Senate Floor
- Steven Bradford
Legislator
Secretary, please call the roll.
- Reading Clerk
Person
[Roll Call].
- Steven Bradford
Legislator
Members, a quorum is present. Would the Members and our guests beyond the rail and in the gallery please rise? We'll be led in prayer this morning by our chaplain, Sister Michelle Gorman, after which we're going to ask you to remain standing for the Pledge of Allegiance to the flag.
- Michelle Gorman
Person
And let us center ourselves in God's presence, and on this Harvey Milk Day, we pray, Merciful God, grant us the grace to follow the example of our brother Harvey Milk, that we might fearlessly contend against evil and make no peace with oppression.
- Michelle Gorman
Person
May we employ our freedom and our privilege in the maintenance of justice in all our communities and among the nations. We pray to be agents of change and proclaimers of the hope that will never be silent. We ask this in your name, you who have called us to walk in love together. Amen.
- Steven Bradford
Legislator
Members, join me in the pledge. 'I pledge allegiance to the flag.' All right, Members. We're moving to privileges of the floor. I want to take this opportunity to introduce Senator Hurtado's husband, Gerbet Hikinbosh. Welcome to the California State Senate. All right now, Members. We're moving to messages from the Governor. They will be deemed read.
- Steven Bradford
Legislator
Messages from the Assembly will be deemed read. Reports of Committee will be deemed read, and amendments adopted. Motions and Resolutions and notices: now is the time to remove any bill from the calendar today from the file. Seeing no Member wishing to do that, we're moving on. Now we're on consideration of the Daily File. Senate Second Reading. Secretary, please read.
- Reading Clerk
Person
Assembly Bill 347.
- Steven Bradford
Legislator
Second Reading complete. Now we're moving to Senate Third Reading. Members, are you prepared? We have a full agenda today, and we'll be starting with File Item 56 by Senator Caballero. She's prepared. Secretary, you may read.
- Committee Secretary
Person
Senate Bill 1420 by Senator Caballero, an act relating to energy.
- Steven Bradford
Legislator
Senator Caballero.
- Anna Caballero
Legislator
Thank you, Mr. President. Members, California has some of the finest educational research institutions, the most ambitious climate goals in the country, and the highest number of electric vehicles and residential rooftop solar in the country. California has invested billions of taxpayers' dollars in these industries in support of our climate change goals.
- Anna Caballero
Legislator
However, we still require a diverse set of solutions to ensure California can actually achieve our carbon reduction goals by 2045. Despite robust investments, some hard to decarbonize industries will be unable to continue to operate and decarbonize in time without necessary policy changes and support. And the institutional research that's being done has supported this.
- Anna Caballero
Legislator
The shipping industry, including the port operations, heavy trucking, aviation, and heavy industry all need pathways to meet our state's goal. Additionally, as we transition to a zero carbon economy, we have an obligation to include high road employment opportunities and economic development for our state's workforce.
- Anna Caballero
Legislator
And I know you've heard me say numerous times that the number one issue in my district that people talk about is the ability to be able to earn a livable wage, a good earning capacity, and to be able to buy a house and provide for their families. Let's be clear.
- Anna Caballero
Legislator
The California Air Resources Board, after much research and analysis, determined in their 2022 scoping plan that California could not attain its climate goals to decarbonize without utilizing hydrogen as a fuel source. CARB quite clearly states that California cannot reach its emission goals without expanding hydrogen production by 1,700 times the present rate of production. 1,700 times.
- Anna Caballero
Legislator
That is where SB 1420 comes in, a hydrogen bill that would establish the highest emission standards for hydrogen in the world. It expressly prohibits resource shuffling during production and requires the annual carbon intensity of the produced hydrogen fuel to be equal to or below that of our energy grid.
- Anna Caballero
Legislator
Collectively, the bill ensures the continued decarbonation of hydrogen fuel while maintaining protection against emission impacts. The definition of qualified clean hydrogen now explicitly prohibits hydrogen produced from fossil fuel feedstocks and meets specific emission reduction limits as determined by the California Air Resources Board, or CARB, aligning with California's environmental sustainability goals.
- Anna Caballero
Legislator
Specifically, SB 1420 requires that on a statewide basis, at least 60% of the hydrogen used in transportation be renewable by 2030 and by 2045, in line with our current statutory goal of a zero carbon economy, the remaining 40% must be a mix of renewable and clean.
- Anna Caballero
Legislator
The amended definition explicitly includes electrolytic hydrogen produced from RP's eligible resources, emphasizing the importance of renewable energy sources in hydrogen production. SB 1420 would also consolidate the definitions of hydrogen into a single definition for qualified clean hydrogen projects, ensuring clarity and consistency in the eligibility criteria for CEQA and permit streamlining.
- Anna Caballero
Legislator
I want to be very clear and emphasize that the bill does not allow any project to proceed outside of the CEQA process or have any impact on the public's ability to provide comment and input on each individual project. SB 1420 would enable California to meet its goals, allow a transition in the aviation, heavy truck duty, trucking and maritime industries away from diesel and jet fuel to a cleaner, locally produced product that would not only decarbonize the fuel but eliminate the production of air pollution contaminants such as sulfur oxides, sox, and nitrous oxide, or nox.
- Anna Caballero
Legislator
SB 1420 would also enable California to leverage the $1.21 billion in federal funds from the Inflation Reduction Act awarded to the Arches Coalition for a hydrogen hub grant by unlocking private sector investment estimated to bring $10 billion into our state, creating jobs, economic development, and underserved community and new energy resources.
- Anna Caballero
Legislator
And folks, if you'll remember from our budget discussions, one of the areas that California saw a decline of was investment in new products in the state. The ability for companies to go public and the ability for them to bring in private investment is what has hurt us over the last two years.
- Anna Caballero
Legislator
This bill would allow us to re-energize that sector. In conclusion, the bill, as amended, fulfill the commitments I made in both the Senate environmental quality and Senate energy committees, and I want to thank all of the stakeholders that have been meeting with me over the past year and as well as the consultants for their input and language.
- Anna Caballero
Legislator
Hydrogen is a critical part of California's transition to a zero emission transportation and energy system. I agree with the California Air Resources Board and the California Energy Commission that by expanding hydrogen production, we can better decarbonize industries, make our energy grid more reliable, stabilize costs for consumers, and create high road jobs to transition workers to the new green economy. I respectfully ask for your aye vote.
- Steven Bradford
Legislator
Thank you. Any further discussion or debate on this item? Senator Newman.
- Josh Newman
Legislator
Thank you, Mr. President. I rise in support of the measure. I want to commend the author for her approach, which is a very practical and pragmatic set of policies that will be necessary and will enable California to meet its very ambitious set of clean energy goals. And these goals, as she noted, are especially in line with CARB's scoping report and other findings.
- Josh Newman
Legislator
I want to emphasize that the bill does respect CEQA, it does allow for public input, it emphasizes high road employment and leverages the $1.2 billion that the Department of Energy recently awarded California for the Arches program, which will catalyze up to $50 billion in new market activity around clean energy. For those reasons, I urge your support today for this measure.
- Steven Bradford
Legislator
Thank you. Any further discussion or debate on this item? Senator Becker.
- Josh Becker
Legislator
Thank you, Mr. President. I just want to say I really appreciate the author's work on this, and I think it's absolutely vital topic and have had a couple bills on the topic as well. We've been in conversations. I have a couple specific things I'd like to, I think, see going forward.
- Josh Becker
Legislator
We do have, as I think if you know, by 2045 we're supposed to be net zero. And I think currently there's a requirement for 60% clean hydrogen in 2045. So I think there's probably some balance that, and I think I've got some specific suggestions around the carbon intensity standard. I think that could help us clarify that when we get to 2045 that we have the majority of clean hydrogen, or at least require the same carbon intensity standard.
- Josh Becker
Legislator
So we look forward to continue working on this, maybe staying off the bill today, but I think it's a vitally important topic and I think we can hopefully get there going forward.
- Steven Bradford
Legislator
Thank you. Senator Stern.
- Henry Stern
Legislator
Thank you, Mr. President. I guess I would echo my friend from Palo Alto and some of his outstanding questions, but I think it's worth noting that the author, whether it's here in Sacramento, in tough forums within the UN, and basically anywhere she's invited, she's been open and working with stakeholders in a way that we can all sort of refer to rhetorically and say, I'm working with all parties. I really trust her that she's going to be working on this legislation going forward.
- Henry Stern
Legislator
That definition of clean, this big question mark of whether California is in fact going to double down on what I consider a misguided effort for this light duty future to have, and no offense to the Mirai drivers out here, but this push for light duty vehicles to somehow become a never ending subsidy I think is a misguided effort. However, those of you who live near any port or near any industrial facility in California know that something's got to change and we have to keep making things in California.
- Henry Stern
Legislator
We're not just going to shut down industry. We're not going to just shut down our refineries. We're not going to stop doing business. And so I truly view, especially in the industrial context and the context of our heavy duty fleet that's literally killing people right now, that we've got to find a way to.
- Henry Stern
Legislator
Yes, I know this bill still needs work and it doesn't yet have my full support today, but I think this author is up to the task of getting us to a place where we don't just default to the state of existing law, to a state of confusion, or even just to the Federal Government, but in fact, to a framework here that California can put our stamp and say this is the California way.
- Henry Stern
Legislator
We're going to see ourselves to a green hydrogen future. And I think this bill is a meaningful step in that direction. Unfortunately, I won't be able to support today, but I do think it earns the merit to move forward. And I hope that as it comes back and as we work through the process, that I'll be able to cast that aye vote. So, thank you.
- Steven Bradford
Legislator
Thank you. Any further discussion or debate on this item? Hearing and seeing none. Senator Caballero, would you like to close?
- Anna Caballero
Legislator
Look, Members, we can continue on the path that we're on right now. 2035 will get here and we won't have met our goals. And as a matter of fact, the socks and knocks continue to get worse. And we have the worst air quality in the south coast air basin and also in the Central Valley. People are dying. And if they're not dying, they're getting really sick. Or what we can do is we can believe in what science says.
- Anna Caballero
Legislator
The Arches collaborative is made up of our best and brightest from our universities, as well as entrepreneurs that have put the money where their mouth is and that are in a position to help us get rid of waste that we have in our community and to do it in a way that's responsible and that will help us to meet our climate goals, reduce air quality, and create good jobs.
- Anna Caballero
Legislator
If none of that is important to you, then don't worry about it, don't vote for it today. But the Arches project brings in $1.2 billion of federal IRA money. And in order to build, they need at least $10 billion in private equity.
- Anna Caballero
Legislator
And we have funds that are coming to California that are saying we want to invest because we know California produces the best. So we're at this precip. We either move with due deliberate intelligence, or we just let it go and say we're not going to do anything, and we'll continue to exacerbate the situation that we see globally.
- Anna Caballero
Legislator
The exciting thing about these projects. Well, and let me just say that part of the challenge is we have to use that federal grant by 2030. The plant, whatever the facility, whatever it is that's being built, has to be built and operational for two years or the grant does not pay out. So think about that.
- Anna Caballero
Legislator
How many of you know of a construction project that got done in three years when they haven't even pulled the permits yet and there's no expedited process? Doesn't happen in California. We gotta move. And what I will commit to you, and I've spoken to my good friend from Malibu, is we gotta get this right.
- Anna Caballero
Legislator
Which means all hands on board working on it. I have taken tons of amendments that do what I think we want to do. And two committees that were tough to get through that gave me a charge about what I needed to amend in order to be able to get their sign off. And we've done that. That's not easy to do in an industry that's new. So this is a really important time. This really is our opportunity to seize the moment. I have traveled internationally and had an opportunity to look at different projects.
- Anna Caballero
Legislator
And I can tell you the whole world is looking at California and they're saying, what are you guys going to be doing to meet your energy needs, and how can we work together in partnership? We need to be there. We need to be in a position to be able to act. And so I respectfully ask for your aye vote.
- Steven Bradford
Legislator
Thank you. All discussion and debate having ceased, Members, we're going to go through the roll one time because we have Members off the floor, and then we're going to put those items on call. Secretary, please call the roll on file item 56.
- Committee Secretary
Person
[Roll Call]
- Steven Bradford
Legislator
We will go through the roll one more time. We have a full house. Secretary, please call the absent Members.
- Committee Secretary
Person
[Roll Call]
- Steven Bradford
Legislator
Ayes 30, noes one. The measure passes. Now, Members, we're moving on to file item 44. Senator Archuleta, he's prepared. Secretary, you may read.
- Committee Secretary
Person
Senate Bill 1081 by Senator Archuleta. And accolades to vehicles, Senator Archuleta.
- Bob Archuleta
Legislator
Thank you, Mister President. My colleagues, today I am presenting Senate Bill 1081, which will establish optional driver's license legislation in California. In doing so, California will join over 40 states and territories that utilize DMV to effectively ensure that residents comply with federal selective service requirements.
- Bob Archuleta
Legislator
Specifically, Senate Bill 1081 would allow a person that is required to to be registered under the federal Military Selective Service act and who submits an application for the driver's license, identification card, or renewal through the DMV will be deemed to have consented to registration with the United States Selective service system.
- Bob Archuleta
Legislator
However, an individual who does not wish to be enrolled with the selective service will be given the choice to opt out of the registration. Senate Bill 1081 would automatically and additionally prohibit the DMV from making or distributing a list of those who did not consent to the registration.
- Bob Archuleta
Legislator
Recent amendments were taken to exempt undocumented Californians from the Bill, delay implementation and condition that the Bill, upon receiving federal funds in an amount sufficient to pay for all initial startup and implementation costs. It is legal it is a legal requirement that most all males register with the selective service between the ages of 18 and 26.
- Bob Archuleta
Legislator
Men who fail to register with the selective service cut themselves off from future benefits and opportunities. If they do not register between 18 and 26 years of age. Men permanently become ineligible for all federal jobs as well as federal job training programs, including those funded by the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity act.
- Bob Archuleta
Legislator
Failure to register may additionally cause delays in citizenship application for immigrants who do not have and did not register. California currently has one of the nation's lowest rates of eligibility residents who have signed up for the selective service. As of October 2023. The selective service system estimates that only 74% of eligible Californians have registered.
- Bob Archuleta
Legislator
In contrast to other large states, including New York, Texas, Florida, that have implemented driver's license enrollment, they've reached the enrollment rates of over 90% with the implementation of FAFSA Simplification act.
- Bob Archuleta
Legislator
There is sufficient concern that the gap between California and states with driver's license legislation will widen if action is not taken to increase registration levels for states like California. FAFSA was a significant tool for making young men aware of their legal obligation to sign up for the selective service.
- Bob Archuleta
Legislator
With the tool now gone, it is important that California implements and implements Senate Bill 1081 and joins the overwhelming majority of states that have streamlined the registration process. California must take action to ensure that our residents do not disproportionately make themselves ineligible for jobs and benefits because of our inability to enroll people through the DMV process.
- Bob Archuleta
Legislator
I respectfully ask your I vote and thank you for your time.
- Maria Elena Durazo
Legislator
Any further discussion or debate on this item? Any further discussion debate?
- Maria Elena Durazo
Legislator
Senator Durazzo, I just want to make my concern very, very simple. It should not be the role of the State of California to facilitate the select service registration. This should be the role of the individual to do so and of the Federal Government to promote it as needed. So I will not be supporting.
- Maria Elena Durazo
Legislator
Thank you. Any further discussion or debate on this item. Entertain none. Senator artillery, would you like to close? I respectfully ask for your. I vote. Secretary, please call the roll on file item 44.
- Committee Secretary
Person
[Roll call]
- Committee Secretary
Person
[Roll call]
- Maria Elena Durazo
Legislator
Aye. Secretary, please call the APPC Members.
- Committee Secretary
Person
[Roll call]
- Maria Elena Durazo
Legislator
Eyes 23, noes to the measure passes now, Members. We're moving on the file. Item nine. Senator Min, are you prepared? Yes. Secretary, please read Senate Bill 1126 by Senator Minn. Inaccurately into child abuse and neglect.
- Unidentified Speaker
Person
Pass on file.
- Maria Elena Durazo
Legislator
He's going to pass on file. All right, Members, we're going to file. Item 15. Senator Becker, he's prepared. Secretary, please read Senate Bill 935 by Senator Becker, enacting to crimes. Thank you. Senator Becker, the floor is yours.
- Josh Becker
Legislator
Thank you, Mr. President. Rise to present SB 935. This is a kind of simple common sense measure. Addresses a loophole in statute regarding peace officer testimony. In a recent case, a detective with over 20 years of service resigned from LAPD before reaching the age of 50, making them ineligible for retirement status.
- Josh Becker
Legislator
The officer was called back to testify at a hearing, but because the discrepancy currently in statute, the judge was unsure whether to admit the witness. This would address this problem by allowing honorably separated law enforcement officers with the requisite experience to also provide such testimony. I respectfully ask for an aye vote.
- Steven Bradford
Legislator
Any further discussion or debate on this item? Hearing and seeing none, Secretary, please call the roll on File Item 15.
- Reading Clerk
Person
[Roll Call].
- Steven Bradford
Legislator
Please call the absent Members.
- Reading Clerk
Person
[Roll Call].
- Steven Bradford
Legislator
Ayes: 38; noes: zero. The measure passes. Now, Members, we're moving on to File Item 17: Senator Nguyen. She's prepared.
- Steven Bradford
Legislator
Secretary, you may read.
- Committee Secretary
Person
Senate Bill 1478 by Senator Nguyen, an act relating to healing arts.
- Steven Bradford
Legislator
Senator Nguyen.
- Janet Nguyen
Legislator
Thank you, Mr. President. Animals in shelter doesn't have a voice, so we will, and we have to be their voice. SB 1478 simply provides guidance to veterinarians who practice in animal shelters by outline, basic but essential elements necessary for the proper and safe care of these animals that are being housed in these animal shelters. This bill puts on the record common sense practice veterinarians are trained to utilize. With that, I respectfully ask for an aye vote.
- Steven Bradford
Legislator
Any discussion or debate? Senator Newman.
- Josh Newman
Legislator
Thank you, Mr. President. I'm proud to be a co-author of this bill. This is one of two bills the author brought in response to a grand jury report and other reporting that highlights the abysmal conditions in California's animal shelters. Passing this bill is not only good for pets, it's a validation of our concern for those pets and a commitment to the values that we show as the Legislature. I respect the urge an aye vote.
- Steven Bradford
Legislator
Thank you. Any further discussion? Hearing none. Senator Nguyen, would you like to close?
- Janet Nguyen
Legislator
Again, SB 1478 will provide basic guidance to improve the management and operation of animal shelters in California. And I appreciate and thank my colleague, Senator from Fullerton, for being a co-author and for championing the welfare of animals. I respectfully ask for an aye vote.
- Steven Bradford
Legislator
Thank you. Members, this is eligible for unanimous roll call. Is there any objection to applying the unanimous roll call of this item? Hearing none. 38 ayes, zero noes. The measure passes. Now, Members, were moving on to file item 20. Senator Newman. He's prepared. Secretary, you may read.
- Committee Secretary
Person
Senate Bill 1372 by Senator Newman, an act relating to aviation.
- Steven Bradford
Legislator
Senator Newman.
- Josh Newman
Legislator
Thank you, Mr. President. I rise to present SB-1372, which would ensure equal access and consistent fair treatment at the airport security checkpoints for all travelers by limiting the expansion of so-called third-party expedited screening services unless they operate in a dedicated security screening lane.
- Josh Newman
Legislator
Some of you, especially the Members of the LA delegation, might recall a controversy earlier this year which involved brokers buying up tee times at area public golf courses on behalf of clients who were willing to pay extra to play golf on public courses.
- Josh Newman
Legislator
As a member of the city's Public olf Advisory Committee put it, this is a public good. It would be like if someone took over a public swimming pool and said there would be surge pricing to swim in it.
- Josh Newman
Legislator
When this practice in LA was exposed, the local media attention was intense, the outrage was immediate, and the response was appropriate. The LA Department of Recreation Parks launched an investigation and subsequently installed controls to prevent future similar abuses.
- Josh Newman
Legislator
And as the spokesperson for the Rec and Parks Department put it at that time, at the end of the day, it's not right, it's not fair. This Bill, which has gotten more than its share of attention, actually revolves around the exact same principle.
- Josh Newman
Legislator
In the aftermath of 9/11, a massive security system was developed and installed at our nation's airports to prevent another similar catastrophe, so far successfully. The cost of building and operating that system was borne by taxpayers across the nation, rich taxpayers, poor taxpayers, and in between taxpayers.
- Josh Newman
Legislator
It stands to reason then, that everyone should be treated the same by that system if and when they have to travel. Unfortunately, that's not currently the case. At nine of California's busiest airports, travelers paying a fee to a private company are granted line cutting privileges at the expense of those who don't pay such a fee.
- Josh Newman
Legislator
This is, I think you'll all agree, not fair. It's also something that can easily be fixed.
- Josh Newman
Legislator
So CLEAR, the company which runs this very profitable concierge traveler service, and the association representing California's airports, which enjoy a share of the profits generated by the CLEAR system, claim they lack the influence to persuade the Transportation Security Administration to amend its processes to allow for a dedicated lane for travelers who pay for the service.
- Josh Newman
Legislator
This is clearly not true. Delta Airlines recently launched just such a service called Delta One, which offers premium travelers expedited access to airport screening without intersecting with any other line.
- Josh Newman
Legislator
All that this Bill seeks to do is create a sufficient level of shared motivation between CLEAR and its airport partners to petition TSA to do the exact same thing. We have a letter to the Secretary of Transportation and the Secretary of Homeland Security urging them to do exactly this.
- Josh Newman
Legislator
And to be clear, no pun intended, this Bill is not about banning or even harming CLEAR, its employees, its customers, or any of its partners. This is not an attack on free enterprise or the profit motive either.
- Josh Newman
Legislator
This is simply about finding a better basis for conducting the operations of expedited screening programs like CLEAR so that those who participate can enjoy the benefits of membership, I'm looking at you Members, without adversity affecting those who do not.
- Josh Newman
Legislator
In that spirit, as a result of negotiations facilitated by the Chair and agreed to by CLEAR. Amendments were taken and senate transportation. CLEAR has removed its opposition. In the post-9/11 era, travel has become a gauntlet of challenges and burdens in so many ways.
- Josh Newman
Legislator
By passing SB-1372, this body will have made those challenges just a little bit more bearable and a little bit more fair. I am respectfully asking for your help in doing just that with your aye vote today.
- Steven Bradford
Legislator
Thank you. Senator Cortese.
- Dave Cortese
Legislator
Thank you, Mr. President and Colleagues. I rise in support of SB-1372. I just wanted to clarify and perhaps reiterate, because some of it was covered in the author's remarks that the Bill, this Bill was amended significantly, amendments were taken in transportation Committee that changed the Bill dramatically from where it started off.
- Dave Cortese
Legislator
The Bill would have been disruptive, I believe, and I think most of you would have had the same reading when it was first put in print in terms of the current use of CLEAR, the current contracts and existence of CLEAR at airports where there are agreements in place right now.
- Dave Cortese
Legislator
Instead, the Bill was amended so that if there was an agreement in place at the airport before January 1, 2025 this Bill has no effect whatsoever.
- Dave Cortese
Legislator
So those customers, your constituents, my constituents who are currently using CLEAR at airports in California, will not be disrupted by this Bill because this Bill reaches out to those airports that are not yet under contract and essentially puts a moratorium unless they're able to follow the direction of the Bill, which is to set up the separate line.
- Dave Cortese
Legislator
With that, I urge an aye vote. Thank you.
- Steven Bradford
Legislator
Thank you. Senator Seyarto.
- Kelly Seyarto
Legislator
Thank you, Mr. President. I speak in opposition to this Bill because the Bill simply is not needed. I think the author made it clear what this is about, n1o pun intended again, and it's line cutting is not fair. The Legislature should not be used because line-cutting is not fair.
- Kelly Seyarto
Legislator
This is no different than TSA Pre, but what they do is they use biometrics to make sure that your identity is the same person that is on the ticket, and that's it. And then they walk you up, you go over to the TSA line, and you go in and get your stuff screened.
- Kelly Seyarto
Legislator
TSA is the people that are in, that's a federal government, federal agency. They're in charge of deciding what lines should be available for people to walk through. This is an intrusion into the federal government space. It's not delaying customers at all.
- Kelly Seyarto
Legislator
It provides 600 jobs for people, and I hope they can expand and provide 600 more jobs for other people. So for me, I've been to, obviously, a lot of us fly every week, and there has never ever been an instance where somebody getting CLEAR has delayed what I'm doing in TSA Pre and made my day worse.
- Kelly Seyarto
Legislator
So, you know, the premise that somehow it's not fair. Well, if it's not fair, then they should do away with TSA Pre and put us all on the other line, because it does exactly the same thing. They are just responding to a market. If there wasn't a market for it, it wouldn't exist.
- Kelly Seyarto
Legislator
And if the TSA administration didn't feel that it was warranted, they wouldn't have it. They wouldn't allow it. So with that, I would say that this Bill, because of the premise in which it was drawn up, is not about fairness to other people in line.
- Kelly Seyarto
Legislator
It's about somebody cut in front of us, and that's not a good idea. That's not a good reason to bring legislation forward. So with that, I would ask for a no vote on this and put this baby to bed. Thank you.
- Steven Bradford
Legislator
Thank you. Any further discussion or debate on this next item? Hearing and seeing none. Senator Newman, would you like to close?
- Josh Newman
Legislator
Thank you. Thank you for those robust comments. Let me make one point and I'm resisting the urge to make the pun, but to be clear, CLEAR is very different than TSA PreCheck. TSA PreCheck is a trusted traveler program. You pay dollar 78, it gets you five years of eligibility.
- Josh Newman
Legislator
What that does is it runs you through and verifies that across a whole bunch of systems that you are, in fact, a safe traveler. And therein lies the basis for that expedited line for TSA PreCheck. CLEAR does no such thing.
- Josh Newman
Legislator
All it does is match your ID to your identity, and it is not, in fact, connected to any of the systems that actually ensure that we're safe when we travel. That's one of the reasons why among the supporters of this Bill are the Flight Attendants Union, who have every reason to be fearful of another 9/11 situation, and the TSA Employees Union, who in addition to the safety concerns, are just as exposed as anybody to the frustration that the line cutting causes.
- Josh Newman
Legislator
So I say to my colleague, who's never been party or witness to any of this, you got to travel more. And you'll notice that especially in some of the crowded airports, the frustration levels. I'm looking to my colleague here from Santa Clarita, who's nodding his head, are really high. And to the question, you know, what about fairness?
- Josh Newman
Legislator
Should we legislate fairness? We do it every day here in the Legislature. So this Bill is about creating an incentive shared by the CLEAR company and the airports simply to go to TSA and say, hey, allow us to make money reselling access to a public service, but do it in such a way that it's not adverse to the average traveler. Who either can't afford that or cannot do it.
- Josh Newman
Legislator
I respectfully ask for your aye vote today.
- Steven Bradford
Legislator
Thank you. All debate having ceased, Secretary, please call the roll on file item 20.
- Committee Secretary
Person
[Roll Call]
- Steven Bradford
Legislator
Please call the absent Members.
- Committee Secretary
Person
[Roll Call]
- Steven Bradford
Legislator
Ayes 25. No is 6. The measure passes. Senator Newman, we still have you on a roll and schedule. You have File Item 47. We're going to take a pause for the calls real quick.
- Steven Bradford
Legislator
Senator Portantino, can you state your vote on 1372? Was that Portantino no? 1372. Members, we're going to ask you to stay calm, stay put for a few minutes as we fix this technical glitch we got going on. All right, we stand corrected. Ayes 25, noes seven. The measure passes in regards to file item 20. Now we're moving, one second. All right, we're back at it. We're now. Next up is file item 47. Secretary, please read.
- Committee Secretary
Person
Senate Bill 1164 by Senator Newman, an act related to taxation to take effect immediately. Tax levy.
- Steven Bradford
Legislator
Senator Newman, floor is yours.
- Josh Newman
Legislator
Thank you, Mr. President. A less emotional issue this time. I rise to present SB 1164, which would defer the property tax assessment on a newly constructed ADU for a period of 10 years or until the property is sold, if the homeowner attests that the ADU will be used for housing.
- Josh Newman
Legislator
Over the past decade, the Legislature has adopted a series of measures in relation to adus intended to reduce barriers that have been identified as hindering the pace of ADU creation across the state. Those barriers, which include administrative, zoning and other issues, have been, for the most part, on the municipal or the supply side.
- Josh Newman
Legislator
Where much less has been done and where this bill is focused is on the demand side of the equation. Incentivizing homeowners for whom an ADU may be a good investment, but to whom the finances may seem daunting.
- Josh Newman
Legislator
When a new addition to a home or an ADU is built, the newly constructed portion of the property is immediately assessed at 1% of the value of the square footage just added, an amount that is then appended to the property owner's next yearly property tax bill. As a typical example, an ADU assessed at a value of $300,000 would incur an immediate property tax increase of $3,000 per year.
- Josh Newman
Legislator
The prospect of such an increase, especially on top of the expense and complexity associated with the construction of an ADU, appears to serve as a substantial disincentive for homeowners, particularly working class homeowners, to build ADUs, even if they might otherwise reap the benefits over a longer term.
- Josh Newman
Legislator
By pausing the property tax increase associated with the construction of ADU, owners will be incentivized to increase the overall production of ADUs across the state. Such an allowance will better align market forces with the state's broader housing goals by enhancing an individual homeowners cost benefit considerations as they relate to considering the construction of an ADU.
- Josh Newman
Legislator
In addition to the work that this Legislature has done removing administrative hurdles to construction ADUs, we should also lower real and perceived cost barriers so as to make ADUs a more appealing and feasible option for middle and working class homeowners.
- Josh Newman
Legislator
SB 1164 was amended in sound appropriations to reduce the property tax waiver for new adus from 15 to 10 years, and the bill will sunset in five years. This bill has strong support from the California Association Realtors and the California Apartment Association, who agree this could be an important additional mechanism to accelerate housing production across the state. I am respectfully asking for your aye vote today.
- Steven Bradford
Legislator
Thank you. Any further discussion or debate on this item? Any further discussion or debate? Hearing and seeing none. Secretary, please call the roll on file item 47.
- Committee Secretary
Person
[Roll Call]
- Steven Bradford
Legislator
Please call the absent Members.
- Committee Secretary
Person
[Roll Call]
- Steven Bradford
Legislator
All right, final count. Ayes 29, noes six. The measure passes. Now, Members, we're going to move to our Safer California Bill package. I want to recognize the PT. Floor is yours.
- Mike McGuire
Legislator
Mr. President.
- Mike McGuire
Legislator
Mr. President and Members, I thank you for this. Colleagues, I rise today in support and to kick off the presentation of the bipartisan, the bipartisan Safer California Plan, which will be presented here this morning. Senators from both sides of the aisle have come together to advance a series of 15 bills.
- Mike McGuire
Legislator
This data-driven policy package will help curb--can help curb California's fentanyl crisis and the rising rates of retail theft and community-based crime. Ten of the bills are focused on expanding evidence-based prevention and treatment solutions aimed at the deadly fentanyl epidemic, impacting countless individuals and families, the other five bills that are going to help prevent, deter, and prosecute retail theft and community-based crimes that have impacted the safety and quality of life in communities big and small across the Golden State.
- Mike McGuire
Legislator
Today, what we're going to hear is about real solutions that address acute challenges impacting California. This critical policy package will help make our state safer, it's going to help make our state healthier, and it's supported by law enforcement, firefighters, and Smart Justice. And just today, several big city mayors.
- Mike McGuire
Legislator
And as I said early on, none of the Senate's theft bills would mean revisions to Prop 47, ensuring we never repeat the mistakes of the past. Mass incarceration is not the answer. Not today, not ever. And this package would advance strategic enhancements implemented on specific retail and community-based crimes.
- Mike McGuire
Legislator
The passage of the Safer California Policy Package will mean more Californians who are fighting addiction will get evidence-based treatment, setting them up for a healthier future, and it builds upon more than a billion dollars, more than a billion dollars that this Legislature has invested to expand programs for enforcement, public health, and community-based education.
- Mike McGuire
Legislator
And the retail theft package bills on more than 100 million dollars worth of investment by the State of California that has been made in the last several years to help law enforcement tackle retail theft, that includes 85 million dollars for local police to crack down on theft, along with six million dollars on ongoing funding for the CHP to increase their presence in local communities. I'd like to wrap it up right here and turn it over to the authors with this: a thank you.
- Mike McGuire
Legislator
You know, it's not every day where--in this nation--where Democrats and Republicans can come together, and I'm grateful. I'm grateful to Leader Jones for his partnership in this. And I want to say thanks to every member of the working group who spent the greater part of their year last year advancing this evidence-based approach.
- Mike McGuire
Legislator
With permission, Mr. President, I'd like to be able to recognize those working group members, including Senator Skinner, Senator Umberg, Senator Eggman, Senator Roth, Senator Wahab, and Senator Wiener.
- Mike McGuire
Legislator
I also want to say thank you to our bipartisan group of authors who will be presenting here today: Senator Wahab, Senator Roth, Senator Ashby, Senator Cortese, Senator Min, Senator Newman, Senator Ochoa Bogh, Senator Skinner, Senator Umberg, and Senator Wiener. Californians, they deserve a united approach to tackling these challenges, and the Senate is doing just that. Colleagues, I respectfully ask for an aye vote on the Safer California Plan.
- Steven Bradford
Legislator
Thank you, Mr. President. Now we're going to move on to our first item under this package. It's File Item 30 by Senator Roth.
- Steven Bradford
Legislator
Secretary, please read.
- Committee Secretary
Person
Senate Bill 1385 by Senator Roth, an act relating to medicare.
- Steven Bradford
Legislator
Senator Roth.
- Richard Roth
Legislator
Thank you, Mr. President. Before I get to the matter of the bill, I'd like to make a couple comments. I was privileged to serve on the fentanyl working group with many of you sitting on this floor, and I don't have to tell you that fentanyl is the latest opioid crisis that's plaguing our country and this great state and has been for decades. And it's decidedly the most dangerous of all of them.
- Richard Roth
Legislator
It's easily produced in labs and probably in garages, and is more powerful, more addicting, and more dangerous than any other opioid. Sadly, over 150 people die every day from overdoses related to synthetic opioids like fentanyl.
- Richard Roth
Legislator
As a former air force officer, my sense of duty extends even beyond the general public to our men and women who serve our great country and the military, I'm sad to tell you, is not immune to the rising fentanyl crisis. Parents of soldiers, airmen, Coast Guard personnel, sailors, marines, space guardians now.
- Richard Roth
Legislator
They're not exempt from the fear their child could die from an overdose. I remember reading an article in the Washington Post last year that stated that the army lost 127 soldiers to fentanyl between 2015 and 2022. That's more than double the number of army personnel killed in combat during that time.
- Richard Roth
Legislator
When we say that many of these policies, these fentanyl policies, are evidence-based, we mean it. Some here have spent months meeting with the nation's top experts, and they agree that expanding treatment is more effective, much more effective, in reducing crime and addiction than incarceration.
- Richard Roth
Legislator
Now, to be clear, we need to be tough, and law and order is important. That's what we are about in the military, the rule of law. But if we want long term results, we need to rely on what's working, not temporary fixes. Doing the right thing is often not the easiest thing to do, but doing the right thing is 100% what we need to do in this case. And the right thing is to look at the problem of substance abuse as a whole and build support systems for those who are truly suffering.
- Richard Roth
Legislator
Studies show the vast majority of people will accept treatment when it is easy to access and offered in a convenient location. That's why this approach is designed to intercept people where they are, in emergency rooms, in jails, prisons, in courts, and connect them to treatment. And connect them to treatment now.
- Richard Roth
Legislator
We also have proposals to incentivize more medical providers to treat addiction, expedite the construction of treatment sites. And we intend to continue to push for an increase in the number of medical and behavioral health workers in this state to do the job. People with substance abuse disorders need treatment, not punishment.
- Richard Roth
Legislator
And drug use disorders should be approached with a demand for high quality care and compassion for those affected. Again, let me be clear. California law already lets us throw the book at drug criminals. What we're proposing here is a new chapter for those suffering from addiction.
- Richard Roth
Legislator
It's the right approach, and I'm proud to support it, but it's also just the beginning. We don't plan to stop working on this issue until our state is safer for all Californians. Now, with respect to the bill, it's Bill SB 7 1385.
- Richard Roth
Legislator
It's part of our Safer California policy platform, and it requires Medi-Cal managed care plans to create a billing pathway for substance abuse navigators placed in the emergency department to build the Medi-Cal program under the newly implemented community health worker benefit.
- Richard Roth
Legislator
In order to sustain these substance abuse navigators, who are very, very important in steering people to substance abuse treatment, a funding source is needed, and this bill creates that funding source by allowing the substance abuse navigators to build a Medi-Cal program for services provided to a Medi-Cal recipient during emergency department visit or as an outpatient follow up to an emergency department visit. Respectfully ask for an aye vote.
- Steven Bradford
Legislator
Any further discussion or debate on this item? Any further discussion or debate? Hearing and seeing none. This is eligible for unanimous roll call. Is there any? No, we don't have 39. Okay, so we need a roll call on this one, Members. Secretary, please call the roll on file item 30.
- Committee Secretary
Person
[Roll Call]
- Steven Bradford
Legislator
Ayes 39, noes zero. The measure passes. Now, Members, we're moving on to file item 75 by Senator Wahab. She is prepared.
- Steven Bradford
Legislator
Secretary, you may read.
- Committee Secretary
Person
Senate Bill 1319 by Senator Wahab in accolade to behavioral health
- Steven Bradford
Legislator
Senator Wahab.
- Aisha Wahab
Legislator
Thank you. SB 1319 will direct the Department of Healthcare Access and Information, the Department of Public Health, and the Department of Healthcare Services to receive and process applications for behavioral health treatment facilities more efficiently. This bill will not change the application requirements, but simply directs departments to coordinate related application processes to expedite approvals.
- Aisha Wahab
Legislator
SB 1319 is a part of the Senate's Bipartisan Safer California plan, which includes an evidence-based approach to the fentanyl crisis that increases access to treatment. Skilled nursing facilities, or SNFs, serve an elderly and or disabled population, most of whom are either MediCal or Medicare beneficiaries or both.
- Aisha Wahab
Legislator
There's also a segment of SNFs that provide behavioral health services in addition to traditional SNF care to residents that have co-occurring behavioral health needs in addition to their physical nursing needs.
- Aisha Wahab
Legislator
There is a significant demand for behavioral health SNF services, but it can be challenging for SNF providers who wish to expand or convert existing SNF facilities to provide behavioral health care and skilled nursing services in addition to the physical facility modifications that are required to offer SNF behavioral health services.
- Aisha Wahab
Legislator
The process for obtaining the necessary approvals from the multiple state departments that regulate different aspects of the process can be time consuming and delay the provision of much needed services in the community.
- Aisha Wahab
Legislator
SB 1319 will streamline the process for expanding and converting a whole or a part of the skilled nursing facilities to behavioral health facilities by reducing the amount of time needed for facilities to obtain the necessary approvals from state agencies to be a licensed and operating MediCal provider.
- Aisha Wahab
Legislator
I do also want to highlight that our fastest growing substance abuse victims tend to be older Californians, and as much as possible, we need to provide the resources that they need to get the treatment that they need. Thank you.
- Steven Bradford
Legislator
Any further discussion or debate on this item? Any further discussion or debate hearing and seeing none. Members, this is eligible for a unanimous roll call. Is there any objection to applying the unanimous roll call on this measure? Seeing nonen. Ayes 39 Noes 0. The measure passes. Next up is Senator Wahab with file item 69.
- Steven Bradford
Legislator
Secretary, you may read.
- Committee Secretary
Person
Senate Bill 982 by Senator Wahab, an act relating to crimes.
- Steven Bradford
Legislator
Senator Wahab.
- Aisha Wahab
Legislator
Thank you. I rise today to present SB 982, which is part of the Senate's Safer California plan and Governor Newsom's retail theft package. This bill simply eliminates the January 1, 2026 sunset to sustain the crime of organized theft permanently.
- Aisha Wahab
Legislator
Despite the likelihood of underreported retail theft, especially low value theft data shows a 29% jump in reported retail theft from 2019 to 2022. Aside from big retailers, many small businesses are suffering the consequences of organized retail theft and oftentimes do not have the same resources to protect themselves.
- Aisha Wahab
Legislator
In California, nearly half of small businesses are owned by racial and ethnic minority groups. When retailers are affected by these crimes, they typically make up those losses by raising prices, reducing hours or closing their stores completely, ultimately impacting other consumers and the community as a whole.
- Aisha Wahab
Legislator
SB 982 will ensure organized theft remains a crime to give prosecutors and law enforcement the effective tools they need to combat organized theft. SB 982 is a bipartisan effort that will keep our community safe by making sure law enforcement can respond to the crime of organized theft. I respectfully ask for an aye vote.
- Steven Bradford
Legislator
Great. Any further discussion or debate? Senator Niello.
- Roger Niello
Legislator
Thank you. Thank you, Mr. President. I rise as a joint author in support of SB 982. As a result of the Hoover Commission hearings held last year, I learned, number one, that this bill, originally authored by Assembly Member Jones-Sawyer, was going to be sunsetting.
- Roger Niello
Legislator
And the district attorneys in my area here, both my district and close by, found this to be a very useful tool, as was very well articulated by my colleague from Hayward. And so I sought to eliminate the sunset also.
- Roger Niello
Legislator
I introduced a bill that turned out to be identical, and my colleague from Hayward graciously welcomed me onto her bill so that we don't only have one doing the same thing, but it is a very valuable tool for local law enforcement that otherwise would go away shortly. I urge an aye vote.
- Steven Bradford
Legislator
Thank you. Any further discussion or debate on this item? Hearing and seeing none. Senator Wahab, would you like to close? She's no longer there.
- Steven Bradford
Legislator
Members, this is eligible for a unanimous roll call. Is there any objection to using, applying the unanimous roll call to this measure? Hearing and seeing none. Ayes 39, noes zero. The measure passes. Now we're moving on to file item 55 by Senator Newman. He is prepared. Secretary, you may read.
- Committee Secretary
Person
Senate Bill 1416 by Senator Newman, an act relating to crimes.
- Steven Bradford
Legislator
Senator Newman.
- Josh Newman
Legislator
Thank you, Mr. President. I rise to present SB 1416, which is also a component of the Senate's Working Together for a Safer California package, and which creates a set of escalating enhancements for middlemen found guilty of profiting from the sale, exchange, return, or attempted resale of items obtained through organized retail theft.
- Josh Newman
Legislator
Organized retail theft operations often involve multiple people collaborating in a coordinated effort to obtain stolen merchandise from multiple stores in order to aggregate the amount of stolen goods for eventual resale. In recent years, organized retail crime operations have increasingly targeted specific types of merchandise with high resale value and for which there is demonstrated demand.
- Josh Newman
Legislator
One very problematic byproduct of the intersection of the power of social media and the growth of online marketplaces is the ease with which individuals and syndicates can seamlessly coordinate the activities of others to steal, consolidate, and then resell stolen goods, often at levels of scale, which have begun to compete with the legitimate businesses from which these goods are often stolen from in the first place.
- Josh Newman
Legislator
The enhancements created by SB 1416 will add another set of tools to support the work that the Legislature is doing in this area as part of the Working Together for a Safer California package. By enhancing the criminal penalties associated with organized retail theft, SB 1416 will better safeguard California's businesses by deterring those who would stoop to profit from it. I am respectfully asking for your. aye vote today.
- Steven Bradford
Legislator
Thank you. Any further discussion or debate? Senator Rubio.
- Susan Rubio
Legislator
Thank you, Mr. President, ladies and gentlemen of the Senate. I also stand here in support of SB 1416, and I just really want to commend the author and all of those that are working collectively on these public safety packages. I know that our communities have been struggling for a while. Just want to share one particular instant.
- Susan Rubio
Legislator
I have an individual in my community who's been arrested almost, I think it's 14 times at this point for the same exact crime, and our communities are struggling not being able to do anything about it. So this bill in particular is very valuable, not only as a community member, but to public safety.
- Susan Rubio
Legislator
And I think it's about time that we give them the tools they need to be able to tackle this problem. And this in particular is organized retail theft, which is really harming our businesses. On behalf of our businesses and public safety in our communities, it was much needed. So with that, I also ask for an aye vote. Thank you.
- Steven Bradford
Legislator
Thank you. Any other Member desires to speak on this issue? Seeing none. Senator Newman, you may close.
- Josh Newman
Legislator
I appreciate the comments of my colleague from Baldwin Park, and I respectfully ask for an aye vote.
- Steven Bradford
Legislator
Members, this is eligible for unanimous roll call. Is there any objection to applying our unanimous roll call to file item 55? See none. Ayes, 39, noes zero. The measure passes. Next up is file item 68 by Senator Skinner.
- Steven Bradford
Legislator
She's prepared. Secretary, you may read.
- Reading Clerk
Person
Senate Bill 950 by Senator Skinner, an act relating to reentry.
- Steven Bradford
Legislator
Senator Skinner, floor is yours.
- Nancy Skinner
Legislator
Thank you very much. Very pleased that SB 950 is part of our Safer for California Package. We know that the vast majority of those who we have incarcerated in our state prisons go home, and when they go home, we want them to be successful in that reentry, and we do not want recidivism.
- Nancy Skinner
Legislator
So in 2015, our Department of Corrections launched a program called the Male Community Reentry Program. Now, there's also the female community reentry program, but these are collectively known as CCRPs, and what CCRPs are are facilities in the community where a person who is still in custody under CDCR, but they are in a program for one to two years before they're released that provides much more focused rehabilitative services and really assists them in being successful at reentry.
- Nancy Skinner
Legislator
And in fact, the data shows that those--so far--those programs, the recidivism rate of MCRP residents is about a tenth of those who are just released from our state prison without that--without having participated in such a program.
- Nancy Skinner
Legislator
Now, one of the benefits of an MCRP is that we can--we, the state, can enroll those individuals in things like Medi-Cal so that we can fully take advantage of CalAIM, and in CalFresh and in other supportive, other benefits programs so that there's a seamless transition. Once they are released, they already have--they're covered by Medi-Cal, they have their health care, they have food benefits.
- Nancy Skinner
Legislator
They have the things they need while they get their feet on the ground and succeed. Now, we know that many of the folks that are rereleasing from CDCR have substance use disorder. And while they may be clean, for example, while they're in the MCRP Program, they need those supports.
- Nancy Skinner
Legislator
They need either continued substance abuse support programs or they need maybe the medically assisted treatment. Those variety of things can be provided to them through Medi-Cal, and through CalAIM further, we even have the ability to provide, for a very temporary transitional time, housing supports.
- Nancy Skinner
Legislator
So what this bill does is directs CDCR, to the extent possible, pre-enroll the residents in our CCRP programs into all those programs that I described, those benefit programs, and so that we can maximize their use and thus maximize the success.
- Nancy Skinner
Legislator
And this does have a direct impact on our fentanyl addiction problem because those with substance use disorders, if they do not have the continued support they very commonly--and this is people across the board, regardless of what your circumstances--you fall back in to your addiction.
- Nancy Skinner
Legislator
The additional thing that SB 950 does is create a working group within our Department of Corrections, our BSCCs, and our Department of Aging--our meaning that's our Social Services Department--to look at ways to create additional reentry facilities for those with advanced age and with disabilities. With that, I ask for your aye vote.
- Steven Bradford
Legislator
Thank you. Any further discussion or debate on this item? Hearing and seeing none, Members, this, too, is eligible for unanimous roll call. Is there any objection to applying unanimous roll call to File Item 68? Hearing and seeing none, ayes: 39; noes: zero. The measure passes. Next up is Senator Skinner again with File Item 46. Secretary, you may read.
- Committee Secretary
Person
Senate Bill 1144 by Senator Skinner, an act relating to business.
- Steven Bradford
Legislator
Senator Skinner, floor is yours.
- Nancy Skinner
Legislator
Thank you. Again, very pleased that SB 1144 is part of our Safer for California package. In 2022, SB 301 was signed into law, and it is established regulations for online marketplaces. And let me preface this with, you know, we all know, increasingly, goods are purchased online through the Internet. We do it. Everybody does it.
- Nancy Skinner
Legislator
And, you know, if people are buying their goods online, then you can imagine that online sales are also increasingly becoming the source for retail thieves to use to, in effect, fence those stolen goods. So the purpose of that original law, SB 301, was to require online marketplaces to validate the legitimacy of the sellers so that we could help reduce this use of our online services for selling stolen goods.
- Nancy Skinner
Legislator
So it required the seller, high volume sellers, to show that they had a business license, that they had a tax ID, various things like that, that most thieves don't like to, you know, don't like to have track record with government. Now, the bill has been very effective.
- Nancy Skinner
Legislator
It's working great, but it works most effectively when the seller has the transaction for the sale directly on the marketplace, or rather on the platform. So, in other words, if I'm buying that good than I am paying through that platform, and the seller is getting the money through the platform.
- Nancy Skinner
Legislator
Now, what we've seen is a very large rise in what's called online marketplaces, where the seller advertises the good and I, the buyer will say, zero yeah, I want that good, but I don't make the cash transaction actually through that platform. I might do it through PayPal or through Venmo or something like that.
- Nancy Skinner
Legislator
I'm not using that platform. So what happens there is those sellers are not being required to legitimize that they are legitimate sellers. They're not giving tax ID, they're not showing that they have business licenses. So we, what's happened is, you know, thieves are clever.
- Nancy Skinner
Legislator
They're moving many of their sales of stolen goods over to the marketplaces that don't have these requirements. So what this bill does is put very comparable requirements onto the online marketplaces for their sellers, high volume sellers, and we need it because we need to disincentivize these organized retail theft operations. And with that, I ask for your aye vote.
- Steven Bradford
Legislator
Any further discussion or debate on this item? Senator Jones.
- Brian Jones
Legislator
Thank you, Mr. President. Members, retail theft in California absolutely is a problem and I appreciate the steps that we're taking this morning to begin addressing that issue.
- Brian Jones
Legislator
In contrast to some of the comments that have been made this morning, I do believe that Prop 47 does need a complete overhaul and some reforms that would be beneficial to all Californians. But this bill, specifically SB 1144, I have voted no on this bill in Appropriations.
- Brian Jones
Legislator
I believe that there's still some concerns about the bill, specifically federal law, some details of the enforcement, and details of how the online platforms are going to comply. But I got a very compelling, I received a very compelling letter from my District Attorney in support of the bill.
- Brian Jones
Legislator
So that this morning I'm prepared to abstain on a vote on this bill, watching how it moves through the Assembly, and hopefully have a bill that I can fully support when it comes back for concurrence if it does. I just thank you, Mr. President, for the time this morning.
- Steven Bradford
Legislator
Thank you. Senator Dahle.
- Brian Dahle
Legislator
Question to the author, Mr. President.
- Steven Bradford
Legislator
Senator Skinner, will you take a question?
- Nancy Skinner
Legislator
Yes.
- Brian Dahle
Legislator
What is considered a high volume seller? I couldn't find the number. Is it a dollar number or item number?
- Nancy Skinner
Legislator
It's a dollar number. Apologies while I look for that. It is both the dollar amount and the number of transactions. It's 5,000 minimum and 200 transactions over the course of 12 months.
- Brian Dahle
Legislator
Okay, thank you. I wanted to know what that number was.
- Steven Bradford
Legislator
Thank you. You satisfied? All right. Any additional questions or concerns or comments on this measure? Hearing and seeing none. Senator Skinner, would you like to close?
- Nancy Skinner
Legislator
Thank you. In addressing the issue of why do we need to go after the entities that are selling large amounts of these stolen goods? I'll give you a great example. Some of you may have seen this newspaper article where a wealthy couple from San Diego area were busted by the FBI.
- Nancy Skinner
Legislator
And some, I think, their local law enforcement was also involved. And they were an organized retail theft ring. They themselves didn't go to any store and steal anything. They employed low income people to steal things for them, which they then unloaded online.
- Nancy Skinner
Legislator
So the point of that story is, and they actually, when they were busted and the newspaper article showed it, there were many email and text messages where they were directing these low income people, like, go to Sephora. We need this much. We need this kind of thing.
- Nancy Skinner
Legislator
So, you know, here's all the Sephora locations. We need, you know, this kind of makeup or, you know, whatever we need in different locations of places. So the point being that, yes, we want to. We do not want to have anyone stealing anything from stores.
- Nancy Skinner
Legislator
But if we don't get at the source of the unloading of these goods, we can arrest and incarcerate any number of people that are doing what might be called the shoplifting. But if there's still organized retail theft rings like this couple in San Diego, that will just continue to find some person in need of money to go and steal things from Sephora, we don't end the problem. So bills in this bill and others in this package are aimed at getting right at the source of the problem. And with that, I ask for your aye vote.
- Steven Bradford
Legislator
Thank you. Secretary, please call the roll on file item 46.
- Committee Secretary
Person
[Roll Call]
- Steven Bradford
Legislator
Secretary, please call the absent Members.
- Committee Secretary
Person
[Roll Call]
- Steven Bradford
Legislator
Ayes 33, noes one. The measure passes. Now we're moving on to file item 66. Senator Umberg, he's prepared. Secretary, you may read.
- Committee Secretary
Person
Senate Bill 909 by Senator Humberg. And according to physicians and surgeons, and making an appropriation. Therefore, Senator Humberg Humberg, the floor is yours. Thank you, Mister President and colleagues.
- Thomas Umberg
Legislator
SB 909 is a Bill that strengthens our healthcare workforce by removing the maximum loan repayment limit of the $105,000 current limit for the Stephen M. Thompson Physician Corps Loan Repayment program.
- Thomas Umberg
Legislator
This enables physicians and other healthcare professionals to be able to serve in medically underserved areas by increasing the amount by which they may seek and receive loan repayment. I urge and I vote.
- Steven Bradford
Legislator
Thank you. Any further discussion or debate on this item? Hearing no members is eligible for unanimous roll call. Is there any objection to applying a unanimous roll call to file item 66? Seeing no ayes, 39 knows zero. The measure passes. Next up is Senator Umberg would file item 67. He's prepared.
- Steven Bradford
Legislator
Secretary, you may read.
- Committee Secretary
Person
Senate Bill 910 by Senator Umberg in accolade into courts.
- Steven Bradford
Legislator
Senator Umberg, the floor is yours.
- Thomas Umberg
Legislator
Thank you Mr. President. Colleagues, this Bill is a critical component of the making California Safer Initiative. Collaborative courts are the courts that you see in your localities that address, for example, drug issues, veterans issues, homeless issues, mental health issues, DUI issues.
- Thomas Umberg
Legislator
There are a variety of collaborative courts, and the purpose is to take often a young person who's committed a crime to steer them in the right direction by putting them in a program, a process that is quite rigorous. It is quite rigorous.
- Thomas Umberg
Legislator
For example, you have to do both random drug testing and often drug testing once a month. You have to demonstrate to the court that you are on a pathway to productive citizenship, either through education or job or both. It is a program that is highly, highly, highly effective in terms of recidivism.
- Thomas Umberg
Legislator
Sadly, though, some counties don't have collaborative courts for whatever reason, and other counties have collaborative courts that are highly dependent upon the passion, the dedication of the bench officer. If the bench officer is dedicated, if the bench officer is focused, then the results are very, very good. If not, the results are not so good.
- Thomas Umberg
Legislator
What this Bill does is this Bill applies best practices as established nationally. Collaborative courts have been in existence nationally for four decades, and there are best practices, and we should employ them here in California. This Bill simply says, that's what we're going to do, is we're going to promulgate, use, and train in terms of best practices. I urge an aye vote, thank you.
- Steven Bradford
Legislator
Any further discussion or debate on this item here? You can see none. This, too, is eligible for unanimous roll call. Is there any objection to applying a unanimous roll call to file item 67? Seeing none. Ayes 39. No. Is at zero. The measure passes. Next up is file item 79 by Senator Senator Ochoa Bo. Secretary. Please read.
- Committee Secretary
Person
Senate Bill 1442 by Senator Ochoa Bogh in accolade to public health. Senator, floor is yours.
- Rosilicie Ochoa Bogh
Legislator
Thank you, Mister President and Members. As someone who's been dedicated to promoting the safety and well being of our communities, I believe it is crucial for policymakers to work together in a bipartisan manner to create policies that protect all Californians.
- Rosilicie Ochoa Bogh
Legislator
I am grateful for the opportunity to collaborate with our Democrat Senate pro Tem McGuire, also with our Republican Senate Minority Leader Brian Jones, and in the other House as well with the leaders there.
- Rosilicie Ochoa Bogh
Legislator
If we're going to make impactful change, it is imperative that we bring all stakeholders to the table and not work in silos creating echo chambers that may prove or have been proven detrimental to our community safety. It is within that spirit that I am here to present the following two bills.
- Rosilicie Ochoa Bogh
Legislator
In October 2023, the FDA approved the first over the counter point of care fentanyl test. In as little as five minutes. This test can be can indicate to a provider that whether their patient has used fentanyl. This indication through preliminary could save precious time in directing treatment, leading to improved outcomes.
- Rosilicie Ochoa Bogh
Legislator
Such information is critical given that many victims have no idea that the substance they were using contained fentanyl. SB 1442 will expand access to point of care fentanyl test by authorizing the California Health and Human Services Agency through the CalRX initiative, to enter into partnerships to develop, produce, purchase and distribute such tests.
- Rosilicie Ochoa Bogh
Legislator
By ensuring that more providers can test for fentanyl use as soon as possible, SB 1442 will expand our efforts to reduce fentanyl overdose deaths. SB 1442 is part of the Senate's working together for a safer California package and has no registered opposition. I respectfully ask for an aye vote.
- Steven Bradford
Legislator
Thank you. Any further discussion or debate on this item? Any further discussion or debate hearing and seeing none. Secretary, please call the roll on file item 79.
- Committee Secretary
Person
[Roll Call]
- Steven Bradford
Legislator
Please call the absent Members.
- Committee Secretary
Person
[Roll Call]
- Steven Bradford
Legislator
Call the roll again.
- Committee Secretary
Person
[Roll Call]
- Steven Bradford
Legislator
38. Aye. 38. No. Zero. The measure passes. Now, Members, we're moving on to file item 61 again by Senator Ochoa Bogh. She's prepared. Secretary, you may read.
- Committee Secretary
Person
Senate Bill 1468 by Senator Ochoa Bogh, in accolade to healing arts. Senator, floor is yours.
- Rosilicie Ochoa Bogh
Legislator
Thank you, Mister President. Members, Senate Bill 1468 will educate and encourage providers to make use of the 2023 Drug Enforcement Agency rule that allows practitioners to dispense a three day supply of narcotic medication to start detoxification or maintenance treatment for people who use opioids.
- Rosilicie Ochoa Bogh
Legislator
Licensed practitioners will receive a notification provided by boards under the Department of Consumer affairs that will provide helpful information on how to prescribe this medication. The provided resources will increase awareness about the life saving benefits regarding existing medication that assists treatment for substance use disorder.
- Rosilicie Ochoa Bogh
Legislator
Opioid withdrawal symptoms can be intensely uncomfortable, and in certain situations, there can be life threatening complications. This annual notification will help ease the burdens placed on patients struggling with opioid use disorder, giving them a better chance of success. SB 1468 is part of the Senate's working together for a safer California package and has no registered opposition. I respectfully ask for an aye vote.
- Steven Bradford
Legislator
Thank you. Any further discussion or debate on this item? Hearing, seeing, none. Members, this is eligible for unanimous row call. Is there any objection to applying the unanimous row call to file item 61? Hearing, seeing none. Ayes 38. No, zero. The measure passes. Next up is Senator Cortese with file item 65.
- Steven Bradford
Legislator
Secretary, you may read.
- Committee Secretary
Person
Senate Bill 908 by Senator Cortese in accolade to public health. Senator, floor is yours.
- Dave Cortese
Legislator
Thank you, Mister President. Members, appreciate the opportunity to present SB 908, which is included in the package. I'm grateful for that. In barely more time than I've been in the Senate, in three and a half years, we have lost 25 children five and younger from fentanyl poisoning in California.
- Dave Cortese
Legislator
In fact, more than 100 infants younger than age one, younger than age one, have died over the last two decades. Even more recently, in my own district, baby Phoenix, who was three months old when she died from a fentanyl overdose, and she was the first of three South Bay toddlers younger than two killed within six months.
- Dave Cortese
Legislator
908 will require the California Department of Public Health to utilize all of its available data to spread awareness and develop guidelines to protect and prevent fentanyl related deaths of children. Zero to five. This will take confusion out of local situations currently where people are grappling and debating over how to deal with the problem.
- Dave Cortese
Legislator
These findings and recommendations will be distributed annually, beginning June 12, 25 to local public health departments, county boards of supervisors, and to the Legislature as well. I respectfully ask for your aye vote.
- Steven Bradford
Legislator
Thank you. Any further discussion or debate on this item? Any further discussion or debate? Hearing, seeing none. This is eligible for unanimous roll call. Is there any objection to applying a unanimous roll call to file item 65? Hearing, seeing non ayes 38. No, zero. The measure passes. Next up is file item 80 by Senator Ashby. She is prepared. Secretary, you may read.
- Committee Secretary
Person
Senate Bill 1502 by Senator Ashby in accolade to control substances.
- Steven Bradford
Legislator
Senator, floor is yours.
- Angelique Ashby
Legislator
Thank you, Mister President. Honored to be one of the Senators addressing the deadly fentanyl crisis in this safer California package today. SB 1502 will prevent the illicit use of xylazine while creating guardrails for the drug's continued use in veterinary medicine practice. This bill is part of the Senate's working together for a safer California legislative package.
- Angelique Ashby
Legislator
This component addressing the fentanyl crisis. Commonly referred to as Tranq or the zombie drug, xylazine is a potent sedative with increasingly prevalent in our country. There is a growing trend of mixing fentanyl and xylazine, rendering it the deadliest drug combination in the United States of America.
- Angelique Ashby
Legislator
SB 1502 adds Xylazine to the list of schedule three controlled substances, which enables the Drug Enforcement Agency to restrict access to it. Xylazine is considered unsafe for human consumption. It renders its user into a zombie-like state, often leading to amputation from severe wounds and fatal overdoses. Unlike other opioids, Xylazine overdoses cannot be reversed by Narcan.
- Angelique Ashby
Legislator
It's crucial that we protect Californians from the negative impacts of xylazine, and particularly its deadly combination with fentanyl, by regulating its availability and preventing its misuse. I urge an aye vote, thank you.
- Steven Bradford
Legislator
Any further discussion, Senator Rubio?
- Susan Rubio
Legislator
Thank you, Mister President, ladies and gentlemen of the Senate, I rise in strong, strong support of SB 1502. We already have a really big crisis on our hands, which is the use of fentanyl and adding xylacine to the mix. It's a problem on top of the problem.
- Susan Rubio
Legislator
And so this bill is critically important to prevent the illicit use of xylazine, especially as we see across our nation. If some of you have not witnessed what's happening in other states, for example, the state of Philadelphia has complete zones that are now referred to as zombie communities.
- Susan Rubio
Legislator
Because you see people walking around not aware of their surroundings, most often they're slumped over, not being able to get up. And if we don't stop this here in the State of California, we will see that continue to be used in our state.
- Susan Rubio
Legislator
And again, we are seeing people that are daughters, mothers, brothers, and this is where we stop it. So I'm very thankful to the working group as well as the great Senator from Sacramento for introducing this. I know that there's concerns about what an intendant uses.
- Susan Rubio
Legislator
There is safeguards to ensure that it is used for our animals, which is what the intent was. But again, we need to keep it away from the use of fentanyl because our kids are getting a hold of this and we're not going to be able to stop it.
- Susan Rubio
Legislator
So again, I'm so thankful that this bill, along with the other bills presented by the Senate's working group for a safer California, will help curve the use of this deadly drug. It should not be consumed by humans. And with that, I also urge an aye vote. Thank you.
- Steven Bradford
Legislator
Thank you. Any further discussion or debate hearing and seeing none Senator Ashby, would you like to close? Senator Ashby, would you like to close?
- Angelique Ashby
Legislator
Thank you. Urge an aye vote.
- Steven Bradford
Legislator
Thank you. This is eligible for unanimous roll call. Is there any objection to applying a unanimous roll call to file item 80? Hearing and seeing none. Ayes 38 Noes 0. The measure passes. Now, next up is Senator Wiener with file item 64. He is prepared.
- Steven Bradford
Legislator
Secretary, you may read Senate Bill 905 by Senator Wiener Enact relating to crimes. Senator Wiener?
- Scott Wiener
Legislator
Thank you very much, Mister President. Colleagues, some of you may recognize SB 905, because this is my third effort at this Bill going back to, I believe, 2018. SB 905 does two things. First, it has to do with auto break-ins.
- Scott Wiener
Legislator
And first, it closes what we call the locked door loophole, a nonsensical barrier to holding auto burglars accountable under existing law, in order to prove the crime of breaking into a car. It's not enough to show that you forcibly entered the car.
- Scott Wiener
Legislator
The DA also has to prove that the doors to the car, that all of them were locked. So even if you have incontrovertible evidence that someone broke into the car, if you can't prove the doors are locked, that can cause the entire prosecution to collapse. Some people may not remember if they locked their car door.
- Scott Wiener
Legislator
In situations where someone is visiting California and their car gets broken into, they may now be thousands of miles away and they're not going to come back and testify in court. It makes no sense. If you can prove that the car was broken into, that should be sufficient, and this Bill will close that loophole.
- Scott Wiener
Legislator
The second thing that the Bill does has to do with organized resale of goods that are stolen from cars. Auto burglars often seek valuable items such as laptops, cameras, cell phones, and then resell them.
- Scott Wiener
Legislator
Under this Bill, individuals can be prosecuted if they have more than $950 worth of stolen goods stolen from vehicles intended for resale, even if these goods were stolen in multiple incidents. This Bill is part of the pro tems working together for a safer California package, and I respectfully ask for an aye vote.
- Steven Bradford
Legislator
Thank you Senator Jones.
- Brian Jones
Legislator
Mister President and members, California's auto break in challenges are world known. Tourists even know of this challenge. So, I'm very happy that we are addressing this this morning with SB 905. I am a co-author and will be voting aye and ask for the entire body to join me in supporting this, Bill. Thank you.
- Steven Bradford
Legislator
Thank you, Senator Durazo.
- Maria Elena Durazo
Legislator
Thank you, Mister President. I rise to also say I will be supporting and I appreciate the author's work on some unintended issues that are being resolved. So for that I want to thank and sales support.
- Maria Elena Durazo
Legislator
But I want to take advantage of this moment to give a big shout out to Detective Michael Ventura of the Northeast division of LAPD. On Saturday, we partnered to do an event in Los Angeles. The services were free vin etching, free steering wheel locks and software updates for the Hyundai vehicles.
- Maria Elena Durazo
Legislator
LAPD and trap, the task force for regional auto theft prevention. It's a state funded, multi agency task force that consisted of officers from different areas that were working together. So I want to give them a shout out because this addresses the issue of prevention not only after the fact. Thank you.
- Steven Bradford
Legislator
Thank you, Senator Ochoa Bogh
- Rosilicie Ochoa Bogh
Legislator
Thank you, Mister President and Members. I rise as a proud co author of SB 905, which seeks to address the rising car break ins and burglaries across our state. Under current law, a victim of a car break in must prove that they locked their car door in order for the perpetrator to be charged with a crime.
- Rosilicie Ochoa Bogh
Legislator
SB 905 will make car breakings easier to prosecute and keep perpetrators accountable for their actions. I want to thank my colleague, Senator from San Francisco, for this work on this critical issue, and I respectfully ask for an aye vote.
- Steven Bradford
Legislator
Senator Wiener, any further discussion or debate? Seeing none. Senator Wiener, would you like to close?
- Scott Wiener
Legislator
I agree with the comments. Car break ins are a significant problem in California. I do want to stress that I know law enforcement is working very hard with innovative strategies to address this issue, and we should make sure that we are doing our part and this Bill will help do that. Respectfully, ask for an aye vote.
- Steven Bradford
Legislator
Thank you, Members. This too is eligible for unanimous roll call is there any objection to using the unanimous roll call on file item 64? Hearing says none. Ayes 38. No, zero. The measure passes. Now we're moving to our last Bill on our safer California package. And that's file item 72 by Senator Minn. He is prepared.
- Steven Bradford
Legislator
Secretary, you may read.
- Committee Secretary
Person
Senate Bill 1242 by Senator Min, an act relating to crimes.
- Steven Bradford
Legislator
Senator Min.
- Dave Min
Legislator
Thank you, Mr. President. This is the last bill in the Senate's Safer California Plan. I'm the closer here. SB 1242 would also try to address the rising problem of retail theft. We're all aware that retail theft is growing dramatically in this country, in this state, and becoming increasingly sophisticated. One tactic that has increasingly been used is arson. Yes.
- Dave Min
Legislator
Setting a fire to distract retail staff so that mass retail theft can then occur. This dangerous diversion endangers lives and disrupts business operations. Stores not only lose the stolen merchandise but suffer damages to their buildings and the merchandise, sometimes having to close for weeks to make repairs.
- Dave Min
Legislator
SB 1242 would specify that for the crime of reckless arson, the fact that the offense was carried out within a merchant's premises in order to facilitate organized retail theft shall be a factor in aggravation at sentencing. Respectfully ask for your aye vote.
- Steven Bradford
Legislator
Thank you. Any further discussion or debate on this item? This is eligible for unanimous roll call, but we have an objection to it, so we will call the roll on file item 72. Secretary, please call the roll.
- Committee Secretary
Person
[Roll Call]
- Steven Bradford
Legislator
Secretary, please call the absent Members.
- Committee Secretary
Person
[Roll Call]
- Steven Bradford
Legislator
Ayes, 36, noes zero. The measure passes. Now, members, we're going to break for lunch. We're going to thank you for a very productive morning. We're going to ask that we stay in the building and not go back to your office. We will have a 30-minute lunch break, and we'll be working late this evening.
- Steven Bradford
Legislator
So we want to get back as soon as possible from lunch so we can continue the work that we have begun. So we're going to ask again that you stay here in the capitol and the Senate will be in recess until 1230 members. The Senate will convene in 30 seconds. The Senate will convene in 30 seconds.
- Steven Bradford
Legislator
All right, Members, we're back at it. We're going to start off with file item 23. Is Senator Wilk at his desk and ready to go? Senator Wilk? Secretary, please read.
- Committee Secretary
Person
Senate Bill 1194 by Senator Wilk in accolade to elementary and secondary education.
- Steven Bradford
Legislator
Senator Wilk?
- Scott Wilk
Legislator
Thank you, Mister President. I appreciate that. Members, I present to you SB 1194, which is a transparency measure that requires the California Department of Education to post the names and County of residents for members that sit on its parental Advisory Committee.
- Scott Wilk
Legislator
The council was first created in early 2022 at the direction of state Superintendent of Instruction Tony Thurman, so that, quote, diverse parents can directly work with policymakers and educational partners to provide equitable change to California's education system through authentic parent voices.
- Scott Wilk
Legislator
In January of 2023, applicants began to receive rejection letters, but were not able to find information on who was selected for the Committee. When my staff reached out to the CDE, they were told that the names would be posted of the selected council members. They estimated that the information would be announced by the end of 2023.
- Scott Wilk
Legislator
However, we sit here in the middle of May and that information is yet to be posted and no other additional information has been provided as well. So this bill simply requires the CDE to provide the public with basic information about who was chosen to represent parents on this council and what county they represent.
- Scott Wilk
Legislator
I thought this measure was a common sense transparency policy, but last Monday was pulled from the consent calendar. A couple of centers have informed me that their primary concern was that the bill with the bill was the potential compromise of the council members privacy or safety.
- Scott Wilk
Legislator
These are considerations that I take seriously as well, so I'd like to provide some clarification for those who may share this concern. It is common practice for similar CDE advisory committees to voluntarily post the names, employers and position of their members.
- Scott Wilk
Legislator
For example, the Instructional Quality Commission, the Advisory Commission on charter Schools, and the Advisory Commission on Special Education all post this information. Some committees even post short biographies in the emails of their members.
- Scott Wilk
Legislator
For the few boards that don't disclose this information, they all include a media archive of previous meetings, upcoming meetings, and instructions on how the public can participate. There is no evidence that any of these members ever experienced any harassment or violence because their name was public on a committee's website.
- Scott Wilk
Legislator
There's no reason why the PAC should be held to a different standard when it comes to public access and transparency.
- Scott Wilk
Legislator
If someone chooses to become a representative for the group, the people they speak to, they speak for have a right to know who they are and if their community is being represented Superintendent Thurmond stated that the council was created to help ensure the CDE is, quote, reaching out to our families to make sure they are included in the conversation about what education looks like for children.
- Scott Wilk
Legislator
That was from the April 5, 2022 press release, and it's now been over two years, and no additional information has been made public. Parents can't be included in the conversation if they have no idea who's participating and what's being discussed.
- Scott Wilk
Legislator
This bill simply brings the practices of the Parental Advisory Committee Commission in greater alignment with the Superintendent's stated mission to ensure families are at the center of all the CDE does. With that, respectfully ask for your aye vote.
- Steven Bradford
Legislator
Thank you. Any further discussion or debate on this item? Any further discussion or debate? Members, this is eligible for unanimous roll call. Is there any objection to using our unanimous roll call on this item? We have an objection by a member. Secretary, please call the roll.
- Committee Secretary
Person
[Roll Call]
- Steven Bradford
Legislator
Ayes 33 Noes 1. The measure passes. Now, Members, we're moving on to file item 25 by Senator Portantino. He's prepared.
- Steven Bradford
Legislator
He is prepared. Secretary, you may read.
- Committee Secretary
Person
Senate Bill 1128 by Senator Portantino enact relating to sex offenses.
- Steven Bradford
Legislator
Senator Portantino, the floor is yours
- Anthony Portantino
Legislator
Thank you, Mister President and Members. SB 1128 would require tier one sex offender registration if an offender engages in unlawful sexual intercourse with a minor and the offender is more than 10 years older than the minor, failing to require registration for offenders engaging in unlawful sexual intercourse of a minor is inexplicable, and this undercuts efforts to prevent sexual exploitation, trafficking of children throughout all our communities.
- Anthony Portantino
Legislator
Existing law requires sex offender registration for other forms of sexual contact, but not actual intercourse. That loophole needs to be rectified, and that's what this Bill seeks to do. Many minors engaging in these relationships are exploited, manipulated, and fall victim to trafficking and other types of abuse. The vast majority of victims come from marginalized communities.
- Anthony Portantino
Legislator
Human trafficking is $150 billion a year global industry and over 24,000 victims have been identified in California. California consistently ranks number one in the nation for reporting human trafficking cases. SB 1128 is essential to protecting vulnerable youth for holding sexual offenders accountable. Please join me in supporting this. It was sponsored by the Los Angeles City Attorney and respectfully ask for your aye vote.
- Steven Bradford
Legislator
Thank you. Any further discussion or debate on this item? Hearing and seeing none. Secretary, please call the roll on file item 25.
- Committee Secretary
Person
[Roll call]
- Steven Bradford
Legislator
Ayes 34, noes 3. The measure passes. Now, members, we're going to move on to file item 78 by Senator Caballero. I'm sorry. I'm sorry. My bad. My bad. We're going to go to 27 first by Senator Cortese. He is ready.
- Committee Secretary
Person
Senate Bill 1299 by Senator Cortese enact relating to workers compensation.
- Dave Cortese
Legislator
Thank you, Mister President and colleagues, I'm pleased to present SB 1299. Some of the largest agricultural counties in the state are experiencing record breaking heat waves. In 2022, King City in Monterey County broke its hottest temperature ever recorded at 116 degrees. Fresno recorded an all time high at 114 degrees.
- Dave Cortese
Legislator
The increased frequency of extreme heat conditions and its growing risk to workers highlight the importance and necessity of employer compliance with California's existing outdoor heat regulations to keep workers safe. SB 1299 promotes compliance with the existing outdoor heat regulation through a rebuttable presumption for heat related injury and death.
- Dave Cortese
Legislator
Farm workers who suffer injury, illness, or death while working for a non compliant employer will be treated and compensated expeditiously. SB 1299 does not create any additional workers comp benefit level beyond what is otherwise available under the existing workers comp law, nor does it apply to compliant employers.
- Dave Cortese
Legislator
Employers who are compliant are not subject to the remedies in this Bill at all. Finally, it does not create a penalty for noncompliant employers at all. I respectfully ask for an aye vote.
- Steven Bradford
Legislator
Any further discussion or debate on this item hearing, seeing none, secretary, please call the roll on file item 27.
- Committee Secretary
Person
[Roll call].
- Steven Bradford
Legislator
We're going to go through the world one more time. The measure passes now. Members were moving to file item 78 by Senator Caballero. She is prepared.
- Committee Secretary
Person
Senate Bill 1432 by Senator Caballero an act relating to health facilities.
- Steven Bradford
Legislator
Senator, floor is yours.
- Anna Caballero
Legislator
Thank you, Mister President and Members, I rise to present SB 1432, which creates transparency, accountability, and a viable pathway for health facilities to achieve seismic compliance. As many of you are aware, healthcare access for all is in jeopardy given the distressed financial condition of California hospitals, some of which are in your districts. The Alfred E.
- Anna Caballero
Legislator
Alquist Hospital Seismic Safety act requires that by January 12030 all hospital buildings must have the capacity to provide patient services following an earthquake. Pursuant to current law, hospitals that do not comply with this 2030 seismic standard will be required to close their doors to patient care. Let me repeat that.
- Anna Caballero
Legislator
If you are not seismically, if you have not fixed your seismic issues and your healthcare facilities by 2030, you are required to close your doors to patient care.
- Anna Caballero
Legislator
All of you know that I had a hospital that closed in my district, and those of us that had hospitals at risk understood completely what it means to lose a hospital to a region and did not have emergency healthcare available. This is why this Bill is so important.
- Anna Caballero
Legislator
According to a 2019 Rand Institute, the estimated cost of upgrades and construction for all California hospitals to comply with the 2030 seismic standards range from 34 billion to 140 billion, depending on compliance approach.
- Anna Caballero
Legislator
In other words, whether they're retrofitting an existing building or constructing new ones, the time frame and cost to meet the 2030 standards are a major challenge, especially for financially distressed hospitals.
- Anna Caballero
Legislator
The Rand study suggests that the cost of upgrades would put 40% of California hospitals in, quote, severe financial distress, in immediate risk of bankruptcy, community and public hospitals would take the most significant hit, further hindering access to care for the many medi Cal and Medicare patients who depend on them.
- Anna Caballero
Legislator
And this is why increasing Medi Cal reimbursement rates become so important. Because with those increased rates, hospitals can plan for the future and put together the resources that they need. Financial strain severely impacted hospitals during the Covid-19 pandemic as they experienced new financial and operational challenges, leaving many hospitals in distress.
- Anna Caballero
Legislator
From 2019 to 2020, California's hospital total net income decreased by $9.49 billion. More than 50% of California hospitals lose money every day to care for patients. Furthermore, as hospitals continue to face significant cost pressures, many are forced to reduce services to keep their doors open.
- Anna Caballero
Legislator
And you've probably heard of hospitals that are abandoning prenatal care and maternity services, labor and delivery services, and think about a community with no labor and delivery services. That'd be absolutely untenable. And yet it's happening as we speak.
- Anna Caballero
Legislator
Hospitals are essential to our community's health and well being, and California must act quickly to prevent further loss of access to care. That's why SB 1432 is critical to improve seismic safety in our local hospitals.
- Anna Caballero
Legislator
Hospitals by establishing a framework that is not a one size fits all approach, but recognizes regional healthcare challenges that enhances transparency, demands accountability, and creates a viable pathway for our hospitals to meet seismic compliance standards according to each unique circumstances while they continue to provide critical healthcare to our communities.
- Anna Caballero
Legislator
I want to greatly appreciate the collaboration with my good friend. Okay, now, I can't remember your city Senator, but my good friend, the Senator Riverside. That's correct. Thank you so much. You saved me. The Senate Health Committee. He was chair of the Senate Health Committee and his Committee was fabulously important.
- Anna Caballero
Legislator
And the many stakeholders that we met a number of, we met with a number of times. This is a major effort and look forward to continuing to craft a solution that moves us forward. The cost of doing nothing is hospital closures and lack of healthcare access to communities across the state. California simply can't afford that.
- Anna Caballero
Legislator
SB 1432 is a solution that allows hospitals to see a viable pathway to compliance without eliminating critical transparency and accountability and to ensure that the intent of the hospital seismic Safety act is met. I respect you. Ask for your aye vote.
- Steven Bradford
Legislator
Thank you, Senator Roth.
- Richard Roth
Legislator
Thank you, Mister President. I want to thank the author for agreeing to tackle this thorny issue. Maybe our pro Tim would have another word for it, squishy. But we've been dealing with this issue in a haphazard, one off manner for decades and decades and decades. In this state. And we need to get this process organized.
- Richard Roth
Legislator
We need to guide hospitals toward the development of a master plan for seismic compliance, all of them that lists goals and objectives and sets milestones that can be monitored, measured, and, frankly, enforced. And then we need to help hospitals move down their master plan through their goals and objectives, hitting their milestones.
- Richard Roth
Legislator
And when they hit a bump in the road, we need to provide additional extensions to them, all the while marching them down the road to full compliance. Because we know that most all of the hospitals in the state won't collapse on our residents, our constituents, and they won't be killed if we have an earthquake through the collapse.
- Richard Roth
Legislator
But we also know that many, many, many hundreds, if not thousands of them won't be functioning because they don't meet the non performance criteria that are required. The gas lines won't stay. The water lines won't work. The emergency power plants won't operate. The food won't be available to patients.
- Richard Roth
Legislator
So in the end, without this and without the author's Bill. Bill, and the author's Bill making sure the author's Bill works, we won't have hospitals that continue to operate in this state, which will be a disaster. So again, I want to thank the author for her hard work, and this is a great Bill, and I urge an aye vote.
- Steven Bradford
Legislator
Thank you, Senator Grove.
- Shannon Grove
Legislator
Thank you, Mister President. I rise in support of SB 1432, and I want to thank the author for her commitment on our financially distressed hospitals. She often is serious, but it kind of almost sounds like a joke when she says, I had no intention of working on hospital issues.
- Shannon Grove
Legislator
And then we all get trapped into things that happen, that happened to our constituents in our district. And she had a hospital that closed, which impacted our hospitals in the Central Valley because a lot of the people seeking care were going six or 40 miles south to my district, which is impacting my hospitals.
- Shannon Grove
Legislator
So I want to thank the author for engaging in this process, because it is a multifaceted process. The rates, obviously, that have been promised to our providers and our hospitals that should have taken place January 1, that are still not being paid at the correct rate yet.
- Shannon Grove
Legislator
We have got a commitment that it is going to be retroactive back to January 1, but the providers or the hospitals are not getting those rates as of yet.
- Shannon Grove
Legislator
I know she's actively working on that and then also addressing the seismic issue, you know, billions of dollars being put into either the construction or the revitalization of some hospital wings and hospital areas, and it doesn't matter. I just think that when we do policy.
- Shannon Grove
Legislator
I don't think we think about what happens on the ground because it doesn't matter if you are a hospital and you have an emergency situation, you need a viable emergency room and need a viable labor and delivery and a viable cardiac room.
- Shannon Grove
Legislator
But those people that are doing elective surgeries, I mean, they can wait if that makes sense, if they're elective surgeries. So to foolproof the entire hospital is not something that should be required, especially by the end date that we have before us, because it's almost impossible to comply with, especially when our hospitals are having financial difficulties.
- Shannon Grove
Legislator
I want to thank the author for working on the high, financially distressed hospital Bill where we were able to, all of us voted to put money into a Fund so that these hospitals, most, all of our districts, did apply for those resources and get them, and it saved a majority of our hospitals.
- Shannon Grove
Legislator
And I think that we have been working on this issue, and this is just one more thing that we have to tackle. I'm the only Senator in the last, I believe, decade that has a 7.1 earthquake in my district in Ridgecrest. Then a 6.96.2. The earthquakes went on for quite a while.
- Shannon Grove
Legislator
A week after, I believe, in July 51920. 192019. On July 5, and they went on for a week after. And again, the highest, I believe, was 6.0 or, excuse me, 7.1. The lowest was 6.2. I can tell you that the old, I want to call it Adobe brick, part of the hospital stood.
- Shannon Grove
Legislator
Stood the test of time, man. They had to move everybody, even from the new seismic compliant rooms and the seismic compliant tower that was built just a few years before there was cracks in that foundation. They had problems with that.
- Shannon Grove
Legislator
They still don't have everybody back into that facility, but that cost them billions of dollars to comply with the seismic that was signed off on by the State of California. And that particular tower did not stand the test of time with this earthquake. So I realize that we need to keep staff safe.
- Shannon Grove
Legislator
We need to keep our patients safe. We need to make sure that buildings don't collapse on top of people. But we also cannot put a deadline out there that's out there like it is right now that you will close.
- Shannon Grove
Legislator
Because I can tell you, with the earthquakes and the things that happened out in our community, if Ridgecrest wouldn't have had that seismic non compliant building, the noncompliant building that actually help people, wouldn't have been there to help people in my district that desperately needed it.
- Shannon Grove
Legislator
And I just sent my colleague from the San Fernando Valley a video. She's going to go on a trip. Sorry to out you, but she's going to go on a trip in my district. And I was driving down the canyon because I went to. Pardon me. She's already outed. zero. So I was coming down the canyon.
- Shannon Grove
Legislator
And why the Ridgecrest hospital is so vitally important is that it is the medical facility for the South China Sea protector, the China Lake Naval Air Warfare center, which is the largest research and development arm for the United States military. We all, all of our constituents need this base.
- Shannon Grove
Legislator
And when I hear people say, zero, it's only 50 miles to the other hospital, it's 50 miles down a two lane road that is often blocked off because of rock slides.
- Shannon Grove
Legislator
There's a 50 foot wall on one side of the canyon and then a 50 foot drop going down to the river where my colleague is going to be whitewater rafting soon. It's not like a highway 58 or a 210 drive.
- Shannon Grove
Legislator
So all of that to say that I think that whether you're in rural California or you're in urban California, our constituents have the right to go to a hospital and have it available to them.
- Shannon Grove
Legislator
And I think that pushing this out further and making sure we still hold hospitals accountable, but making sure that they can still stay open to provide the services that our constituents needs is vitally important. And I want to applaud the author for tackling this issue.
- Shannon Grove
Legislator
Even though it wasn't in her top legislative priorities, she has been a champion on the issue. Thank you, ma'am.
- Steven Bradford
Legislator
Thank you, Senator Newman.
- Josh Newman
Legislator
Thank you, Mister President. I also rise in speech of the measures as a co author. You know, everybody here is probably aware since the passage of the original legislation governing seismic retroverting, our healthcare system, especially California's hospitals, have been massively impacted by a whole host of unexpected events to include the pandemic.
- Josh Newman
Legislator
And so this Bill, along with at least two others that we've heard this week, makes sensible allowances while retaining provisions for accountability and transparency as part of that process. And so we do appreciate the legitimate concerns expressed by some of the organizations representing both healthcare and public safety workers.
- Josh Newman
Legislator
But to the Senator from Riverside points, this measure will create a responsible, workable roadmap to full compliance while ensuring access to critical care during that period. And I respectfully ask for your aye vote.
- Steven Bradford
Legislator
Thank you, Senator Cortese.
- Dave Cortese
Legislator
Thank you, Mister President. I too, rise in support of the Bill, but I have a question for the author, if she would be willing to entertain it.
- Anna Caballero
Legislator
Yes, I will.
- Dave Cortese
Legislator
There was a little bit of confusion on my end, Senator, as to the proposed length of extension and how that works. And I apologize if you've explained that or felt like you've explained it already, but I just wanted to get it clear on the record.
- Dave Cortese
Legislator
And I know, amongst other opposition, that CPF particularly had an interest in continuing to work to try to just resolve any differences of opinion on the length of extension. And so the second part of the question is whether you're willing to continue to work on that issue to the extent there's disagreement.
- Anna Caballero
Legislator
Thank you very much for the questions, if I may, Mister President. Peter Chairman so first of all, is that the way that the Bill works is current law requires you to have, be seismically compliant by 2030. This would give the HKI the ability to extend the period three years between now and then.
- Anna Caballero
Legislator
There's a whole series of requirements that hospitals have to meet. There are planning documents and then more than planning documents, if you are in a, you have to provide financial information about all of these.
- Anna Caballero
Legislator
Most of the hospitals are private, nonprofit, and so they don't necessarily have to share their information about their financial capabilities or what they're spending their money on. But HKI has the ability now, as part of the plan, to start looking at their financial information.
- Anna Caballero
Legislator
Clearly, some are capable of starting a project, and if you are, then you have to start designing it, getting your planning documents, getting your permits. In other words, you have to start lining up the requirements in order for you to be able to get started and then show how you're going to finance what will be massive construction.
- Anna Caballero
Legislator
We're talking about millions of dollars and in many instances, hundreds of millions of dollars. If you require more information, then HCI will determine how much longer you need. And they can give you up to five years, but they can do it in smaller increments depending on where you are in the planning and building process.
- Anna Caballero
Legislator
Some of the hospitals are huge hospitals and have a number of campuses. And so it's a question of making sure that they're bringing up the seismicity of all of the buildings.
- Anna Caballero
Legislator
But the other thing is, if there may be hospitals that will have to discontinue providing services for a period of time because they don't have any room on their campus to build, and they need to tear down and demolish buildings before they build new buildings. And the whole point of that is that it may impact the region.
- Anna Caballero
Legislator
And so HKI will be looking at the region to determine whether the region can afford for that hospital to lose the services of that hospital as well. So the whole idea in the Bill is to make sure that we're again, one size doesn't fit all.
- Anna Caballero
Legislator
Some may be very simple, like some of our small hospitals in rural California, but some may be part of a bigger healthcare system. Number one, and number two is we will continue to meet. We've had a number of all hands on Board Meetings that have involved all of the stakeholders.
- Anna Caballero
Legislator
We will continue to do that because we want to make sure we take into consideration as many of the comments as possible. And many of the amends were taken in direct response to some of the issues raised.
- Anna Caballero
Legislator
For example, one of the issues raised is that the local electeds had no clue what was going on with the hospital. They had no idea that the hospital was under the requirement to start doing the seismic planning.
- Anna Caballero
Legislator
And so the Bill now requires that local government be contacted, that there be a public process for locals to be involved in, not just local government, but other organizations and individuals, so that they can let HKA know what they think about this hospital and what the concerns are.
- Anna Caballero
Legislator
So public input and transparency is an integral part that was brought to us by, by some of the groups.
- Dave Cortese
Legislator
Thank you Mister President. I urge support for the Bill.
- Steven Bradford
Legislator
Thank you, Senator Eggman.
- Susan Talamantes Eggman
Legislator
Thank you Mister President. And Members, how do you eat an elephant? One bite at a time. And I think that this Bill is a good example of trying to tackle a really big issue and breaking it down into bites and chunks that we can all understand.
- Susan Talamantes Eggman
Legislator
I rise today as a former chair of health, and this has been an issue that we've all been working on as long as I've been around. This has been a longstanding issue.
- Susan Talamantes Eggman
Legislator
And just to say to Members, when tragedies strike, oftentimes we rush to write legislation that we think is going to fix it in the moment and then don't often realize that things take time and processes and we are a very big state with a lot of very different issues.
- Susan Talamantes Eggman
Legislator
It's analogous to an issue I've been working on in my district who just finally got it done. After Katrina. We passed a lot of things about levees and levy safely, but at the same time people kept developing and building and then we were not going to have any coverage for them.
- Susan Talamantes Eggman
Legislator
So you had to bring it back and say, what can we do that makes sense, that keeps people safe, acknowledges the regional issues, and are able to move forward. In a way.
- Susan Talamantes Eggman
Legislator
I want to thank the author for really coming on and tackling this problem and standing with all of us represent Central California and the more rural areas and really be able to common sense approach using the new agencies we have at our disposal, like HCI, to really do regional planning, to provide transparency for people, local officials, and allow the services to still be provided in especially areas where scarcity is a real deal.
- Susan Talamantes Eggman
Legislator
I ask for your aye vote on this Bill.
- Steven Bradford
Legislator
Thank you, Senator Skinner.
- Nancy Skinner
Legislator
Thank you, Mister President. Members. I will be supporting the Bill today with some reluctance. We enacted this requirement for seismic safety on earthquakes because we are in a state that is highly earthquake prone. Let me use the Bay Area.
- Nancy Skinner
Legislator
The Bay Area, and this is by the USGS and by all the different seismologists, indicate that there is a 63% chance of a 6.7 magnitude earthquake or greater in the Bay Area before 2036. And note, the deadline on this Bill is 2038. And just the Hayward fault in my district has a little lower chance before 2036.
- Nancy Skinner
Legislator
But still the magnitude earthquake is 6.7 or greater. And we know that the hospitals that need seismic upgrade are all ones that could not or not likely be able to survive or function with that magnitude of earthquake.
- Nancy Skinner
Legislator
And some, we have some of our, and I won't go and name names so we don't have to say one health entity is better than others. But we have a number of hospital operators that have met our seismic requirements, but we have others that have not and have dragged their feet.
- Nancy Skinner
Legislator
And there's some, one in Berkeley in particular, that is put, anybody who goes to that hospital is at risk because it has not done this seismic upgrade and has been cleared that they do not want to for years, and yet they're still open and operating.
- Nancy Skinner
Legislator
Now, of course, we don't want them closed because we have a hospital shortage, but we need these upgrades because we need to be safe. Yes, we need hospitals. Yes, we have a shortage.
- Nancy Skinner
Legislator
But a hospital doesn't do you a lot of good, if it will, if you and everybody in it can be seriously harmed in an earthquake and then in an earthquake, it's not functional to serve the people who are injured in these kind of high magnitude earthquakes.
- Nancy Skinner
Legislator
So I look to the author to making improvements as this Bill moves forward so that we can, and I know this is your intent, to get the seismic safety we need and to hold these hospitals to the accountability that they need because it is important for all of our safety.
- Nancy Skinner
Legislator
And with that, I will support the Bill today.
- Steven Bradford
Legislator
Thank you. He's ready. Yes, Senator Laird.
- John Laird
Legislator
Thank you very much, Mister President. There was a time when I was on the City Council that our chief building inspector came to us and said there are an amazing number of buildings in the downtown that are not seismically safe. And I sort of think you should consider red tagging them right now.
- John Laird
Legislator
And we had a state mandate that said that within two years we had to do a complete inventory of the buildings downtown. And so we did it. And it was set for a Tuesday council meeting. And what happened? Before we could get to the Tuesday council meeting, we had a 7.1 earthquake.
- John Laird
Legislator
And that study was a perfect index of what was not safe in the downtown. In fact, people were killed in some of the buildings that were identified as not being safe.
- John Laird
Legislator
And for those of you that, and I know the author and I worked to save Watsonville Hospital, and one of the reasons we had to save it is that very earthquake made it uninhabitable, and they had to find a new location which set them back economically over time in that disadvantaged community.
- John Laird
Legislator
So I know there's some opposition to this Bill, and the opposition is from friends of mine. And my message is just, the clock is ticking. Some of the people that opposed the Bill said, we want a conversation. So my message here is that conversation has to happen.
- John Laird
Legislator
This is not a time to have a conversation with no end. And the author has offered the perfect vehicle for it. And so I'm going to support this Bill because we have to have that conversation, but we have to get to the end. There are hospitals that are in the red that don't have the money to upgrade.
- John Laird
Legislator
There are. I was asked to the Senator from Berkeley's point after we had the earthquake, the media in the Bay Area did a mock exercise of if there was an earthquake on the Hayward fault at 841.
- John Laird
Legislator
One morning, I went and played the mayor, and there were all these media emergency people, and they, when they did the scenario, one of the things was, is most of the hospitals near the earthquake fault would be uninhabitable, would not be able to take people from that earthquake. So we can't keep talking about this forever.
- John Laird
Legislator
We have to have a solution. And I, and for whatever reason, the author may need to have her head examined because she has taken this on, but we have to bring people together and get to the end. This offers us the opportunity to do it. And that's why I asked for an I vote.
- Steven Bradford
Legislator
Thank you, Senator Wahab. Senator, for those of you who seem to bother. Senator Wahab.
- Aisha Wahab
Legislator
Thank you. Yeah. You know, so I rise in support of this effort. I think Senator Caballero has, of course, taken this on, and it's a complicated issue. We want to, obviously, ensure that the hospitals are up to standard, especially as I represent the City of Hayward with the Hayward fault that we have mentioned a number of times.
- Aisha Wahab
Legislator
And in my city, we have a hospital called St. Rose Hospital. It is a safety net hospital. It largely serves medical patients, undocumented individuals, people of color, and people of lower income backgrounds. This hospital has already highlighted and was one of the beneficiaries of the distressed loan that were given out roughly a year ago.
- Aisha Wahab
Legislator
And at the same time, there is a sister Bill that my colleague in the Assembly is caring to support that hospital even further as it's in negotiations to get purchased.
- Aisha Wahab
Legislator
There's significant concerns when we're talking about, again, seismic safety, but then also just the safety net hospitals that serve our most vulnerable today right now, if they are struggling already, especially with COVID and a three year period where a lot of things were more focused on serving the community, extending this temporarily or shortly, I should say, is sufficient.
- Aisha Wahab
Legislator
So again, I respectfully support this Bill. I ask that you all support the Bill, and I trust that the good Senator will be working with opposition to address any future concerns as it moves through this legislative body. Thank you.
- Steven Bradford
Legislator
Thank you, Senator Smallwood-Cuevas.
- Lola Smallwood-Cuevas
Legislator
Thank you, Mister President. And I also rise, and I want to thank the Senator for her work on this. We had a very robust conversation in Health Committee.
- Lola Smallwood-Cuevas
Legislator
And, you know, I have a lot of concerns about this Bill because every minute we wait to the good Senator from Santa Cruz's point, we risk potentially losing more life whenever the moment strikes.
- Lola Smallwood-Cuevas
Legislator
And any loss is going to be too great because we've waited over 30 years to now have yet another extension for what will be another eight years. My main concern is that we have not put any enforcement mechanisms on this eight years.
- Lola Smallwood-Cuevas
Legislator
Along each benchmark, there is no real skin in the game that gives us an indication for when a hospital does, doesn't meet the benchmark and the deadline in ways to incentivize those hospitals to do the right thing.
- Lola Smallwood-Cuevas
Legislator
The other thing I pointed out is that it was mentioned by the author that there were some hospitals that were ready to take action and to move forward with the retrofit. However, we didn't put in a mechanism to guarantee that they actually, in fact, moved, move forward with the retrofit.
- Lola Smallwood-Cuevas
Legislator
They, in fact, now can have the opportunity to backslide back into this extension process. And again, we, it will remain to be seen whether or not these commitments will be met for workers, for patients, for others. I have grave concerns, and with that, I am going to lay off of the Bill today.
- Steven Bradford
Legislator
Thank you, Senator Roth.
- Richard Roth
Legislator
You know, of course, the alternative to this Bill is the next time a hospital in one of your districts comes in for an extension, a Committee either denies it and leaves the hospital to its own devices, or we bring to the floor and you all get to decide whether you want to grant the extension, and then you are put to the test and you can deny the extension for the hospital in your districts.
- Richard Roth
Legislator
For those who are concerned with the list of opponents on this Bill, I'm a little disappointed that some of them didn't modify their opposition, because this author has convened several meetings with virtually every opponent listed on the back of the analysis on this Bill.
- Richard Roth
Legislator
And I know because I was there participating with the opposition in the conversations, and they actively participated in discussing modifications to this Bill, how we could make it work for them. And I'm talking about labor, and we spoke about the three year extension that was initially provided in this Bill.
- Richard Roth
Legislator
And we discussed the fact that some hospitals, particularly the larger ones with assets and resources, are probably close and could complete their renovations in maybe a year.
- Richard Roth
Legislator
The tasking, as we left the last meeting was labor was going to get together with the government agency and with the author in this Bill and determine we ought to know where they are, because the hospital construction business is a pretty specific thing that requires approval at every phase.
- Richard Roth
Legislator
Determine which hospitals are that close and then make a list. And those that only needed one year would get one year. Those that needed two years would get two years.
- Richard Roth
Legislator
And with respect to the conversation about whether there's enforcement in this business, no hospital gets any extension unless a master plan for seismic compliance, setting out goals, objectives and milestones is submitted in advance. And without the master plan, I guess they'll figure it out.
- Richard Roth
Legislator
Maybe mobile field hospitals we can rent from the army when they don't meet the deadline. And then if you do not meet your milestones, there's no automatic eight year extension.
- Richard Roth
Legislator
If you get a three year extension, because they think it's going to take you three years to get a little further down the road, you didn't meet the one or the two year test, then the next set of milestones you have, maybe it's construction design or the higher retention of a contractor.
- Richard Roth
Legislator
If you don't meet that, you get no further exposure extension. So if that's not an enforcement mechanism to move hospitals down to the finish line, I don't know what is, because a $100,000 fine or a $300,000 fine or a half $1.0 million fine is not really going to do it.
- Richard Roth
Legislator
So this architecture is designed to move hospitals down to the line. And if at the end of the day they don't meet it, we'll have to deal with how we provide hospitals, hospital essential medical services, healthcare services in some of these areas without a hospital. Thank you, Mister President.
- Steven Bradford
Legislator
Thank you. And after a healthy discussion and robust debate, Senator Caballero, would you like to close?
- Anna Caballero
Legislator
Thank you very much, Mister President. I'm going to thank my colleague from Riverside and say that he's absolutely right. We've been trying to set up milestones.
- Anna Caballero
Legislator
I, like him, are very disappointed that there weren't modifications in some of the opposition because we've been working really hard at trying to bring them in, being very specific and taking a lot of the recommendations.
- Anna Caballero
Legislator
Let me just say that in regards to the story that my good friend from Santa Cruz recounted, what happened is that state law changed because of those earthquakes and because of the death and destruction that happened in our old downtowns.
- Anna Caballero
Legislator
And the law that changed basically said that cities were responsible for insisting on the seismic retrofit of buildings in their old downtowns. They were unreinforced masonry buildings. And so the first step was a report and the second step was now do something about it.
- Anna Caballero
Legislator
We spent years, and I want to say years, giving the business community time to retrofit the downtown. At the time, it was very difficult to close businesses in a struggling downtown that looked like K Street, quite frankly, where there were lots of homeless, where there wasn't very, very great economic development.
- Anna Caballero
Legislator
And so what we ended up doing in our city is we went to our local banks because we had been doing extensions and extensions, and we said, we need you to do a Low interest loan program and the city will stand as security for loans to small businesses so that if they couldn't pay the debt that the city would step in and pay, every single building got retrofitted so that it is now seismically safe.
- Anna Caballero
Legislator
The city paid out no money and the bank was the hero in the story. So let me be very clear. This does not anticipate any money. But what I know is that we've put little pieces of money together. Part of the vape tax goes towards hospitals to help them plan, do their planning for retrofits.
- Anna Caballero
Legislator
And at some point we're either going to need a bond or we're going to need some resources out of our budget in order to help some of these hospitals. Are there some hospitals that have dragged their feet? Absolutely.
- Anna Caballero
Legislator
But that's going to become very clear with the new authority that we give HKI to be able to look at their finances and to determine whether they're doing the right thing. I agree with my good friend from Oakland. Reluctantly, I'm voting on this as well. Because, reluctantly, I decided to do this, Bill.
- Anna Caballero
Legislator
Because we got to get this done. And if we don't get it done now, the problem becomes worse. And you will see hospital after hospital come in here one offs asking for relief. And I think we need to deal with it as a planned, organized way.
- Anna Caballero
Legislator
And make sure that we're getting all the hospitals retrofitted as quickly as possible. I respectfully ask for your aye vote.
- Steven Bradford
Legislator
All discussion and debate having ceased. Secretary, please call a roll and follow item 78.
- Committee Secretary
Person
[Roll call].
- Steven Bradford
Legislator
Ayes 37 noes zero. The measure passes. Now, Members, we're going to move on to file item 50 by Senator Glazer. He's prepared. Secretary, you may read.
- Committee Secretary
Person
Senate Bill 1287 by Senator Glazer an act relating to public post secondary education.
- Steven Bradford
Legislator
Senator, floor is yours.
- Steven Glazer
Legislator
Thank you, Mister President. Members, on this Bill, I want to start with the basics, and it's contained in the analysis that each Member has been given. The Bill does four things.
- Steven Glazer
Legislator
It requires the trustees of the state universities, the Board of Governors of the California community colleges to adopt and enforce policies in institution based student codes of conduct that prohibit violence, harassment, intimidation, and discrimination that interfere through force or intimidation with First Amendment rights, including calling for genocide.
- Steven Glazer
Legislator
The second thing it does is that they maintain and enforce reasonable time, place, and manner restrictions. Three, that they develop mandatory training programs for students, and four, they require that each student who should acknowledge their obligation to comply with that code of conduct.
- Steven Glazer
Legislator
So this Bill, Senate Bill 1287, affirms the role that California public colleges and universities must take to ensure that students can exercise their free speech rights and exchange views respectfully. In recent months and weeks, we've witnessed an alarming trend of escalating harassment, intimidation, and violence targeted at marginalized groups on our campuses.
- Steven Glazer
Legislator
This obviously threatens the safety and well being of our students, our faculty, and our staff, and it threatens the educational environment, and it threatens the free exchange of ideas. Our colleges have a responsibility to promote free speech while preventing discrimination and harassment. But where does free speech cross the line into speech that is not protected?
- Steven Glazer
Legislator
Now, we have specified that speech that calls for the destruction of a group, in whole or in part, based on nationality, ethnicity, race, or religion, crosses the line. Free speech also does not extend to calls for genocide, but only if the speaker subjectively intends for his or her speech to be understood that way and if the speech would lead to an objective observer to the same conclusions.
- Steven Glazer
Legislator
As the Supreme Court has said, free speech provides strong protection against the arbitrary or over broad application of laws affecting speech. We worked in the Judiciary Committee, thanks to chair Umberg, to address First Amendment scrutiny, especially for public universities whose student conduct code includes such provisions, ensuring that they're firmly rooted in constitutional principles.
- Steven Glazer
Legislator
Now, in addition, case law has affirmed that colleges need not tolerate speech that is inconsistent with their basic educational mission. This Bill aligns with this responsibility by requiring campuses to Institute policies that explicitly prohibit violence, harassment, intimidation, and discrimination, including calls for genocide.
- Steven Glazer
Legislator
SB 1287 also requires universities to develop programs to educate students on how to exchange views respectfully, even when we're dealing with divisive issues. All student voices have the right to be heard. None should be silenced. This Bill is about the safety of students and the safeguarding of their free speech rights. Rights.
- Steven Glazer
Legislator
I believe this legislation will help restore an environment of civil discourse on our campuses, something that we all desperately want. For those reasons, I urge your support of Senate Bill 1287. Thank you.
- Steven Bradford
Legislator
Senator Wiener.
- Scott Wiener
Legislator
Senator. Thank you very much, Mister President. I rise today in strong support of SB 1287, and I do so as co chair of the legislative Jewish Caucus. SB 1287 is a Jewish caucus priority Bill, and I want to thank the Senator for, for his leadership.
- Scott Wiener
Legislator
Unfortunately, there has been an enormous amount of misinformation about what this Bill does, at times falsely claiming that it will somehow stop people from being able to protest when it will do no such thing. This Bill is about protecting free speech and diversity of viewpoints on our college campuses.
- Scott Wiener
Legislator
It's about allowing these various perspectives to flourish without silencing people because of who they are. It's imperative that students from all walks of life be free and able to express themselves in their beliefs without fear of harassment, bullying, and intimidation.
- Scott Wiener
Legislator
And that is what is happening now, colleagues, this does not in any way mean that students can't protest. Of course, they will obviously be able to continue to protest. It doesn't mean that they can't disagree. We want them to be able to disagree.
- Scott Wiener
Legislator
It doesn't mean that students will be somehow prohibited from saying things that make people feel uncomfortable. That's not what this Bill does. This Bill fosters free speech. But it's free speech by various people. And not just free speech for me, but not for thee, which is what is happening at times right now.
- Scott Wiener
Legislator
And let's be clear, there is a difference between being made to feel uncomfortable and being coerced, bullied, and intimidated and harassed into silence. When I have more than one student on campuses, tell me I no longer wear a kippah or Star of David on campus because I will get harassed. That is not undermining free speech.
- Scott Wiener
Legislator
That is promoting people's ability to express who they are, whether they are Jewish, whether they are Muslim, whether they are Trans people, being able to express who they are without fear of being harassed and intimidated. I want to be clear. The intimidation and bullying we are seeing on our campuses right now, it's not happening everywhere.
- Scott Wiener
Legislator
It's not happening all the time. And most people are not engaging in that behavior, but some are, and it's created an atmosphere of fear, and that is the opposite of free speech. It says, name the elephant in the room.
- Scott Wiener
Legislator
Much of the current moment that we're experiencing in some of these challenges is fueled by the October 7 Hamas massacre and mass rape in Israel and the resulting horrific war, both of which have claimed an unconscionable number of innocent civilian lives.
- Scott Wiener
Legislator
It is my sincere hope, and the hope I know of many, many, many Jews, that this war will end quickly, as quickly as possible, that the hostages will come home, and that Hamas will no longer govern Gaza. But we are not a body this amazing Senate with control over foreign conflicts.
- Scott Wiener
Legislator
What we can do is make sure that our constituents are safe at home here in the State of California, and this Bill will help to do that.
- Scott Wiener
Legislator
I want to just name some of the incidents that have happened not just since October 7, but before, and not only relating to Jews, because this Bill is not just about the Jewish community. This is about everyone. At UC Santa Barbara, back in February, the multicultural student center was plastered with posters saying Zionists were not welcome.
- Scott Wiener
Legislator
That describes nearly 90% of Jews. Zionists means that you believe that Israel is the Jewish homeland. These posters even specifically targeted a particular Jewish student, the student body President, by saying, quote, you can run, but you can't hide. End quote. That is not free speech. That is intimidation and bullying.
- Scott Wiener
Legislator
Shortly afterwards, also at UC Santa Barbara, a dorm room of a Jewish student with a mezuzah affixed to it. I have a mezoza at my home, as do many Jews, was graffitied with Zionists not welcome and an arrow pointing at the mezuzah.
- Scott Wiener
Legislator
Sometimes people tell on themselves, like when they're using the word Zionist and they're really talking about Jews. At UC Berkeley, a letter was submitted demanding that a prominent environmentalist is submitted by students.
- Scott Wiener
Legislator
That a prominent environmentalist and a Member of the Oakland City Council be disinvited to speak in a class about environmental issues because he is Jewish and identifies as a Zionist. This is someone who voted for a ceasefire resolution, but that wasn't good enough. The letter cited his affiliation with Jewish organizations.
- Scott Wiener
Legislator
Unfortunately, UC Berkeley allowed that demand to be met. At San Jose State, a Professor visiting from CSU Long beach was protested so heavily, a Jewish Professor, that he was unable to finish his lecture on a two state solution, literally a lecture on finding peace. And that was shut down in 2019.
- Scott Wiener
Legislator
At UC Berkeley, a video went viral of a racist, sexist, homophobic rant targeting black students, claiming they should not have rights. At UC Berkeley earlier this year, two Jewish students had to seek medical attention after one was choked and another was injured as a door was broken open because they were hosting a talk by an Israeli speaker.
- Scott Wiener
Legislator
Other students at the same event were called nazis and were spat on. We saw at UCLA counter protesters attempting to provoke pro Palestinian demonstrators by playing prison associated music and taunting them with epithets.
- Scott Wiener
Legislator
At USC, a private University, the Administration canceled their valedictorian due to unspecified security concerns about what was being posted online, and they canceled her and said she couldn't speak.
- Scott Wiener
Legislator
Last year, UC Santa Cruz at UC Santa Cruz, a group of students celebrated Hitler's birthday, and that's the same week flyers were distributed with anti LGBTQ and anti semitic conspiracy theories.
- Scott Wiener
Legislator
I will stop there, but I could go on for pages and pages with some of the things that are happening on campus, not just to Jews, but to others that our college administrators have an obligation to put a stop to.
- Scott Wiener
Legislator
I want to just say one, make one last point, colleagues, and I was not ever planning to have to make these remarks about a specific organization on the floor of the Senate.
- Scott Wiener
Legislator
But unfortunately, more than one of you have come up to me confused about a purported division within the Jewish community about this Bill, and also about the Holocaust education Bill by my colleague from Los Angeles. Specifically, people wonder why an organization called Jewish Voice for peace, JVP, has some really nice sounding words in its name. Jewish voice.
- Scott Wiener
Legislator
Everyone loves a voice. Peace. Everyone wants peace. Why is a Jewish community group opposing a Bill like this? Or like a Holocaust education Bill? JBP has been aggressively lobbying against these bills. JVP falsely claims to represent mainstream viewpoints in the Jewish community. It does no such thing.
- Scott Wiener
Legislator
Rather, it holds what can only be described as fringe viewpoints within the Jewish community. Lobbying against Holocaust education and claiming that you are speaking for the Jewish community. A recent expose on JVP is entitled not so Jewish, not for peace. Indeed. And this is just still blows my mind.
- Scott Wiener
Legislator
When JVP sent representatives to my office to lobby my staff against the Holocaust education Bill, it turns out that of the people they sent, zero were Jewish. So you have non Jews claiming to speak on behalf of the Jewish community against a Holocaust education Bill?
- Scott Wiener
Legislator
That is outrageous, and we would not put up with that for any other community. And yet that is what's happening as far as I can tell. Jewish Voice for peace JVP has two primary missions.
- Scott Wiener
Legislator
One is to advocate for the complete elimination of the State of Israel as Jewish homeland, in other words, for Israel to no longer exist, home to 7 million Jews, and second, to repeatedly and persistently, over time, give cover, tokenistic cover, to people who make antisemitic statements, whether in the Arab world or in this country, on many occasions, JVP has defended anti Semites and people who have committed violence against Jews.
- Scott Wiener
Legislator
It's outrageous that this group puts the word Jewish in its name and yet includes many non Jews who purport to speak for Jews. And it's outrageous the positions that this group purports to take on behalf of the Jewish community in order to confuse people. And it has to stop. I want to be clear.
- Scott Wiener
Legislator
The Jewish community, like many communities, holds diverse views on a lot of issues. If you've ever attended a Passover dinner or any dinner at my home, you will know that we have a lot of robust conversations, and that includes the war on Gaza.
- Scott Wiener
Legislator
There are many, many, many diverse viewpoints within the Jewish community about the war, and I respect that, and that is a healthy and a good thing. But JVP and these extreme positions that it takes that confuse people, that. That crosses the line for me personally, and I just want to express that on the floor today.
- Scott Wiener
Legislator
I urge an I vote.
- Steven Bradford
Legislator
Thank you, Senator Durazo.
- Maria Elena Durazo
Legislator
Thank you, Mister President. This issue raised by the Bill is very personal to me and my life. I have been arrested over 20 times in my life since I was 19 years old. I walked hundreds of picket lines. I've marched as short as three blocks to as long as three days. Over 50 years ago at St.
- Maria Elena Durazo
Legislator
Mary's College, I and other students took over the chapel, and we stayed there with the issues that were very important to us as Latino and black students. There were no violent actions taken against us, and I'm very grateful for that. I'm grateful to the Administration for treating our right to protest so respectfully.
- Maria Elena Durazo
Legislator
And it reminds me also of what I've read of the student movement and other causes. The students that played such a critical role in the civil rights movement, the students that have played such a critical role in the anti war movement. Students have played such a critical role in the black and Latino Chicano movement.
- Maria Elena Durazo
Legislator
Students have played a very extraordinary role in our country and probably throughout the world in reminding us of what we are all about and what we should stand for.
- Maria Elena Durazo
Legislator
I treasure the right to protest, and so do the housekeepers and the immigrants and students and truck drivers and women and LGBTQ and farm workers who all participated in those actions. My husband told me stories of how Cesar Chavez was continuously stopped from marching and picketing in the fields by the sheriffs doing the work of the growers.
- Maria Elena Durazo
Legislator
They would demand permits to do a march and a rally at a public park, a tactic to stop their actions. They were jailed for not having a permit. As Doctor King said many times, we must protest for the right to protest.
- Maria Elena Durazo
Legislator
Once I was extremely upset with the ACLU because they had litigated the right of the KKK and the Nazis to have a march and to have a rally. And I just couldn't understand how could they do that that was so wrong. How could they stand up on the side of clear racism and clear violence?
- Maria Elena Durazo
Legislator
But it's the constitution. It's what this nation, what we're so proud of in this nation. Today, we are debating the parameters of the constitution, our fundamental rights, which make this nation so great. And while all of this is taking place in different parts of the world, we need to make clear that violence is completely unacceptable.
- Maria Elena Durazo
Legislator
Last year, I introduced, and with your support, we passed a resolution on nonviolence. Mister President, if I could read permission.
- Steven Bradford
Legislator
Granted.
- Maria Elena Durazo
Legislator
Thank you. And part of it says, whereas it is vital to the future and well being of our state and nation to inspire people and students to think, act and dream in the pursuit of the greater good through nonviolence, and to develop the language and the structure necessary to strengthen the connection of all people and to fortify the foundation of our democracy.
- Maria Elena Durazo
Legislator
And whereas one of the lessons of the civil rights movement is that absent a framework for peaceful Assembly to express discord and discontent, hatred inevitably leads to violence. Both Cesar Chavez and Doctor King were critical of violence, whether it was used by their enemies or used by their own supporters.
- Maria Elena Durazo
Legislator
In fact, Cesar Chavez, one of his very long fasts of many, many days was because supporters and activists in the farm workers movement and farmworkers themselves were responding with violence to the violence on them. And he said, no matter what, it is unacceptable. I truly believe in those principles. I'm afraid that I believe that this particular Bill falls short of fulfilling our first Amendment protections. Thank you.
- Steven Bradford
Legislator
Thank you, Senator Min.
- Dave Min
Legislator
Thank you, Mister President. I rise as a co author of this Bill and also on behalf of the API Legislative Caucus. And I want to thank my colleague Marinda in the Jewish caucus for bringing this Bill forward. These are obviously trying times for all of our communities and for those of us who represent college campuses.
- Dave Min
Legislator
I represent UC Irvine as well as a number of community college campuses. This is a particularly difficult time, and you may have seen in the news just last week, the protests at UC Irvine reached ahead and police were called in, and there's still a lot of controversy around exactly what happened.
- Dave Min
Legislator
But we are trying to balance two sacrosanct principles that I believe strongly in. One is the first Amendment and the right to protest. But we have to balance that also with safety. And these, I know, are difficult concerns to try to balance on our college campuses.
- Dave Min
Legislator
And I know that the different deans and chancellors and presidents and administrators at these schools are having a difficult time of doing that. I also know that extremists on both sides are trying to abuse these rights, that you have people who are trying to take their First Amendment privileges and extend these into harassment and intimidation and racism.
- Dave Min
Legislator
We have people, on the other hand, who are trying to equate any legitimate criticism of Israel with anti semitism. And so in trying to carve out what the right balance is between protecting our students and our faculty and our campus Members from hate and intimidation while also trying to respect free speech rights, it's not an easy thing to do. But I just want to say that I respect this effort.
- Dave Min
Legislator
I appreciate the effort in trying to find that right balance. It's important that we just don't duck this issue, that we do try to protect students at this time while respecting the First Amendment, while respecting that long story tradition of free speech that my colleague from Los Angeles mentioned.
- Dave Min
Legislator
So I want to urge you all to vote aye. And I want to, again, thank these folks for bringing the Bill forward. This is not an easy thing to do, but I think it's important that we make that effort at this time when so many of our students are feeling like their rights, their safety are being challenged.
- Steven Bradford
Legislator
Thank you, Senator Stern.
- Henry Stern
Legislator
Thank you, Mister President. I want to point out maybe an unlikely view here on this. And my colleague from East LA, in noting the traditions of free speech, I think gets right to the heart of why it's so important not just that we debate this issue, but that we. We try to legislate in some way here.
- Henry Stern
Legislator
My colleague from San Francisco articulated so many instances of awful and demonizing anti semitism that are spreading like wildfire. So I don't need to iterate that. I want to be clear about when you read the language of this Bill, who else is protected and where they're protected?
- Henry Stern
Legislator
Not like on the streets of Skokie, where I still believe in the ACLU's litigation to allow the American nazi party to march through a Jewish community on that awful day.
- Henry Stern
Legislator
I still believe in the First Amendment, but under this legislation, as I read it, if Jewish students right now were holding a protest at a University, marching through a dormitory, calling for another nakba, calling for the end of the Palestinian state, equating any one Arab American as a Member of Hamas, that kind of intimidation and harassment and threats of violence not just undermines our values, it denies those students who are being targeted access to education.
- Henry Stern
Legislator
It makes them not want to go back to school. It makes them want to go home. Likewise, we're seeing more and more targeting of our LGBTQ and Trans community. Anytime someone competes in a sport or shows their face and stands up, they can be followed back to their dorm rooms.
- Henry Stern
Legislator
They can be targeted on campus, in their classrooms. And we are seeing this around the country, exploited on the airwaves and made into theater and making these brave young people somehow targets of a hate campaign. They, too, would be protected.
- Henry Stern
Legislator
I think this moment is dangerous because it's designed to divide us and make us distrust each other and put somehow one community suffering over another.
- Henry Stern
Legislator
I hope what we can start to do is get into a place of an even form of governance so that the UC system and the CSU system are not sort of improvising every time something comes up.
- Henry Stern
Legislator
And when we see what happens, when you don't have a good security plan, you don't have clearly written rules of time, place, and manner, you have to sort of react on the fly and enter the political moment, it becomes a mess, and worse yet, it becomes a threat.
- Henry Stern
Legislator
And young people have been hurt because of this disorganization that we've seen at a governance level around these critical protections for speech.
- Henry Stern
Legislator
So if there are things that need to be worked on in this legislation to make that equal applicability clear, to make sure that the Arab American or Jewish student, frankly, who wants to protest the Israeli government on their campus and even wants to call Benjamin Netanyahu a war criminal, they can do that.
- Henry Stern
Legislator
They can't bar students from entering class. They can't follow them back to their dorm rooms. We don't want to see what becomes a sort of battle over academic freedom where we're not going to teach this or we're not going to teach that.
- Henry Stern
Legislator
We have to get in these uncomfortable spaces and defend those whose views are offensive to us without undercutting the fundamental freedoms that we hold so dear. You know, my freshman year at Harvard, three weeks in, my very first experience with a real protest was a living wage campaign for janitors at my school.
- Henry Stern
Legislator
And we had an encampment, we had tents in Harvard Yard where a lot of this controversy you're seeing on TV today still happening.
- Henry Stern
Legislator
But then in that moment when I was in a tent outside of my dorm room, fancy Matthews hall, and feeling so good to be a Harvard freshman, I left my dorm room and went into the tents. I wasn't one of the ones who occupied the administrative hall and got arrested.
- Henry Stern
Legislator
But just like the, the civil rights leaders on campus who fought against black discrimination and were arrested, my friends in that living wage movement, standing up for the janitors who cleaned our dorms, also got arrested. Now, there were those who kept getting to protest, and I was among them.
- Henry Stern
Legislator
And I learned a lot that year about privilege and opportunity, got called a pinko by my classmates and got to sort of enjoy the uncomfortable experience of being a college student in the United States of America. And there's a certain amount of that that we have to embrace. That's part of our education beyond that classroom.
- Henry Stern
Legislator
But what we can't allow to happen is an intimidation around the freedom and our academic environments to teach, to have competing views, and to let outside forces use our campuses of tools of violence and division.
- Henry Stern
Legislator
So I'm going to be not just supporting this measure today, but urging all of you who might be on the fence or having a tough moment or facing lobbying or sort of wrestling with that tension to give this Bill a chance and to get ourselves to a place of consensus.
- Henry Stern
Legislator
If we can model some new compromise here in California, I think we can change the dialogue in this country and across the world. I don't want to get hyperbolic, but I truly believe the eyes of the world are on us. And so I would urge your. I vote.
- Henry Stern
Legislator
And for those who feel so firm in their views that they don't want to hear what the other side has to say, the hearing is half the battle. You have to hear it.
- Henry Stern
Legislator
But when that denies you an opportunity education or to feel safe when you're going to sleep at night or to eat your lunch or to be in that classroom, that's no longer the First Amendment and that's no longer freedom that we should endure.
- Steven Bradford
Legislator
Thank you, Senator Becker.
- Josh Becker
Legislator
Thank you, Mister President. I really appreciate this debate. And I want to address, I guess maybe first of all, my comments from my, my friend and seatmate from Los Angeles, because I think there's nothing more sacrosanct to all of us than that right of nonviolent protest.
- Josh Becker
Legislator
And I have a small experience with it, but nowhere near the experience that she has. I have been arrested in a protest supporting workers, but again, nowhere near the experience that she has on the front lines. But, again, I think the point here is that we all want to protect that.
- Josh Becker
Legislator
And, you know, my wife called my attention to something on PBS. She always watches the Newshour, and I'd like to share that with you. Can I, permission to read? This is from David French on the NewsHour recently.
- Josh Becker
Legislator
And he said, well, when we saw the civil rights movement, what you saw was protesters violating unjust laws, like prohibiting black Americans from eating the same diners as white Americans. They're violating an unjust law and then accepting the consequences. So you accept the consequences of your legal violation, which upholds the rule of law. That's the key.
- Josh Becker
Legislator
There's an unjust law. You violate and then you accept the consequences and you do it peacefully. Here are many ways, and he's then referring to folks that would be affected by what we're trying to do here is they're violating just laws.
- Josh Becker
Legislator
In other words, there's actually in violation of laws to protect the rights of others and then refusing to accept the consequences. And he goes to talk about, goes on, talk about covering faces to avoid detection and other things.
- Josh Becker
Legislator
But that was the important point here that I think differentiates and hopefully gives some comfort to my friend from Los Angeles. We'll find out. But that what we're trying to do here again, is to, is to respect certainly that history of nonviolent protests. And I'll look at the Digest.
- Josh Becker
Legislator
What the Digest says here calls on the board of trustees of the CSU and the Board of Governors and community colleges to adopt and enforce policies in institution based student codes of conduct that prohibit violence, harassment, intimidation and discrimination, interfering through force or intimidation with First Amendment rights, or calling for genocide.
- Josh Becker
Legislator
So it bills very explicitly, and we're certainly, that's the goal of it. And also note, this Bill was introduced back in February. So this was back, this was introduced back way before the encampments and such that we've seen that really kind of flared up here in the last couple months. This was introduced way before that.
- Josh Becker
Legislator
So it was not indirectly for that, but again, to adopt policies that prohibit violence, harassment, intimidation, discrimination that interfere through force or intimidation with First Amendment rights. So that's certainly the intention here. As with many bills that we've discussed this week, this is a work in progress.
- Josh Becker
Legislator
And I certainly, you know, she is my commitment, and you all have my commitment to continue to work on this. And if there's refinements that need to be made, we should certainly look at making those going forward.
- Josh Becker
Legislator
So you certainly have my commitment to continue to work on this as we're, I think, working with many bills here going forward because I think the intent is clear. But we have to make sure, as with all bills, that, you know, we don't unintendedly do other things.
- Josh Becker
Legislator
So I just want to say I respect the debate here today, and I urge you, as my last colleague did, to keep this Bill moving and we'll keep this conversation going.
- Steven Bradford
Legislator
Thank you, Senator Cortese.
- Dave Cortese
Legislator
Thank you, Mister President. I do rise in support of SB 1287, but I want it on the record as to my position that I disassociate my support for this Bill with the comments that were made on the record today about Jewish voices for peace.
- Dave Cortese
Legislator
I do not know if Jewish voices for peace in my district and the good people in the organization in my district who have stood with me year after year after year in nonviolence convenings, stood with people like Dolores Huerta in nonviolence convenings.
- Dave Cortese
Legislator
If they've been painted with a broad brush today as somehow being vilified over their right to free speech.
- Dave Cortese
Legislator
And I'm saddened that such an excellent Bill from a craftsmanship and draftsmanship standpoint that really deals with four issues, four issues that I can support, and I think everyone here should support that somehow now may reinforce for people in the opposition that it was really targeted at them.
- Dave Cortese
Legislator
And I know in Committee, I asked straight up, the author, my friend from Contra Costa, whether or not that was the case, and he said straight up, that isn't the case. And not only do I take him on his word, but as an attorney and as a Member of the Senate, I'm capable of reading the language myself, and I can see that it's fair and it's balanced and it's absolutely tied to those principles, those free speech and First Amendment principles that we hold dear that have been part of this country for over 200 years.
- Dave Cortese
Legislator
That is one issue. I am not, though, standing or casting my vote to paint any kind of a broad brush about the attitudes and feelings of people in the opposition group, which include, by the way, folks like ACLU, California and others who I think have a good standing reputation in this house when it comes to positions that they take whether we agree with them or not.
- Dave Cortese
Legislator
Whether we agree with them or not. As I said, I'm supporting the Bill and I believe it's the right thing to do for others to support the Bill as well. But thank you for the opportunity to let me get on the record defending those good people in my district who do good work. Thank you.
- Steven Bradford
Legislator
Thank you, Senator Grove.
- Shannon Grove
Legislator
Thank you, Mister President. I too rise in support of SB 1287. I want to thank the author and the Jewish for bringing it forward.
- Shannon Grove
Legislator
You know, I think something that's missing out of this whole thing is in the conversation is that it's, everybody says that they support the Constitution and what it says and people's right, but the actual constitutional language. Permission to read? Yes, permission grant.
- Shannon Grove
Legislator
Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise there of free exercise thereof, or abridging the freedom of speech or the press and the right for people to peaceably assemble and petition their government for redress grievances.
- Shannon Grove
Legislator
I think the big thing that no one's talking about today is the peaceable right to assemble. It is not peaceable to walk into a City Council Member and threaten to come to City Council Members home and behead them because they are not supporting a ceasefire.
- Shannon Grove
Legislator
It is not peaceable to take over buildings and, and require law enforcement to go in and have the individuals that are occupying that campus or that school campus. It is not peaceable Assembly to attack the law enforcement going into to remove the encampments. It's not peaceable to have law enforcement attacked by tear gas and other things.
- Shannon Grove
Legislator
It's not peaceable to have threats of against other people's lives simply because they're Jewish. It's not peaceable to call for their death and destruction simply because of the religion that they've exercised since the beginning of time in biblical days. I have one concern about this Bill. I have shared this concern because I do believe that.
- Shannon Grove
Legislator
I do believe that the University and UC systems have belabored this. You have University and UC professionals or presidents that can't even identify that hate speech is calling for the death of Jews. Calling from the chants that are going on in these protests. Is that hate speech? Well, I don't know. It could be.
- Shannon Grove
Legislator
I mean, they're not even standing up and protecting the hate speech that is going on in these campuses.
- Shannon Grove
Legislator
My concern is, is that if this Bill passes, which I hope it does, but I hope that there is a more, there's more stronger language, because I don't want those presidents writing what hate speech is because they have proven time and time again in front of Congress and hopefully one day in front of us, but in front of Congress, definitely when you watch them, they don't know what hate speech is.
- Shannon Grove
Legislator
So I would like them not to be able to participate in the curriculum or how it's designed or the policy portion of it. I think people that are more, have a greater understanding of what hate speech should participate in that. I also want to thank my colleague from San Francisco for clarifying the Jewish voices for peace.
- Shannon Grove
Legislator
If you look on their website, it says they're against Zionism. Zionism. Somebody believes that Israel belongs to the Jewish people. Therefore a complete ceasefire. They are against. Against Israel's, the United States arming Israel to defend themselves. They're against the territory of Israel being dedicated to the Jewish people.
- Shannon Grove
Legislator
These are the people who call themselves Jewish voices for peace. So I appreciate my colleague for calling that out because there are people who are misrepresented. You could say something that you belong to angels of mercy and you'd be a death camp place.
- Shannon Grove
Legislator
I mean, so I do appreciate my colleague for making sure that that was addressed and that, you know, individuals that had questions about the Jewish voices for peace can simply go to their website and look what they stand for.
- Shannon Grove
Legislator
And I would be very shocked that any of you would stand for anything that they would really support based on the stuff that's on. They're calling for the annihilation of Jewish people. That is not. If they were calling for the annihilation of anyone, we should not support any group like that. So thank the author.
- Shannon Grove
Legislator
Please put some parameters in it that people that don't understand what freedom of speech is and don't understand the process of peaceably assembling and don't understand the constitution and can't call out hate speech for what it is. I would appreciate you make sure that those people don't participate in the policy making of this piece of legislation. Respectfully ask for an aye vote.
- Steven Bradford
Legislator
Thank you, Senator Skinner.
- Nancy Skinner
Legislator
Thank you, Mister President. This one is a very difficult Bill I appreciate the Jewish caucus and why they've brought it forward. I appreciate the circumstance that we are facing. And yet I also appreciate that at many, many times in recent and past history, where we as a society, have faced a really difficult circumstances and clashes.
- Nancy Skinner
Legislator
And I do not mean in any way to underestimate this. We have, there are much, many times where we went too far. Where, and I don't mean to cite, I almost don't want to cite any, because I do not want to make any analogies to this circumstance.
- Nancy Skinner
Legislator
But we know, if we all think about it, we know of many times in both recent and past history where laws went too far in response to a circumstance that was critical in a crisis, but they went too far.
- Nancy Skinner
Legislator
And when I look at this, what I believe is really the sanctity of free speech, and I look at some of the language in the Bill, and I think it does go too far. And, for example, and if. Permission to read permission.
- Nancy Skinner
Legislator
In the ACLU's letter, they're clear that there are aspects of the Bill that require the campuses to punish students or speakers on the campus when they exercise fundamental free expression under our free speech amendment. And that, unfortunately, is wrong and unlawful. And now I'm not reading from there, even when that speech is offensive or inflammatory.
- Nancy Skinner
Legislator
And we have seen many, many cases, again, not in this type of circumstance, but in the past, where we confronted this. Now, the fact that the Bill has penalties against the CSUs, community colleges and UC's, if they don't comply with the Bill, any institution, when they have such a law, all of us are risk adverse.
- Nancy Skinner
Legislator
Their lawyers are going to advise them to go further so they do not experience the penalties, is they're going further than further, potentially violating free speech rights. Now, one of the specifics that the University Students Association pointed out was, for example, that this Bill seeks to limit the freedom of speech, including a call for genocide.
- Nancy Skinner
Legislator
Now, I am absolutely, absolutely oppose anyone's desire for genocide in any, any context. And yet, is the calling for it simply and only something that then, while it is abhorrent, is it something that we should make by law unlawful?
- Nancy Skinner
Legislator
And there are also phrases that some of us fully understand imply a call for genocide, but others do not. And so if someone uses that phrase, does that then become that they have broken this law? So I think there are many aspects of this Bill that need to be revised. I will be supporting it today.
- Nancy Skinner
Legislator
I Reserve the right not to support it when it returns to us. I hope that it is that the things that I've raised, get addressed and revised, because I respect the legitimate purpose to try to get clearer codes of conduct that help reduce the violence and the intimidation.
- Nancy Skinner
Legislator
However, I'd also point out that it is already unlawful to harass or discriminate against someone due to their race, ethnicity, or religion. That is already unlawful. And our universities, our state capital, all of us, have the right to act on that. We do not need this law to do so.
- Nancy Skinner
Legislator
And if the problem is that our universities have not done so adequately, we need to work with them to improve that. But adding an additional law that creates the type of consequences that this law does, and I think depending on who's reading it and the interpretation, verges on infringing free speech rights, that is very serious.
- Nancy Skinner
Legislator
And so I felt I needed to stand up to express those with great respect to what? To the real issues that we are confronting.
- Steven Bradford
Legislator
Thank you, Senator Padilla.
- Steve Padilla
Legislator
Thank you, Mister President. Briefly, I didn't intend to rise, all due respect to my esteemed colleague in the Bay Area. I felt that it was important to add to the record on this. Let me be clear. I certainly rise in strong support.
- Steve Padilla
Legislator
I think it's important, colleagues, to remember that our system of laws is strong, solid, and consistent about focusing on the impacts to the social contract, to society, to the damage done by incitement. Incitement federally and in many states, including California, is a crime. It is a crime to unlawfully incite, to panic, or to riot.
- Steve Padilla
Legislator
We have a former President of the United States currently under federal indictment for inciting to an insurrection against the capital of the United States. Many argue that such incitement, or articulation or expressions are protected speech. Our system of laws has consistently held at every level that they are not. I cannot fathom.
- Steve Padilla
Legislator
I cannot fathom, circumstantially in the modern history of the world a more inappropriate incitement or calling than that to the crime of genocide. And history should have taught us this a long time ago. Thank you, Mister President.
- Steven Bradford
Legislator
Thank you, Senator Wahab.
- Aisha Wahab
Legislator
Thank you. I didn't actually have talking points for this. I do just want to say, you know, I really appreciate my colleagues for, you know, pushing something forward that they believe really will tackle on the issues that we are seeing.
- Aisha Wahab
Legislator
I do believe, and I will preface my comments as anything I will say will be a problem for one group or another. But I do believe in fairness, and I echo the comments of my colleagues, that anti semitism, islamophobia, racism, bigotry, any calls for genocide, and genocide itself obviously is wrong, first and foremost.
- Aisha Wahab
Legislator
And yet at the same time, you know, we have been seeing across this nation as well as across the world, significant protests, protests about one issue or another, about one leader or another. And people want action.
- Aisha Wahab
Legislator
And we have seen time and time again when we're looking at protests where there are individuals that will go further than some of the organizers of the protests, whether we're talking about Black lives Matter, whether we're talking about the civil rights movement, whether we're talking about the protests against the Vietnam War and much more.
- Aisha Wahab
Legislator
Now, as an Afghan American and as the only Muslim in this Senate, I can speak very clearly that even after 911, an Afghan woman was shot and killed in Fremont and she wore a hijab, and very identifiably a Muslim woman.
- Aisha Wahab
Legislator
And I hear the comments from my colleagues, and I've had many groups reach out to me highlighting the fact that they have been unable to be who they are in different communities, whether at school, at work, or just walking to the grocery store. And in California, in the United States, that should not take place.
- Aisha Wahab
Legislator
You should be very, very much able and freely wear the Star of David. You should be able to wear the hijab. You should be able to wear the cross. The fact that we are having these conversations here in the 21st century is disappointing to me as a human society.
- Aisha Wahab
Legislator
And I want to make it very clear that I do believe in the right to protest. And as my colleague from LA mentioned, protesting is very much an American principle. Freedom of speech, including protest, is something that we are allowed to do and we must protect because stifling free speech is problematic in itself, you know, when we are unable to be honest about issues.
- Aisha Wahab
Legislator
And I really want to thank the Jewish caucus Members since much of the debate has happened over the last couple months, we jointly wrote a letter to President Biden, as well as secretary Blinken to highlight one or unity that we should not be supporting one over another.
- Aisha Wahab
Legislator
And that's what much of the debate has been, is that either you're for this or for that, and that's not accurate as well. And I know that many, many people are very upset internationally about what is going on and what happened in Israel on October 7 and the attacks on Israel and the hostages and the people and much more. I also know that many people are very, very upset with the response and what is happening right now in Gaza.
- Aisha Wahab
Legislator
And again, I really want us to think about the policies that we are putting forward. I do believe that this particular Bill needs a little bit more work. I would like for the author to work with opposition to ensure that we are addressing the concerns from the opposition.
- Aisha Wahab
Legislator
I do believe that it is our right and our responsibility to craft the best piece of legislation that protects all people. And right now, I think that there is a significant amount of debate about this, and I personally will not be supporting this Bill as is.
- Aisha Wahab
Legislator
But I am more than happy to work with the author and have more conversations about this specific Bill and some of the pieces to it. But I also think that it's incredibly important to prioritize and safeguard the constitutional rights of students. Students, and uphold the principles of free speech and academic freedom.
- Aisha Wahab
Legislator
I also want to highlight that as chair of public safety, my deepest concern is that if implemented, and let's say a student who is 18, 19, even potentially 17 in these systems, does something, and their brain, again, you know, we debate on this floor often that their brains are not fully developed and they're still getting to know who they are and finding their voice.
- Aisha Wahab
Legislator
What happens to that particular student? How are they affected in the academic arena? Are they going to be blacklisted? Are they allowed in the UC's? And so much more. And those are some of the concerns that are being brought up.
- Aisha Wahab
Legislator
So whether it's this issue that we are talking about right now and today, or an issue that comes up 20 years from now, that is my concern when we're talking about public policy.
- Aisha Wahab
Legislator
And so I respect again, the effort of the author and the office, and I fully support that effort to make sure that everyone feels safe in an academic institution. I just think that this requires a little bit more work. So I will not be supporting this today. Thank you.
- Steven Bradford
Legislator
Thank you. Any additional discussion or debate on this item? You ain't seen anyone? No more microphones. Senator Glazer, would you like to close?
- Steven Glazer
Legislator
Thank you, Mister President. Well, Members, thank you for the good debate and conversation this afternoon. I want to say that after October 7, a number of you reached out to me, and I know my colleagues, with comforting calls and texts after that horrible day. And it meant a lot to me.
- Steven Glazer
Legislator
I know, and I so appreciate it. You know, one of the things that you haven't heard me talk about in regard to this Bill is any specific incident in our country, in the world as it relates to the elements of this Bill, that it's content neutral.
- Steven Glazer
Legislator
I know that given the circumstances in which we find ourselves, it's easy to connect it to events happening on our campuses today and around the world. I understand that, but I also want to call your attention to the narrowness in which this Bill is crafted in its content neutral way.
- Steven Glazer
Legislator
Let me use that as I finish my remarks. But I want to go down a little bit of a road first. I love the comments from the Senator from Los Angeles, reflected on her activities, not just as a student, but in life, in terms of raising her voice and engaging in protests.
- Steven Glazer
Legislator
It brings me back to my college days at San Diego State University, where I was a leader on the campus in fighting the apartheid in South Africa.
- Steven Glazer
Legislator
Not just on my campus, where we divested from banks that had investments in South Africa, but I actually traveled around the state to recruit other colleges, student unions, to engage in that good cause of the rights of students in South Africa, of all nationalities and ethnicities, to go to school and be the best that they can be.
- Steven Glazer
Legislator
But the concern that was raised was that somehow this Bill would interfere with the right to protest. And it doesn't. It doesn't interfere with the right to be on a picket line. It doesn't interfere with the right to peaceful protests, even illegal protests or sit ins or illegal encampments.
- Steven Glazer
Legislator
This Bill does nothing, doesn't speak to any of those types of activities. This Bill is only about protecting speech, only about protecting freedom of speech of students on campuses to be free of violence, harassment, intimidation, and discrimination, including calls for genocide. That's the narrowness of this Bill.
- Steven Glazer
Legislator
And I appreciated the comments from the Senator from San Francisco who raised examples of hate, not just against Jewish students, but against Muslim students. He brought up, quite correctly, the refusal to have a Muslim student at University of Southern California be the valedictorian speaker, which I thought was a terrible thing to have occurred. Terrible thing.
- Steven Glazer
Legislator
And I said that in a public arena, not just here today, but really what I hope that you focus on, Members, is the unifying message of this Bill. If you really think about it, this Bill is about protecting all students of all shapes and sizes and colors and views. That's what this Bill is about.
- Steven Glazer
Legislator
And I don't think it's fair to conflate it to all the things that are happening out there, because it doesn't. It just says that if you're a student on a campus, that your rights to free speech, your rights to be who you are, whoever you are, should be protected and honored. And that's it.
- Steven Glazer
Legislator
And it's narrowed to the extent that I think even the Senator from Berkeley mentioned that a number of these protections are in the law today, because many of them are. One of the protections that is not in the law today is the call for genocide.
- Steven Glazer
Legislator
And I explained in my opening remarks that it's not just a call for genocide. That the person had to intend to kill, and the person hearing it had to intend that that's what they meant to kill.
- Steven Glazer
Legislator
And so it's very narrowly constructed, but it's one of the few things in this Bill that stands out from many other protections that are in our laws today.
- Steven Glazer
Legislator
So I guess as we close this debate tonight, I just think that you should think about the unifying theme that this Bill provides for all of us to say all students should be protected. All student rights should be protected, because that's really what this Bill is about. With that, I respectfully ask for your I vote today.
- Steven Bradford
Legislator
Thank you all. Discussion and debate having ceased, secretary, you may call the roll on file item 50.
- Committee Secretary
Person
[Roll call].
- Steven Bradford
Legislator
The measure passes now, Members. All right, we're going back in order. We're going to file item 2728. Senator Durazzo? She's prepared.
- Steven Bradford
Legislator
Secretary, you may read
- Committee Secretary
Person
Senate Bill 1325 by Senator Durazo in accolade to public contracts.
- Steven Bradford
Legislator
Senator Durazo.
- Maria Elena Durazo
Legislator
Thank you, Mister President. This bill simplifies the public contracting process for state and local agencies by creating an authorizing statute for best value procurement. What that means that it empowers government entities to consider important factors such as product quality, on time budgets, community and environmental benefits when determining a successful bidder.
- Maria Elena Durazo
Legislator
Best value procurement differs from other procurement models, such as lowest responsible bidder, by allowing factors in addition to price to be evaluated and scored within the bid process. An excellent example of best value procurement is LA Metro's manufacturing careers policy.
- Maria Elena Durazo
Legislator
Without quality and standards in our public contracts, California taxpayers could end up subsidizing jobs and companies in other states. Best value procurement is a proven way to maximize the benefits of public investments for our communities, and I thank you, and I ask for your aye vote.
- Steven Bradford
Legislator
Thank you. Any further discussion or debate on this item? Any discussion or debate? Hearing and seeing none. Secretary, you may call the roll on file item 28.
- Committee Secretary
Person
[Roll Call]
- Steven Bradford
Legislator
Please call the absent Members.
- Committee Secretary
Person
[Roll Call]
- Steven Bradford
Legislator
Ayes 29 Noes 8. The measure passes now, Members, we're moving on to file item 32 by Senator Dahle. He is prepared. Secretary, you may read
- Committee Secretary
Person
Senate Bill 1062 by Senator Dahle in accolade to energy.
- Steven Bradford
Legislator
Senator Dahle.
- Brian Dahle
Legislator
Members, I rise to present SB 1062. California has experienced some of the most devastating wildfires in the recent years. One of the major contributing contributing factors to these fires was years of forest management and buildup of excess woody biomass.
- Brian Dahle
Legislator
To reduce the threat of wildfires and properly utilize valuable fuel source, SB 1062 would require the Department of Conservation to create the Biomass Technology Transition program to facilitate the conversion of biomass energy generation facilities to the newer advanced bioenergy technologies.
- Brian Dahle
Legislator
In December of 2022, CARB passed a resolution regarding the 2022 climate change scoping plan in which the board resolved the opportunities for non combustion biomass solutions need to be prioritized.
- Brian Dahle
Legislator
This bill is consistent with California's goal of prioritizing alternative biomass energy generation methods by creating a grant program that would assist participating biomass generation facilities in acquiring the often expensive alternative energy generation bioenergy technologies. These technologies will enable these facilities to continue using biomass as a valuable fuel source while reducing emissions and remaining consistent with California regulations.
- Brian Dahle
Legislator
As part of the program, the participating facilities must develop business plans to incorporate the technologies once they become commercially available and viable. The business plans provide the facilities with flexible, needed flexibility needed to properly onboard the new technologies, ensure that the relevant air quality standards of these specific air basins are met.
- Brian Dahle
Legislator
This bill would help keep biomass facilities open and in compliance with California regulations that would ensure that forest health and resilience is an ongoing priority, and I respectfully ask for an aye vote.
- Steven Bradford
Legislator
Any further discussion or debate on this item? Any further discussion or debate. This is eligible for unanimous roll call. Is there any objection to using a unanimous roll call on this measure? Hearing seeing none. Ayes 37 Noes 0. The measure passes.
- Steven Bradford
Legislator
Now we're moving to file item 33 by Senator Grove. She is prepared. Secretary, you may read.
- Committee Secretary
Person
Senate Bill 1264 by Senator Grove in accolade to employment discrimination.
- Steven Bradford
Legislator
Senator Grove?
- Shannon Grove
Legislator
Thank you, Mister Chair. Colleagues, I rise today to present SB 1264, which provide a limited ability for law enforcement agencies to allow sworn employees to be tested for cannabis use.
- Shannon Grove
Legislator
The bill is narrowly drawn to provide target exemption for just those sworn law enforcement applicants and employees who are undertaking difficult duties directly associated or related to law enforcement. This is the same exemption that the building trades and construction creeds currently have in statute. The work of both of these professions is important and has important implications. Sorry.
- Shannon Grove
Legislator
For the public safety and responsibility. Peace officers are expected to overcome intense physical challenges and make split second decisions in life or death situations, and these responsibilities are generally incompatible with the effects of cannabis use. SB 1264 will ensure departments retain the ability to test employees for cannabis use.
- Shannon Grove
Legislator
To ensure the highest professional standards are met, respectfully ask for an aye vote.
- Steven Bradford
Legislator
Any further discussion or debate on this item. Hearing and seeing none. Secretary, please call the roll on file item 33.
- Committee Secretary
Person
[Roll Call]
- Steven Bradford
Legislator
Ayes 30 Noes 3. The measure passes. Now, members were moving on to file item 36. Senator Durazo.
- Steven Bradford
Legislator
She is prepared. Secretary, you may read
- Committee Secretary
Person
Senate Bill 1447 by Senator Durazo in accoloade to hospitals.
- Steven Bradford
Legislator
Senator Durazo.
- Maria Elena Durazo
Legislator
Thank you, Mister President. I rise on SB 1447 regarding the children's hospital seismic and I want to take the time to acknowledge my colleagues, Senator from Merced and the Senator from Riverside, for their work on this. This is about a particular hospital in Los Angeles to provide an extension.
- Maria Elena Durazo
Legislator
Children's Hospital Los Angeles is a premier pediatric hospital providing care for some of the most difficult pediatric cases in the region and the only children's hospital in the region. It has become more important since other hospitals and healthcare facilities have begun closing or downsizing pediatric care units it receives. The hospital receives referrals from other hospitals.
- Maria Elena Durazo
Legislator
Those cases are taken without regard to ability to pay. Children's hospital does not turn anyone away. In fact, 70% of the children are insured by MediCal, yet they get the highest quality medical attention.
- Maria Elena Durazo
Legislator
CHLA has met the primary earthquake retrofit structural standards required by law to assure that its structures can survive a major earthquake and be functional.
- Maria Elena Durazo
Legislator
The next set of retrofit standards applicable to the childrens hospital are aimed at various infrastructure improvements to assure that the hospital and its campus have adequate water, sewer, power generation and other infrastructure to support operation of the hospital for a minimum of 72 hours after an earthquake.
- Maria Elena Durazo
Legislator
While the hospital has been working to both plan for and achieve compliance with these updates, it also has a primary role to provide acute healthcare for the region's children. As a result, complying with the infrastructure has placed a severe hardship on the hospital.
- Maria Elena Durazo
Legislator
Providing the extension will allow for both the financing plan and the construction to be implemented while they continue to provide critical care. I look forward to continuing conversations with all stakeholders to address the remaining concerns, and I ask for your aye vote.
- Steven Bradford
Legislator
Thank you. Any further discussion or debate? Senator Jones?
- Brian Jones
Legislator
Thank you, Mister President. I rise in support of SB 1447, and I think that extending the deadline on hospital seismic retrofits is a good idea and hope that we all will continue to support that as we move along. Thank you.
- Steven Bradford
Legislator
Thank you. Any further discussion on this matter? Seeing none. Senator Durazo, would you like to close?
- Maria Elena Durazo
Legislator
Ask for your aye vote. Thank you.
- Steven Bradford
Legislator
So noted. Secretary, please call the roll. No, this is eligible for a unanimous roll call. Is there any objection to applying a unanimous roll call on this measure? See no objection. Ayes 37. Noes 0 The measure passes. Now we're moving on to file item 14 by Senator Padilla. He is prepared. Secretary, you may read.
- Reading Clerk
Person
Senate Bill 1072 by Senator Padilla, an act relating to local government.
- Steven Bradford
Legislator
Senator Padilla.
- Steve Padilla
Legislator
Thank you, Mr. President and colleagues. I'm here to present Senate Bill 1072, which clarifies the existing law in the event, prospectively, if a court determines that a fee or charge for property related service, including water, sewer, refuse collection violates Prop 218, the remedy for the violation would be a credit towards the amount of the fee or charge attributable to the violation.
- Steve Padilla
Legislator
Today, retail, water, and wastewater agencies throughout the state are facing legal challenges to their service fee structures. Three of these challenges are in my district, but the threat is real throughout the State of California.
- Steve Padilla
Legislator
While these challenges are moving through the appellate review, clarification for the remedy, which is separate and distinct in these cases in the law, is needed to protect the solvency of water agencies and water rates for ordinary customers. Higher water users bringing these lawsuits allege that they were overcharged by the water agencies, and that may ultimately be determined, that lower water users should have paid more and that high water users should get a refund. Let's be clear.
- Steve Padilla
Legislator
We are not talking about billing errors because they are explicitly excluded in this bill because they are administrative in nature. We are not also talking about fees or charges where refunds are already provided for in statute. Public water districts often have no revenue source other than rates and charges.
- Steve Padilla
Legislator
A public agency sets its race to merely recover costs annually and receives no profit, so any refunds to past high water users would need to be funded by raising rates on all future ratepayers. SB 1072 would clarify existing law that if, if a court determines an excess fee has been charged, the agency must credit the overpayment amount against the overall costs of providing the service going forward. This is a matter of equity. SB 1072 ensures that the lower water users are not subsidizing the others.
- Steve Padilla
Legislator
It is vital, it is vital that people get the money that they are due if they are overcharged as a result of the billing error. We must also safeguard equitable approaches to setting water rates while we provide our agencies with the flexibility that they need to operate, and SB 1072 achieves that by providing for a prospective remedy of these specific types of challenges.
- Steve Padilla
Legislator
The bill has the support of ACWA, California Special Districts Association, CSAC, and Municipal Utilities Association, and agencies of all sizes up and down the state because of the recognition that without legislative clarification, they, too, will encounter some of the same issues these agencies and others will face in the future. With that, I respectfully ask for an aye vote.
- Steven Bradford
Legislator
Thank you. Any further discussion or debate on this item? Any additional discussion or debate? Hearing and seeing none, Secretary, please call the roll on File Item 14.
- Reading Clerk
Person
[Roll Call].
- Steven Bradford
Legislator
Secretary, please call the absent Members.
- Reading Clerk
Person
[Roll Call].
- Steven Bradford
Legislator
Ayes: 30; noes: five. The measure passes. Now Members, we're moving back to File Item 37. We have Senator Menjivar. She is prepared. Secretary, you may read.
- Committee Secretary
Person
Senate Bill 954 by Senator Menjivar. And according to sexual health. Senator, floor is yours.
- Caroline Menjivar
Legislator
Thank you, Mister President. Colleagues, we voted this very similar Bill off this floor last year. I'm coming back with you once again now with SB 954. To require all public high schools to make internal and external condoms available to students by the start of the 2025 school year.
- Caroline Menjivar
Legislator
Upon appropriation to address the increase in STI's amongst those between 15 and 24 years old, it would require a notice to be posted informing students of where to get condoms on campus and where to find sexual and reproductive health information and resources.
- Caroline Menjivar
Legislator
It will bar high schools from prohibiting condom distribution in the context of educational and public health programs. And finally, it will prohibit pharmacies and retailers from asking for proof of age for condom or contraceptive purchases, which is not a law right now. Respectfully asking for an. I vote.
- Steven Bradford
Legislator
Thank you. Any further discussion or debate on this item hearing, see none. Secretary, please call the roll on file item 37.
- Committee Secretary
Person
[Roll call]
- Committee Secretary
Person
[Roll call]
- Steven Bradford
Legislator
Ayes 28, no's nine. The measure passes now. Members, removing on the file item 38 by Senator Roth. He is prepared. Secretary, you may read.
- Committee Secretary
Person
Senate Bill 1042 by Senator Roth in accolade to nursing.
- Steven Bradford
Legislator
Senator, floor is yours.
- Richard Roth
Legislator
Thank you, Mister President. This is a bill to create a clinical placement inventory for nursing schools and nursing students, both public and private. It's an inventory that we desperately need in order to produce more trained nurses in this state. As you well know, for decades, we've suffered from a shortage of registered nurses in California.
- Richard Roth
Legislator
In fact, California ranks near the bottom number 40 out of 50 states in terms of the number of nurses per 100,000 people. One contributing factor to all of this is that California's nursing school capacity has not been able to keep up with demand.
- Richard Roth
Legislator
One report reflects that during the 2021 to 22 school year in California, over 47,000 qualified applicants for our nursing school programs were turned away for lack of capacity. In addition to money,
- Richard Roth
Legislator
One major reason that we've been unable to grow capacity in our nursing programs is the challenge of locating and securing the clinical placement slots necessary to provide the clinical training required to obtain a nursing degree and a license.
- Richard Roth
Legislator
This was confirmed by the State Auditor in a 2020 audit report on the BRN, the Board of Registered Nursing, where the Auditor found that the board lacked critical information about the location and availability of clinical placement slots to make enrollment decisions.
- Richard Roth
Legislator
Now, during my three years as chair of the Business and Professions Committee in this Senate, we conducted hearings in the nursing education and the clinical placement issue. Other than anecdotal information provided by nursing school deans and others, I was unable to find out the source of the problem.
- Richard Roth
Legislator
Was the placement shortage caused by the fact that nursing schools in any particular region were all trying to place students students at the same type of hospital? Was it because nursing schools weren't attempting to utilize clinics, outpatient surgery facilities or other similar healthcare providers for placements?
- Richard Roth
Legislator
Was it because those complaining of a lack of clinical placement slots were all trying to fit into a Monday through Friday 08:00 to 05:00 schedule? No one, absolutely no one, really knew the answer. And that's the reason for this bill.
- Richard Roth
Legislator
We need a nursing clinical placement inventory in the state, an inventory of clinical placement slots, slots not only located in our hospitals, but slots located in other healthcare facilities and clinics as well. And the way the bill works to collect clinical placement data is this.
- Richard Roth
Legislator
At the end of each year, nursing schools, public and private are required to report to the Board of Registered Nursing one, the clinical placement slots needed for the following academic year and two, the number of clinical slots the board or the schools have been unable to fill within the last academic year under this bill.
- Richard Roth
Legislator
With respect to healthcare facilities and clinics, those facilities are required to report to the California Department of Healthcare Access and Information, HCAI, the estimated number of days and slots that will be made available within the following calendar year for nursing student use.
- Richard Roth
Legislator
For each type of license bill, better unit, Med Surg, maternity and the like 12, the number of days and shifts utilized within the previous calendar year by license, better unit and the nursing school program utilizing the slots, the board provides its school data to HCAI and HCAI correlates that data within the data HCAI receives from the healthcare facilities and clinic and posts it all on the HCAI website available to all nursing schools, public and private.
- Richard Roth
Legislator
So how is the data utilized? Any school, public or private may use the data to secure additional clinical placement slots from healthcare facilities and clinics. If any school, public or private, requests help for the BRN, the board may, but it is not required to help if it has existing resources to do so.
- Richard Roth
Legislator
It may, and it may assist the school by reviewing the report and unused clinical placement slots in an attempt to identify those that meet the needs of the school. Now, this is a point of some contention. The bill prioritizes allows the board to prioritize the requests.
- Richard Roth
Legislator
So if the board receives multiple requests for assistance or for assistance from public and private schools, the board has to triage the requests and first address the requests. Not prioritize placements, but address the requests for assistance received from our public community college and CSU nursing school programs, but is also required to address requests received from private schools.
- Richard Roth
Legislator
And the reason for that is during the three years I chaired the Business and Professions Committee, the bulk of the complaints were coming out of our community college associate degree nursing programs, not the private schools. The private schools wanted additional placement scots to expand their programs.
- Richard Roth
Legislator
They were not complaining that they weren't able to admit the students that they had admitted for their programs. So.
- Richard Roth
Legislator
One other point. The Board has no authority over health care facilities. Let me make that clear. So, if the Board elects to work with a healthcare facility, that's fine, but the healthcare facility or clinic involved may elect, but is not required to make those existing or new but unused clinical placement slots available to any nursing school.
- Richard Roth
Legislator
It's permissive on the part of the healthcare facility. In this Bill, the bottom line is not to displace any students, not to shift clinical placement slots from one school to another school. The intent is to identify new and unused clinical placement slots again, not to supplant or swap out one school for another.
- Richard Roth
Legislator
No existing clinical placement arrangements between schools and healthcare facilities are to be disrupted under the terms of this Bill. In fact, the Bill provides at the proposed Health and Safety Code, Section 127752 D.
- Richard Roth
Legislator
In the Bill, any attempt to create or secure additional clinical placement slots by the board, a health facility or a clinic shall not supplant or disrupt the clinical placement of any nursing student for whom a clinical placement is already in progress or has already been scheduled.
- Richard Roth
Legislator
I can address some of the comments of those in opposition to the Bill, but I think I'll wait for questions, Mister President. I respectfully ask, if not, for an aye vote.
- Steven Bradford
Legislator
Thank you. Any further discussion or debate? Senator Jones.
- Brian Jones
Legislator
Thank you, Mister President and Members. Members, I am really struggling with SB 1042 because I understand the problem that exists that we're trying to address here. I'm just having some challenges with the details of this particular Bill. I believe it fails to address the larger problem of the shortage of the clinical placements for school nursing students.
- Brian Jones
Legislator
I think it would be better if. Well, here's the question. Is it the proper role of this bureau and the government to pick where these slots go and which school has first access to them, rather than, should we be discussing today incentivizing, creating more slots and or removing barriers, whatever regulatory barriers are in place currently that are preventing these slots from being created.
- Brian Jones
Legislator
You know, I think one of the, this may or may not be related, but, you know, one of the things that we're witnessing here in California with nursing healthcare is travel nurses.
- Brian Jones
Legislator
And we have nurses that are traveling all over the state because they're being awarded bonuses for traveling and filling positions in hospitals that are short of nurses. But have we created a situation where we have nurses from Sacramento traveling to San Diego receiving bonuses, and do we have a?
- Brian Jones
Legislator
And nurses from San Diego traveling to Sacramento to fill these vacancies and the nurses that we need. The bottom line is we need more nurses in California. I don't think, so my main problem with the Bill is the language dealing with public universities and colleges versus private. And then one concern raised by the Children's Hospital Association.
- Brian Jones
Legislator
Mister President, if I may have permission to read briefly. Mister President, may I have permission to read?
- Steven Bradford
Legislator
Permission granted.
- Brian Jones
Legislator
Thank you, Mister President. Quote, from the Children's Hospital Association.
- Brian Jones
Legislator
These provisions go beyond solving the problem identified by the State Auditor, are duplicative of work being already being done effectively through regional consortiums, and would inappropriately urge the BRN to interfere with decisions by health facilities about how many clinical placement slots they can accommodate and when, as well as what degree category of nursing students they should prioritize for those placements.
- Brian Jones
Legislator
End quote. I've noticed on the list of opposition that most of the organizations that are in opposition of the Bill have talked about amendments that would remove their opposition. Mister President and Members, I'm going to vote no today, but hoping that those conversations will take place and if it comes back on concurrence, will be a better Bill. Thank you very much.
- Steven Bradford
Legislator
Thank you. Any further discussion or debate on this item? Hearing and seeing none. Senator Roth, would you like to close?
- Richard Roth
Legislator
Certainly. Thank you. Mister President, let me try to respond to those comments. I tried to cover it in my presentation. The Board has no authority over health care facilities. Absolutely or at all. The Board is simply a facilitator, and the Board does deal with the nursing schools and the nursing program.
- Richard Roth
Legislator
So, the Board was inserted in here to try to address some of the concerns of those nursing programs that are having difficulty securing clinical placements, primarily our community college nursing programs, but not exclusively,
- Richard Roth
Legislator
So, the Board gathers the data about what schools need and the Board looks on the HCAI website to see where healthcare facilities have unused slots and provides that information to the nursing schools for their use.
- Richard Roth
Legislator
The Board may contact a healthcare facility and ask the healthcare facility if those what appear to be new or existing unused slots may be available, and provides that information to the school.
- Richard Roth
Legislator
But the Bill clearly says that a healthcare facility may but is not required to do anything in response to the Board of Registered Nursing or request from a nursing school. Hopefully, that addresses the concern of my colleague with respect to whether hospitals or healthcare facilities are going to be required to do anything.
- Richard Roth
Legislator
I note that the Association of Independent California Colleges and Universities, the privates say functionally, the language functionally mandates the Board of Registered Nursing to prioritize meeting the clinical placement needs of nursing programs. Nothing could be further from the truth with respect to this Bill the privates have.
- Richard Roth
Legislator
Certainly, if you look at the success rate and the number of students, they have no problem securing clinical placement slots anywhere, anywhere, anytime, anyplace. At least as far as I can tell.
- Richard Roth
Legislator
The Children's Hospitals, for example, what has come out in the course of this Bill is the Children's Hospitals are preferring students who were enrolled in Bachelor of Science of Nursing degree programs over the community college associate degree students. And the Children's Hospitals have stated that essentially in their opposition letter, if you have it in your package.
- Richard Roth
Legislator
That, of course, is the problem. I'm trying to address with another Bill that I will be presenting later on, the shortage of Bachelor of Science degree nurses and how we deal with that. This Bill does nothing to force the children's hospitals to take anyone other than a student in a Bachelor of Science degree nursing program.
- Richard Roth
Legislator
If the Board of Registered Nursing approaches the Children's Hospital in Los Angeles and says, how about taking a community giving some placement slots to the Los Angeles Community College District Nursing Programs? There are two or three of them. The Children's Hospital can say thank you for calling, no thanks under this Bill. So hopefully that addresses the concerns.
- Richard Roth
Legislator
We do need the clinical inventory because otherwise, it's the wild, wild west out there in terms of trying to figure out where placement slots are, which ones are available, what regions they're in, and who can use them. Thank you for your patience. Thank you, Mister President. Respectfully ask for an aye vote.
- Steven Bradford
Legislator
All debate haven't ceased. Secretary. Please call the roll on file item 38.
- Committee Secretary
Person
[Roll call]
- Steven Bradford
Legislator
Please call the absent Member.
- Committee Secretary
Person
[Roll call]
- Steven Bradford
Legislator
Ayes 34, noes two. The measure passes. Members, before we move on to our next author, I want to take a brief pause to recognize a special guest here on the Senate Floor and give them a strong California Senate welcome. Our Superintendent of public instruction and former Member of the California Assembly, none other than Tony Thurmond.
- Steven Bradford
Legislator
Welcome to the California State Senate. Members, next up is Senator file item 39, Senator Menjivar. She is prepared. Secretary.
- Steven Bradford
Legislator
Secretary, please read.
- Reading Clerk
Person
Senate Bill 1057 by Senator Menjivar, an act relating to juveniles.
- Steven Bradford
Legislator
Senator Menjivar.
- Caroline Menjivar
Legislator
Thank you, Mr. President. Colleagues, I apologize. This is going to be a little bit long-winded because I need to make clear what this bill really does and does not do. SB 1057 seeks to create a more equitable composition of the Juvenile Justice Coordinating Council. The top line is that we need to include the expertise of those who are most impacted by the system and those working alongside them with a trauma-informed, healing-focused lens. Current statute right now already requires this council to exist in every county.
- Caroline Menjivar
Legislator
Current law already requires each council to be made up of at least 30 people representing the DA's office, police, probation, public defenders, public health, social services, and others. My bill would change the makeup of the membership, but not removing a single person that is still part of that council.
- Caroline Menjivar
Legislator
It requires each county to make sure their councils consist of at least 50 percent community representatives and removes the minimum 13-membership requirement, adding more flexibility for counties to choose the amount of people to be on the council.
- Caroline Menjivar
Legislator
Opposition states that I am looking to add people with no demonstrated experience or knowledge about key issues impacting justice-involved youth, but my bill defines a community representative as someone who is currently or formally justice system-involved, a system-impacted family member, or a representative from a nonprofit, community-based organization that provides services to youth.
- Caroline Menjivar
Legislator
Members, you tell me: how is a juvenile who went through the justice system not an expert in the topics the council deals with? Opposition states that the requirement for the council to meet three times a month and to make their meetings public is too burdensome.
- Caroline Menjivar
Legislator
But my councils--but many councils already are meeting quarterly and the counselors are subject to the Brown Act, so they must meet in public. Opposition is claiming this is union busting and/or a job killer, but nothing in my bill removes any member who is currently part of the council. Nothing in my bill mandates counties to claw back, defund, or decrease any funding attached to current programs.
- Caroline Menjivar
Legislator
In fact, current law already states that in order to be eligible, verbatim--what the law says--'in order to be eligible for juvenile justice grants, each county is required to establish a multiagency Juvenile Justice Coordinating Council that develops and implements a continuum of county-based responses to juvenile crime.'
- Caroline Menjivar
Legislator
I have taken many amendments, have met with the opposition over--a lot of times--and have taken amendments designed to address the bulk of the opposition concerns, but those concerns apparently still exist. It appears that the opposition simply does not want to add more community representatives to the council because they believe the status quo is working.
- Caroline Menjivar
Legislator
Here are a few examples of what currently is the status quo: a 2020 state audit found that some counties did not even have a council at all. Some counties had vacancies on their council and several counties only made limited revisions to their plan over the last two decades, despite significant changes in the statewide juvenile justice landscape.
- Caroline Menjivar
Legislator
Riverside County got sued for spending millions of dollars funneling children into an unconstitutional probation system that denied them their due process rights and subjected them to oppressive, invasive policies. Then they were forced through lawsuit to add five community-based organizations, just like my bill is asking.
- Caroline Menjivar
Legislator
Sacramento County was also sued for allegations of conducting their work in violation of California's open meeting and public participation laws, known as the Brown Act, and resulted in having them to increase the number of community members in their council and adding remote options for greater community participation, everything my bill is asking to do.
- Caroline Menjivar
Legislator
So I'm asking you: do we want counties to continue to be sued and lose money having to litigate these lawsuits or are we asking them to make sure that they're following current law and doubling down on that law? You've heard that the status quo is not working. Counties are turning away youth from participating in the councils because, for example, they are currently on probation. Isn't that the very same type of people we need to hear from? So let's add more community representatives to the council.
- Caroline Menjivar
Legislator
Let's have a co-chair and ensure these meetings are public to address the deficiencies we are seeing across the state. This won't dictate how counties spend their juvenile justice grant funds. It won't take away any funding from counties. It won't make any changes to probation budgets or funding streams. It won't prevent probation programs from receiving funds. It won't remove probation or anyone else from positions, programs, or processes. And with that, respectfully asking for an aye vote.
- Steven Bradford
Legislator
Thank you. Any further discussion or debate? Senator Ashby.
- Angelique Ashby
Legislator
Thank you, Mr. President. I rise today to talk about SB 1057. I'm sure I'm not the only Senator in the room who has received a few letters about this bill. However, even though I have folks locally who have reached out to me and have concerns, I noted that some of the letters are dated prior to a couple weeks ago when the Senator from Los Angeles took many amendments to her bill.
- Angelique Ashby
Legislator
I know the Senator from Los Angeles to be extremely diligent and also to be exceptionally good at working with people who have opposition or questions or issues with her bill. So I have a question of the author, Mr. President.
- Steven Bradford
Legislator
Senator Menjivar, will you take a question?
- Caroline Menjivar
Legislator
I'll take a question.
- Steven Bradford
Legislator
Through the Chair.
- Angelique Ashby
Legislator
Okay. Through the President, I would like to ask the author if she would be willing to not only work with opposition, but particularly with specific counties that have concerns about implementation and about funding and about how this particular law, should it make its way all the way through, would impact the resources that they currently have to serve youth in our counties.
- Caroline Menjivar
Legislator
Mr. President, as you heard--and colleagues--in my remarks, we even went further in amendments to even further clarify that funding will still exist and streamed down to the counties. I do, however, commit to continue being the same kind of Member who does meet with every single opposition that comes through her door, that it takes amendments on good faith, thinking that that will remove opposition, and it does not. But I will continue working on that, and I know in the Assembly I will continue to take on amendments that hopefully would further distance their opposition, but, yes. Bottom line, I do commit to that.
- Steven Bradford
Legislator
Thank you.
- Angelique Ashby
Legislator
I just would finish my comments then on my own time by saying this: I'm going to support the bill today because I believe that this author is trying very hard to clarify existing law to make things easier and better for our counties and for our youth, and at the end of the day, I know that she will continue to work with those who have questions. So I'll be voting aye.
- Steven Bradford
Legislator
Thank you. Senator Alvarado-Gil.
- Marie Alvarado-Gil
Legislator
Permission to ask question of the author?
- Steven Bradford
Legislator
Senator Menjivar, will you take a question?
- Caroline Menjivar
Legislator
Yes.
- Marie Alvarado-Gil
Legislator
Thank you to the author, who I know is a very staunch advocate for youth in our community, and I have been very--sorry, the buzz--I've been very happy to see bills that come from the author's desk.
- Marie Alvarado-Gil
Legislator
My question is, if this bill were to be implemented in some of the smaller counties in the rural areas where our population is less than 30,000, how would you see this impacting those counties that are already looking to aggregate their services with neighboring counties and perhaps are not able to meet the requirements in your bill, either due to distance or simply not enough nonprofits or just outside groups to be able to meet these requirements? How would you see that playing out?
- Caroline Menjivar
Legislator
Through the President, to the Senator from Jackson, the Senator brings up a very good point, and it's a consideration that I have started working on because I know it's valid. I know that in rural areas, there are even less resources, potentially less people interested in participating in this.
- Caroline Menjivar
Legislator
My commitment to the Senator and every other Senator here is that while right now I'm asking for 50 percent, I will continue to work with opposition to get to a number. We don't know if once it comes back to this body, once again on concurrence, if it will be at 50 percent because I want to make sure it's actually implemented.
- Caroline Menjivar
Legislator
This bill is kind of a cleanup bill to what the previous bill attempted to do, and after the audit showed that a lot of counties aren't doing, I don't want to pass a bill just to pass a bill. I want to make sure it's actually be able to be implemented in every single county, just like her county--the Senator from Jackson's counties to my counties in LA.
- Steven Bradford
Legislator
Thank you. Satisfied. Senator Dodd.
- Bill Dodd
Legislator
Yes, I have--my counties had the same concerns that the Senator from Sacramento County had, and I'm going to support this bill today based on the comments from the author. There were some other concerns, too, that I'm just going to point out because I don't know if the amendments already took place in the letters or before, so I think that's a very fair comment.
- Bill Dodd
Legislator
But some of the requirements were very, very prescriptive, and I think that makes sense to look at that as well, but I will be going up on the bill. But look, at the end of the day, it's going to come back for concurrence and we can all decide where we are at that time, but thank you.
- Steven Bradford
Legislator
Thank you. Any further discussion or debate on this item? Senator Laird.
- John Laird
Legislator
I have genuinely been listening to the debate, and I have genuinely been torn on this issue. I am hearing from my local department strongly that it's not workable, I read the fact sheet for it, I read the letter against it, I talked to the author, and I was concerned that it seems overly prescriptive in some places.
- John Laird
Legislator
I've staffed county groups, I've staffed local groups, even down to the point that it says they'll be equal one side and equal the other side. Well, you always have an odd number so that votes are broken when you do that.
- John Laird
Legislator
And in some discussions about it, it was that some of these things are already in the law, but they're not being enforced, so then they get reiterated in this bill when they're already in the law, and it might well be an enforcement issue rather than a reiteration in the bill issue.
- John Laird
Legislator
And so that's why I was torn as I just didn't feel like this was together, and there's strong criticism from my district, and I feel like I'm willing, begrudgingly, to cast a yes vote, and I appreciate the commitment of the author, but there is an amazing amount of work to be done here, and I think the real issue--because I've heard from other people--that it's giving a voice to those that are in the system.
- John Laird
Legislator
And I think in some ways it's backing off of some of the prescriptiveness and just making sure there's a way you get the voice in the system rather than thinking it's going to come from some specific, overly prescribed structure. So I heard the commitment of the author and I would just offer that because I think that's the direction it's going to have to go to make this work.
- Steven Bradford
Legislator
Thank you. Any further discussion or debate on this item? Hearing and seeing none, Senator Menjivar, would you like to close?
- Caroline Menjivar
Legislator
Thank you, Mr. President. First, I want to thank the Senators who are going to be going up on this vote that I originally didn't count in my vote card. So thank you so much for that. I also want to say I've done an amazing amount--amazingly amount of work--I think that's what Senator from Santa Cruz reference--already doing amendments on this.
- Caroline Menjivar
Legislator
And it did have an enforcement, it did have enforcement language when I first started this bill, but I had to remove that enforcement language because it wasn't going to get to the Senate Floor. You can imagine that we start our bills overeager, if you will, and we have to trim as much as possible to get it to the finish line. You're right. Right now, the status quo, even though there is an enforcement tool, is not actually being enforced. BSCC has the power right now to withhold funding from every single county who is not following the law right now.
- Caroline Menjivar
Legislator
And because of that, we have youth in areas like in LA County that are being forced to participate in a fight club by their own probation officers where LA probation has had to put on administrative leaves, 64 of their probation officers. Those are the same individuals who we want to only be part of these councils.
- Caroline Menjivar
Legislator
We need to make sure that if we want to see change across California, we need to bring those other voices. There's always going to be hesitancy from the power when they're feeling that their power is being restricted or removed. It's because we need to do that. We need people who have lived experiences to be part of the discussion to change the status quo.
- Caroline Menjivar
Legislator
I 100 percent commit myself to continue to work with the counties' probation and every other opposition to find a middle ground, but at the end of the day, I am looking to change the system, and the system is going to continue to want to push back. And I will give a little, but not entirely, because then there will be no change at the end of the day. Respectfully asking for an aye vote.
- Steven Bradford
Legislator
Thank you. All debate having ceased, Secretary, please call the roll on File Item 39.
- Reading Clerk
Person
[Roll Call].
- Steven Bradford
Legislator
Please call the absent Members.
- Reading Clerk
Person
[Roll Call].
- Steven Bradford
Legislator
Ayes: 26; noes: eight. The measure passes. Now we're moving on to File Item 40. Senator Becker, you're prepared. Secretary, you may read.
- Committee Secretary
Person
Senate Bill 1060 by Senator Becker in accolade to insurance.
- Steven Bradford
Legislator
Senator Becker, the floor is yours.
- Josh Becker
Legislator
Thank you, Mister President. I rise to present SB 1060. I hear all the time from constituents who have either lost insurance or have insurance premiums increased at exorbitant rates. And I'm sure many of you do as well.
- Josh Becker
Legislator
And I just want to say from the outset that this Bill is not a replacement for the Department of Insurance Sustainable Insurance strategy or the terrific work of our insurance chair, my good friend from Baldwin Park, who has been working for three years to stabilize our insurance markets.
- Josh Becker
Legislator
And we were part of that working group to work with her. We feel this bill is very complimentary to that effort. The Department of Insurance can only work on rating and prices, but prices only matter if insurance is offered at all. The Department of Insurance has no authority over the underwriting models that influence those underwriting decisions.
- Josh Becker
Legislator
And that's what this bill is about. As sheriff sub two, I see the investments that we make in our wildfire resources. Over 500 people added to CalFire, the largest aerial firefighting force in the world. Now that we have over 69 aerial vehicles, the other parts of, I think, what have now become a comprehensive strategy.
- Josh Becker
Legislator
I also see the billions of dollars that we've allocated at the state level, but also get to see what local governments and counties have done on hazardous fuel reduction, as well as community wide home hardening and creating defensible space, all recognize approaches for reducing the severity of wildfires.
- Josh Becker
Legislator
What this bill's about is asking insurance companies to take that in, count in their underwriting models, tell us if they're showing that it doesn't reduce the risk, then we should probably be allocating the money differently. But we want them to take this account in their underwriting models. That way all the incentives are aligned.
- Josh Becker
Legislator
All the incentives are aligned. The communities are doing what they need to do, the state is doing what it needs to do, and we can get back, along with the other great work being done by our insurance chair and our team here, to having a stable insurance market. I respectfully ask for your aye vote.
- Steven Bradford
Legislator
Any further discussion debate on this item? Hearing and seeing none. Secretary, please call the roll.
- Committee Secretary
Person
[Roll Call]
- Steven Bradford
Legislator
Please call the absent members.
- Committee Secretary
Person
[Roll Call]
- Steven Bradford
Legislator
Ayes 28 Noes 8, the measure passes. Members, before we move on to our next item, I just want to take a moment to recognize former California State Assembly Member Ken Cooley up in the gallery. Former Rules Chair. Welcome to the California State Senate. And I also saw Adam Gray as well.
- Steven Bradford
Legislator
Former Assemblyman Adam Gray up in the gallery as well. So welcome to the California State Senate. Next members, we're moving on to file item 41 by Senator Laird. He's prepared.
- Steven Bradford
Legislator
Secretary, you may read
- Committee Secretary
Person
Senate Bill 1064 by Senator Laird in accolade to cannabis.
- Steven Bradford
Legislator
Senator Laird.
- John Laird
Legislator
Thank you very much, Mister President. Senate Bill 1064 aims to modernize the state's cannabis licensing process by clarifying the roles of state and local governments in the licensing and oversight, eliminating duplication of efforts, and reducing regulatory burdens while maintaining the oversight.
- John Laird
Legislator
Recent amendments coming out of Appropriations address drafting errors and delay the bill's implementation to 2028 to save costs.
- John Laird
Legislator
In the latest annual report of the Department of Cannabis Control, here are the following licensing processing times cultivation 221 days, manufacturing 180 days, distribution 287 days, testing laboratory 851 days, retail licenses 183 days, micro business 244 days, event organizer 153 days, temporary cannabis event 59 days, this is just not working, and it's our goal that these times be reduced while maintaining the oversight and regulatory process.
- John Laird
Legislator
Questions that are answered under current law, state and local government roles in licensing and oversight are not well defined and distinguished. As a result, the licensing reviews conducted often duplicate the reviews conducted at the local level. This will clarify the state and local roles.
- John Laird
Legislator
The licensing reform framework within this bill was developed from recommendations within the recent California Cannabis Report, licensing and market access, published by the Cannabis Policy Lab. There is no registered opposition. There have been no, no votes. We've been talking to various stakeholders to ensure this bill doesn't have unintended consequences.
- John Laird
Legislator
And if any additional additional concerns arise, I pledge to work with the stakeholders to resolve them. I respectfully request an aye vote.
- Steven Bradford
Legislator
Thank you. Any further discussion debate on this item hearing seeing none. Secretary, please call the roll on file item 41.
- Committee Secretary
Person
[Roll Call]
- Steven Bradford
Legislator
Please call the absent members.
- Committee Secretary
Person
[Roll Call]
- Steven Bradford
Legislator
We're now looking for Hurtado.
- Steven Bradford
Legislator
Ayes 34. No's 0. The measure passes. Now Members, we're moving on to file item 42. Senator Smallwood-Cuevas. She's prepared. Senator, please read.
- Committee Secretary
Person
Senate Bill 1067 by Senator Smallwood-Cuevas, an act relating to healing arts.
- Steven Bradford
Legislator
Senator, floor is yours.
- Lola Smallwood-Cuevas
Legislator
Thank you, Mr. President. I want to say thank you Members. Let me grab the right form here. Good afternoon. I am presenting SB 1067 that would create an expedited licensure process at the Healing Arts Board for practitioners who plan to work in medically underserved communities.
- Lola Smallwood-Cuevas
Legislator
I have taken amendments to narrow the bill in the scope, and now the bill will focus primarily on including the Dental Board, the Board of Behavioral Sciences, and the Board of Registered Nursing.
- Lola Smallwood-Cuevas
Legislator
Despite serving our most vulnerable communities, like those in South Los Angeles, many providers have reported high vacancy rates and prolonged periods to fill staff vacancies for key positions like physicians, dentists, nurse practitioners, and our deepening healthcare workforce shortage surges.
- Lola Smallwood-Cuevas
Legislator
Expediting licenses for practitioners who plan to serve our most vulnerable populations is a valuable incentive to work in the communities that need them the most. Recently, the Medical Board of California established their own process to expedite license applications for practitioners serving in medically underserved areas.
- Lola Smallwood-Cuevas
Legislator
And SB 1067 is modeled after this process to directly benefit California communities with a high need of accessing- of needing to access quality health care. And I respectfully ask for your aye vote.
- Steven Bradford
Legislator
Any additional comments or discussion on this item? Hearing and seeing none. Secretary, please call the roll on file item 42.
- Steven Bradford
Legislator
[Roll Call]
- Steven Bradford
Legislator
Please call the absent Members.
- Committee Secretary
Person
[Roll Call]
- Steven Bradford
Legislator
Secretary, please call the absent Members.
- Committee Secretary
Person
[Roll Call]
- Steven Bradford
Legislator
Ayes 34. No's zero. The measure passes. Members, we're going to move the motions and resolutions. Members, without objection, Senate Rule 55 will be suspended to allow guests on the floor. Now, Members, we're moving on to file item 43. Senator Menjivar? She is prepared.
- Steven Bradford
Legislator
Secretary, you may read.
- Committee Secretary
Person
Senate Bill 1079 by Senator Menjivar, an act relating to the Youth Housing Bond Act of 2024 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.
- Steven Bradford
Legislator
Senator, the floor is yours.
- Caroline Menjivar
Legislator
Apologize for the long title there. In 2023. Thank you, Mister President. In 2023, California counted 10,173 youth experiencing homelessness on their own and another 2,219 who were homeless and parenting on their own. Those numbers put the state in first place for youth homelessness, accounting for 29% of all cases across the country.
- Caroline Menjivar
Legislator
SB 1079 would establish the Youth Housing Bond Act of 2024. By creating a dedicated funding source for youth housing projects, SB 1079 will help to combat housing insecurity for one of California's most vulnerable populations, transition-age youth. One out of four foster youth who leave extended care will experience homelessness.
- Caroline Menjivar
Legislator
50% of chronically homeless population had their first experience of homelessness when they were under the age of 25. Therefore, hopefully, upon approval of the voters, it would allocate. This Bill would allocate will help allocate 1 billion in General obligation bond sales.
- Caroline Menjivar
Legislator
It will allow both public and community, both public agencies and community-based organizations with specific youth expertise to apply for the youth bond. Respectfully asked for an aye vote.
- Steven Bradford
Legislator
Any further discussion or debate on this item? Any further discussion or debate? Hearing and seeing none. Secretary, please call the roll.
- Committee Secretary
Person
[Roll call]
- Steven Bradford
Legislator
Please call the absent Members.
- Committee Secretary
Person
[Roll call]
- Steven Bradford
Legislator
Ayes 29, noes seven on the urgency. Ayes 29, noes seven on the measure. Measure passes. Now, Members who are moving on to file item 49 by Senator Laird. He is prepared.
- Steven Bradford
Legislator
Secretary, you may read.
- Committee Secretary
Person
Senate Bill 1205 by Senator Laird and act relating to workers compensation.
- Steven Bradford
Legislator
Senator Laird.
- John Laird
Legislator
Thank you very much, Mr. President. Senate Bill 1205 will guarantee workers access to medical care for on the job injuries by prohibiting employers from retaliating against workers who must receive medical care during business hours.
- John Laird
Legislator
Amendments taken in appropriation, limit the extension of existing temporary disability benefits to employees with occupational injuries who must work for medical care and who have already exhausted, earned sick leave under the labor and education code. Currently, employees with occupational injuries who seek employer requested medical care are entitled to temporary disability benefits.
- John Laird
Legislator
But the same entitlement does not extend to employees with occupational industries who must seek care on their own. In these cases, a decision even allows employers to deny injured workers the right to use their earned sick leave. Opposition has concerns about temporary disability.
- John Laird
Legislator
As part of this bill and the costs and the necessity of the bill, they've sent us language that address their concerns concerns. But we still have some outstanding questions. We will continue to work with them. This protects injured workers by ensuring that they can access timely medical care without retaliation for their occupational injuries. I respectfully request and aye vote.
- Steven Bradford
Legislator
Any further discussion or debate on this item. Hearing and seeing none. Secretary, please call a roll on file item 49.
- Committee Secretary
Person
[Roll Call]
- Steven Bradford
Legislator
Please call the absence Members.
- Committee Secretary
Person
[Roll Call]
- Steven Bradford
Legislator
Ayes 28. No's 8. The measure passes. Next up is file item 57 by Senator Stern. Secretary, you may read.
- Committee Secretary
Person
Senate Bill 1508 by Senator Stern an act relating to electricity.
- Steven Bradford
Legislator
Senator Stern.
- Henry Stern
Legislator
Thank you, Mr. President. Members, this bill will ensure that the Public Utilities Commission takes a closer look and more expansive modeling, looking at technologies that involve Long Duration Energy Storage.
- Henry Stern
Legislator
Long Duration Energy Storage are not the kind of short term batteries that we rely on for our grid right now, but multi day energy storage flow batteries, compressed air storage, new technologies in iron air and even pumped hydro.
- Henry Stern
Legislator
These are all firm zero carbon resources that we believe will not only stabilize our grid and leave the lights on, but also displace fossil fuel generation.
- Henry Stern
Legislator
US DOE and the CEC have both funded these efforts, and we think we can not just get better modeling, but hopefully get some federal dollars to take pressure off ratepayers and keep the lights on. The organizations that were previously in opposition have since removed their opposition.
- Henry Stern
Legislator
So we have all those confirmations in writing, and I just want to state that the opposition is off the this bill. Respectfully ask for aye vote.
- Steven Bradford
Legislator
Thank you. Any further discussion or debate on this item? Hearing and seeing none. Secretary, please call the roll on file item 57.
- Committee Secretary
Person
[Roll Call]
- Steven Bradford
Legislator
Please call the absent Members.
- Committee Secretary
Person
[Roll Call]
- Steven Bradford
Legislator
Let's call the absent Members one more time.
- Committee Secretary
Person
[Roll Call]
- Steven Bradford
Legislator
Eyes, 29. No's, 8. The measure passes. Now members we are moving on to file item 58. Is the author prepared?
- Steven Bradford
Legislator
Secretary, please read.
- Committee Secretary
Person
Senate Bill 1509 by Senator Stern, an act relating to vehicles.
- Steven Bradford
Legislator
Senator, floor is yours.
- Henry Stern
Legislator
Thank you, Mister President. Members, SB 1509 addresses the issue of extreme speeding that is disproportionately affecting working people, communities of color, and everyone who has to walk, ride a bike, wait at a bus stop. Everyone knows someone in their community has been killed by extreme speeders.
- Henry Stern
Legislator
And this bill hopefully begins to chip away at that issue in a manner that attacks only the most excessive. The bill was amended thanks to the Transportation Chair's good work on this bill. That only roads that are 55 miles an hour and under, so not freeways.
- Henry Stern
Legislator
We're talking about surface streets and some highways where you are traveling 26 miles an hour or over would be subject to points on your record. Two points basically analogous to what you'd get for a reckless driving charge. The difference is you would not be subject to imprisonment like you are under current reckless driving.
- Henry Stern
Legislator
So this would just be an infraction thanks to amendments in Appropriations Committee. Last week in Pasadena, for example, a driver was speeding just under 100 miles an hour in a 35 miles an hour zone. Killed three people, injured three more. But because he wasn't going over 100, not considered reckless driving.
- Henry Stern
Legislator
If they hadn't killed those people, you just get a speeding ticket and move on with your day. We feel that that's unjust. Not just to the people who have been injured, but to everyone else who wants to just get down the street, walk their kids to school without putting their lives on the line.
- Henry Stern
Legislator
In terms of the equity focus of this bill, we've been relying on a recent study from UCLA. The title of the study is "Prioritizing Black Lives in LA's Traffic Safety Efforts." And in this study, it notes that speed related deaths are 28% higher and commercial vehicle deaths are, in fact 82% higher in communities with an average household income of $50,000 or less. So this is, make no mistake, this is not a wealthy person issue. And this is not just about Malibu.
- Henry Stern
Legislator
Black Angelenos, for example, make up only 8% of LA's population, but are 22% of pedestrian fatalities and 20% of bicycle fatalities. So we feel strongly, as do advocates across this state, that now is the time to make a change and say, not in California.
- Henry Stern
Legislator
We've limited costs to DMV as they go through their overhaul, so this won't require a whole IT project to get it done. Proud to have a broad coalition of support and would respectfully ask for your aye vote.
- Steven Bradford
Legislator
Thank you. Any further discussion and debate? Senator Niello?
- Roger Niello
Legislator
Thank you, Mister President. Members, I am a co-author of this bill because I have very strong feelings about what I am personally observing on our roads these days, particularly since the pandemic. Driving habits were changed for a lot of drivers out there when there weren't any cars on the road.
- Roger Niello
Legislator
So the cars come back on the road and those habits don't change. And the speeding that I observe, the weaving in and out of lanes that I observe, the running of red lights, I saw one just the this morning, in fact. Frankly, it really irritates me and we need more enforcement and consequences.
- Roger Niello
Legislator
That's why I have not supported the measures that use traffic cameras and issue tickets, but no consequence other than the ticket. That's not what I'm looking for. I want people to feel financial pain for breaking laws in the blatant way that we do.
- Roger Niello
Legislator
And I have to share a heartwarming experience I had that I related at a press conference organized by my colleague from Los Angeles. I came out on the freeway and a car passed me on my left, accelerating from behind, and kept on accelerating and disappeared. And I came up to it a couple miles down the road.
- Roger Niello
Legislator
It was on the side with a police car writing out a ticket. Just warmed my heart. We need to see more of that, and this bill offers real consequence. I urge an aye vote.
- Steven Bradford
Legislator
Thank you. Any further discussion or debate? Senator Durazo.
- Maria Elena Durazo
Legislator
Thank you very much. Of course, I totally agree with the author and others who express extreme concern over the dangers of speeding.
- Maria Elena Durazo
Legislator
I just want to remind us that the consequences that we're talking about, for some people who can't afford an attorney to defend them, the consequences clearly would be losing your job, losing your livelihood if you're a driver, professional truck driver or other kind of driver.
- Maria Elena Durazo
Legislator
It also would have an enormous impact on the purchase of insurance, car insurance. If it's difficult now, imagine with this.
- Maria Elena Durazo
Legislator
So while I totally agree with the author's intention of bringing this to light in a much more serious way, the consequences are far more serious when it comes to a family trying to support themselves than I think what most of us would face. Thank you.
- Steven Bradford
Legislator
Thank you. Any further discussion or debate? Senator Seyarto.
- Kelly Seyarto
Legislator
Thank you very much, Mister President. I rise in support of this bill. I'm also a co-author on the bill. The reason I support this bill is because this will ultimately make people think about what they're doing when they're out there.
- Kelly Seyarto
Legislator
26 miles an hour over the speed limit in a residential area or a feeder to a residential area is not something that you do passively. That is something that you're doing aggressively.
- Kelly Seyarto
Legislator
That's something you are well aware of how fast you are going down a street when you're going 25 to 26 miles an hour or above over the speed limit. And that's what this targets those folks. And as far as consequences to having two points on your record, that is also something that you need to take into consideration when you're going to be that irresponsible.
- Kelly Seyarto
Legislator
When I had my class A license for driving a fire engine in a truck, I had the responsibility of not being able to drive with over a 0.04 blood alcohol, which told me I wouldn't even have a beer when I went out because there were severe consequences if I did. And so this is about personal responsibility.
- Kelly Seyarto
Legislator
This bill targets people who are not taking that responsibility in a serious manner. And so I think it'll make an impact.
- Kelly Seyarto
Legislator
I think it'll give the police a break on having to watch the same people over and over as they continue to speed, because all they do is get a speeding ticket, and some of them can afford to do that, and they just pay it.
- Kelly Seyarto
Legislator
But when you start feeling the consequence of your insurance and those other things, maybe you'll slow down and maybe you'll save some lives. So that's why I'm supporting this. I appreciate the author bringing it up.
- Steven Bradford
Legislator
Thank you. Any further discussion or debate? Hearing, seeing none. Secretary, please call the roll. Oh, I'm sorry. You have the right to close. Senator Stern, please close.
- Henry Stern
Legislator
Sorry, I'll make it brief. I just want to appreciate my author from the east side of LA on her concerns and, you know, truck driving, school bus driving, metro driving. These are hard jobs, and we don't want to put people out of work for sure.
- Henry Stern
Legislator
I hope that this bill does not have to be enforced for school bus drivers who, on their off time, are driving 65 miles an hour in a 25. And if they are, they shouldn't be driving a school bus, they shouldn't be driving a truck.
- Henry Stern
Legislator
We think that the training out there, especially for commercial drivers, is so central to their profession, and they take it so seriously that those sort of unintended consequences really won't come to bear because their unions, their agencies, will help make clear to them that, yes, if you're going 70 miles an hour on a surface street, you could lose your license.
- Henry Stern
Legislator
So we hope that those consequences don't have to be born. But, look, if they do in those cases, I hate to say it, you shouldn't be driving my kid to school anymore, or others. So I'm hoping we can work through those issues, though, in the next house.
- Henry Stern
Legislator
I don't want to be so hard nosed to say there's no wiggle room. This is currently 26 miles an hour or over. We're open to changes. The changes offered in Committee were to say you have to be going 50 miles an hour over the speed limit.
- Henry Stern
Legislator
That was too much for us, but we're hoping to land that issue. So, anyhow, I'm hoping you guys can all keep this bill moving today. We can make the street safer in California for everybody.
- Steven Bradford
Legislator
Thank you. Secretary, please call the roll on file item 58.
- Committee Secretary
Person
[Roll call]
- Steven Bradford
Legislator
Please call the absent members.
- Committee Secretary
Person
[Roll call]
- Steven Bradford
Legislator
Aye's 27, no's one. The measure passes. Now, Senator Wiener, is he prepared? File item 59.
- Steven Bradford
Legislator
Secretary, please read.
- Committee Secretary
Person
Senate Bill 960 by Senator Wiener in accolade to transportation.
- Steven Bradford
Legislator
Senator Wiener
- Scott Wiener
Legislator
I thank you, Mister President and colleagues, I rise to present SB 960, which requires CalTrans to improve pedestrian and bicyclist safety, as well as public transportation on CalTrans-owned surface streets. We're talking about state-owned roads that are really city streets.
- Scott Wiener
Legislator
The bill codifies the department's complete streets policy by requiring shop projects, starting with the 2026 shop to include pedestrian and bicycle improvement, and for projects commencing with the 2028 shop to also include transit priority improvements. SB 960 requires engagement with local stakeholders, especially in underserved communities, in the development of these projects.
- Scott Wiener
Legislator
The bill does not require any changes to freeways. The bill requires CalTrans to develop by January 1 26th a transit priority policy to help define the different roles and responsibilities for the department's programs, divisions, districts, and offices in supporting the movement of transit vehicles in the state highway system.
- Scott Wiener
Legislator
Finally, SB 960 requires CalTrans to establish a dedicated project intake, review and approval process for local jurisdictions, including cities and transit agencies, which are trying to implement complete street projects on the state right of way or on facilities that intersect with the state right of way. I respectfully ask for an aye vote.
- Steven Bradford
Legislator
Thank you. Any further discussion? Debate on this item, hearing and seeing none. Secretary, please call the roll and file item 59.
- Committee Secretary
Person
[Roll Call]
- Steven Bradford
Legislator
Please call the absent members.
- Committee Secretary
Person
[Roll Call]
- Steven Bradford
Legislator
All right, Ayes 27 Noes 9. The measure passes. Now, Members, we're moving to file item 62. Senator Roth, is he prepared? He is secretary.
- Steven Bradford
Legislator
You may read.
- Committee Secretary
Person
Senate Bill 895 by Senator Roth in accolade to post secondary education.
- Steven Bradford
Legislator
Senator, floor is yours.
- Richard Roth
Legislator
Thank you, Mister President. Another nursing bill. For over 40 years, our community college associate degree in nursing programs have been the basic credentials requirement for employment as a registered nurse in a healthcare facility.
- Richard Roth
Legislator
However, due to a push by credentialing organizations to increase the percentage of nurses holding BSN degrees to 80% of those employed in healthcare facilities, the BSN degree, the bachelor's degree, is now becoming the new industry standard for employment in California hospitals.
- Richard Roth
Legislator
A BSN also happens to be a requirement for attainment of a master's degree in nursing and a doctorate of nurse practice degree, those held by faculty members. In California in 2021,
- Richard Roth
Legislator
A health impact report found that 18% of California hospitals surveyed stated that a BSN was required for employment twice the percentage noted in 2017, and 54.3% reported a preference for hiring BSNs and most significantly, 31.5% of the new ADN RN survey.
- Richard Roth
Legislator
The associate degree nurses stated that the lack of a BSN degree was given as the reason for their failure to be hired. This demand for the production of BSN credentialed registered nurses continues to increase in California and our production has not met demand.
- Richard Roth
Legislator
This bill proposes to utilize existing ADN programs that are underutilized community colleges on a limited basis to supplement the work of our public and private BSN programs.
- Richard Roth
Legislator
To meet this demand in the state, the bill creates a pilot program and authorizes the California Community College Chancellor's office to select up to 15 community college districts with existing nationally accredited ADN programs to offer a BSN degree to up to 25% of each ADN class or 35 students, whichever is greater.
- Richard Roth
Legislator
When students enter the BSN phase of the pilot program, they will have already earned their ADN, passed the National Council Licensure Exam, the NCLEX, and secured their RN license so they're already nurses.
- Richard Roth
Legislator
Participating students would then take the additional non clinical coursework necessary to earn the BSN at their community college, allowing them the opportunity to work as nurses in their community around their class schedule and family responsibilities.
- Richard Roth
Legislator
From a curriculum standpoint, the nursing clinical component of the ADN program is the same as the clinical program applicable to Bachelor of Science in nursing programs, and the NCLEX and the RN licensure requirements are the same.
- Richard Roth
Legislator
The difference between the two programs consists of approximately 30 credit hours or units, which generally include humanities and management coursework and one community health course.
- Richard Roth
Legislator
The bill requires that priority participation be granted to community college districts located in underserved nursing areas and requires that the state chancellor's office develop a process to assist community college districts without national accreditation to attain it, prioritizing specifically the Central Valley of California by supplementing the work of our existing public and private BSN programs.
- Richard Roth
Legislator
In this way, additional BSN degreed nurses will be added to the workforce, nurses who were qualified to become supervisors and managers in healthcare facilities, and nurses who were qualified to become masters or doctorate degree nurse practitioners in independent practice settings and as nursing school faculty members, Senators no one seems to disagree.
- Richard Roth
Legislator
The publics, the privates, the community colleges, the healthcare community, that we need more credentialed nurses now and in the future. The studies and surveys, the workplace, and the growing trend to prefer BSN students in hospital clinical placement programs right now, specifically those district and children's hospitals, all tell us that.
- Richard Roth
Legislator
So, given our current and future budget challenges and the high cost of setting up and expanding undergraduate nursing programs, both in terms of the cost of the equipment and the brick-and-mortar facilities and the low student-to-faculty ratios required for clinical programs, why not try using the underutilized team member here?
- Richard Roth
Legislator
With campuses most accessible to students, one with a cadre of fully trained and licensed adns ready to earn the relatively few humanities and leadership course units required for the BSN credential at their local community college as they perform critical health care delivery duties in our local communities, it's critical that we use all the tools in the tool chest to address this need.
- Richard Roth
Legislator
The time to try it is now, and I ask for your aye vote.
- Steven Bradford
Legislator
Any further discussion or debate on this item? Hearing and seeing none. Secretary no, this is eligible for unanimous roll call. Am I correct? Ayes 37 Noes 0. The measure passes. Now we're moving back on our schedule and we're moving to 48. Yes, we're moving back to follow on 48. Senator Menjivar, you're prepared. Secretary, you may read.
- Committee Secretary
Person
Senate Bill 1193 by Senator Menjivar an act relating to aviation.
- Steven Bradford
Legislator
Senator, floor is yours.
- Caroline Menjivar
Legislator
Thank you, Mr. President. SB 1193 phases out the sale of harmful leaded airplane fuel that endangers public health and particularly the long term health of children. The second most polluting airport resides in my district, and it's drastically impacting my community.
- Caroline Menjivar
Legislator
This bill came directly from my community asking that we address the increase of leaded aviation pollution in SB 20 and across California. In October 2023, the Federal Environmental Protection Agency announced its final determination that emissions of lead from aircraft that use leaded fuel caused or contributes to air pollution that endangers public health under the Clean Air Act.
- Caroline Menjivar
Legislator
There is currently no evidence of threshold, which there are no harmful effects on cognition from lead exposure. No level, no matter how low it is, is safe, especially for our children. Lead at aviation fuel is most commonly used in small piston engine aircrafts and is not used for commercial flights.
- Caroline Menjivar
Legislator
Lead has already been phased out of, as we know most of our products for its danger to the public, included in paint and our car gasoline.
- Caroline Menjivar
Legislator
California acted before the Federal Government on leaded car gasoline and was ultimately exempted from the federal regulations because our ban was first and stronger. California should continue to lead the way with removing lead from everything, including aviation fuel. In fact, Santa Clara County already banned the sale of leaded aviation fuel, and business continues as it was before.
- Caroline Menjivar
Legislator
SB 1193 aligned state law with the US EPA's determination that leaded airplane fuels endanger the lives and safety of children and public health by phasing in a ban. How will SB 1193 phase it? Just like this.
- Caroline Menjivar
Legislator
By 2027, we will look to ban the sell of leaded aviation fuel in or adjacent to disadvantaged communities, by 2028, ban the sale of lead aviation fuel inter adjacent to urban growth boundaries, and then finally ban it throughout California by January 1, 2030.
- Caroline Menjivar
Legislator
We have also created an opt out option for counties to pursue if they find that an unleaded alternative is not available, once again ensuring that if there isn't an availability, they can opt out. Recent appropriation amends include the following that really address some of the airport concerns.
- Caroline Menjivar
Legislator
We removed provisions that would have required Caltrans to identify best practices practices for reducing public health exposures to lead associated with airport operations, and to publish guidance for airport operators regarding best practices.
- Caroline Menjivar
Legislator
We also deleted provisions that would have required airport operators to submit plans and status reports to Caltrans for implementing best practices to minimize impacts. We recognize it would have been a huge burden on the airport operators to do that. Therefore, we removed that from the bill.
- Caroline Menjivar
Legislator
Additionally, since this bill was introduced, since it came out of transportation, one of the largest fuel distributors has partnered with GaMI to make the first high octane 100 unleaded fuel commercially available. And SB 1193's provisions possible in the media future and others are also in progress to create commercially available unleaded fuel. With that I'm respectfully asking for your aye vote.
- Steven Bradford
Legislator
Thank you. Any further discussion or debate? Senator Seyarto.
- Kelly Seyarto
Legislator
Thank you, Mr. President. I have concerns with the bill because, first of all, I'll start off with this. The FAA is already working on a nationwide transition plan that ensures an orderly transition to unleaded fuel by 2030.
- Kelly Seyarto
Legislator
It's important that we do this orderly transition because appropriate fuel blend for all types of small and medium aircraft engines, because you need the correct fuel blend for optimal engine performance and it limits the damage.
- Kelly Seyarto
Legislator
And also you need to be able to coordinate this nationwide and potentially have some coordination with our neighboring countries, because small aircraft, the very nature of aircraft is that you're flying because it's easier and quicker than driving.
- Kelly Seyarto
Legislator
And so a lot of times you are driving or flying to an adjacent country, say Mexico or you're flying over, or you're flying over to one of our other states, and if you're putting high octane fuel that's unleaded in California and then fly into an area where they don't have that, then you are going to have to put leaded fuel in your engine that's used to high octane unleaded fuel, which causes your engine to knock.
- Kelly Seyarto
Legislator
And that knocking isn't just an annoying noise. I knew this because I had a 78 Datsun pickup that was a- it was a leaded gas pickup. I had to put leaded additive in every one of my things when they switched over completely because I didn't want to get rid of the car yet.
- Kelly Seyarto
Legislator
So that knocking and pinging is engine damage happening in real time in your engine. And while in a car, if something goes wrong with your engine and you throw a rod or something like that, you can pull over. And when you're in flight you cannot do that, so it makes it dangerous to be able to.
- Kelly Seyarto
Legislator
If you don't have the right fuel and your engine isn't used to that, you can't switch blends from one type of blend to another. And if it's not available, then the logistics of your trip become extremely difficult.
- Kelly Seyarto
Legislator
There are other major sources of lead that can account for a lot of the issues that we're having with lead, and they're very common. The soil that we walk on, household dust, pottery, toys, some cosmetics have lead in it. Herbal or folk remedies, candy from Mexico that is made with tamarind has lead in it.
- Kelly Seyarto
Legislator
And of course, if you're at a firing range firing bullets, you're exposing yourself to lead there also, and occupationally, if you are working in auto repair, mining, pipe fitting, and also construction, all of these things expose you to lead, and not much in probably greater quantities than a plane that's flying overhead.
- Kelly Seyarto
Legislator
So I think we need to think about this. I think we need to let the FAA do their job and ensure that there is a safely managed, and coordinate the responsible transition to a fuel blend, or fuel blends that offer the highest levels of protections for the aviation equipment that serves the flying public.
- Kelly Seyarto
Legislator
I ask for your no vote. I ask you to let the FAA do their job. This is in their purview and not put California on a flying island. Thank you.
- Steven Bradford
Legislator
Any additional comments or debate on this item? Hearing and seeing none. Senator Menjivar, would you like to close?
- Caroline Menjivar
Legislator
Thank you, Mr. President. I'd like to thank the Senator from Murrieta for bringing up other items that currently contain lead. I hope every single colleague here next year introduces a bill to remove lead from those items that the Member brought up today, because there's no safe level of lead anywhere.
- Caroline Menjivar
Legislator
And I think we need to make sure that we're removing lead from every single option. But I'm going to start from lead in aviation fuel. And this is why I introduced the bill, because I wasn't aware of the other things that contained lead. And I'll make sure I come back and focus on those items next year.
- Caroline Menjivar
Legislator
For now, I want to make sure I'm protecting the children in my district from the second most polluted airport in California and the top 10 in the United States. There is no safe level. I recognize right now that there isn't directly right now, commercially available unleaded fuel. But we're on the path forward. We already led the way.
- Caroline Menjivar
Legislator
We're removing lead from our cars. And again, California can lead the way. We don't know when the Federal Government is going to implement this. The good thing is that unleaded fuel is a drop in replacement. No tank, nothing has to be changed. No engine has to be changed from the airplanes because it's a drop in.
- Caroline Menjivar
Legislator
Additionally, this bill does not say that you cannot fly into California carrying leaded fuel. It only says that California will phase out the sale of leaded fuel so someone from our neighboring states can still fly into California. They just have to recognize when they're going to refuel and they're looking to purchase.
- Caroline Menjivar
Legislator
If they didn't bring extra with them, I don't know if that's actually true. So maybe I'll pull that comment back, is that they'll have to buy unleaded fuel. At the end of the day this is to ensure that we're protecting the public health of all Californians. Respectfully asking for an aye vote.
- Steven Bradford
Legislator
Thank you. All debate having ceased on this item, secretary, please call the roll on file item 48.
- Committee Secretary
Person
[Roll Call]
- Steven Bradford
Legislator
Please call the absent Members.
- Committee Secretary
Person
[Roll Call]
- Steven Bradford
Legislator
Aye's 29, no's 8. Measure passes.
- Steven Bradford
Legislator
Senator Cortese, are you prepared for file item 51? Secretary, you may read.
- Committee Secretary
Person
Senate Bill 1298 by Senator Cortese an act relating to energy.
- Steven Bradford
Legislator
Senator Cortese.
- Dave Cortese
Legislator
Thank you, Mister President. Colleagues, I appreciate the opportunity to present SB 1298, a bill that increases the threshold for data center eligibility for consideration under the small power plant exemption process from 100. This bill will create larger data center facilities that better meet the demands of California industries.
- Dave Cortese
Legislator
Essentially, it will create more where we have a serious vacancy problem right now. The small power plant exemption program allows CEC to exempt from its licensing authority thermal power plants that do not exceed 100. California Energy Commission can grant an exemption if it finds that the proposed facility would not substantially impact the environment or energy resources.
- Dave Cortese
Legislator
If the exemption is approved, the project developer is responsible for securing all local, state, and federal permits to construct and safely operate the facility. So this bill does nothing to impact local land use decisions on power plants data centers. I'm sorry. This bill, at its core, is an economic infrastructure bill.
- Dave Cortese
Legislator
Data centers are necessary, as we know, in our critical infrastructure, they're the backbone not just for apps and platforms and services integral to daily life, but hospitals and other life saving endeavors as well, connecting individuals and organizations, not just here in California, but worldwide.
- Dave Cortese
Legislator
Despite the significant strides made in recent years to expand the data center capacity, the demand for digital services continues to surge. Currently in Silicon Valley, the vacancy rate for data centers is down to a mere 1.6%. An aye vote today would ensure that we're maintaining the state's economic vitality in building out capacity for future growth.
- Dave Cortese
Legislator
I thank you, and I respectfully ask for your aye vote.
- Steven Bradford
Legislator
Thank you. Any further discussion or debate? Senator Skinner.
- Nancy Skinner
Legislator
Senator thank you, Mister President. Members, I laid off of this, and while I greatly appreciate the necessity of data centers, they are one of, they are, as the author described, extraordinary consumers of electricity.
- Nancy Skinner
Legislator
And as we are engaged in trying to move California to more electricity, to electrify our transportation, for example, and many other, the demand on electricity is going to be greater and greater.
- Nancy Skinner
Legislator
And while this is just a fact, we need to be creative about how to meet it, and using polluting generators to do so, or further polluting power plants to do so is not going to be in any of our interests.
- Nancy Skinner
Legislator
So we really need the industry, the data center, the entities that are dependent on to engage with us and to really figure out how best to meet these needs without necessarily creating more reliance on power sources that create emissions, which is why the air pollution control officers are in opposition to the bill.
- Nancy Skinner
Legislator
So I'm staying off the bill, because while I completely appreciate the need for this electricity source, this power, I also want to see more creativity in how it is met.
- Steven Bradford
Legislator
Thank you. Any further discussion or debate on this item? Senator Dahle?
- Brian Dahle
Legislator
Thank you, Mister President. Members, I stand in support of the Bill and I want to, we have this bill on Committee and I think that we need to really think about what we're doing here. Data centers are the backup for public safety.
- Brian Dahle
Legislator
They're the backup for our laptops, our cell phones, all the technology that we have developed in California for the world to use. And these are generators that are going to be used, yes. And they are operated off of diesel. The Senator from Santa Clarita, I believe, asked the question of how long do they run?
- Brian Dahle
Legislator
7 hours a year. They run for testing just to make sure that they're available. So when the power goes out, they run an average of 40 hours through the year. They run in an air district that is great clean air, the coast where all the wealthy people live, that drive Teslas, that pollute the people in the valley.
- Brian Dahle
Legislator
That's for another day, though. California is losing business because of this kind of. Because of stopping good projects like this right here. Members, let's not let the perfect get in way of the good.
- Brian Dahle
Legislator
The good here is that we can develop these data centers, we can keep those jobs in California, and we can have our public safety work when the power goes out. Because the power will go out, we'll have a fire, we'll have a drought, we'll have a cloud cover come in.
- Brian Dahle
Legislator
Our solar doesn't work and we'll need to turn these generators on so we can be safe. So for that and many other reasons, I respectfully ask for an aye vote this is a great bill. It meets the target that we're trying to meet and it really doesn't harm the environment.
- Brian Dahle
Legislator
At the end of the day, this is just good policy.
- Steven Bradford
Legislator
Thank you. Any further discussion or debate on this item hearing, Senator, you may call a roll. What? Oh, I'm sorry. Senator Cortese, please close.
- Dave Cortese
Legislator
Thank you very much. I'll be very brief, Mister President. Just want to emphasize that the diesel that's referenced in some of the comments here is the backup generators for the power plants.
- Dave Cortese
Legislator
It's not the primary energy for the power plants, which is why in some of the other comments you heard that these backup generators are only coming on 0.07% of the time. And that's by the Bay Area Air Quality District's own figures, published figures which we incorporated into the talking points for the bill.
- Dave Cortese
Legislator
And they're concerned about diesel, as we all are. We're trying to phase it out by 33. Everyone's trying to come up, as we've been doing for the last few days here, with alternatives. And those will come.
- Dave Cortese
Legislator
In the meanwhile, we have a bit of a crisis in that the data centers themselves can't operate seamlessly without having a backup system fueled by something. Language has been imposed by Appropriations Committee that I think addresses the issue. Language amendments were taken in the energy Committee to reduce the threshold from 200.
- Dave Cortese
Legislator
Then in appropriations, there was further language which says that the lowest technologically feasible emissions of criteria, air pollutants, toxic air containments and greenhouse gases. Must result from the construction and operation of the facility. That's pretty strong language. And we think it's good enough to address the issues. Hopefully, the power plants can still be built under that criteria.
- Dave Cortese
Legislator
Thank you, and I respectfully ask for your aye vote.
- Steven Bradford
Legislator
Thank you. Secretary, you may now call the roll on file item 51.
- Committee Secretary
Person
[Roll Call]
- Steven Bradford
Legislator
Please call the absent Members.
- Committee Secretary
Person
[Roll Call]
- Steven Bradford
Legislator
We're going to take a brief pause. All right? Ayes was 32. No, zero, and the measure passes. Now, Members, we're moving on to file item 63 by Senator Newman. He is prepared. Secretary, you may read.
- Committee Secretary
Person
Senate Bill 897 by Senator Newman in accolade to pupil attendance.
- Steven Bradford
Legislator
Senator Newman.
- Josh Newman
Legislator
Thank you, Mister President. I rise present SB 897, which would strengthen the California's District of choice program by removing the existing sunset.
- Josh Newman
Legislator
For more than 30 years, the district of choice program in California has allowed students and families from across the state the opportunity to transfer to any participating public school district regardless of their place of residence and irrespective of their academic performance, athletic ability, race, or any other protected class.
- Josh Newman
Legislator
According to an evaluation by the Legislative Analyst's Office, the program has succeeded in providing students access to an average of five to seven new courses. Moreover, the LAO also found that this program creates a competitive local dynamic which improves course offerings even for students that do not participate in a neighboring district of choice program.
- Josh Newman
Legislator
SB 897 would seek to make this proven public education program permanent by eliminating the sunset, as well as implementing several of the LAOs recommendations to promote equity and reduce barriers to participation.
- Josh Newman
Legislator
I respectfully ask for your aye vote today.
- Steven Bradford
Legislator
Any further discussion or debate on this item? Any further discussion or debate? Okay. All right, members, this is eligible for unanimous roll call. Is there any objection to applying unanimous roll call to this item? Hearing and seeing none. Ayes 37 Noes 0. Measure passes. Next up is Senator Jones. File item 70. He's prepared.
- Committee Secretary
Person
Senate Bill 1074 by Senator Jones an act relating to sexual violent predators and declaring the urgency thereof to take effect immediately.
- Brian Jones
Legislator
Thank you. Mister President and Senators, I rise to present SB 1074, which provides additional oversight to the process by which a sexually violent predator, or SVP, is released back to the community.
- Brian Jones
Legislator
An SVP is an individual convicted of a sexually violent offense and diagnosed with a mental disorder that causes them to be a danger to others with a high likelihood to reoffend. Currently, the Department of State hospitals dodges its responsibilities to place and monitor SVPs by contracting out with private vendors who place profit over public safety.
- Brian Jones
Legislator
SB 1074 will hold the Department of State hospitals responsible for ensuring vendors consider public safety in all placements of SVPs. This bill also mandates the Department approve any lease before it is signed by the vendor.
- Brian Jones
Legislator
SB 1074 ensures the Department of State Hospitals maintains involvement in the placement of svps and prevents the Department from entirely offloading its duty onto private companies.
- Brian Jones
Legislator
I want to thank our multiple co authors, but especially my co author from Jackson and who has been very helpful in getting this addressed and all the Members that voted for this bill in public safety and appropes. I respectfully ask for your aye vote.
- Steven Bradford
Legislator
Thank you. Any further discussion or debate on this item? Members, this is eligible for a unanimous roll call. Is there any objection to applying our unanimous roll call to file item 70, hearing and seeing no objection. Ayes 37, no's zero on the urgency. Ayes 37 no's zero on the measure. Measure passes.
- Steven Bradford
Legislator
Next steps is file item 71 by Senator Blakespear. She is prepared. Secretary, you may read.
- Committee Secretary
Person
Secretary, you may read
- Committee Secretary
Person
Senate Bill 1092 by Senator Blakespear in accolade to coastal resources.
- Steven Bradford
Legislator
Senator Blakespear.
- Catherine Blakespear
Legislator
Yes, thank you. President and colleagues, I rise today to present SB 1092, which will require the Coastal Commission to study the systemic delays in the permit appeals process for housing projects in the coastal zone and require a report to the Legislature on actions they recommend taking to address this issue.
- Catherine Blakespear
Legislator
Members, I'm moving this bill forward because in the midst of our housing crisis, affordable housing developers are coming forward and telling us that they not only struggle to build affordable housing near the coast, but some of their boards won't even consider it because of the complexity, lengthy delays and uncertainties that make it financially unfavorable to even try.
- Catherine Blakespear
Legislator
SB 1092 has received bipartisan votes in policy committees and has support from coastal cities and housing advocacy groups. I respectfully ask for your aye vote. Thank you.
- Steven Bradford
Legislator
Thank you. Any further discussion or debate on this item? Any further discussion or debate? Hearing and seeing none. Members, this is eligible for unanimous roll call. Is there any objection to using our unanimous roll call? Seeing no objection. Ayes, 37, Noes 0. The measure passes. Now we're moving on to file item 73 by Senator Glazer.
- Steven Bradford
Legislator
He is prepared. Secretary, you may read.
- Committee Secretary
Person
Senate Bill 1256 by Senator Glazer. An act relating to crimes.
- Steven Glazer
Legislator
Thank you, Mister President. Senate Bill 1256 adds a DNA collection to a narrow class of crimes. Prostitution with a minor. When the person has a prior conviction, it doesn't change any penalties. So the question is, why?
- Steven Glazer
Legislator
And let me give you an interesting study done by the Oakland Police Department, homicide division, which found that of the 200 unsolved homicides in Oakland, 85% of them involved a victim who was a prostitute.
- Steven Glazer
Legislator
So we're trying to create a new tool for public safety in this very narrow class of crime, collection of DNA for someone who has prostituted with prostitution, with a minor, with prior conviction. So it's modest and narrow, but hopefully helpful with that, respectfully ask for your aye vote today.
- Steven Bradford
Legislator
Thank you. Any further discussion or debate on this item? Hearing, seeing none. Members, this is eligible for unanimous roll call. Is there any objection to using our unanimous roll call on file item 73? Seeing no objection. Hearing no objection. Ayes, 37, no's zero. The measure passes. Now on to file item 74. Senator Stern, are you prepared? Secretary, please read.
- Committee Secretary
Person
Senate Bill 1277 by Senator Stern. And according to pupil instruction.
- Steven Bradford
Legislator
Senator Stern, the floor is yours.
- Henry Stern
Legislator
Thank you. Members. This bill is about empowering teachers to teach about genocide and holocaust in our classrooms. Supported by a wide group of groups, the Armenians, Bosnian genocide survivors, indigenous American survivors, Cambodian genocide survivors, Uyghur survivors, Guatemalan, Rwandan, as well as numerous Jewish groups who are representing Holocaust survivors and the need for education.
- Henry Stern
Legislator
We're trying to train 8500 teachers in California through institutes we've already funded. This. This would simply codify the last three years of work we've done here into law and hopefully empower our teachers to teach right through this very difficult moment in our history. With that I respect, we ask for aye vote.
- Steven Bradford
Legislator
Any further discussion or debate on this item. You see, none. Members, this is eligible for a unanimous roll call. Is there any objection to using a unanimous roll call? Seeing no objection. Hearing no objection. Aye. 37. No's zero. On measure 74. Measure passes. File item 74. I should say now we're moving on to file item 76.
- Steven Bradford
Legislator
Senator Wilk, he's ready to go. Secretary, please read.
- Committee Secretary
Person
Senate Bill 1359 by Senator Wilk. And according to illegal dumping.
- Scott Wilk
Legislator
Thank you, Mister President. I present to USB 1359, which provides much needed relief for rural areas across California that have been decimated from truck owners operators dumping waste materials throughout our communities. Unregulated dumping has wreaked havoc on these communities, resulting in severe environmental pollution and unsafe living conditions.
- Scott Wilk
Legislator
It has been such a persistent problem because property owners and truck operators have been exploiting a legal loophole. Currently, permits are required to dump or receive waste materials anywhere other than a licensed facility unless it occurs on private property with the owner's permission.
- Scott Wilk
Legislator
Consequently, business owners have been paying private property owners a fee to use their property as a dump site to avoid the high cost of licensed facilities while property owners pocket the money. SB 1359 closes this loophole by requiring a permit for dumping a private property with or without the owner's permission.
- Scott Wilk
Legislator
The bill was amended in appropriations to remove sentencing enhancements and increase fines so there's no penalty enhancements in this bill. Closing the loophole will protect my communities and other rural areas from bad actors who have profited from destroying our neighborhoods without any fear of consequences. Respectfully ask for an aye vote.
- Steven Bradford
Legislator
Any further discussion or debate on this item? Hearing none. This was eligible, but we have an objection to unanimous consent. Secretary, please call the roll.
- Committee Secretary
Person
[Roll Call]
- Steven Bradford
Legislator
Ayes 34, noes zero. The measure passes. Now, moving on to file item 77. Senator Daly prepared. Secretary, you may read
- Committee Secretary
Person
Senate Bill 1423 by Senator Daly an act relating to Medi Cal.
- Steven Bradford
Legislator
Senator Dahle, the floor is yours.
- Brian Dahle
Legislator
Thank you, Mister President. Members, I rise to present SB 1423, critical access hospitals. California hospitals are facing a crisis. Hospitals are faced with increased labor expenses, the expansion of Medi Cal staffing shortage, and expensive building regulations.
- Brian Dahle
Legislator
Right now, many rural hospitals are losing money providing essential care to patients on an average, and they're on the verge of closing. Since 2019, the percentage of rural hospitals losing money has increased from 40% to 50%. The 37 critical access hospitals in California serve rural areas and support the most vulnerable populations in our state.
- Brian Dahle
Legislator
To keep these essential health care facilities open, SB 1423 requires that each participating critical access hospital shall be reimbursed the full 100% of their projected cost for Medi Cal, inpatient, outpatient, and skilled nursing facilities.
- Brian Dahle
Legislator
To be given the critical access designation, hospitals must have over 25 fewer acute care inpatient beds, be located more than 35 miles from another hospital or more than 15 miles from another hospital in an area with mountainous terrain or only secondary roads, maintain an average length of stay of 96 hours or less for acute care patients, and provide 24/7 emergency care services.
- Brian Dahle
Legislator
Members, I respectfully ask for an aye vote on Senate Bill 1423.
- Steven Bradford
Legislator
Any further discussion or debate on this item? Hearing and seeing none. This is eligible for unanimous roll call. Is there any objection to applying our unanimous roll call to this measure? Hearing and seeing no objection. Ayes 37, Noes zero. The measure passes. Next up is file item 78. And we already done 78. Then we're doing Umberg. Senator Umburg, file item 84. Secretary, please read.
- Committee Secretary
Person
Senate Bill 919 by Senator Umberg an act relating to franchises. Senator Humbert?
- Thomas Umberg
Legislator
Thank you, Mister President. SB 919 will increase transparency in the franchise sales process for prospective franchisees, and urge an aye vote.
- Steven Bradford
Legislator
Any further discussion or debate on this item? Hearing and seeing none. Secretary, please call the roll on file item 784.
- Committee Secretary
Person
[Roll Call]
- Steven Bradford
Legislator
Ayes 36, noes 1. The measure passes. Senator Menjivar. For what purpose? Under motions and resolutions.
- Caroline Menjivar
Legislator
Thank you, Mister President. Under motions and resolutions I'd like to remove. I would like to place file item 31, SB 1497, on the inactive file.
- Steven Bradford
Legislator
The desk will note. Members, there's only five more bills left for this evening, so we're going to ask that you remain on the floor so we can get through this, and then dinner will be served. I think we'll be done for the evening.
- Caroline Menjivar
Legislator
Senators, we are entering the Senator Bradford show. The next five items are by Senator Bradford. We're going to start off with item 24.
- Committee Secretary
Person
Senate Bill 1059 by Senator Bradford an act relating to cannabis.
- Caroline Menjivar
Legislator
Senator Bradford?
- Steven Bradford
Legislator
Thank you, Madam President. 1059 will assist legal cannabis industries with alleviating some of the tremendous tax burdens that placed on this industry. Currently, it's about 40% higher at a legal dispensary. This bill would eliminate local government's collection of tax on a tax, probably the only industry that does such.
- Steven Bradford
Legislator
SCP 1059 addresses the issues and insures taxes are based on the actual goods being sold. It has no opposition. I respectfully ask for an aye vote.
- Caroline Menjivar
Legislator
Any discussion file item 24. Secretary, please call the roll.
- Committee Secretary
Person
[Roll Call]
- Caroline Menjivar
Legislator
Please call the absent members.
- Committee Secretary
Person
[Roll Call]
- Caroline Menjivar
Legislator
Ayes. 34. No's, zero. The measure passes. The next four will be voted on Members is five item 26, 29, 34, 45. Senator Bradford is prepared. Secretary, please read.
- Committee Secretary
Person
Secretary, please read Senate Bill 1292 by Senator Bradford and acclaim to electricity.
- Caroline Menjivar
Legislator
Senator.
- Steven Bradford
Legislator
Thank you, Madam President. 1292 would require the PUC to report to the Legislature the implementation of the income based fixed charge and its impacts on customers before making any future adjustments.
- Steven Bradford
Legislator
A fixed charge has the potential of not only incentivizing investments in electrification and reduce seasonal Bill volatility, it is statutory, statutorily required to reduce utility bills for low-income customers. The Legislature has an important role to ensure that the PUC moves in a reasonable direction, and I respectfully ask for you aye vote.
- Caroline Menjivar
Legislator
No discussion in debate on file item 26. Secretary, please call the roll.
- Committee Secretary
Person
[Roll Call]
- Caroline Menjivar
Legislator
Please call the absent members.
- Committee Secretary
Person
[Roll Call]
- Caroline Menjivar
Legislator
Aye 36,no zero. Measure passes. Senator Bradford is prepared for fire item 29. Please read. Secretary.
- Committee Secretary
Person
Senate Bill 1328 by Senator Bradford in accolade to elections and declaring the urgency thereof to take effect immediately.
- Caroline Menjivar
Legislator
Senator Bradford, thank you.
- Steven Bradford
Legislator
1328 updates and makes clear existing laws, procedures and requirements related to it. Election technology. California has some of the most stringent voting system testing and clarifications and use requirements in the country. However, there's some law, existing laws on storage and maintenance that need further clarification. This Bill ensures the preservation of electromaterials.
- Steven Bradford
Legislator
Cover the lifecycle of the voting technology. And this Bill clarifies existing law related to crime of interfering with voting to confirm conform with current technology. And I respectfully ask for aye vote.
- Caroline Menjivar
Legislator
Discussion or debate? Seeing none. Secretary, please call the roll.
- Committee Secretary
Person
[Roll Call]
- Caroline Menjivar
Legislator
Please call the absent members.
- Committee Secretary
Person
[Roll Call]
- Caroline Menjivar
Legislator
Ayes 35 no zero on the urgency, aye 35 no zero in the measure passes. File item 34. Senator is ready.
- Committee Secretary
Person
Secretary, please read Senate Bill 1383 by Senator Bradford in accolade to telecommunications.
- Steven Bradford
Legislator
Senator Bradford, thank you. This is a cleanup to a Bill I authored in the Assembly, the broadband housing account. Unfortunately, the broadband public housing account continues to be woefully underutilized. And to solve this, SB 1383 makes three changes here. It widens the eligibility applicant pool of California's broadband public housing account.
- Steven Bradford
Legislator
It clarifies that new Internet subscription plans can be provided for free or at low cost to the community. It enables the broadband public housing account to award grants to deploy devices that can improve existing broadband services. And I respectfully ask for your aye vote.
- Caroline Menjivar
Legislator
Any discussion or debate. See, the secret is to take up your bills at the end of the day. No discussion or debate. This item is eligible for unanimous roll call. Any objection? No. We have an objection. Secretary, please call the roll.
- Committee Secretary
Person
[Roll Call]
- Caroline Menjivar
Legislator
Please call the absent Members
- Committee Secretary
Person
[Roll Call]
- Caroline Menjivar
Legislator
Ayes 37 no, zero, and the measure passes. Last but definitely not least, file item 45. Senator is still ready. Secretary, please read.
- Committee Secretary
Person
Senate Bill 1109 by Senator Bradford in accolade to cannabis.
- Caroline Menjivar
Legislator
Senator Bradford.
- Steven Bradford
Legislator
Thank you, Madam President. 1109 is a straightforward measure that requires the Department of Cannabis control to collect and report demographic information of cannabis licensees. This is voluntarily, very much so for all the licensees. In recent years, the Legislature has focused on ensuring that California's cannabis market is inclusive in support of individuals impacted by the war on drugs.
- Steven Bradford
Legislator
As intended by the passage of Prop. 64, many of these individuals have experienced difficulty entering the market and contend that the market continues to lack diversity, which it does. 85% of this market right now is white male-dominated, and we want to make sure that our women, our disabled veterans, and our diverse community are part of this. SB 1109 will help provide necessary transparency about California's cannabis industry, and I respectfully ask for you aye vote.
- Caroline Menjivar
Legislator
Any discussion or debate, Secretary please call the roll.
- Committee Secretary
Person
[Roll Call]
- Caroline Menjivar
Legislator
Please call the absent Members.
- Committee Secretary
Person
[Roll Call]
- Caroline Menjivar
Legislator
Ayes 31, noes one the measure passes if there is no other business, Mister pro-tem. The desk is clear, madam President.
- Mike McGuire
Legislator
Thank you. Members. We have some good news to end with here this evening. We've been able to dispense with just under 60 bills over the last two days. Thanks to your hard work, we have been trucking. We have dispensed with approximately 260-270 bills and it is why we are about to adjourn at 05:00 p.m.
- Mike McGuire
Legislator
and why we are not going to come into session tomorrow until 02:00 p.m. so here is the good news for tomorrow. Not only are we not going to come in until 02:00 p.m.
- Mike McGuire
Legislator
the entire universe that we're going to need to be able to deal with on the floor, in addition to our consent calendar, is approximately 20 to 30 bills tomorrow. So you're going to see a consent calendar tomorrow, plus approximately 20 to 30 bills. And then on Friday, you'll see another consent calendar and potentially a couple of bills.
- Mike McGuire
Legislator
Let's hope not. So amazing work by this body. We want to say thank you so much. And until tomorrow, May 23, we'll see you at 02:00 p.m. and I think we also need to say thank you to the staff, both the deaf staff, the Republican staff, the democratic staff. Thank you so much. If we can give them a round, round of applause for all the work they've been putting in as well. Madam President, we'll see you tomorrow at 02:00 p.m.
- Caroline Menjivar
Legislator
the Senate is adjourned. We were reconvened Thursday, May 23, 2024 at 02:00 p.m. dinner is available right now.
Bill SB 1468
Healing arts boards: informational and educational materials for prescribers of narcotics: federal “Three Day Rule.”
View Bill DetailCommittee Action:Passed
Next bill discussion: June 25, 2024
Speakers
Legislator