Assembly Floor Session

Reverend Noshta. Please join me in a moment of reflection. On his recent visit to the colonies, King Charles III shared both levity and sensibility with Congress. He said, in the spirit of 1776, we can agree that we have not always agreed, but added later that our founding fathers forged a nation on the revolutionary idea of life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. At that time, 250 years ago, most countries in the world were ruled by monarchs, loyal families, kings and emperors. They often claimed a lineage confirmed by divine selection. Then came the creation of the United States of America. Our country continues to be a bold experiment in democracy, for our leaders are elected to serve, In contrast to many countries where leaders feel they have been chosen to rule, however difficult and contentious and imperfect our democracy may be at times, it has long been a beacon of hope for oppressed people everywhere. The United States of America is more than a work in progress. It is a dream in progress, a dream that someday we will be truly a place where there is liberty and justice for all. How fortunate we are to be the caretakers of this dream, and to this dream each day we pledge our allegiance. Let us take to heart what King Charles shared in closing. He said, to the United States of America, on your 250th birthday, let our two countries rededicate ourselves to each other in the selfless sacrifice of our people and of all people of the world. Namo Aminah. Let us try to live with kindness and gratitude beyond words.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Please place your hand upon your heart. Veterans may salute. Ready, begin. I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America and to the republic for which it stands, one nation under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all.

Leader Garcia, you are recognized for your procedural motions. Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I request unanimous consent to suspend Assembly Rule 118A to allow Assembly Members El-Hawari, Gabriel, and Hadwick to have guests in the rear of chamber, and for Assembly Member Gabriel to have a guest seated at his desk today. Without objection, such shall be the order. I move to withdraw AB 2568 Johnson from the Appropriations Committee and order it to the second reading file. This bill is not fiscal. Without objection, such shall be the order. I request unanimous consent to suspend Assembly Rule 56 to allow the Public Safety Committee to set SP 73 Cervantes for their hearing on Wednesday, May 6th at 1.30 p.m. in Room 126 pending re-referral from the Elections Committee.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Withhold consent and ask for a roll call vote.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Members, it is my distinct honor to introduce Wayne Wu, Sheriff of Placer County, and Shane Wright, our undersheriff, who are joining at the rear of the chamber as they commemorate this extraordinary milestone, the 175th anniversary of the Placer County Sheriff's Office. on April 25, 1851 at the height of the California Gold Rush, the Placer County Sheriff's Office began as a small frontier agency tasked with bringing over order to rapidly growing mining camps. Over the past 175 years, it has evolved into a modern, full-service public safety organization serving nearly 500,000 residents across a diverse landscape that stretches from the Sacramento Valley to the Sierra Nevada. Today, the department is comprised of more than 600 sworn and professional staff who serve in a wide range of specialized units, including patrol operations, investigations, corrections, search and rescue, canine teams, air operations and emergency services. The Sheriff's Office is often recognized for its regional leadership, coordinating multi-agency responses during wildfire seasons, operating one of the busiest search and rescue volunteer programs in Northern California, and maintaining strong partnerships with local schools, cities, and community organizations to enhance public safety and preparedness. Through periods of tremendous growth and change, the men and women of the Placer County Sheriff's Office have remained steadfast in their commitment to service, professionalism, and community trust carrying forward a legacy that begins in California's earliest days. Mr. Speaker and Members, please join me in warm welcome to Sheriff Wu and Under Sheriff Wright to the State Capitol in congratulating the Placer County Sheriff's Office on 175 years of dedicated service. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Good morning, colleagues. Today, I'm proud to welcome students and staff from John Muir Charter Schools, representing schools from across California. John Muir offers an alternative high school experience to 14 to 16 year olds, ensuring all students have a pathway to graduation and success beyond. Please join me in welcoming them to the assembly floor.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Good morning, members. Please join me in welcoming the winners of our 24th Assembly District's third annual Youth Art Contest and their families at State Capitol. Each of our winners has displayed exceptional talent, creativity, and a unique perspective in illustrating the theme, Healthy Meals Feed Happy Families. Their pieces will be proudly displayed in my capital office throughout the year, and I encourage you all to stop by and see their wonderful art. This year's winners are Arlene Q. Luo, a student from Leela Binghurst Elementary School, Hirhan Jain a student from Matos Elementary School Harshita Kanchapali a student from Maloney Elementary School Elaine Kim a student from Ruskin Elementary School Rebecca Liu a student from Valley Christ School, Ishan Shanvan Jetty, a student from Horner Middle School, Shihan Yan, a student from Piedmont Middle School, Shreya Rai, a student from Washington High School, Jody Wong, a student from Irvington High School. Please, members, give a warm welcome to the winners of my youth art contest.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Members, it's my honor to welcome the national champions from Oak Ridge High School cheer team to the California State Assembly. Oak Ridge High School is back on top, claiming their third national championship in medium varsity D1 in their competition in Florida. They've now won four state championships and are preparing to win their fifth in a few weeks here. In the gallery, we're joined by the entire team, coached by Elena Padilla, Coach Cat Martin, Coach James Blunk. And I got to say, as a cheer dad myself, I know how hard not only the students and the coaches work, but also the parents and the commitment it is to get to such excellent levels. So congratulations on your championship, and I'll look forward to seeing you in the district soon. Take care.

Assemblymember El Hawari you are recognized Thank you so much Mr Speaker Today I am so proud to present ACR 176 a resolution recognizing April as Second Chance Month Let's start with a question. Y'all ready for the question? Raise your hand if you've ever been given a second chance. I want you to think about what that chance meant to you. Now, if you're open to it, I want you to close your eyes. I want you to think back to that time that you messed up in elementary school. Maybe you pulled a high school prank. Or maybe you did something you know you shouldn't have been doing. I want you to remember how relieved you were that you didn't get caught. Now think about all those who did get caught for doing the exact same thing you did that day. that day. You can open your eyes. This is the reality of second chances. Sometimes you need them and sometimes you are simply lucky enough to not have to ask for one. But today we're not here to talk about pranks. We're here to talk about life-altering mistakes and just how pivotal an opportunity can be in turning someone's life around. Second Chance Month is about highlighting how meaningful getting another chance can be for those returning home from incarceration. After serving their debt to society and taking accountability, it really matters when someone believes in you, when the same system that locked you up invests in your success. Individuals returning from prison or jail attempt to support their families, contribute to their communities, and rebuild their lives, but significant barriers often stand in the way. They often face challenges accessing financial aid, securing housing, and obtaining employment. And that being the case, system-impacted folks often don't receive a real second chance, even though we should want those individuals to get their lives back on track. So why do I care so much about second chances? I have a story to share about Linda Gomez-Evans, whose memory we hope to honor today. Linda, after spending 18 years in prison, where she led healing circles, founded the Sister Warriors Freedom Coalition, which brings together system-impacted folks to uplift their voices and advance policy change. I met Linda through the Community Coalition Fellowship. She was a standout from the beginning, a skilled community organizer who easily mobilized people toward action. She always saw the best in people, despite their past mistakes. She saw their potential and used her gifts to help them reach it. Linda recruited folks like David Wynn, someone who deeply shaped my involvement with criminal justice reform. She recruited David to join COCO, as it's affectionately called, and I had the pleasure of training both of them. After spending 16 years in prison, David received his college degree, dedicated his life to uplifting those around him with random acts of kindness and helping them find hope and and transformed their lives. He now serves as a representative for Mayor Karen Bass. In the process, David introduced me to so many people who had once felt hopeless because of their prison sentences. One of these individuals who's here today was Adonai Melendez. Adonai spent 30 years incarcerated, and after receiving his second chance, Adonai was ready to give back through living amends. He became involved with Homeboy Industries and developed into a restorative justice advocate and has since become a justice liaison with our team supporting with getting others involved in our Justice League coalition All that being said mistakes have consequences Let not ever forget or ignore the victims and survivors We also need to fight for resources and support for all those that have suffered because of others' mistakes, including victims and their families. Healing is not a linear process, and our support for victims, survivors, should not be an afterthought, but a priority. At the same time, our system is filled with cycles of victimization, as impacted folks often commit crimes stemming from their own victimization, often out of a need to protect themselves. And while hurt people hurt people, healed people also heal people. For this reason, we need to shift the narrative and start seeing incarcerated individuals and those coming home as people in need of healing and rehabilitation. We have seen the value of second chances through Linda and David and Adonai and all those being recognized today who lead with accountability, remorse, and a desire to give back. System-impacted folks can build up our society, but we cannot tear them down before they get that opportunity. 30 seconds. To uplift these individuals, we must champion trauma-informed intervention programs, healing circles, mentorship, restorative practices, housing, workforce training, and expand access to educational opportunities for those who have been system impacted. And as they enter the job market and the education system, recidivism becomes so much more unlikely. So as we continue to make these opportunities more accessible, we will continue to see folks better support their families, contribute to their communities, and create a society where fewer individuals make the same mistakes they did. I want to close by reminding us that as Bryan Stevenson said, each of us is more than the worst thing we've ever done. I respectfully ask for your aye vote, and I'd like the roll to be open for co-authors.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I'm really happy to support ACR 176 because I believe giving the people a second chance after they have paid their debt to society is very crucial. And that is why I introduced AB 1565, which would give opportunity for formerly incarcerated people by giving small businesses a tax ready for hiring them. Unfortunately, my AB 1565 was held in a committee this year, but I look forward to working with all of you on this bill next year. With that, I respectfully ask for your aye vote.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I stand in strong support of ACR 176 with my seatmate, and I believe as a co-author to our colleague from the other aisles, Bill. Last year was the first time in California history incarcerated people were recognized on this assembly floor while they were incarcerated. And the reason we recognize them is because they spent three weeks saving Los Angeles and Altadena, what's left of Los Angeles and Altadena from the worst fires to ever hit our region. And I think in that moment, we recognize that not only did their labor have dignity and deserved a pay raise, but that they deserved a second chance. And I don't think you should have to put your life on the line to deserve that second chance. I think that's part of what justice looks like. Accountability is important. We should never forget victims or survivors who, But we also have to remember that the systems we've designed for accountability also victimize. And that many people, while they deserve a second chance, also never had a real first chance. And that's part of our responsibility. It's difficult to come from communities that have underfunded schools, disproportionate housing burdens, no grocery stores, no public health infrastructure, environmental hazards, and police on every corner. When your conditions are violent, it leads to violence. So I'm proud to stand here to support Second Chance Month, and I think we all should be, but I hope we remember that we also have the power in this building and the responsibility to make sure more first chances are equal across California. I respectfully ask for your aye vote.

I respectfully ask for your aye vote, and I'd like the role to be open for co-authors.

Thank you so much, Mr. Speaker. Today we are joined by individuals who are a testament to the value of second chances. Please direct your attention to the back of the floor as we recognize some of our Second Chance Month honorees. Rodney Buckley, Alan Burnett, April Grayson, Adonai Melendez, Philip Melendez, of no relation, Amika Motta, and Jimmy Wu. These individuals, all together, were incarcerated for a combined 131 years. Some of them have been out for as little as a few months, while others have been out for almost 17. In this group, we have founders of organizations, individuals with paralegal certificates, political and executive directors and mentors. Their work has ranged from highlighting the power of rehabilitation to promoting behavioral health access for those in the system, uplifting incarcerated women, advocating for sentencing reform and using creative writing as an avenue for personal transformation. Now, please direct your attention to the gallery in the top right as we recognize the rest of our Second Chance Month honorees. Tyson Atlas, Eugene Day, Jared Nava, Kay Tach, Jay Vasquez, and Michael Villaseñor. These individuals were incarcerated for almost 125 years combined. While some recently completed a year outside of the system, others have been out for as many as 13 years. These are folks who have contributed to documentaries, who are now substance use disorder counselors, founders of organizations, legislative staffers here in the building, criminal justice consultants, and policy directors. They have advocated for reforms related to visitation rights for system impacted folks, published papers on the criminal justice system, delivered speaking engagements, and helped create a pilot for community-based alternatives to police involvement. There are a few folks who couldn make it today who I like to recognize who are watching Angelique Blake Evans the widow of Linda Gomez Evans Frank Silva who is on the Senate side Amber Rose Howard and Gambino Rosales who also works here in the building, who could not be here. They have held roles either here or as executive directors and co-founders, and they've made impacts in probation reform, helped expand access to visitation rights, and even have helped the California legislature to function. Please join me in giving an amazing round of applause to our honorees for Second Chance Month. They are the reason why Second Chances are so important. Thank you.

Thank you, Speaker. Colleagues, today I have the honor of welcoming outstanding seniors from Casa Grande High School in Petaluma, located in the heart of my district. These students are part of a special program that emphasizes civic education and engagement. Throughout the semester, they've been preparing to meet with elected officials, asking thoughtful questions and better understanding how our government works. Their visit to the Capitol is a culmination of months of learning and discussion about public policy, democracy and the role of leadership in shaping our communities. to our Casa Grande Gauchos here today. We hope today visit inspires you to stay engaged in public service and advocacy for your communities On behalf of the California State Assembly we thank you for being here today and we look forward to seeing the impact you will make in the future Welcome

Thank you, Mr. Speaker and members. Today, I rise to present House Resolution 109, recognizing April 27, 2026, as a day we honor excellence and dedication of California's janitorial and cleaning workforce. Janitors and property service workers are truly the first line of defense against the spread of infectious disease. Research shows that properly cleaned and disinfected surfaces can reduce virus concentrations by over 40 percent. And when combined with good hygiene practices, which we all should practice, the number jumps to more than 85 percent. Every day they keep students and workers and customers and hospital patients safer. These workers play a critical role in keeping Californians safe and healthy and productive, but it's not easy work, and much of this work happens behind the scenes, late at night and early in the morning, often going unseen and underappreciated. I don't know if anyone else has done a day in the life with the janitors, but I did all night long cleaning office buildings and bathrooms and sorting through gooey trash. and the one woman that I shadowed, they put me in three different scenarios so I could experience all of it. One woman I shadowed was literally running from trash can to trash can in the office. The office building was like the size of a city block and she was running between trash cans so that she could clean the office as quickly as possible and I could not keep up with her. It was unbelievable that she did that for eight hours throughout the whole night. This is the kind of work that people are doing, and we come into our offices in the morning and don't even think about it. But it truly keeps us safer and healthier, and we're so grateful for it. California's janitorial workforce is also deeply reflective of our state's diversity. There are not only essential workers, but vital members of our communities who keep our economy running and our institutions functioning. This resolution is an opportunity to give these individuals the recognition they deserve. Today, we take a moment to acknowledge their resilience, their dedication, their essential contributions to our state. And I respectfully request an aye vote on H.R. 109 and ask for the first roll to be open for co-authors.

Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker and members. I want to thank my colleague from Santa Clarita for bringing H.R. 109 before us today. Members, I am honored to rise today in support of H.R. 109, this resolution to celebrate the unsung heroes of our workforce Members before I was elected to the State Assembly I served as a statewide political director for justice for janitors for SEIU Local 1877 which is now USWW. I held that position with absolute pride. I served for and worked for Mike Garcia, who passed away several years ago. Janitors and other service workers are essential in preventing the spread of infectious diseases, serving as frontline safeguards by keeping workplace safe, schools, hospitals, hospitality settings cleaned and sanitized. Today, I rise in strong solidarity with our very own DGS brothers and sisters with dignity, with diligently, who care for and maintain our state capital and also our swing space. They have dedicated their work with pride and dignity. My mother also did domestic work for wealthy families in the San Fernando and Encino Valley, who raised along with my father, who was a truck driver. And I saw my mother each and every day going to work and cleaning not only rich families' homes, but also coming home and making sure that we also had a clean home. It is with immense pride that I rise and show strong support for this HR. And I just want to elevate the work that our DGS workers do every day. And because for me, not only working for justice for janitors, I also was a janitor, cleaning Cal State University Dominguez Hills bathrooms, the library, taking great pride in doing that work that gave me the foundation to never look down on janitors. And sometime going to the restrooms, making sure that I always acknowledge the individuals that clean our bathrooms. Never walking past a DGS worker who's mopping our floor. always making sure that we speak or that I speak and want to encourage you not to pass by them and act like they're invisible, like some of us do. They make sure that our restrooms, the floors, are waxed and moped each and every day so that we're comfortable. When we go to our office, our trash cans are emptied, Our desks are cleaned and the lint and the dust are taken off of our desks. They do work when we are at home or when we leave this building. So it is our responsibility, I think, to say thank you, not pass by them, not act like they are invisible individual. They work day in and day out to making sure that we're comfortable when we come to this place and do the people's business. so we elevate the work that they do day in and day out. And it's the least that we can do is say something that I hope that our parents taught us, and that is to simply say what my mama taught me to do, is I simply say thank you. It's the least we can do. So again, I want to thank my colleague from Santa Clarita, for bringing HR 109, and I respectfully ask for a strong eye vote on this measure. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Colleagues, I rise in support of my fourth floor crew that works through the day and the crew that works through the night, but specifically I want to highlight Ruben. Ruben, Every single time I get onto the fourth floor and I see Ruben, Ruben is humble and he just reaches out and says hello to me. He calls me uncle. I call him nephew. Sometimes I call him Rue. But that's the level of interaction that we should all have, that personal interaction. And let me tell you something. They do a great job. So to Ruben and to my fourth floor crew, I appreciate you and I support and I ask all my colleagues to support H.R. 109.

Thank you. I want to thank my colleagues for their generous words today and words of recognition that I think are so critical for folks, as I said, who often go unseen. And I encourage everyone to do a day in the life with your local janitor's union. It's eye-opening. And beyond keeping surfaces clean and protecting us from disease, as you know, landfills are an issue I'm working too much on. And they're also helping us to keep things out of our landfills that should not go in there. And people do not know how to recycle. I will tell you, we were pulling those trash cans open and sorting things for folks. and thankfully they're a first line of defense to make sure that things get recycled and put in compost and all the other things that keep things out of our landfills. So incredibly grateful for the work of our janitorial and cleaning services and workers and respectfully request an aye vote on H.R. 109.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I'm proud to introduce ACR 119. The resolution is to designate April 30th as the 51st anniversary of the Black April. Today, 51 years ago, Saigon and South Vietnam were lodged into the hands of communists in the North. So the Black April is a very sad day for the Vietnamese-American community. After the fall of Saigon millions of Vietnamese had tried to escape the country and many hundreds of thousands of them escaped the country by boat and unfortunately hundreds of thousands of them lost their lives into the deep ocean Under the communist regime, millions of families suffered. Thousands of the South Vietnamese military officials, intellectuals, doctors, teachers were imprisoned. And my family was one of them. I still remember on Christmas Eve 1978, when my family was ready for dinner, several of communist agents came to my house and took my father away. Anyway, my family and I came to America in 1992 as political refugees. I was 19 years old at the time. So my family and I are very thankful of America. That saved my family and thousands and thousands of Vietnamese families. to live in a free society. There are about 700,000 Vietnamese living in the state of California. And for the last five decades, the Vietnamese Americans have assimilated into the mainstream system and build up a strong community and contribute to the state of California. Every year, the Vietnamese-American community everywhere organized the Black April ceremony to honor the sacrifices of 58,000 American soldiers and more than 250,000 South Vietnamese soldiers who fought side by side during the Vietnam War. The Vietnamese people lost their country, But I never lose hope that someday Vietnam will be free. I also want to sincerely thank and appreciate all of you for your strong commitment to stand with the Vietnamese American community in California. United we stand, and we stand for freedom. With that said, I respectfully ask for your aye vote.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker and the members. I want to thank the member from Westminster for so eloquently speaking on this ACR 119 and the member from San Jose as well, too. I've had the opportunity to tour both areas and see the rich history of the Vietnamese community in both of their cities and how much they put into our Vietnamese American community as a daughter of Vietnamese refugees who escape Vietnam. This day is different for us than it is for our country. While they are celebrating, we are in mourning because as you heard earlier from my colleague in Westminster, or we lost thousands, thousands of lives. Not only in Vietnam, but our soldiers here from the United States who chose and volunteered to come fight this fight with us. And on this day when we declared the fall of Vietnam, it broke all of our hearts because we realized that we lost. But you have to find good in everything and this is what I have found As hard as it been to find good in such a terrible moment and a terrible day we found this That it gave my family my parents, the member from Westminster, his family, hope. And it gave us the courage to run and escape a place that we feared. And we made it all the way here to the United States. And only here in California and in the United States that we would have a community that would accept us, that would pull us in, that would love us, and that would fight with us. And that here in California you have two legislators, one from Northern California and one from Southern California who are Vietnamese American, whose English is a second language because our first language was Vietnamese. and who continue to carry the culture and the tradition. And more importantly, this is our flag. This is the flag that we know. This is the flag that our communities celebrate that we hold up here in the United States. And this is the only flag that our children will know. And this is the only flag that my grandchildren and my great-grandchildren and every single children and every single school should know, not the one that you see when you Google or you search up. This is it right here. This is the one that our veterans wear proudly when they say that they served our country and they were in the Vietnam War. And so this day I find as a sad day, but also as a day in which we can continue to fight and educate and continue to push for our freedom flag right here. So as a Vietnamese American, as a daughter of Vietnamese refugees who escaped by boat for months, not sure if they were going to survive or not, but the courage, the fight that they had to make it here so that we had a chance and an opportunity to be able to serve right here in California as legislators and push for policies and things like this right here. Mr. Speaker and members, I ask for your aye vote on ACR 119.

I really appreciate the inspiring comment from my college in San Jose. And I'd like to ask for the first row to be open for co-authors. Thank you.

Assistant Majority Leader Garcia moves, and Ms. Hadwick seconds that this House stands adjourned