September 1, 2026 · Floor Part2 · 9,836 words · 12 speakers · 122 segments
Thank you. Thank you.
The Senate will come back to order. The Senate is returning from recess. Secretary, please call the roll.
Allen, Avrador Gil, Archuleta, Aragon, Ashby, Becker, Blakespear, Cabaldon, Caballero, Cervantes, Choi, Cortese, Daly, Durazo, Gonzalez, Grayson, Grove, Hurtado, Jones, Laird, Limon, McGuire, McNerney, Menjivar, Nilo, Ochoa Bog, Padilla, Perez, Reyes, Richardson, Rubio, Ceyarto, Smallwood Cuevas, Stern, Strickland, Humbert, Valadeiras, Weber Pearson, Weiner.
A quorum is present. Turning to motions, resolutions, and notices. If any members have any bills to remove from consent, take put on the enacted file or remove from the enacted file, I'm sorry you're too late. However without objection Senate Rule 55 is suspended to allow a videographer on the floor today Turning now into consideration of the daily file Assembly 3rd reading file item 67 Assembly Bill 113 Secretary, please read.
Assembly Bill 113 by Assemblymember Gabriel, and I relate to the state budget, making an appropriation therefore,
and declaring the urgency thereof to take effect immediately. Budget Bill. Senator Laird.
Thank you very much, Mr. President. uh ab 113 is a budget bill junior which amends the budget act to do a variety of adjustments reflecting the final agreement between the legislature and the governor it was date stamped between 3 and 4 a.m which is why we are considering it now this bill allocates spending for specific priorities that were budgeted in the june budget agreement but not appropriated at that time It increases general fund expenditures by under $100 million above the June agreement to account for the unexpected loss of federal funds at the Department of Rehabilitation and other adjustments. It appropriates $2.66 billion for purposes related to safe drinking water, wildlife prevention, drought preparedness, and Clean Air Bond Act from Proposition 4 to support a variety of projects. and it appropriates $450 million from the Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund for Tier 2 priorities in the 26-27 budget year, including $230 million for SB 125 Transit and funding for various legislative priorities, including investments in the implementation of the Community Air Protection Program, wildlife prevention, ag land conservation, and safe and affordable drinking water, among others. I respectfully request an aye vote. Senator Nilo. Thank you. Excuse me. Thank you, Mr. President. Well, here we are, fully two and a half months after the constitutionally required balanced budget was passed by this legislature on June 15th. And we've been working on the budget ever since. We all know that was just a placeholder. It is not in concurrence with what the Constitution requires. Now, I didn't speak to any of the individual budget bills yesterday, although our minority leader had some excellent comments on a couple of them. But I thought it might be fitting that we close this out with my thoughts on this process and this bill. Now, in all of these bills, there's lots of policy that has nothing to do with the budget. Probably every bill, if not most of them, violates the single subject rule. Of course, nobody's going to do anything about that unless there was a lawsuit, but I would suspect that that suit would prevail relative to the single subject. And even with regard to this particular bill, if it were just a budget bill, regular and ordinary expenses of state operations it wouldn have had to been keyed urgent It just because a budget bill that deals with just ordinary and regular expenditures of the operations of the state would qualify for being taken up after the deadline yesterday. This one clearly doesn't. It clearly does not qualify for that, which is why it has been keyed urgent. And it goes beyond the budget. We have had a multitude of increased gut and amend bills this year over what is normal, three or four times as many. There's one bill that was gut and amended on June 4th, made a completely different bill that was originally introduced in 2025. And then it was gutted and amended again on June 11th. And, of course, we have discovered with another bill that we're dealing with this morning that we don't have to worry about setting the clocks back. All we have to do is just call a bill urgent. Whether it's urgent or not, we call it urgent, we can slop it over into today. and for that reason probably everybody in this room is completely sleep deprived I give some of my best floor speeches when I'm sleep deprived so I just hope that this process improves in our next session. And I urge a no vote on AB 113.
Thank you, Senator.
Senator Wiener. Thank you, Mr. President. I, too, am slightly sleep deprived, but the coffee here is really good, so it keeps me going. I rise in support of AB 113 in what may be my final budget vote ever. Maybe. We'll see. It's up to the people of San Francisco. And we're fine. Yes. And I want to first of all thank the budget chair, budget committee staff, and the leadership for all of their hard work on the budget, both earlier in the year and now. And there's always need for additional work over the summer. There's nothing abnormal or weird about that. And there's an enormous amount of good in this bill. Colleagues, you will not be surprised that I do want to just make a comment about public transportation funding in California. And I want to thank our Senate leadership, not just this year, but every year for being the body that fights for public transportation funding. Every year it is the Senate that stands up for transit riders, for all of the millions of California residents who rely on the bus or the train or the subway to get to work, to get to school, to go shopping, to live their lives. And I will just express my frustration that every year the budget that is presented to us flashes transit funding and turns it into a political football that we then have to fight about and negotiate back for. And I know that this body always does the best that it can to get as much of that money back This budget overall does not do right by public transportation The Senate made it less bad and I grateful but does not do enough And when you compare what California as a state spends, invests in transit compared to Pennsylvania and Illinois, Massachusetts, New York, other large states, it is embarrassing. And we need to do more. And I just want to make a request, colleagues, for people who are going to be coming back and part of this legislature in the coming years, please don't forget about transit. We all have constituents who rely on it to live their lives and to survive. I ask for an aye vote, but please, let's fight for transit funding.
Senator Reyes. Thank you, Mr. President. I want to first acknowledge our collaborative and truly democratic budget process. Our President Pro Tem, Senator Limon, made abundantly clear at the beginning of this process that it would be one where every senator would have an opportunity to elevate issues important to their communities. This was done not only through words, but action. The Senate Democratic Caucus had a two-day budget retreat. We received frequent detailed updates at numerous meetings regarding the budget process, and subcommittee chairs were given ownership of their issues. Proposals were truly incorporated into the budget process. Even during a year of rapidly changing dynamics, the Senate state firm and our mission creating a foundation for the future. This package of bills represents an extension of a three-party budget agreement and continues to make investments that will benefit all Californians. I want to thank our Governor for his leadership. Under Governor Newsom's tenure, he has delivered a balanced budget every year, something we could dearly use at the federal level. He has consistently worked to provide for and protect all Californians, not an easy task, in difficult budget years. Specifically with regard to GGRF, it's important to highlight the three-party deal as it relates to the Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund. This year, we created a one-year, $450 million solution for programs that make investments in transit, housing, vegetation management, clean drinking water, and air quality. I want to thank our House for consistently fighting to fund these programs, but I also want to acknowledge that we were not able to fund everything in this year's deal at the level we wanted, including investments in housing. This is the first step in a longer conversation around the future of GGRF. I want to thank Senator Laird and the entire budget team for their incredible work. And a special thanks to our President Pro Tem, Senator Limon, for empowering the budget chairs and most importantly, thank you for honoring the requests of all 40 senators and for recognizing the importance of our districts. Thank you. I respectfully ask for an aye vote on AB 113.
Senator Richardson.
Thank you, Mr. President. You know, I asked my staff after our budget hearing yesterday, I said, does California, I had them double check, California has the largest budget in the United States besides sides, Congress, the largest. So to think that we wouldn't need to make adjustments along the way, the largest budget of a state in the United States, and we help to manage the fourth largest economy in the world. So to think that we wouldn't need to make adjustments is, in my mind, not a fair assessment. Something that our budget chair talks about all the time, and I think it's important to recall for the record, this legislature helped to reduce our deficit. We have been. can we do more, of course, but we've taken great strides to be accountable, to be transparent, and to be responsible to Californians. So we reduced our deficit. We increased our reserves. So when we do have very horrific things that happen in this state, we're prepared. So I think it's important for the record to say what we have done and what has been positive. And then finally, what I want to talk about is Budget Sub-5 that I have the pleasure of serving with, with a gentle lady from Los Angeles and also my colleague over there from, I think it's Riverside, Riverside, San Bernardino. know. We had the opportunity to actually work really well together, and I just really want to thank the budget chair and our PT because one of the biggest successes that we had was actually making headway regarding our judicial system. For one of the first times, we're actually making progress to deal with deferred maintenance that all of us see in our courthouses. Deferred maintenance and also looking at building some of those courthouses that are desperately needed. So can we always do more? Yes. And that's why we're elected. That's why we're here to do more. But I think we would be remiss not to acknowledge the progress that we've made. And with that, I respectfully ask for an aye vote. Senator Laird, you may close.
Thank you, Mr. President. I want to thank everybody for their comments because it really helped. And I want to thank the vice chair. And I would hope that Mary Nilo won't like this, but I would hope my colleagues across the aisle would allow him to serve as leader and as vice chair of the budget committee. because he did a great job. Let me speak to a couple of points. I think my colleagues did it very well. We really benefit by doing this right now. And in fact, we appropriated the amount for Prop 4. We appropriated the amount for the Greenhouse Gas Fund. But we were able to drill down on how to spend Prop 4. And by the fact that we're doing this now, we benefited from higher revenues in the greenhouse gas fund, including the sale that was completed a few days ago. That additional money allowed us to do what the senator from San Francisco was talking about on transit and other things because we benefited by that time and that additional revenue. And also a federal cut to the Department of Rehabilitation was not evident when we adopted the budget in June and this allows us to in essence use extra revenue to cover the hole that was created since we adopted that budget And it adopted, it allowed all the members to really decide what the priorities were that they had personally, and they are reflected in this budget. So we benefited from the time. It is in balance. It is as the senator from Los Angeles said, overall the message is clear and we drew people to this debate that we balanced the budget for two years. We took the revenue that was extra from artificial intelligence in the last year and applied it to the deficit next year. We made cuts and additional revenue that will cut the structural deficit in half. We left $35 billion in reserves. We basically positioned ourselves for next year, and we did our best to triage against cuts that were beyond our ability to deal with. And in certain ones with food and medical care, we bridged it to the next year in the hope that the better budget picture will allow us to address those cuts and keep vital services in food and medical care continuing to Californians. This is a good budget. It's a result of a lot of work from people across this chamber and the floor. We really elevated the budget subchairs this year in a good way, and they really, in the course of almost 60 hearings, did a great job of getting public input and feeding into this budget. So with that, this is the last budget bill. This completes the budget process. I respectfully request an I-vote.
Senators, this measure includes an urgency clause and will require a two-thirds vote. Earlier today, the Secretary received the letter of resignation from the Senator from Hayward, who is on the way to Washington, D.C. to be sworn in to the U.S. House of Representatives. under the rules of the Senate. Notwithstanding any vacancies, the two-thirds vote is still 27 votes. So please, all members, come to the floor to vote. Secretary, please call the roll.
Allen? Aye. Alvarado Gill? Archuleta? Aye. Aragon? Aye. Ashby? Aye. Becker? Aye. Blakespear, aye Cobaldon, aye Caballero, aye Cervantes, aye Choi, Cortese, aye Daly, Durazo, aye Gonzalez, aye Grayson, aye Grove, Hurtado, aye Jones, no Laird, aye Limon, aye McGuire, Aye. Aye, McNerney. Aye, Mengervar. Aye, Nilo. No, Ochoa Boak. Pavia. Aye. Aye, Perez. Aye. Aye, Reyes. Aye. Aye, Richardson. Aye. Aye, Rubio. Aye, Ciarato. No, Smallwood Covas. Aye, Stern. Aye, Strickland. Humbert. Aye. Aye, Valadeiras. Aye. Webber Pearson? Aye. Wiener? Aye.
Call the absent members.
Avrato Gil? Choi Daly Grove No Ochoa Bog Strickland Valadares
Ayes 29, Noes 4 on the urgency clause. Ayes 29, Noes 4 on the measure. The measure passes. Members, we're going to take a brief pause. We are awaiting two measures from the assembly. The Senate will stand in recess for five minutes.
Good. Thank you. Thank you.
The Senate is back in session. There are messages from the Assembly at the desk Secretary please read
Mr. President, I am directed to inform your honorable body that the Assembly amended and on this date passed as amended Senate Bill 931. I respectfully request your honorable body to concurrence that amendment. Sue Parker, Chief Clerk of the Assembly.
Is there any objection to taking up SB 931 without reference to file? to file. Seeing none, Secretary please read. Senate Bill 931 by Senator Grove, an act relating
to Dolly Parton Day and declaring the urgency thereof to take effect immediately. Senator Grove.
Thank you. Thank you, Mr. President and colleagues. Members, I could not be prouder, and it's only fitting that my very last bill in the California State Legislature to present is the cause as meaningful as it couldn't be more meaningful than honoring the late great forever icon, Ms. Dolly Parton. Her immense heart and lifelong generosity changed the lives of millions of people forever. Today I'm proud to present SB 931, recognizing September 25th as Dolly Parton day in California in honor of one of the most beloved artists, philanthropists, and incredible human beings of our time. Before I begin, I do want to express my sincere gratitude to my dear friend from Santa Cruz, the former Secretary of Natural Resources, for the vehicle and the measure to put this in place on the Assembly side. I've been here since 2010, and that is the first time I've ever walked through a gut an amend on the Assembly side to bring a bill back to the Senate side. And it was truly because of my dear friend from Santa Cruz. I want to thank the Pro Tem and the Speaker for their leadership to support this effort moving forward. This is a woman who came from very little, a sharecropper's daughter, a part-time carpenter, raising a pastel full of kids in the mountains of Tennessee. Her talents are incredibly successful despite all odds. Every step of the way, she stayed true to her heritage, her values, her faith, and her dreams. And when she was successful, she used that influence to share kindness, giving, and sharing with everyone, everyone. She told him to dream and approach life with generosity. Of course, Dolly Parton's legacy goes beyond her music. One of her greatest achievements was the Imagination Library, which provides free books for young children and helps foster a love for reading from a very early age and promotes improving literacy rates. As you know, I was incredibly honored to work alongside my bestie, former Senate pro tem, Tony Atkins, to author SB 1183. When you think about what Dolly did to bring people together, Tony and I came from way different political sides. I'm a conservative Tea Party Republican. She's a San Diego LGBTQ Democrat from the far left side. Well, not far left. She's kind of middle left. But I can tell you that we came together on things that were in common with us. Both of us raised in very poor families, and we shared that same thing with Dolly. And I think that's kind of what connected us to this particular piece of legislation. plus we always used to just get together once in a while and use mops or broom handles and sing Dolly Parton songs when times got tough here in building. I'm also so grateful for the governor's partnership in getting the imagination library statewide. It was $68 million, and I'm grateful the effort has almost gotten almost 4 million books into the hands of kids that are young. Throughout this historic effort, California also became the first state of the nation to offer bilingual books that were required under the legislation. And what was so incredible about that is I had a Spanish-speaking woman come to my office in the district. She brought a six-year-old little girl and a three-year-old little boy with her. And the daughter says, the six-year-old says, thank you, my mom wants to tell you thank you. And she says, thank you. My mom wants to tell you she can now read. And the woman pulled out the book, Llama Llama Red Pajama, and read it in English and in Spanish. And she's actually learning English by reading those books to her kids. And I thought that just really, really touched my heart. Dolly Parton brought people together of all backgrounds through her unmatched generosity, her genuine love for people, the kindness that she showed everyone. She brought people together over vulnerable children, underserved communities, families, the LGBT community, the old, the young, the right, the left, anybody she came in contact with loved her. From scholarships to children in need to improving literacy rates to leaving a generational legacy of funding pediatric cancer research supporting children's hospitals. She had no children, and she left her immense fortune to making sure that this United States of America or the world cured cancer for kids. The list goes on and on. Her philanthropic legacy was always designed to live beyond her lifetime, particularly through the Imagination Library and the Children's Cancer Treatment Networks, and that's just what it will do. Fighting for cancer, fighting against cancer, expanding literacy for our kids, now that's a legacy we can all live up to. It's fitting in California that we honor this extraordinary legacy on September 25th and for those of you who have not got it yet, it's 9-2-5, a date inspired by one of Dolly Parton's famous, most iconic songs, and my good colleagues from Santa Cruz. I respectfully ask for your aye vote.
Thank you, Senator. By prior to the House, the Senate is subject to debate limits this morning. Senator Laird, Senator Laird, please don't take, I'm begging you, please don't take five minutes. Senator Laird, Senator Laird, please don't take it just because you can. Let me just say I'm sorry. The presiding officer's bills are all gone. We would deal with that. And I note that the only time you raise a limit is when you recognize me. So I will be according.
And let me first begin by thanking the senator from Fair Oaks for not pointing out that this was a late-gutton amend by a member of his own caucus. But I think that it is hard to add to what the senator from Bakersfield said. And the key thing here is that if you look at what has happened the last few days since Dolly Parton passed, it that there an outpouring from people that are just different across the country and disagree because she reached everybody And she reached everybody whether it reading or children cancer or just any of a number of things to bring people together, which we sorely need now. And she did it through her music and her actions, and she did it even for her personal legacy. And it is a pleasure to partner on this, and it even took the lead author a while to realize the 925 part. She thought it was a typo in the bill and a typo in the RN. But I think it's really important. And so I salute her for a presentation. I think this is something I already have a text from somebody that says, if you can't get a unanimous vote for this, you all should go home. So let me just thank everybody for working on this and thank Dolly Parton for her legacy. and I respectfully ask for an iPhone.
Thank you, Senator.
Senator Weber Pearson. Thank you, Mr. President. I rise in strong support of SB 931 and really want to thank both the senators from Bakersfield and Santa Cruz for making this happen. Dolly Parton, someone as was mentioned before, has touched everyone, and she was loved, admired, and respected within the black community. You know, I think many people in the black community saw her beginnings as very similar to their own. As was mentioned, she was the daughter of a sharecropper. Many of you know that my mom is a daughter of a sharecropper from the South. But she also demonstrated empathy, hustle, self-determination, many qualities that we in the black community must have in order to thrive and survive here in America. She used her platform to uplift everyone. You know, when you look at the resolution, it speaks to the fact that she used some of her royalties that she got from the song, I Will Always Love You, that she wrote as a country song, but Whitney Houston turned into a global phenomenon. and she took some of those royalties and she put it back into the black neighborhood in Nashville, Tennessee because she understood that it was a black woman who allowed for her to get such royalties. Her imagination library sent millions of free books to children in black neighborhoods. And after the murder of George Floyd in 2020, she was a very vocal advocate and made it very clear that black lives do matter. And she put her money behind the development of the COVID-19 vaccine, a virus that we know disproportionately impacted black people and black community. And so she shows us that you don't have to change who you are. You do not have to lose your humanity no matter how far you go in life. And no matter who you are, you should always stand on the right side of history. And with that, I respectfully ask for an aye vote on SB 931.
Thank you. Thank you, Senator.
Senator Perez. Thank you, Mr. President. I rise in strong support of SB 931 by the good Senator from Bakersfield and just want to share how tremendous I think it is that we're recognizing Dolly Parton in her incredible work. I have to admit as a young girl I did not actually know who Dolly Parton was My first reference to her as many of you know I have very large hair was the comparisons that had very big hair like Dolly Parton And over time as a child, I ended up learning more and more about her, her music, her legacy, and the work that she's done for community. and in particular here have had a chance to work with both the good senator from Bakersfield as well as our former pro tem in exploring the Imagination Library and particularly how that program had been set up and ensuring its success here in the state legislature and came to realize the impact of the Imagination Library delivering thousands and thousands of books across the country to children to make sure that we're encouraging kids to read at a time when literacy rates continue to fall, not just across the state, but across the country. And so Dolly Parton has continued to do that work to center children, to encourage children to read, and it's been nothing short of tremendous. and I am absolutely honored to see that this program has continued to expand across the state and provide children with access to books. And so I'm very proud to be able to rise in support of this and excited that we are going to be recognizing the tremendous legacy of leadership and love that she's shown this entire country.
Thank you.
Senator Padilla. Thank you very much, Mr. President. and colleagues and Rise, honored to Rise and support and make a couple comments about the impact that I think Dolly Parton had on all of us and certainly on me. When I think about her example, the eloquence of her example, her decency, the fact that she spoke and acted with great humility despite her global success and fortune, the fact that she always referenced everything she did artistically and personally back to a remembrance and a humility about her beginnings. And she never let go of that. And she loved unconditionally, and she preached and taught and wrote beautifully about unconditional love. She set a walking example, not just as a brilliant lyricist and vocalist, but just as a decent human being. And she made such a tremendous impact. She touched me personally in a couple of ways. First, as someone who nearly died of COVID, the fact that she was busy working hard to help lift up science and to lift up the effort to develop a vaccine as quickly as possible to save lives when she could have easily hidden somewhere is really inspiring and very personal to me. Nearly 30 years ago, I lost my mother very, very suddenly. My family rushed to the hospital when we realized that she was literally dying. and as I approached the hospital, my most vivid memory is a little song came on the radio, and it was the Whitney Houston rendition of I Will Always Love You, and I felt in that moment in my grief because I knew when I got to that hospital what I would be told, that my mother was gone. I felt in that moment my mother, through that lyric, through her pen, was saying goodbye to me and telling me I will always love you, and any time I hear that rendition, I can hear Whitney voice often and I can hear Dolly voice but I know it Dolly pen She was brilliant and she touched so many including me So if you bear with me for a second at the request of the senator from Bakersfield I thinking of another lyric a brilliant, a brilliant song that she recorded a track with the late Kenny Rogers. Islands in the stream, that is what we are. No one in between. How can we be wrong? Sail away with me to another world. Then we rely on each other. Uh-huh. Hey, Dolly, we'll rely on each other. Uh-huh. Request an eye vote.
Thank you. Thank you, Senator.
Senator Alvarado-Gill. Thank you. I rise in support of this resolution, and we'd like to share a homage to Dolly Parton by celebrating her confidence, beauty, and her self-worth. She spent a lifetime reminding women and girls that confidence is one of the most beautiful qualities that a person can possess. It was through her music, through her philanthropy, and her unapologetic authenticity. She inspired generations to embrace who they are and to live with courage and joy. Dolly never allowed others to define her. Instead, she showed the world that individuality is the strength. Whether walking onto stage or speaking from the heart, she carried herself with confidence that encouraged women everywhere to do the same. Her songs have often reflected resilience and determination and self-respect. In 9 to 5, she celebrated the hard work of everyday people striving for a better life. In Coat of Many Colors, she shared a story that taught us that dignity and love are worth far more than material possessions. And in the light of clear blue morning, she offered hope that brighter days are always ahead. Dolly's life and career embody the spirit of moving forward with optimism, even when faced with obstacles. She reminds us that we can rise above criticism, believe in our own potential, and find beauty in our unique stories. Perhaps no song title captures her message better than just because I'm a woman. Dolly has consistently championed the idea that women deserve respect, opportunity, and the freedom to define themselves in their own terms. From women and girls everywhere, Dolly Parton is more than an icon. She's a role model who teaches that confidence is powerful, kindness is beautiful, and authenticity is something to celebrate. As she once sang, working 9 to 5 and wearing coat of many colors, she has shown us that our value is not determined by appearances, but by our character, perseverance, and heart. I want to thank Dolly Parton for helping generations of women just like me, and girls stand tall, dreaming boldly and love themselves exactly who they are and exactly how God made them. I want to thank all of you because every single person in here has a bit of Dolly in you. I respectfully ask for an aye vote.
Senator Nilo.
Thank you, Mr. President. I promise I'm not going to sing. Thank you. That's an applause line. And I won't go over five minutes. And with regard to the gut and amend, I don't like gut and amends. I know I don't. But as was once said by a wise man, mindless consistency is the hobgoblin of little minds. I like this gut and amend. And I propose another one. that we gut and amend SB 925 and put this language into SB 925 and 931 into that one, and that way this can be 925, the bill, consistent with the spirit of the resolution. But I have always loved Dolly Parton. I love her singing. I love her incredible songwriting. her great sense of humor particularly the self-deprecating part of it one of my favorite lines of hers is you know it costs a lot of money to look this cheap but she in the wake of her dying and I've read so much about where she came from which I didn't know much about before I am in awe of that life. And I would like to point out that I think that it's only fitting that our colleague from Bakersfield would be championing this because she has quite a life to talk about also, which she has mentioned on the floor. But to see people come from a youth, which is maybe somewhat challenged, and then become what they are, Dolly Parton, Senator Grove, to me is remarkable. And I salute you, and I urge an aye vote on what I'd like to be SB 925, but it's SB 931.
Thank you, Senator Nilo. Your motion is out of order to amend SB 925. Senator Wiener.
Thank you very much. I rise in support of SB 931. Dolly Parton is the closest thing we had to a saint in this country. And the fact that her death was immediately commemorated ranging from Donald Trump to the American Communist Party, I think tells you all you need to know. And it's just extraordinary. I do want to just say she was such a great friend and ally to LGBTQ people, including trans people. She had trans folks in her life and just queer people all around, and she was amazing. My favorite Dolly quote was, if I hadn't been born a woman, I would be a drag queen for sure. I ask for an aye vote.
Thank you, Senator. Seeing no other senators wishing to be recognized, Senator Grove, you may close.
Thank you, Mr. President.
I'll treasure this. We actually got this in the mail when we were working on the Imagination Library, Tony and I, and they were autographed, and we also have a picture of her autographing it. But 39 senators are on this bill, and I just am grateful for each and every one of you. In 1 Corinthians 13, it says, And now these three things remain faith hope and love faith in God hope in humanity and love unconditionally And I think that that something that Dolly stood by She had faith, she hoped in humanity, and she loved unconditionally. And like my good colleague from San Francisco said, when President Donald Trump and the Communist Party of America can come together and say incredible things about this extraordinary woman, there's no reason why we can't have a day in California on 925 or 925, I guess. And hopefully, if we get this signed by the governor, we'll have this Capitol lit up in pink on 925, and you guys all come back in your famous dolly where we'll celebrate like California should be celebrating for this iconic, incredible woman. Respectfully ask for an aye vote.
All debate having ceased.
Secretary, please call the roll. Allen.
Aye.
Alvarado Gil.
Aye.
Archuleta. Aye.
Aragon. Aye.
Aye. Ashby. Aye.
Becker. Aye.
Blakespeare. Aye.
Cobaldon. Aye.
Caballero. Aye.
Cervantes. Aye.
Choy. Aye.
Cortese. Aye.
Daly. Aye. Durazo. Aye.
Aye. Gonzalez. Aye.
Aye. Grayson. Aye.
Aye. Grove. Aye.
Cortado. Aye.
Jones. Aye. Laird. Aye.
Aye.
Aye.
Limon.
Aye.
McGuire.
Aye.
McNerney.
Aye.
Menjabar.
Aye.
Nilo.
Aye.
Ochoa Bog.
Aye.
Padilla.
Aye.
Perez.
Aye.
Reyes.
Aye.
Richardson.
Aye.
Rubio.
Aye.
Ciarto.
Aye.
Smallwood Cuevas.
Aye.
Aye.
Voladeros?
Aye.
Weber-Pearson?
Aye.
Weiner?
Aye.
Ayes 39, noes none. The measure passes. Turning next to motions and resolutions, Senator Grayson.
Thank you. Mr. President, I request unanimous consent for a letter to be printed into the journal relating to SB 328. This letter has been approved by leadership and the secretary.
Without objection, decimal note. Minority Leader Senator Jones, you're recognized under announcements.
Announcements or personal privilege, either way. Should I ask for a parliamentary inquiry onto which one? Members, good morning. Still, barely. it is an honor to stand up this morning and participate in the final comments of the 2025-2026 session for the California State Senate I've had the honor and privilege of being elected almost for a quarter of a century since 2002 till well I guess November 30th will be my last day as an elected official in the state of California and it has flown by very very quickly When I got elected to the Senate in 2018 I already knew that this day would also come by very, very quickly. And believe it or not, I was already looking forward to this day on the day that we got sworn in in 2018. Because after serving in the Assembly, I know that time flies here. I know that the pro tem is going to close us out with some acknowledgements of staff and organizations that help support our work here and obviously all of us will be participating in those thanks as well, but I have some particularly special thanks that I want to give from my perspective. we have a couple of folks in the republican caucus staff that are retiring joe para and jennifer allen have given over 40 years combined service to the people of california in state service that kind of dedication is rare and it deserves to be recognized on this floor Joe and Jennifer on behalf of our caucus and I'm going to presume the Democratic caucus and the people of California as a whole thank you. Your careers were spent in service to something bigger than any one of us and your work made a huge difference. Can we please give Joe and Jennifer a round of applause? Thank you. For anybody that's ever led an organization, you know you can't be a one-man or one-woman show. And I have to take some time to thank my staff, the team that made my office and kept it running through every session, every fight, every win, and every loss. On my personal staff, folks that have been with me almost the entire eight years, but a couple that bugged off a little early for opportunities outside the building, Danielle Parsons, who was my capital director, Nina Crischel, who was my communications director, and I appreciate all the positive feedback I get on my social media and my communications and everything. At one point in time, I don't know if I still am, but at one point in time I was the most followed legislator on Instagram. I would love to take credit for that, but my comms team, as you all know, did that. I walked into the Senate with two people. Sorry, this one surprised me actually because they're grumpy old guys. but I call them the national treasure because between the two of them the bipartisan efforts that you get to experience from our side of the aisle when we are able to cooperate with you all and we try to cooperate with you as much as possible I do want you to know that. But Craig Wilson and Jim Cajole we walked in together and I think one of them is walking out with me and one of them I leaving behind to make sure you guys don mess up things next year And then another one that came in with me that going out with me is in my district office my constituent services director, who has been recognized by the Senate and departments in the state as one of the top constituent service managers in the state, Lori Brown. And she directs our internship program in the district. We've had over hundreds of interns in the eight years that we've been here. We've had interns from over 50 countries, 30 states. At one point in time, we had 18 different languages spoken in our internship program. It's been phenomenal. Robert Roque, who started out as an intern when he was at UCSD and now sits here as one of my policy consultants in my office, has been along for the long haul as well. And then my left hand and my right hand, my district director, Nick Brust, and my capital director, Jake Donahue, who both have stepped up to be two people that I really, really rely on. But one thing I really, that's my personal staff, but one thing I really want to recognize and share with you the importance of the Republican caucus staff. the ladies and gentlemen that work for us in the legislative office building. Our policy team led by Greg Ma, our budget team led by Kirk Feely, our communications team led by Maxie Douglas-Holmberg, and our two rules consultants, Chris and Julie. You all, obviously the Republicans are the benefit of their work, and they really work hard. And one of the things I always try to share with my colleagues across the aisle, where you have multiple consultants on each committee, we have consultants that cover multiple committees. Some of our consultants have one committee and they do all of the analysis for that one committee. But some of our committees have two, some of our consultants have two committees or three. I'll just give you one example. Joe Parra, who's retiring, covers health and human services. They are the backbone of our messaging, of the good work that's done here in the Capitol. We obviously get to take advantage as members of the work that they do, but I think you all can admit you get to take advantage of the work that they do because their analysis are so well written that sometimes I have members across the aisle come and ask me for the input from our consultants on certain things. I'm not going to throw any names out there, but I know I appreciate you all respecting and admiring our staff to that level when you're trying to articulate your arguments on a particular issue that you rely on our consultants for their work and that means a lot to me it means a lot to our members and it means a lot to our staff that you honor and respect them in that way. I got to throw out a surprise appreciation I wasn't expecting to experience as leader. When I, when I, when McGuire took over as pro tem. One of the things he insisted on that I did not want to do was be on rules committee. Now he ganged up on me and got my chief of staff behind it as well. And so between the two of them, I got roped into being on rules committee. And as a result of that, I met two fantastic ladies that do an awesome job for all of us here in the Capitol. And that's Erica Cantreras and Diane Griffiths. I'm just going to say some history. Erica and I tussled a couple of times during COVID and other issues regarding the district and staffing. And once I became leader, though, I got to learn how hard her job is and a level of respect for the multiple personalities. There's 40 senators, but I got to believe there's about 400 personalities represented on this floor that Erica has to deal with. And then Diane Griffiths has just been awesome on the rules committee. I've had the opportunity to serve with three pro-tems I don't know the last minority leader that had that opportunity Tony Atkins who I've been friends with for a long time because we served together in San Diego Mike McGuire who's become honestly one of my best friends and really did a lot for us, all of us and I appreciate it And then Monique Lamone, man, she just jumped right in there and didn't skip a beat, didn't miss a beat, and has been an awesome pro tem and an awesome friend as well and look forward to collaborating with you for a long time, I hope, on different things. I want to acknowledge my colleagues across the aisle who we all work with to get things done this session. the best moments in this chamber happen when both sides decide that the people of California matter more than politics and I'm going to say we've had some fantastic bipartisan wins this year, all 40 of us we've actually done some really good work together and I hope that the camaraderie the debate, the demeanor and even when we're a little salty with each other is an example for the rest of the country and for 49 other legislatures and the federal legislature to take our example and live by. One of the things that has amazed me, and I had the opportunity to share this this morning, is you all signed this flag in a bipartisan manner, and I appreciate that. I'm a difficult person to surprise because I usually catch on to things. I had no idea this was coming and when my staff gave it to me this morning this is going to be one of my most prized possessions because all of you are on it and I thank you for that and I appreciate it sorry I'm getting blubbery I didn't mean to get blubbery this morning when I became Senate Minority Leader in 2022 because I was late to the caucus meeting the republicans were at their lowest numbers in history We were down to eight That the lowest point Republicans have ever been at Now, I'm thankful that Democrats at one point in time were at a lower number. You guys actually got down to three in the 1930s. So I knew I had a goal to stop the bleeding and start growing from there, and we've been able to do that. I want to thank my caucus members for the opportunity to serve as minority leader. I'm not sure they knew what they were getting themselves into when they voted for me originally, but it has been an honor, and I don't take the trust lightly that you put in me to lead this caucus, and now through the end of the year, which is unprecedented, the only other person that we could find that has served to the end of their term is John Burton and I don't mind being in that company today our caucus is strong it is unified and it is in great hands with Senator Nilo to lead in the next years as Senate Minority Leader Elect and I wish you all the luck because you're going to need a lot of it and the best is yet to come for California. It's been an honor of my life to serve with all of you here on the floor and in the Senate. The work is not finished, but the people of California are in good hands with Pro Tem Limon, Minority Leader Elect Nilo, and Majority Leader Ashby, and all of you public servants that are returning in December and January. God bless you, God bless California, and God bless the United States of America.
The minority leader has given the House much to reflect upon. And to that end, we're going to take a brief pause.
Thank you. Thank you Thank you Thank you. Thank you. Thank you Thank you.
Members, the Senate is not in recess, and we will resume business momentarily.
Thank you. Thank you.
The Senate will start anew in 15 seconds.
Thank you.
The Senate will come to order. Senator Becker, for what purpose do you rise?
With regard to the file? To speak on the condition of the file?
You are recognized to do so.
Yes, I would like to speak on the condition of the file. Members, it's deeply unfortunate that after months of carefully crafting a balanced first step to implement the recommendations of the SB 254 report. SB 492 will not advance today. We have spent months, and I want to thank the huddle group in particularly, but really the whole caucus. We spent months listening to wildfire victims, working through difficult issues, and bringing together stakeholders, legislators, and the governor around reforms. That could make a meaningful difference now. We had a three-party agreement to do so. Again, because we've heard directly from wildfire survivors and they are hurting. Families have lost their homes, their livelihoods, and their loved ones. Many are still struggling to rebuild and waiting for the compensation they need to move their lives forward. They need relief and delay only prolongs suffering. SB 492 would have helped victims receive compensation faster, strengthen wildfire prevention and preparedness, protect survivors from profiteering, and hold utility executives personally accountable when their utilities equipment causes catastrophic fires. The bill is a balanced and meaningful first step with the understanding that we would continue working on larger structural reforms next year. But this work was not for nothing. We've advanced new ideas and discussions that will be the foundation for future progress to deliver for the people of California. The Senate, and I can look around, I can look at every person here, we've been working for years to improve how California prevents catastrophic wildfires and supports the peoples whose lives are devastated by them. And I will continue that work. I know the Senate will continue that work. While I'm disappointed we cannot deliver these reforms today, we will not stop working on behalf of survivors. California needs to act. These families have already waited long enough. Thank you.
Thank you, Senator Becker. Senator Padilla.
Thank you, Mr. President and colleagues. I rise to just associate myself with the remarks.
Are you also speaking on Condition of the File?
I am speaking to the Condition of the File as well.
Are you recognizing that purpose?
Thank you. I want to associate myself with the remarks of my distinguished colleague and partner and just echo that it a deep disappointment that there were I think there were many partners in our sister house that understood the importance of a three-party agreement and the importance that, as with all things legislative and with all things imperative and all things important, that we cannot and must not ever continue to allow the perfect to be the enemy of the good, because all elements desired were not landed by all parties. The package of benefits that was before us and was part of this agreement and was the result of many, many months of hard work and negotiation and agreement had real benefit to help Californians today, here, today, now. And it is unfortunate that they did not muster the political will to do just that. I'd also echo that I remain committed, as I know this chamber does, to working in an adult and sober fashion in an appropriate process to resolve the many complex issues that still remain to help benefit Californians in the future.
All right, President Pro Tem, Senator Lamone, you're recognized for your final session remarks.
Members, thank you. Today, we are about to conclude the business of the California State Senate for the 2025-2026 legislative year. Over the course of the year, this body has worked tirelessly on crafting legislation, ensuring thoughtful debate and partnership at every stage of this legislative process. While these bills differed in topics and ultimately shared one goal, making sure we do our best and that we deliver for the people of California. And that is what we have done. This year, the California State Senate passed a balanced budget. We focused on protecting critical services that Californians rely on of all backgrounds. We delayed proposed Medi-Cal reductions, protected in-home supportive services for seniors and people with disabilities. We invested in hospitals. We preserved access to health care for millions. We also took important steps to safeguard programs like the Homeless Housing Assistance and Prevention Grant Program, CalFood, Immigration Legal Aid Services, programs that support the underserved. The Senate also stepped up to maintain funding for the Victims of Crime Act to continue standing up for survivors and provide important prevention and supportive services. We crafted and supported youth education by providing $121.3 billion for K-12 education in our state, funding that we know our schools, our youth need, and that they deserve to have. This chamber also made history in passing the Veterans and Affordable Housing Bond Act of 2026. This bond will provide one of the largest investments that this state has ever seen in housing construction, preservation of affordable housing and the expansion of home ownership opportunities something that this state needs to preserve because we know that the dream of owning a home is a piece of also the California dream And as this legislative year comes to an end, it's also important to reflect on the work that this body has done to protect the integrity of our democracy. Our democracy depends on the will of the voters. We must ensure that we have the tools that our voters need to be heard, to be seen, and to be counted. This body moved forward critical policies to support the election process, protect voter rights, and ensure eligible voters can cast their vote without intimidation or fear. Everyone should be proud of what this body has accomplished and what we have done for our Golden State. I want to thank you all for your commitment, your collaboration throughout this very busy year, and focused on the important work that we have done and the ways that we've come together to deliver for Californians. I want to say a few special thank yous and I want to start with thanking our majority leader Senator Ashby for the incredible work to make sure that this house is able to get policy out in a way that matters and impacts Californians. I also want to thank our assistant majority leaders, Senator Richardson, Senator Wahab, who resigned this morning, our majority whips, Senator Grayson, our assistant majority whips, Senators Padilla, Senator Rubio and Senator Cortese, our Democratic Caucus Chair, Senator Menjavar, to all of the presiding officers for ensuring that this House did the work that we needed to do. A special thank you to every member of the Democratic caucus who helped keep us on track, who provided input, who moved forward, who ensured that Californians were heard. We as a House were able to vote on 1,628 bills this year. And we couldn't do it without our partners. Our partners, and I want to start with our minority leader, Senator Jones, and every member of the Republican caucus who have been partners across the aisle and who have helped us pass bipartisan legislation, a story that is not told enough and often. Thank you. And a special recognition to the incoming Minority Leader Center, Nilo, who I look forward to continuing to partner with. We also could not have done this without the people who are here in all hours helping ensure that the vision and voices of the senators is one that moves through this House. We've done this with the phenomenal Senate desk team led by Secretary Erika Contreras and Chief Assistant Secretary Hashani our committee staff our office staff whether in the district whether in the Capitol every hour that every member of this staff in this house puts in helps us deliver Staff is part of this equation, and we are grateful for every role that you have played and continue to play. There's staff who don't always help us work on the bills, but help us in other ways. And that includes our sergeants, the California Highway Patrol, the parking staff, the Capitol Security Team, everyone who works the hours to make sure we can come in and out of this building and that we have a place to do this work. DGS and the ground staff who help our offices, who help ensure that when we come in, we can get the work done. Capital health staff and services that make sure we are taken care of in a moment's notice and also who put in the hours. On behalf of every member of this Senate today, thank you to all the staff. I want to personally thank some of my staff as well. My chief of staff, Mariana Corona Sabaniano, for her hard work for many years and her dedicated service to our state and to this office and this house. Thank you, Mariana, wherever she's hiding right now. I want to also thank Chris Woods for helping us deliver our budget for this Golden State. Year after year. Our policy director, Misa Lennox. our Deputy Policy Director, Eric Ding, alongside some of the best policy leaders that make up the policy team, and their work is so phenomenal. I cannot thank you enough for all that you all do to make sure that we're delivering. I also want to thank our communications team led by Christina Montoya and everyone who works to make sure that the message of what we are doing is one that our constituents are hearing. Thank you all. Thank you to every member of our floor teams who are here, who are doing this work. I want to take a moment to extend more gratitude to our outgoing nine members who are departing, who have contributed so much to this legislature.
I'd like to ask Senator Allen to please stand. Senator Alvarado Gill, Senator Caballero, Senator Durazo, Senator Jones, Senator Umberg, Pro Tem Emeritus McGuire, please stand. Thank you. Thank you. Senator Grove, Senator Grove, I didn't want to let you go. Thank you. in your last moments, we wanted you to know that this house would not be what it is, what it has been without your work. Thank you to our outgoing senators for your contributions to this state. We are thinking of you in these final moments as you serve, and we are grateful with deep gratitude for everything that you have contributed to this state. Members, we will head back home to our districts and we will continue to do the work. And I am proud to have served and continue to serve with each and every one of you and grateful for what you do for this state. Members, the California State Senate has adjourned.
The desk having been cleared, the Senate is adjourned. The motion to adjourn CNA-DA will be made automatically at midnight on November 30th. Until then, the Senate is adjourned.
Thank you.