Transcript Highlights:

• To me, it is about awareness and prevention.
• To me, it is about awareness and prevention.
• I work for an agency called Prevent Ed. And so we do substance use prevent...
• I work for an agency called Prevent Ed, and so we do substance use prevention in the St.
• Emily Wilkerson, and I work for Prevent Ed, which is a substance use prevention agency.

Committee: House General Laws

Transcript Highlights:

• The bill ensures that when criminal harm ends, digital harm can finally end as well and not carry on
• I am asking you to vote yes, to protect victims. ...to protect victims, prevent further harm, and ensure
• This would unfairly prevent them from taking part in such an important program to prevent recidivism
• The harm is very real.
• further harm.

Committee: Senate Public Safety

Summary: The committee met without a quorum and operated as a subcommittee while hearing several bills, with members repeatedly noting that votes would be taken later once a quorum was established. Early in the meeting, the committee heard SB 1446 on parole en banc review and SB 1278 on elderly parole eligibility for certain sex offenses. SB 1446’s author said the bill would give commissioners more discretion in en banc review, make votes public, and allow referral for sexually violent predator evaluation in certain cases; supporters included the California District Attorneys Association, while opponents from Uncommon Law, the Ella Baker Center, and public defender groups argued it would add confusion, create constitutional and litigation concerns, and duplicate existing safeguards. SB 1278 would exclude certain rape, child sexual abuse, and habitual/serial sex offense convictions from elderly parole eligibility; district attorneys and police chiefs supported it as a victim-safety measure, while civil rights and defense organizations opposed it as unnecessary, costly, and inconsistent with evidence on aging and recidivism. Both bills were discussed but not voted on due to the lack of quorum. The committee then heard SB 1354, which would bar out-of-state military or law enforcement personnel from entering California to perform such functions without the Governor’s permission. The author and supporters framed it as protecting state sovereignty and limiting unauthorized armed incursions; the committee accepted an amendment removing a criminal penalty and leaving enforcement to the Attorney General. No opposition testimony was offered, and members expressed support, but no vote was taken because quorum was still lacking. The committee also heard SB 926, a bill to fund implementation of Proposition 36. Supporters, including sheriffs, district attorneys, probation officials, and the League of California Cities, said local agencies need funding for treatment, supervision, and administration; opponents argued the proposal was fiscally reckless, lacked accountability, and overemphasized incarceration. Amendments removed a specific appropriation and shifted funding decisions to the budget process, but the bill was also held pending quorum. Later, the committee heard SB 874, which would require background checks for unlicensed providers of Medi-Cal behavioral health treatment services, create a stakeholder workgroup, and direct DHCS to issue guidance and report on program integrity. Support came from local health plans and behavior analysis providers, who said the bill would improve safety and consistency; there was no opposition testimony. The committee then heard SB 1210, which would extend CalGang oversight and due process protections to local gang databases as well as shared ones. Supporters described privacy abuses, racial disparities, and personal harm from inaccurate gang labels; law enforcement opposition argued the bill would impose CalGang standards on informal investigative files and would significantly change the gang definition. The author said the bill closes a loophole and preserves prior reforms, but no vote was taken. The committee also began hearing SB 1019 on creating a California Cargo Thief Task Force, with strong support from BNSF, trucking, shipping, port, and supply-chain representatives who described organized, multi-jurisdictional cargo theft and rail sabotage; no opposition was heard, and members indicated support, but action was deferred pending quorum. The meeting then moved to SB 1217 on a non-consensual intimate image clearinghouse, with the chair and author describing privacy-related amendments and the bill’s focus on helping survivors remove exploitative images; the transcript cuts off as that presentation began.

Transcript Highlights:

• </c><00:01:55.320><c> and</c> potentially encouraging self-harm and potentially encouraging self-harm
• </c><00:18:59.560><c> without</c> talking about self-harm, then without talking about self-harm, then
• </c> harmful interactions. harmful interactions.
• ><00:38:30.880><c> and</c> includes supplemental prevention and includes supplemental prevention and
• </c><01:36:09.480><c> We</c> we're seeing the harms right now. We we're seeing the harms right now.

Transcript Highlights:

• We need youth engagement, and we need infrastructure changes that actually prevent harm, particularly
• These sideshows are causing real harm.
• Three, crime prevention and response, which includes emergency response. crime prevention and response
• harm.
• Secondly, on prevention, we would all like to be able to prevent all crimes.

Committee: House Public Safety

Transcript Highlights:

• Please. and help prevent needless tragedies that devastate families and communities.
• But it is so important and so preventable.
• But 100% of those tragedies are preventable.
• I'm not talking about a conceptual harm or a chem.
• I'm not talking about a conceptual harm or a chem.

Bills: S0428 , S0606 , S0192 , S0162 , S0340

Committee: Senate Health Policy

Summary: The Senate Health Policy Committee met with a quorum and took up several health-related bills, with a strong focus on drowning prevention and patient safety. SB 428 by Senator Yarborough would expand Florida’s swim lesson voucher program from children ages 0-4 to ages 1-7. Supporters, including a pediatric emergency physician and YMCA leadership, cited Florida’s high child drowning rates and argued that swim lessons reduce risk and should be available to more children. Senator Harrell noted the need to consider increasing the program’s funding as eligibility expands. The bill was reported favorably. The committee also heard SB 606 by Senator Smith, which adds drowning prevention and safe bathing education to postpartum materials provided by hospitals, birthing centers, and, after amendment, no longer home birth providers. A parent who lost a child to drowning testified in support, and senators emphasized the preventability of such deaths. The bill, as amended, was reported favorably as a committee substitute. SB 340 by Senator Harrell would require nursing students to complete a two-hour human trafficking course before licensure; after a strike-all amendment shifted the requirement from nursing programs to the students themselves, the bill received support from advocates and was reported favorably as a committee substitute. The committee also considered SB 162 by Senator Davis, which would require hospitals and ambulatory surgical centers to adopt policies for using smoke evacuation systems during procedures that generate surgical smoke. The sponsor said the equipment is relatively inexpensive and already common in many facilities, while opponents and some senators questioned the medical evidence, enforcement, and possible impacts on rural and smaller facilities. Despite those concerns, the bill was reported favorably, with some members voting no. SB 192, presented by Senator Trumbull on behalf of Senator Martin, would remove the $1,500 cap on advances chiropractic physicians may collect for examinations or treatment; the Florida Chiropractic Society supported the change as pro-small-business, and the bill was reported favorably. The committee also received an OPAGA presentation comparing Florida’s health care practitioner regulation system with other states, focusing on board autonomy, rulemaking oversight, board composition, appointments, term limits, and funding mechanisms.

Transcript Highlights:

• admin, they don't really want to wade into this, but they feel very confident in their system to prevent
• Last thing I'll mention, confident in their system to prevent that sort of thing from happening.
• He offered amendments to actually, you know, get rid of the imminent harm language and make it easier
• But I think there's some sort of ideology there that is just preventing them from doing that.
• But I think there's some sort of ideology there that is just preventing them from doing that.

Summary: House and Senate Republican leaders held a press event to preview the final weeks of the legislative session and criticize several Democratic proposals. Their main focus was a proposed income tax on high earners, which they said is really an income tax that could later be expanded, and which drew what they described as record opposition in public sign-ins and testimony. They also objected to other fiscal bills they said would raise costs for food, agriculture, health care, energy, labor, and consumer goods, and they argued these measures would worsen affordability and encourage people and businesses to leave Washington. The caucus also highlighted bills they opposed on policy grounds, including measures affecting local authority over camping bans and housing permitting, an anti-initiative bill they called anti-voter, and a bill on sheriff background checks. They said they supported or were pleased to see movement on some Republican-backed measures, including tax exemptions for diapers, prepared foods, and certain licensing and continuing-education costs, as well as a repeal of last year’s services tax. They also said the Senate’s move to roll back the estate tax was a partial step in the right direction, though not enough to offset the proposed income tax. A major portion of the event centered on child welfare and the Keeping Families Together Act. Republicans criticized a House bill they said only partially addresses the “imminent harm” standard and does not adequately protect children in drug-affected homes, citing recent fatalities and critical incidents. They said they will keep pushing for changes and also mentioned support for adding fentanyl to the child endangerment statute. In closing, they said they would continue floor fights over the next week, and House Republicans announced they will issue their own media credentials to promote press access in Olympia.

Transcript Highlights:

• For others, it meant looking for ways to prevent the misuse and waste of the tax dollars the state does
• Now, Senator, earlier this year you had a hearing on the program integrity and fraud prevention within
• It's tough to know exactly how much waste, fraud, and abuse would be prevented.
• omnibus bill lived up to Preventions omnibus bill lived up to those<00:07:52.000><c> ideals</c><00:07
• Uh, and I've um, be harmful for motans.

Transcript Highlights:

• If this material is harmful to them, which studies show even on the NIH website, showing that it is harmful
• If this material is harmful to them, which studies show even on the NIH website, showing that it is harmful
• If the material is harmful to minors, it should not be before our minors.
• Or is not harmful. And so I'm grateful for you.
• It is harmful to our children.

Transcript Highlights:

• This legislation does not prevent the sale of unsafe kratom.
• And I think if we can prevent that, so an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure.
• But we are concerned about the harms that are occurring. Senator Wintrow.
• This prevents high-potency and chemically enhanced products. This creates enforcement.
• This prevents a patchwork regulation.

Committee: Senate Health and Welfare

Transcript Highlights:

• In an emergency, preventive services should be accessible to all.
• In an emergency, preventive services should be accessible to all.
• Just kind of like, do the least harm to prevent hunger, knowing that many, many people are eligible for
• And the more a child is away from their family, that also creates harm.
• It reduces harm, prevents escalation, and supports better outcomes for everyone involved.

Committee: Senate Human Services

Transcript Highlights:

• These foods have been linked to serious health harms.
• disorders, reproductive harms, and neurobehavioral issues in children.
• It's why we have allocated billions of dollars to wildfire prevention.
• It has prevented law enforcement from getting search warrants.
• Members, drowning is 100% preventable. Numbers don't lie. Members, drowning is 100% preventable.

Summary: The Assembly met after a quorum call and first dealt with a procedural dispute over four amendments to AB 1240. The Speaker ruled the amendments out of order as not germane, and the Assembly sustained that ruling on a 49-16 vote. Members then added co-authors to several consent-calendar resolutions, including measures on the National Conference of State Legislators, Suicide Prevention Awareness Month, ALS Awareness Month, and Men’s Mental Health Month, before adopting the consent calendar. The chamber also heard guest introductions, including a welcome for Oakland Mayor Barbara Lee, and took up a motion to bring AB 41 up out of file, which failed 19-48. The bulk of the meeting was floor action on a long series of bills and resolutions, many of which passed with broad bipartisan support. Measures approved included ACR 40 supporting immigrant students and FAFSA privacy; AB 917 on permanent status for certain school employees; AB 985 on anesthesia access; AB 7 and AB 42 on higher education and student services; AB 245 providing property tax relief for wildfire victims; AB 255 allowing funding for drug-free recovery housing; AB 279 updating K-12 library standards; AB 289 creating a pilot for automated speed enforcement in highway construction zones; AB 291 on an educator apprentice program; AB 327 addressing swatting; AB 340 on confidential union communications; AB 341 creating an oral health technical assistance center for people with disabilities; AB 356 on San Diego health care infrastructure; AB 410 on bot disclosure; AB 476 on copper theft enforcement; AB 477 on educator pay targets; AB 485 on stolen wages and business licensing; AB 487, the insurance committee’s technical omnibus bill; AB 573 on tobacco retail license fees; AB 598 on school mapping technology; AB 635 on mobile home law enforcement referrals; AB 651 on remote participation for incarcerated parents in dependency hearings; AB 654 on homelessness hotline assistance in Los Angeles County; AB 662 creating a South County higher education task force; AB 667 on language access in professional licensing; AB 669 limiting early denial of addiction treatment; AB 670 on naturally occurring affordable housing; AB 695 on online continuation of community college for deported students; AB 723 on disclosure for digitally altered real estate images; AB 727 placing Trevor Project information on student IDs; and AB 736, a $10 billion affordable housing bond for the June 2026 ballot, which passed on a 61-11 urgency vote after extensive debate. Debate on AB 736 was the most extensive of the day, with supporters arguing the bond would help address California’s housing crisis and give voters a chance to weigh in, while opponents criticized the state’s bond debt and past spending results. The Assembly then recessed for caucus meetings and later returned to continue the daily file, where additional measures were taken up, including AB 798 adding diapers and wipes to the emergency food bank reserve program, which passed 56-0, and AB 821 on career technical education, which was presented as bipartisan-supported as the transcript continued.

Transcript Highlights:

• I think, as we all know, that there's clear evidence of consumer harm for...
• Often, this litigation prevents projects from ever breaking ground.
• should be prevented.
• And every crime against trans people should be prevented.
• There’s no evidence that medicalizing trans-identified people prevent suicide.

Summary: The committee heard several bills focused on civil rights, family law, privacy, housing, and artificial intelligence. SB 477 would clarify FEHA procedures for the Civil Rights Department, including tolling deadlines by agreement and updating complaint definitions; it drew some concern about venue and convenience but was moved forward. SB 450 would confirm California jurisdiction over adoption proceedings for children born in the state even if families have moved away, and would require all legal parents to be listed on adoption orders; it received strong support, especially from LGBTQ family advocates, and passed to Appropriations. SB 683 would clarify that people whose name, image, or likeness is misused may seek TROs or injunctions under existing publicity-rights law; opposition from media and First Amendment groups focused on the 48-hour compliance default and speech concerns, but the bill advanced as amended to Privacy and Consumer Protection. The committee also considered SB 11, the AI Abuse Protection Act, which would regulate voice, image, and video cloning technology, require warnings, and direct the Judicial Council to develop evidence standards for AI; it passed to Public Safety. SCR 66, a resolution designating May 1 as Law Day and emphasizing the rule of law, was adopted unanimously after supportive comments from members. SB 808 would create expedited judicial review for housing permit denials that violate state law; supporters said it would reduce costly delay and help housing production, while the Judicial Council opposed it as imposing unreasonable timelines and staffing burdens. The bill passed to Appropriations despite concerns about court resources and broader housing-law issues. The committee then took up two privacy bills from Senator Wiener. SB 59 would automatically keep confidential court records for adult and retroactive gender/name change petitions, expanding protections previously enacted for minors; supporters described real-world doxxing and harassment, while opponents raised First Amendment and public-records objections, and the bill passed to Appropriations. SB 497 would require warrants for out-of-state law enforcement access to California prescription monitoring data, expand transgender shield protections for gender-affirming care records, and bar certain disclosures without legal process; the author framed it as a response to out-of-state anti-trans enforcement, and the bill was presented with support from trans advocacy groups.

Transcript Highlights:

• , And in preventing and ending homelessness in the state.
• Thank you for rejecting many of the governor's harmful proposals to cut IS.
• year that prevents harmful cuts, keeps California's covered, and maintains vital access to life-saving
• harm in crisis, including social safety net services, violence prevention, community-based programming
• harm in crisis, including social safety net services, violence, that actually prevent harm in crisis

Committee: Senate Budget and Fiscal Review

Transcript Highlights:

• That means we also have the responsibility and capability to mitigate and ultimately prevent the harms
• to create a liability shield for neutral online platforms from third-party content that may create harm
• Countless individuals, both adults and adolescents, have suffered harms, including death, because of
• She continued to speak out, to organize, and to fight for others, even in the face of personal harm.
• The board may still review the study and discuss its findings, and nothing in this bill prevents the

Summary: The Assembly convened after a quorum call, prayer, and pledge, then handled a series of procedural motions, guest introductions, and floor actions. Members approved motions to suspend rules for various purposes, removed some bills from consent, and added coauthors to resolutions. The chamber also adopted a Rules Committee request to place ACR 233 on second-day consent. The body then took up multiple concurrence and resolution items. Among the measures approved were AB 2056 on teacher exchanges with Mexico, AB 2323 on public notice, AB 1778 on controlled substances and testosterone-related scheduling, AB 2692 on common interest developments, H.R. 110 on “food as medicine,” H.R. 117 urging Congress to reform Section 230 to address online harms, SCR 152 designating Dolores Huerta Day, SB 575 reestablishing the Sea Otter Voluntary Contribution Fund, SB 939 simplifying retirement service-credit purchases, SJR 6 urging the federal government to honor infrastructure funding commitments, SB 1165 improving tax compliance for contractors, SB 930 requiring encryption for school exam proctoring services, SB 922 clarifying local road-repair cost recovery tied to public service operations, and H.R. 124 supporting DACA recipients. Most of these measures passed with little or no opposition; H.R. 110, H.R. 117, and SCR 152 were adopted by voice vote after adding coauthors. The most contentious item was AB 1923, which would ensure the Fresno County Transportation Improvement Act appears on the November 2026 ballot. Supporters argued it protects voters’ right to decide on a qualified local initiative and prevents delay from a county-ordered study; opponents said it overrides local authority and changes the rules to facilitate a tax measure. After debate, the Assembly concurred in Senate amendments and passed the bill 54-16, sending it to the Governor. The session also included several adjournments in memory honoring Jonathan Gregg Burgess, Jeffrey Mosedo, Brian Haney, Anne Cronin Dunn, and Pastor Darryl Monroe Moore, before the Assembly adjourned until Monday, August 10.

Transcript Highlights:

• To prevent harmful exposures, we need to educate consumers and public health administrators about the
• This is not simply a matter of education; it's a matter of prevention.
• skin lightening products. life-altering harm.
• As a parent who taught internet safety and etiquette to her child, my child was still harmed.
• We're a 36-year-old Minnesota-based national nonprofit that focuses on suicide prevention.

Bills: HF2779 , HF1645 , HF1885 , HF1289 , HF1534 , HF2707 , HF1675 , HF3046

Committee: House Health Finance and Policy

Transcript Highlights:

• while preventing abuse.
• while preventing abuse.
• So it is not to give consumers more protection; it is to prevent lawsuits from being filed?
• We want to make sure that people who are harmed by those have access to the court.
• I think we want to protect people's ability, people who are actually harmed...

Committees: House Judiciary , House Judiciary and Civil and Criminal Jurisprudence

Transcript Highlights:

• Fortunately, there are other tools for a more deep analysis. harm reduction, we are still losing harm
• </c> element of a compre comprehensive harm element of a compre comprehensive harm reduction<00:14:56.240
• </c> drug paraphernalia when used by harm drug paraphernalia when used by harm reduction<00:17:56.080
• harm.
• harm.

Committee: Senate Judiciary

Transcript Highlights:

• We’ve issued interim guidance for hate prevention in schools and prevention-focused public messaging
• We’ve also studied how to prevent hate.
• So we have focused on specific areas of hate prevention, including preventing hate in K-12 schools and
• The educational realm of not only how to respond, but how to prevent.
• And speaking loudly against those who seek to harm our community.

Summary: The Select Committee on Hate, Racism, and Xenophobia met to hear opening remarks, state data, and testimony from community organizations and equity commissions about rising hate and discrimination in California. The chair framed the hearing as a response to persistent targeting of protected classes, and members said the committee’s purpose was to elevate community voices and identify policy responses. Assembly Member Gonzalez and Assembly Member Lowenthal also briefly commented on the importance of listening to communities and developing legislative solutions. The California Department of Justice reported that 2024 hate crime events, offenses, and victims all increased from the prior year, with anti-Black bias remaining the most common category, followed by anti-Jewish and anti-Latino bias in different breakdowns. DOJ also noted increases in referrals for prosecution and described its hate-crimes guidance, rapid-response protocol, and outreach efforts. The California Commission on the State of Hate said hate is underreported, cited survey data suggesting millions of Californians experienced hate incidents, and recommended permanent data infrastructure, mandatory law-enforcement training, and sustained funding for victim support and prevention programs. Commissioners also emphasized that public messaging by leaders can influence hate and violence. A long panel of advocates described the impacts of racism, xenophobia, anti-Semitism, Islamophobia, anti-LGBTQ+ hate, and anti-immigrant enforcement on their communities. NAACP representatives focused on systemic racism in policing, education, health, housing, and environmental justice; LULAC and CHIRLA described ICE raids, profiling, and fear in Latino and immigrant communities; Jewish, Muslim, Asian American, and LGBTQ+ speakers highlighted rising threats, harassment, and the need for language access, school protections, security funding, and legal assistance. The Racial Equity Commission closed by describing its statewide framework work, community engagement, and a December 1 deadline for delivering recommendations to the Legislature and administration. No formal votes or committee actions were taken during the hearing, but members said they would request additional recommendations and continue the work through future hearings and briefings.

Transcript Highlights:

• For new school approvals to operate when we know that the school has closed down, has harmed students
• for the harms for.
• have gaps on prevention, knowing that there's a lot of struggles in this space.
• So a lot of communication with the other licensing boards has been extremely helpful in prevention.
• We routinely prioritize and reprioritize those based on student harm.

Summary: The joint Sunset Review Oversight Hearing focused on the Bureau for Private Post-Secondary Education (BPPE) and its reauthorization, with committee chairs and members emphasizing the Bureau’s role in protecting students, overseeing private postsecondary schools, and responding to a changing federal higher education landscape. BPPE and the Department of Consumer Affairs reported that the Bureau has modernized data systems, improved enforcement, increased citations and inspections, reduced pending complaints, and is now meeting its statutory inspection mandate. They also said the Bureau faces a structural budget deficit and has reduced costs through staffing cuts, streamlined inspections, and shifting some student-relief functions to the Student Tuition Recovery Fund (STRF).

Transcript Highlights:

• Please. and help prevent needless tragedies that devastate families and communities.
• But 100% of those tragedies are preventable.
• They're preventable with consistent regulation of bodies of water and swimming pools.
• I'm not talking about a conceptual harm or a chem.
• I'm not talking about a conceptual harm or a chem.

Summary: The Senate Health Policy Committee met with a quorum and considered several health-related bills, most of them focused on drowning prevention and public safety. SB 428, by Senator Yarborough, would expand Florida’s swim lesson voucher program from children ages 0-4 to ages 1-7. The sponsor and supporting testimony from a pediatric emergency physician and YMCA representatives emphasized Florida’s high drowning rates, especially among very young children, and argued that swim lessons can significantly reduce risk. Senator Harrell noted the need to revisit the funding allocation as eligibility expands. The bill was reported favorably. The committee also heard SB 606, by Senator Smith, which adds drowning prevention and safe bathing practices to postpartum education provided by hospitals, birthing centers, and, after amendment, no longer requires home birth providers to maintain proof of compliance. A parent who lost a child to drowning and Senator Berman spoke in strong support, stressing that the bill would educate new parents at a critical time. The committee adopted the amendment and reported the bill favorably as a committee substitute. SB 162, by Senator Davis, would require hospitals and ambulatory surgical centers to adopt policies using smoke evacuation systems during procedures that generate surgical smoke. The sponsor said the equipment is relatively low-cost and already used in many facilities, while several witnesses supported the bill as a worker-safety measure. Other senators raised concerns about the lack of data, possible rural hospital impacts, and whether the mandate could add costs without clear evidence of harm. Despite those concerns, the bill was reported favorably. The committee also passed SB 340, by Senator Harrell, requiring nursing students to complete a two-hour human trafficking course before licensure, after amending the bill to shift the requirement from nursing programs to the students themselves. Testimony from a trafficking survivor and nursing advocates supported the measure, and it was reported favorably as a committee substitute. Finally, SB 192, presented by Senator Trumbull on behalf of Senator Martin, removed the $1,500 cap on advances chiropractic physicians may collect for examinations or treatment; chiropractic industry representatives supported the change, and the bill was reported favorably.