Transcript Highlights:

• <00:09:21.600> for employee may subsequently work for employee may subsequently work for should
• terms of your caucus obviously working terms of your caucus obviously working with<00:24:06.320>
• I do think that's something we have been working on trying to figure out what definitions would work
• I do think that's something we have been working on trying to figure out what definitions would work
• have worked hard to get to this point. have worked hard to get to this point.

Keywords: 1187, senate, all

Transcript Highlights:

• Honored to continue to be supporting the work, the great work of California's first people when it comes
• This type of work is tough work, it's hard work, but it's also bringing us together to address past issues
• Work to be done.
• We do have a lot of work ahead.
• ICWA and social work.

Summary: The Select Committee on Native American Affairs held an informational hearing on the state’s response to the missing and murdered Indigenous people (MMIP) crisis, with an added focus on foster youth and child welfare. Opening remarks from the chair and members emphasized that California has made some progress through the Feather Alert, DOJ coordination, grant funding, and MMIP summits, but that the crisis remains severe and requires ongoing, not one-time, investment. Members repeatedly noted the need for stronger statewide coordination, better data, and more consistent attention to tribal communities and foster youth. Tribal leaders described the crisis as rooted in jurisdictional gaps, poor data collection, and lack of urgency from law enforcement. Witnesses from Hamul, Chachancey, Tahon, Yurok, and Hoopa tribes shared personal accounts of missing and murdered relatives, criticized inconsistent responses, and called for regional response agreements, direct tribal access to data, sustained funding, and clearer law enforcement protocols in Public Law 280 settings. Several leaders said Feather Alert and state grants have helped build infrastructure and partnerships, but stressed that trust-building, training, and accountability are still uneven across the state. The second panel featured the California Highway Patrol and the Department of Justice’s Office of Native American Affairs, both of which reported on implementation improvements. CHP said it has tightened Feather Alert practices, increased activations, improved outreach and training, appointed a tribal liaison, and expanded human trafficking training. DOJ described work under AB 3099 and AB 1334, including a Public Law 280 advisory council, improved crime reporting and data systems, MMIP outreach, and a tribal police pilot program with the Yurok Tribe. Members also raised the need to better support tribal courts and ensure protection orders are enforced. The final panel focused on foster youth as part of the MMIP crisis. Advocates from Pitt River, the California Tribal Families Coalition, and Coyote Valley said Native children are disproportionately represented in foster care and are at heightened risk of going missing or being exploited. They argued that foster care, trafficking, poverty, housing instability, and historical trauma are all connected to MMIP, and called for stronger ICWA implementation, culturally grounded services, better coordination with social workers and law enforcement, and immediate use of Feather Alert when Native children are missing. No formal votes were taken; the hearing was informational and ended with continued calls for legislative, budgetary, and policy action.

Transcript Highlights:

• So we do this work through really 13 core regions... So we do this work through 13 core regions.
• This works. Anyway. This works. Anyway, I'll just kind of move along here.
• on and particularly work with.
• Maybe that 3.4 million represents someone who works at home while another partner works outside of the
• After working at the same company for 20 years, my father was able to acquire the business he worked

Summary: The committee held an information hearing on California’s economy and household affordability, with the first panel focusing on inflation, housing, energy, wages, and the likely effects of new federal tariff policy. PPIC’s Sarah Bone said Californians remain deeply pessimistic about the economy, with inflation the main driver of concern; she noted prices are still about 23% higher than in January 2020, with especially large increases in food, energy, and housing costs. LAO’s Brian Euler emphasized that housing is the largest household expense and pointed to insurance, electricity, gasoline, and health care as other major cost pressures, urging the Legislature to review whether existing policies are actually reducing costs and to consider studies of why recent housing laws have not produced more units. UC Davis economist Catherine Russ warned that tariffs on China, Canada, Mexico, and potentially broader imports could raise consumer prices, disrupt supply chains, and hurt California exporters, farmers, and small businesses; she suggested monitoring prices, strengthening food assistance, and preparing transition support for affected workers and producers. Members pressed the panelists for concrete, near-term policy ideas, especially on housing and tariffs. Questions centered on whether accessory dwelling units are making a meaningful dent in affordability, how to improve implementation of pro-housing laws at the local level, and how to measure the impact of tariffs on consumers, health care, and agriculture. Panelists said ADUs help but are limited, that state laws can be undermined by local implementation and litigation, and that tariff effects may show up quickly in prices and later in hiring and investment. Several members stressed that the tariff issue is not a minor disruption for constituents and asked for more data on consumer impacts, food aid needs, and crop-specific farm losses. The second panel shifted to regional economic development and small business support. Go-Biz’s Derek Kirk described California Jobs First and the state economic blueprint as a first-in-decades, regionally informed strategy to create good-paying jobs, support key sectors, and align workforce and business development across 13 regions. The California Association for Local Economic Development’s Gerbach Sahota argued that local governments need practical tools, stable policy, and stronger partnerships with the state, while warning that prosperity is not always perceived as shared and that rural communities can be left behind. He urged the Legislature to use hearings, local input, and existing funding streams more effectively, including for recovery and infrastructure. David Fitzgerald of the Small Business Development Centers said California’s SBDC network serves hundreds of thousands of clients, many of them women and historically underrepresented entrepreneurs, and has generated billions in economic impact, capital access, revenue, and jobs. He said the biggest gaps are outreach to the state’s many self-employed businesses with no employees, better labor data on those workers, and more flexible support for direct services. Committee members then asked what small businesses need most in the face of inflation and tariff shocks, including lower licensing costs and other relief, and the discussion continued on how to better target state support to businesses and households under pressure.

Transcript Highlights:

• They're able to actually work with state land, work with for service, work with BLM, and so we're able
• So when it came to the Aseo work.
• that works with the ACES.
• They work in Louisiana. Guess what?
• is doing great work.

Transcript Highlights:

• in their usual line of work.
• These are people that want to work because these are people who have traditionally worked.
• Individuals who did not look for work, were not available to work, or failed to register for work helped
• . ...work.
• body of work.

Keywords: 1136, house, all

Transcript Highlights:

• the work that was that we were working the work that was that we were working on. on. on.
• And so I know the work<00:35:16.000> of<00:35:16.359> uh work of uh work of uh just<00:
• <00:36:02.680> that<00:36:03.000> what this work to work to ensure that what this work
• this work. this work.
• And in order to do that work, that work.

Bills: HF3665, HF3002, HF4217, HF4125, HF4174

Keywords: foster care, early childhood education, child care programs, placement plan, social services, extended foster care, kinship care, relative custody, permanent legal and physical custody, Northstar kinship assistance, independent living plan, transition services, youth aging out of care, medical assistance, Medicaid, child welfare, children youth and families, out-of-home placement, case plan, relative placement

Transcript Highlights:

• School staff are working so hard with our kids to… Are working so hard with our kids to learn and grow
• And much of that work was... Much of that work was never done.
• To our committee chairs, thank you for all your hard work shepherding our body's work.
• I'm proud of the work we've done together and thank you so much for your hard work.
• Vermont works best when we all work together. And I because All work together.

Keywords: 926, house, all

Transcript Highlights:

• We also are doing some additional work We also are doing some additional work with<00:04:10.840>
• a positive endorsement to this good work a positive endorsement to this good work done<00:04:31.040
• O'Driscoll and Chair Lilly for working O'Driscoll and Chair Lilly for working with<00:10:36.200>
• solid work, and it comes out of a work solid work, and it comes out of a work group.<00:15:08.760
• believe it or not, that we have to work believe it or not, that we have to work with.

Transcript Highlights:

• Jordan Yudor, Work Safe, we are in opposition. Thank you.
• I have worked in Davis, California, for 20 years. I have worked on...
• In 2023, I worked with a farm labor contractor.
• He did not pay me for my last two weeks of work.
• But mitigation only works if the work is done correctly.

Summary: The Assembly Labor and Employment Committee heard and advanced a series of bills, mostly on worker safety, wages, workforce training, and retirement savings. AB 2137 (Chen) would strengthen safety rules and certification for artificial stone fabrication shops to reduce silica exposure; AB 2499 (Gibson) would require Cal/OSHA to develop heat-illness protections for incarcerated workers and staff in correctional facilities; AB 2300 (Arambula) would streamline the disbursement of state and federal workforce funds; AB 2646 (Krell) would establish a minimum wage floor for certain agricultural workers; AB 2227 (Connolly) would tighten licensing and bond requirements for farm labor contractors and add default-judgment procedures for wage claims; AB 1869 (Haney) would create a reporting process for alleged REIT interference in hotel operations; AB 2650 (Pellerin) would expand CalSavers with emergency savings accounts and other updates; AB 2634 (Zbur) would prioritize labor-management partnerships in High Road Training Partnership grants; and AB 1888 would require skilled-and-trained workforce and prevailing wage standards for work under the Safe Home Grant Program. AB 1534 (Irwin) would create California’s approval process for short-term Pell-eligible workforce programs. The committee also took up several consent items, including AB 1904, AB 1980, AB 2550, AB 2078, and AB 2682. Most bills were described as aligning state programs with federal law or improving worker protections and program quality, while opponents generally raised concerns about costs, administrative burden, regulatory uncertainty, or reduced oversight. Testimony was largely split along labor and industry lines. Supporters included labor unions, legal aid groups, workforce boards, and affected workers or family members, who emphasized heat illness, wage theft, silica exposure, poor prison conditions, and the need for higher-quality training and retirement access. Opponents on several bills, especially those affecting agriculture, REITs, and workforce administration, argued the measures would increase costs, create uncertainty, or duplicate existing law. On AB 2227, committee members engaged in extended discussion about Labor Commissioner delays and whether the bill’s default-judgment and bond provisions would meaningfully help workers. On AB 1869, members and witnesses debated whether the bill created new standards or simply improved enforcement of existing REIT rules. The committee voted to pass all of the measures heard, generally with motions to do pass and re-refer to the Committee on Appropriations. Several bills were held open for absent members during the meeting, and later add-on roll calls recorded additional ayes, moving the bills out of committee. The meeting concluded after the consent calendar was approved and the committee adjourned.

Transcript Highlights:

• work plan will be.
• work plan will be.
• We've seen it work, and we can keep seeing it work if we work together to make the changes that we need
• :28:50.320> we and we can keep seeing it work if we and we can keep seeing it work if we work<
• <01:41:13.280> doing working, we're all working and doing working, we're all working and doing

Bills: HF3379

Keywords: housing stabilization, disability services, predatory funding, provider requirements, housing accessibility, 1183, house

Transcript Highlights:

• disabilities and just regular working disabilities and just regular working families<00:05:20.400
• Work together and get things done.
• <00:10:19.680> work on, you know what people want? work on, you know what people want?
• it's because they didn't work with us. it's because they didn't work with us.
• Like, we're just that hard to work with. Like, we're just that hard to work with.

Keywords: 1187, senate, all

Transcript Highlights:

• And thank you again for work.
• We worked with the coalition working on the building codes, and they worked regularly with the CBIA.
• We worked with, the coalition working on the building codes, worked regularly with the CBIA.
• And so, I trust your work. I trust the work of Mayor Gloria.
• I appreciate your work on this.

Keywords: 988, house, all

Transcript Highlights:

• We are working off of the SD2.
• And thank you, Chair, especially for your hard work and all the others that have worked really hard on
• I think that works, and thank you, Chair, for working on this draft.
• I think that works, and thank you, Chair, for working on this draft.
• <00:10:06.000> I work that's been done on this. I work that's been done on this.

Keywords: 912, senate, all

Transcript Highlights:

• But this is why I do this work.
• CDCR is not an easy place to work.
• I work with ARC. Hello, I'm Destiny Gray. I work with ARC. I'm formerly incarcerated, 24 years.
• The work that we do matters.
• Are frankly friends and family of those who work with us, who work for us now.

Summary: The Senate Committee on Rules first established quorum and took up several routine items, including two governor’s appointments to the Court Reporters Board, references of bills to committees, and floor acknowledgments. Heather Lynn Gonzalez’s appointment was approved 3-1, Allison Salton-Sall’s appointment was approved 4-0, and the other routine items were approved 4-0. The committee then heard testimony on two Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation appointments, Kathleen Ratliff and Joseph Tuggle, both associate directors in the Division of Adult Institutions. Senators focused heavily on the California model, staff safety, prison violence, sexual abuse prevention, retaliation concerns, and visitation. Ratliff and Tuggle said the California model is meant to balance rehabilitation with safety, that CDCR has improved communication and training, and that incidents such as the pepper-spray event at Central California Women’s Facility led to discipline, investigations, retraining, and policy review. They also described PREA reporting systems, anti-retaliation protections, statewide visiting meetings, and efforts to make visiting more family-centered and consistent. Public commenters largely supported both nominees, citing their work on rehabilitation, reentry, and sexual abuse response. The committee unanimously voted 4-0 to send both Ratliff and Tuggle to the Senate floor for confirmation. It then heard from Jason Johnson, nominated as CDCR Undersecretary of Operations. Senators questioned him about parole supervision, public safety, contraband, prison rape prevention, workplace culture, whistleblower retaliation, and repeated allegations in late-filed opposition letters. Johnson said parole risk is assessed through established scoring and supervision levels, that sex offenders are subject to GPS monitoring and treatment, and that operations use investigations, training, and collaboration with law enforcement to address contraband and misconduct. He emphasized rehabilitation, culture change, accountability, and his commitment to staff and public safety, while acknowledging criticism and the difficulty of leading a large institution. No vote on Johnson was taken in the portion provided.

Transcript Highlights:

• They're working families.
• They're working families.
• They're working families.
• stadium developer in the working group. stadium developer in the working group.
• I don't think people should be getting paid to not work. They should be getting paid to work.

Keywords: 910, house, all

Transcript Highlights:

• something that they all could work with. something that they all could work with.
• We're also working really hard.
• Many people work during the week, travel for work, or are simply not home.
• they they would work with a committee. they they would work with a committee.
• So, um, work put your working unit bet.

Bills: HB0002, HB0022

Keywords: building permits, local government, residential construction, permit timelines, code compliance, municipal officers, recall election, petition requirements, local governance, voter participation, 916, all

Transcript Highlights:

• I work very hard at it. I work all the time as the Pro Tem.
• It just gives you such an insight into how this place works, how the state works.
• And you learn one thing when you're working out in the fields: working that hard in the summertime in
• Back to work.
• and what does not work.

Transcript Highlights:

• coordinating commission would work on. coordinating commission would work on.
• all have done going uh working work you all have done going uh working on<00:29:25.279> this.
• Thank you for pushing for this, working with the working group.
• , working with the working<01:21:21.280> group.
• the current systems don't work. the current systems don't work.

Keywords: 1183, house

Transcript Highlights:

• Working backwards, again, the... be as a working group. Right? So, this be as a working group.
• <00:34:21.679> that some of the work the body of work that some of the work the body of work
• It's in our agency work. It's been a facility works.
• It's been a facility works. identifying that the work that we're identifying that the work that we're
• it work.

Keywords: 910, house, all

Summary: The working group convened with all members present, approved the minutes from its October 16, 2025 meeting and its October 28, 2025 Halawa Correctional Facility site visit by unanimous consent, and received no public testimony on the agenda or minutes. The chair then reviewed the statutory timeline under Act 292/SB 104, noting the group continues until January 8, 2027, and discussed required reporting dates and the need to develop a work plan for the remaining meetings. The chair also said the October 16 DCR presentation would be treated as satisfying the group’s interim-report purpose, though the legal reporting obligations to the Legislature and oversight commission still needed to be sorted out. The main discussion focused on DCR’s proposed amendments to Act 292 and the department’s interim report. Director Johnson said the department’s October 16 presentation included recommended statutory amendments because the law, as written, could not be fully complied with; the proposals were described as section-by-section changes intended to address implementation problems. Members discussed several specific issues, including transfer language for higher levels of care, the 2010 MOA with the Department of Health, and replacing “physician” with “clinician” to reflect staffing realities. DCR explained that the change would allow licensed clinicians, including APRNs and doctors of osteopathy, to make decisions when physicians are not on duty, and that the MOA is being updated so transfers can occur from any DCR facility to the state hospital. An OHA staff member gave a detailed critique of the proposed amendments, saying they would weaken Act 292’s intent by reducing procedural protections, expanding exceptions, and relying on aspirational language such as “strive” and “if practicable.” OHA also raised concerns about the lack of baseline data on restrictive housing use and said the department’s report showed serious operational problems, including overcrowded and outdated facilities, limited space for private medical or mental health exams, and the use of suicide/safety cells for people who may not need mental health treatment. DCR responded that it had requested 35 new medical positions in the budget, supported by the governor, and said those positions are needed to meet basic care obligations for people in custody. The group did not take a vote on the proposed amendments. Instead, members agreed to continue the discussion, with the chair saying the reports, settlement tracker, 2010 MOA, and comparison guidelines would be distributed and used as the basis for future work. In the final discussion on work-plan priorities, members identified staffing shortages, physical plant limitations, and the need to examine humane alternatives and implementation challenges as key topics for upcoming meetings.

Transcript Highlights:

• <00:06:36.280> Uh fund for county-focused work. Uh fund for county-focused work.
• Uh, this was, you know, great work, collaborative work.
• Uh, this was, you know, great work, collaborative work.
• Uh, this was, you know, great work, collaborative work.
• Uh, this was, you know, great work, collaborative work.

Keywords: 919, house, all

Summary: The committee took up House File 4808, as amended by a DE3, a human services technology modernization bill. The author described the measure as a multi-year effort to modernize outdated county systems, improve data integration, and strengthen program integrity and fraud detection. The bill would create a Human Services Modernization Fund with a $50 million cap, establish an advisory council with strong county and tribal representation, and create a legislative commission to oversee the work and receive annual reports. It also includes a $10 million county-focused grant fund and a $15 million appropriation for the Office of Inspector General’s technology needs. Testimony from the Association of Minnesota Counties and related county groups strongly supported the bill, emphasizing the need for immediate modernization, the importance of county and tribal involvement, and the value of legislative oversight. Members from both parties echoed support, saying the bill would help county workers spend less time on outdated systems and more time serving clients, and that better system integration could reduce errors and fraud issues. One member suggested that audits should be considered in the future in addition to reporting requirements. The committee adopted the DE3 amendment without opposition. After discussion, the chair renewed the motion to refer House File 4808, as amended, to the general register, and the motion passed on a voice vote.