive and giving people choices. And that's what this is about. People who are gonna drive are gonna drive. And if someone wants to take transit or wants to bike or wants to walk, they should be able to do that reliably and safely.

And let's also be clear that sometimes people don't have choices. Not everyone can afford a car. Some people need to use transit, and we should have good transit for them, and those projects should be funded and delivered reliably. There are people in California who live within walking distance of their kids' school, and there's no safe place to even cross the street.

And so they have to drive not because they want to drive, but because they have no other choice in terms of getting their kids to school safely.

People get around all sorts of different ways by car, by transit, bike, walking, and so on and so forth. And to me, it's an all of the above approach, and that's what this bill is about. I ask for an aye vote.

Senator Sayardo, you are recognized.

Thank you very much. And my comments are directly related to the Inland Empire and the effect that this type of bill has on on our, the ability to get funding for the roads we need. Yes. The roads are very dangerous out there because we have two lane roads that are, being required, to respond to the growth that's being pushed out there that are not that are now accepting five to 10 times more traffic than they were designed to do.

When road design does get put in, they do put sidewalks.

They do put some bike lanes in where they're appropriate. But I can guarantee you the people that are out in the Inland Empire today in the 105 to 110 degree heat are not going to want to jump on a bike or walk anywhere. They're gonna wanna jump in their car. And if they don't have good roads to do to to do that in, then they're going to be stuck at home. So we're fine with them building these things, and cities are able to do that.

They can get grant funding for the bike lanes. We have safe routes to school. I approved several of those when I was on the city council. So there are ways of doing those other things, but we can't divert money from the road improvements that we need until we have those road improvements done. Then you can start thinking about where what else can we use this money for?

But until we get the roads improved in the areas that need them the worst, and that is the Inland Empire, and and we don't have the options of of of having the cool ocean breezes while we're walking or biking, I I cannot support a a bill that diverts the money away from areas where we need it. So with that, I would, respectfully ask you to oppose this bill. I know that's not going to happen, but it needs to happen anyway. Thank you.

Senator Gonzalez, you are recognized.

Thank you, Mister president. And I wanna thank my colleague from Encinitas, and of course my colleague from Berkeley and San Francisco for bringing their voices to this issue. I wanna also bring in a Los Angeles perspective.

This actually, this bill just to clarify, establishes penalties for the failure to use active transportation program funds in a timely manner that many, localities have been doing, which is unfortunate because I just had a town hall in my district not to, this past weekend where wheelchair users were complaining about the fact that they didn't have access, safe access, for their children to to go to school or for them to just roll through the neighborhoods, and I think that's really important in this context here.

It also establishes safe routes, clarifying the definition for safe routes to include to include bus stops, school bus stops, and to include, of course, shelter for bus stops that we know are much needed in many of our urban neighborhoods across Los Angeles County.

So I wanna make sure that we know exactly what we're voting on here, which is completely different from my friends on the other side of the aisle, but how very valid these are. Thank you very much.

Thank you, Senator. Senator Grove, you are recognized.

Thank you, Mister president and colleagues. I stand I rise in opposition of this bill. You know, the Central Valley and the Inland Empire and our high desert areas, not crying over this bill, but the Central Valley, our high desert areas maintain more miles of road than our metropolitan friends.

And to set aside these resources for bike lanes and things like that, you already get the most resources for the areas that you represent when we maintain more miles of road, and it's supposed to be equitable throughout the state. And, it's just not right that you would isolate, the Central Valley, the Inland Empire, and other rural areas of the state in our North State friends that get very little resources when they maintain mountain roads, going to Tahoe and everywhere else.

But it just needs to be the tax should be equitable, and it should be balanced between our rural communities and our metropolitan communities. And it's unacceptable that you guys keep taking money out of this this fund and taking more of that percentage to the areas that you represent just because you have more representation and power in this building, and it's completely unacceptable. Respectfully ask for a no vote.

Senator Cabaldon, you are recognized.

Thank you. As a as a Senator representing a district that often gets over a 105 degrees, where we do walk, I simply wanna point out and reinforce the comments of my colleagues, The voters enacted SB 1 by overwhelming vote of the people of California. SB 1 included the active transportation program. The voters approved this program, and that's all that's at stake here. This bill does nothing to shift money between roads and active transportation.

It simply addresses the active transportation program that the voters approved, and that in too many places, the local governments are choosing not to deliver. There's several billion dollars worth of active transportation projects that serves wheelchair users, bicyclists, walkers, transit users, all across the state, and yet only a 135,000,000 is getting funded. And that is in part because too many local governments are choosing not to make those investments. That is their choice. That is their choice.

But the money needs to be reallocated to those communities across the California, just on the coast, but even at a 105 degrees where active transportation investments are important. That's all this bill does, is it makes it easier to expend those funds on more things, but it also imposes some amount of fiscal accountability that if you're gonna get an allocation from the voters for active transportation, that you are obligated at some point to deliver a project. This bill makes that happen. I'd urge an aye vote.

Thank you, Senator. Seeing no other mics raised for discussion or debate, Senator Blake Spear, would you like to close?

Yes. Thank you, Mister president. Well, I appreciate the robust debate about this topic today, the relative importance of transit and our transportation options, but I I really wanna refocus us on what thiS Bill is and what it does. So California's active transportation program receives funding from federal and state sources, including SB 1 as was mentioned by the good Senator from West Sacramento. And so several several $100,000,000 a year is allocated to active transportation program projects.

This is not about diverting money. This is not about changing the allocation of what goes to roads and what goes to transit. This is only about, and I'm reading from the actual RN right here, project selection criteria for the program including guidelines. And it is aimed at somewhat changing the program so that it can access it can achieve more through better scale, funding for larger and network level active transportation improvements.

So just to this is important to clarify what this bill is, and I respectfully ask for an aye vote.

Thank you, Senator. Secretary, please call roll.

Allen. Aye, Alvarado Gil. No. Archuleta. Aye, Arreguin.

Aye, Ashby. Aye, Becker. Aye, Blake Spear. Aye, Cabaldon. Aye, Caballero.

Aye, Cervantes. Aye, Choi. Aye, I Tally. No Durazo. I Gonzales.

I Grayson.

Aye.

Aye. Grove. No Hurtado. Jones. No Laird.

Aye. Limon. Maguire. Aye, McNerney. Aye, Menjivar.

Aye, Nilo. No. No. No. Padilla.

Aye, Perez. Aye, Reyes. Aye, Richardson. Aye, Rubio. Aye, Ciarto.

No. Small. Aye, Stern. Aye, Strickland. No.

Umbert. Aye, Volodares. No. Wahab. Aye, Weber Pearson.

Aye, Weiner. Aye. Secretary, please call absent members. Hurtado Limon. Secretary, please call absent members.

Hurtado, Limon.

Ayes 28, Nos 10. The measure passes. Moving to item one twenty nine AB 1905. Secretary, please read.

Assembly bill 195 by Assemblymember Schultz, inequity to juveniles.

Senator Wiener, you are recognized.

Alright. Thank you. Mister president, I rise to present AB 195 on behalf of Assemblymember Schultz. This bill was recently amended to address, the concerns of the California District Attorneys Association. The amendments limit this bill to apply to those who are 26 or younger while in custody, which is in line with the California penal code that defines youth by this age.

The amendments also include a retroactivity provision ensuring that active criminal cases will not be impacted and a limited emergency exception in the case of imminent threats to life. AB 195 strengthens protections for young people in custody by prohibiting the use of undercover law enforcement agents to seek statements from individuals who were juveniles at the time of the alleged offense. The bill creates a consistent and clear statewide standard that better prevents inadmissible statements coming from uniquely vulnerable youth. Respectfully ask for an aye vote.

Seeing no mics raised for discussion or debate, secretary, please call roll.

Allen. Aye. Aye. Alvarado-Gil. No.

Archuleta. Aye. Aye. Ashby. Aye.

Becker. Aye. Blakesphere. I Cabaldon, I Caballero, I Cervantes, I Choi, no Cortesi, I Dali, no Durazo, I Gonzales, I Grayson, I Grove, no Hurtado, no Jones, no Laird, I Lemon, Maguire, I McNearney, I Menjivar, I Nilo, no Ochoa Bog, no Padilla, Perez, I Reyes. I Richardson.

I Rubio. I see Arto. No small huevos. I Stern. I Strickland.

No Humbert. No. No. No. Aye, Weber Pearson.

Aye, Weiner. Aye.

Secretary, please call absent members.

Archuleta. Limon. Pavia? Hamburg? Aye.

Rubio? Aye.

Secretary, please call absent members.

Archuleta Limon Padilla.

Ayes 25, Noes 12, the measure passes. Moving to item one thirty, AB 2691, secretary please read.

Assembly bill 2691 by Assembly member Addison, accruing to elections.

Senator Wahab, you are recognized.

Thank you. I rise to present AB 2691, the Public Trust Protection Act on behalf of Assembly member Addison. Crimes of sexual violence and exploitation often involve an imbalance of power where a perpetrator abuses their position to coerce, harm, and violate the rights of a victim. Under current law, someone convicted of sexual assault or human trafficking is not barred from running for or holding public office. Yet time and time again, we see abusers in positions of power.

As policy makers, it's imperative that abusers aren't allowed into public office where they can use their influence to cause further harm. AB 2691 ensures that individuals convicted of the most serious crimes are barred from holding public office by adding sexual assault and human trafficking to the list of disqualifying convictions. I respectfully ask for an aye vote.

Senator Valadares, you are recognized.

Thank you, Mister president. I do have, amendments at the desk.

Secretary, please read.

Amendments by Senator Valadares, set one.

Senator Valadares, you are recognized.

Thank you, Mister president and colleagues. Right now in California, someone convicted of sexually abusing a child can still sit on your school board. That's not a loophole. That's a choice. And in my perspective, and most, that's wrong.

Colleagues, predators who sexually abuse children have no place holding public office. None. Not in the capital, not on City Council, and definitely not on our school boards. AB 2,691 was supposed to guarantee that. It started as a simple ban.

Convicted sex offenders don't get to hold public office. Period. But amendments added this summer gutted it, narrowing the bill to cover only tier three offenders and deliberately exempting tier one and tier two. And here's what that means in practice. Under the current version of this bill, someone convicted of sodomizing, oral copulation, or sexually penetrating a minor would remain eligible to run for and to hold public office in California, including on a school board.

That is not oversight. That's a choice. And my colleagues, we need to own this and we need to fix this. My amendments are simple. Restore the bill, close the loophole, and if you're a convicted sex offender, you don't get to hold public office in California.

No exceptions. No tiers. Respectfully ask for an aye vote.

Senator Ashby, you are recognized.

Yes, presiding officer. I move to lay the amendments on the table.

Senator Valadares, you are recognized.

I'm requesting a no vote.

Thank you. Senator Valadares is requesting a no vote. Senator Ashby is requesting an aye vote. Secretary, please call roll.

Allen. Aye, Avarado Gill. No. Archuleta. Aye, Arreguin.

Aye, Ashby. Aye, Becker. Aye, Blaisebir. Aye, Cabaldon. Aye, Caballero.

Aye, Cervantes. Aye, Choi. No Cortezi. Aye, Deli. No, Durazo.

Aye, Gonzales. Aye, Grayson. Aye, Grove. No, Hurtado. Jones.

No, Laird. Aye, Limon. Maguire. Aye, McNearney. Aye, Menjivar.

Aye, Nilo. No. No. Padilla. I Perez.

I Reyes. I Richardson. I Rubio. I see Arto. No.

Small work with us. I Stern. Aye, Strickland. No. Umberg.

Aye. Aye, Volodares. No. Wahab. Aye, Weber Pearson.

Aye, Weiner. Aye.

Ayes 28, noes 10. The amendments are laid on the table. Back to the bill in chief for discussion and debate. Senator Ochoa Boke, you are recognized.

Thank you, Mister president, ladies and gentlemen of the Senate. While I appreciate the author's intent to ensure that individuals convicted of serious sexual crimes are not allowed to hold elected office, I'm concerned that this bill draws the line too narrowly. Under this bill, only those who commit crimes that fall into tier three sex registry list and therefore require a lifetime registration will be barred from running for state and local office.

I agree that individuals who have been convicted of serious sexual offenses of human trafficking should be prohibited from running for public service. However, I questioned the decision to narrowly tailor the bill to only sexual offenses.

Oh, I'm sorry. A bill to only sexual offense crimes that would place an individual on the registry for life. That means that allowing sex offenders who commit crimes like rape with a person incapable of giving consent due to a disability or oral population with a minor under the age of 14 would still be able to run for office. A conviction for a serious sex offense does not become less serious simply because the law does not require registration for life or falls into a different tier.

We should take into account how serious the underlying crime is when considering whether to prohibit offenders whose crimes are not placed into the highest tier.

This will ensure that sexual crimes involving minors or the rape of a victim who was incapable of giving consent would also prohibit a potential candidate from running for office. I don't feel comfortable knowing that an individual who has committed serious sex crimes would still be able to hold elected office and potentially have access to children, the elderly, or people with disabilities simply because their crime does not qualify for the highest tier of registration. Public office is a position of trust.

Californians should have confidence that those seeking to represent them meet a high standard of conduct and accountability. While I support the goal of protecting the integrity of public office, I cannot support this bill as it currently drafted and and must respectfully oppose it.

Thank you.

Senator Choi, you are recognized.

I rise too in strong opposition to AB 2691. The initial version of the bill, which I strongly supported, would have removed the people convicted of sexual assault and the human trafficking from the ballot. I supported that. Unfortunately, recent amendments significantly watered down the bill, and now it explicitly exempts several serious crimes from the definition of a sexual assault. The latest version exempts the following crimes from the definition of a sexual assault under the bill.

Listen. Incest, therapy on a minor, oral copulation on a minor, sexual penetration on a minor. As a result of these amendments, someone who has been convicted of these heinous crimes would not be barred from the seeking state or local offices until these amendments. I strongly supported this bill. Now I believe it must be opposed.

I strongly oppose because it sends a deeply troubling that pedophiles and the child groomers fit to hold the elected office until the inex inexcusable crimes involving minors are restored in the definition of the sexual assault. Under this bill, I cannot, in good conscience, support this bill. Everybody, I strongly urge you to vote no.

Senator Wiener, you are recognized.

Thank you very much, Mister president. You know, I said this in committee and I will say it again today. Every time I think I have seen the height of political cynicism, there's something that transcends it. And that's what's happening here. And I think if you didn't know anything about this issue, you might be a little bit confused.

We have a bill by the Assembly member from the Central Coast to say that if you, commit one of these very serious sex offenses, so you're on the registry for life, you cannot run for office. And what they're saying is that, well, because it doesn't include other crimes, then they don't wanna support it. Well, I guess my question is, where where have their bills been? From the year 1850 until 2026, anyone convicted of any sexual crime could run for office.

I don't recall anyone introducing a bill to address that.

Instead, the Assembly member from the Central Coast comes forward with a bill that includes very serious sex offenses, banning them for life for the first time in the history of the state of California. I believe the most comp the strongest bill in the country to do this, and the response is we can't support it because there are other crimes that they think should also be included. Well, in introduce a bill. Do your thing. So this is a very, very cynical opposition.

I wanna commend, the Assembly member for taking on an issue and pursuing it and working very hard, on it, and this bill is worthy of support.

Senator Celgato, you are recognized.

Thank you, Mister president. I rise, in, semi support of the bill that's before us, because I do agree, with the previous speaker that people, that commit those crimes should not be part of the an elected body. But the amendments that were taken or forced upon the author in the Assembly are abhorrent. Yes.

Just because we're against that doesn't mean we shouldn't try to support at least the incremental part of this, and then we should go back to the drawing board next year and get the rest of it addressed as well.

So, yeah, I'm a little torn at saying, yeah, we support what you did in the Assembly with this bill. But at the same time, I I wanna make sure that people that are of this persuasion don't sit on anybody's board. And I do prefer the stronger approach to this one. So with that, I would say you go vote what you wanna vote. It's your conscience.

But it's more the bigger issue I think with my colleagues was that that they had essentially taken all of the the other parts that they fully support out. And and and that was the that was the part that that they're voting no against, not this part. So and also in response to us bringing a bill, really? Really? You think if we brought a bill like this, it would get passed any of the committees?

It wouldn't even get heard. So I appreciate yeah. We can even do the trafficking mic

for a

while. So I appreciate your sentiments that we should have brought a bill, but that would be a waste of our time and all of staff's time coming from our side. Thank you.

Seeing no mics raised for further discussion or debate, Senator Wahl, would you like to close?

Thank you. I I'm hoping that people support this bill. I wanna be very clear. I think the majority of this in this chamber really do wanna protect children, wanna protect victims, and much more. And we do not wanna see a perpetrator in office, and we see too many perpetrators roaming around, and I will say that, obviously, as all legislation, they are chipping away at an issue, and they are building blocks.

So any one of the 40 people here can introduce a bill next year in order to tackle the issue at hand. So I respectfully ask for an aye vote.

Secretary, please call the roll. Allen. Aye, Avarado Gill. Archilada. Aye, Adegin.

Aye, Ashby. Aye, Becker. Blake Spear. Aye, Cabaldon. Caballero.

Aye, Cervantes. Aye, Choi. No Cortezi. Aye, Dali. Aye, Durazo.

Aye, Gonzales. Aye, Grayson. Aye, Grove. Aye, Jones. Laird.

Aye, Limon. Maguire. Aye, McNearney. I Menjivar, I Nilo, Ochoa Bog, Padilla, I Perez, Reyes, I Richardson, I Rubio, I Seattle, I Smallwood Cuevas, Aye, Stern. Aye, Strickland.

Aye. Aye, Humbert. Aye, Voladais. Aye, Wahab. Aye, Webber Pearson.

Aye, Weiner. Aye.

Secretary, please call absent members.

Nimoy Nye. Alvarado Gil? Aye. Aye. Becker?

Aye. Cabaldon? Grove? Jones, Nilo, Ochoa Bog, Perez.

Secretary, please call absent members.

Cabaldon, Grove, Jones, Nilo, Ochoa, Perez.

Aye. Ayes 34, noes one. The measure passes. Moving to item one ninety four, AB 2682. Secretary,

please read. Assembly bill 2682 by Assemblymember Berman, in accruingate to transportation.

Senator Reyes, you are recognized.

Thank you, Mister president. Members, I rise to present AB 2682 on behalf of Assemblymember Berman, which is a cleanup measure to the bill from last year that empowered rideshare drivers to unionize. The prior bill established a detailed process for the selection of a driver organization to represent ride share workers and charge the public employees relations public employment relations board with oversight. The prior bill did not include a streamlined appeal process like other collective bargaining statutes.

AB 2682 would simply conform the TNC law with other collective bargaining statutes administered by PERB and allow a party to seek judicial review of a final decision or order.