Transcript Highlights:

• </c> to testify in front of the legislature to testify in front of the legislature it's<03:49:58.319>
• </c><04:06:03.800><c> um</c> to a matter before the legislature um to a matter before the legislature
• The legislature makes laws. We have separation of powers.
• I've certainly served in the legislature when it has happened.
• Would you consider a position as... the legislature that we sought a sponsor the legislature that we

Summary: The meeting was an introductory organizational session for the House Legislative Administration Committee. Chair Greg Hill and Vice Chair Vanessa Sheen welcomed members, introduced the new clerk and committee staff, and described the committee as generally nonpartisan and focused on bills on their merits. They also noted that many bills are handled on a consent calendar after discussion, and that the committee often works closely with staff, House counsel, and the House clerk on procedural matters. A substantial portion of the meeting focused on committee operations and expectations: how committee reports should be prepared and submitted, the use of electronic submissions, scheduling hearings, and the need for clear bill placards at the witness table for livestream viewers. Members discussed the committee’s calendar, including a proposed conflict with the governor’s budget address, and ultimately settled on moving the remaining hearings to February 19. The chair also emphasized advance notice for absences or amendments, and said executive sessions can be scheduled as time allows under current rules. House Clerk Paul Smith testified about his role as a nonpartisan officer and said he would be providing informational testimony on a bill affecting a law he sponsored years ago, as well as on a forthcoming PSLF-related bill for legislators. He also spoke about legislative customs, precedents, and the value of parliamentary procedure. The chair concluded with guidance on decorum: arrive on time, avoid interruptions during testimony, keep food out of the room, use electronic devices discreetly, and route questions through the chair for clarification rather than debate.

Transcript Highlights:

• to be a delegate of the legislature to be a delegate of the legislature<00:16:30.399><c> at</c><00:16
• </c><01:16:07.679><c> so</c> a state are sent by the legislature so a state are sent by the legislature
• </c> pass anything through the legislature pass anything through the legislature they<01:29:28.239><c
• </c><01:49:07.560><c> that</c> people outside the legislature that people outside the legislature that
• I trust members of this legislature.

Committee: House State-federal Relations and Veterans Affairs

Transcript Highlights:

• Over the last two years, the legislature has We have critical security equipment, $12 million.
• Over the last two years, the legislature has recognized the need to do what we can to protect officers
• The legislature The legislature has also funded body armor for local law enforcement agencies.
• Well intended years ago, the legislature funded several re-entry centers.
• It is a non-discretionary form of release created by the legislature.

Committee: Senate Appropriations Committee on Criminal and Civil Justice

Summary: The committee met to hear an overview of the Appropriations Committee on Criminal and Civil Justice budget area and then received performance-measure presentations from the Department of Corrections, the Commission on Offender Review, and the Department of Juvenile Justice. Staff reviewed the roughly $7.4 billion criminal justice and judiciary budget, noting major funding areas such as corrections, law enforcement, victim services, courts, and due process, along with recent investments in prison health care, security equipment, fentanyl enforcement, court staffing, and juvenile justice salaries and education programs. Secretary Dixon of the Department of Corrections described staffing and population pressures, including growth in inmate population, overtime-driven deficits, and the opening of additional housing units. He emphasized the department’s use of performance measures and highlighted reforms such as incentivized prisons, administrative management units, reentry planning, faith-based programs, and expanded education and vocational training. Members asked about teacher hiring, public defender pay parity, fentanyl funding, staffing capacity, and the role of the National Guard; Dixon said teacher vacancies had improved, public defenders had received comparable pay increases, fentanyl funding would be addressed further by FDLE, and the Guard had helped stabilize staffing. The Commission on Offender Review reported on parole, conditional release, addiction recovery supervision, and revocations, saying its recidivism/success rates had improved over a three-year measurement period. Senator Rouson pressed the commission on clemency and pardons, saying that work was omitted from the presentation and asking for backlog and case data; the commission said it did not have those figures on hand and would follow up. The committee also discussed a conditional medical release pilot study, and members questioned the report’s conclusion that no suitable elderly inmate population could be identified, asking what criteria were used and whether stakeholders were consulted. Secretary Hall of the Department of Juvenile Justice outlined the agency’s prevention-to-residential continuum and its emphasis on education, data-driven decision-making, and evidence-based programming. He said salary increases had reduced vacancies, juvenile arrests and residential commitments had fallen sharply over time, and tools such as civil citations, risk assessments, and quality-improvement reviews were being used to guide placements and services. Hall also described the department’s use of dashboards, monthly data check-ins, and the dispositional matrix to improve outcomes and reduce recidivism.

Transcript Highlights:

• That would give the Legislature more of a runway to be able to proactively address. Stress.
• So we appreciate the Legislature wanting to follow that more closely.
• One thing that I would note last year, the Legislature passed SB 254 and the wildfire issue.
• So we appreciate the legislature wanting to follow that more closely.
• One thing that I would note last year, the legislature passed SB 254 and the wildfire issue.

Committee: House Utilities and Energy

Transcript Highlights:

• The Legislature did not extend its funding beyond this June.
• The legislature did not extend its funding beyond this June.
• The Legislature made a mistake in taking a pilot program and making it permanent.
• In fact, the Legislature passed a bill to do so. It could be revisited or adjusted.
• In fact, the Legislature passed a bill to do so.

Transcript Highlights:

• The Legislature also passed SB 1440, which authorized the California Public Utilities Commission... .
• Just last year, the legislature adopted SB 254, which...
• When the Legislature signals a preference for lower returns or particular financing approaches, The Legislature
• Many of the mandated costs that the IOUs collect, the Legislature has also...
• The legislature has become, unfortunately, acutely aware of valley fever.

Committee: Senate Energy, Utilities and Communications

Transcript Highlights:

• ,</c> uh, setting in this tide legislature, uh, setting in this tide legislature, uh,<00:03:56.400><c
• As a reminder, this Tyler settlement, if the legislature doesn't act, those are resources that would
• In the past, um the legislature bonds.
• </c> grantees handed to us by the legislature grantees handed to us by the legislature will<00:26:44.640
• </c> times with this tied legislature times with this tied legislature at<01:03:46.240><c> ends</c><01

Bills: HF1141

Committee: House Housing Finance and Policy

Transcript Highlights:

• created a Family Division legislature created a Family Division that<00:20:46.400><c> would</c><00:20
• There's a really important and there-and reads as such lower courts as the legislature may establish
• So before I get to what that section means, we look at what the framers, not the legislature, but the
• </c> corner of the state as the legislature corner of the state as the legislature took<00:50:15.680>
• </c> and with gratitude to the legislature and with gratitude to the legislature for<01:13:26.600><c>

Summary: The subcommittee on the Children and Family Law Committee met organizationally to continue work on family court issues, building on a prior special committee’s report and taking a collaborative approach with the Judiciary. The chair said the group would focus on solutions rather than rehashing public complaints, and identified three main topics for early study: specialization and training of family court judges, the extent to which judges should be bound by the rules of evidence, and whether mediation in family cases should be mandatory or voluntary and what qualifications mediators should have. A fourth concern was also raised about overlap between superior court domestic violence cases and family court custody/support matters, and whether one judge should hear both. Members discussed whether to divide into smaller subcommittees, but the prevailing view was to work as a committee of the whole at first. Most members agreed that additional public testimony was unlikely to add much, though recent concerns could still be emailed to the committee. The committee then heard from Attorney Erin Krian, general counsel for the judicial branch, and Judge Michael Mace. Krian said the judicial branch could provide additional witnesses on mediation and judicial training, including Judge Kissinger, and noted the branch was preparing materials on how other states handle the issues. Mace described the history of the Family Division and said he had reviewed older reports going back to the 1990s. He also outlined current judicial branch efforts, including expanded shadowing for new judges, monthly family-law trainings, and a year-long focus on family law topics. He reported that court rules had been updated to clarify notice requirements for minor guardianship changes, and that the branch had received positive feedback on the family access motion, which provides a statutory timeline and listed remedies for parenting-time disputes. Members also discussed prior committee work on rules of evidence and family court procedures. One member recalled recommending quiet review of any judges who appeared to apply evidence rules inconsistently, and Krian said the administrative judge can review complaints even if they come from a single person. The committee also received a status update on prior initiatives, including a federal grant for guardian ad litem services for indigent litigants in four locations, testing of redesigned court forms, and continued training improvements. The chair scheduled the next subcommittee meeting for April 1 and the full Children and Family Law Committee for April 8, with further documents from committee research and NCSL to be circulated.

Transcript Highlights:

• </c> made as a committee or as a legislature made as a committee or as a legislature to<00:35:40.640>
• </c><01:18:08.760><c> has</c> way in that act this legislature has way in that act this legislature has
• </c><01:18:47.520><c> says</c> public unless the legislature says public unless the legislature says
• </c><01:47:40.040><c> said</c> to understand when the legislature said to understand when the legislature
• </c> change and by you I mean the legislature change and by you I mean the legislature at<01:49:22.400

Committee: Senate Judiciary and Public Safety

Transcript Highlights:

• We look forward to partnering with the legislature.
• Oftentimes the legislature has asked us for information.
• I first want to stop by saying thank you to the legislature.
• Now, in recent years, the Legislature has fully funded both our 1510, which pays the private The Legislature
• I want to be sure to say thank you to the Legislature.

Committee: Joint Joint Committee on Ways and Means

Summary: The hearing was held in Clinton Town Hall as part of the Joint Committee on Ways and Means’ budget review, with local officials welcoming legislators and noting the long agenda of many panels. The main presentation was from Secretary Terrence Reedy of the Executive Office of Public Safety and Security, who outlined the Healey-Driscoll administration’s FY26 proposal for the secretariat, including a $1.7 billion budget and a 7% increase over FY25. He described investments in emergency preparedness, hate-crime prevention, reentry programming, technology modernization, internships, and public safety training, while also noting some reductions driven by resource constraints, including cuts to certain grant programs and administrative costs. Committee members also raised concerns about federal uncertainty and how it could affect state budgets and public safety planning. A major portion of the questioning focused on the Department of Correction. Secretary Reedy and Commissioner Sean Jenkins said the biggest challenges are staffing, officer wellness, facility safety, and contraband—especially K2. They described steps taken at MCI Souza and other facilities, including reducing population at the maximum-security unit, changing management, removing metal products and free weights, improving screening and roll calls, adding a rapid response team, and increasing investigative and technological efforts to combat K2. They also discussed the closure of MCI Concord, saying it was driven by high maintenance costs and staffing needs, and explained that savings are being used to improve staffing patterns and address deferred maintenance over time rather than producing immediate large budget reductions. Members also questioned the budget’s impact on police training and community policing. The administration defended the increase in police academy tuition from $3,200 to $6,000 as reflecting true training costs and said it would still be subsidized by the state, while acknowledging the burden on small municipalities. They said the MPTC is expanding regional training and considering proposals such as Greenfield Community College’s. On community policing, officials emphasized uniform statewide training, de-escalation, and communication skills. The State Police also announced an outside review of the academy by the International Association of Chiefs of Police and said the next class will be split into two smaller groups to improve oversight and allow quicker implementation of recommendations. Other topics included ICE and federal immigration enforcement, with Reedy saying state law prohibits Massachusetts law enforcement from acting in a civil immigration capacity and that no state dollars were used in the Tufts-related ICE operation mentioned by a member. Senators and representatives also raised the upcoming FIFA World Cup, warning that it will require significant public safety resources and likely federal funding. Additional discussion covered restorative justice and juvenile diversion, health care costs in DOC, electronic health records, and the need for more diverse and culturally competent public safety staffing. No votes were taken during the hearing.

Transcript Highlights:

• What are the where legislature pension?
• </c> should come before the legislature should come before the legislature before<00:47:23.359><c> they're
• And I just legislature won't look at it.
• </c> bringing bills back to the legislature bringing bills back to the legislature and<01:25:07.920><
• </c> executive branch and this legislature executive branch and this legislature doing<01:26:28.639><

Committee: Senate State and Local Government

Transcript Highlights:

• Use of the general fund dollars is determined by appropriations of the legislature.
• most services are excluded from the tax base unless the legislature puts them in the base.
• </c> 1.5 um in 2023 the legislature 1.5 um in 2023 the legislature authorized<00:55:42.599><c> um</c>
• He said no, and that he can go to leadership and the legislature can do whatever they want.
• He said no, and that he can go to leadership and the legislature can do whatever they want.

Committee: House Taxes

Transcript Highlights:

• I think my question is, so let's just say that the Legislature fails to act, and those standards are
• And I just don't want to give our power up as a Legislature over this oversight.
• We, in essence, I think the standards, when the Legislature did not reject the standards, they went into
• When the Legislature did not reject the standards, they went into effect.
• So that was, in fact, the voice of the Legislature.

Committee: House Common Education

Transcript Highlights:

• I think my question is, so let's just say that the legislature fails to act, and those standards are
• And I just don't want to give our power up as a legislature over this oversight.
• We, in essence, I think the standards, when the legislature did not reject the standards, they went into
• Standards, when the legislature did not reject the standards, they went into effect.
• So that was, in fact, the voice of the legislature.

Committee: House Common Education

Summary: The committee first took up House Bill 4427, with the sponsor explaining that it would place guardrails on the use of adjunct teachers in school districts. The bill would, beginning in the 2026-27 school year, prohibit adjunct teachers from teaching core subjects in pre-K through 4th grade, including math, ELA, science, and social studies, with a limited exemption process through the State Board. After brief discussion, the committee voted 8-0 to report the bill out as a do pass. Next, House Bill 3021 was presented as a graduation requirements measure that had been worked on with SDE, higher education, and career tech. The sponsor said a PCS or amendment would remove a conflicting section and that the agencies were in agreement on the planned changes. After questions about agency alignment, the committee voted 10-1 to report the bill out as a do pass. The committee then heard House Bill 3711, a transparency bill requiring school districts to post the percentage of spending devoted to instruction on the front page of their websites and include it in bond applications. The sponsor said the goal was to give taxpayers clearer information about how school funds are used. After discussion about how districts define instructional versus support spending, the bill passed the committee on a 7-9-4-N-A vote as announced in the transcript. Finally, House Bill 2987 would change the default outcome for academic standards if the legislature fails to act within 30 legislative days, making them deemed disapproved rather than approved. The sponsor argued this would preserve legislative oversight and prevent substandard standards from taking effect, while opponents raised concerns about delays and outdated standards. The committee discussed how the process would work if standards were rejected or sent back with instructions, and then voted 10-1-1-0 to report the bill out as a do pass.

Transcript Highlights:

• Here we have a bill where the Legislature, the politicians, have decided. Fair.
• The legislature may have a The legislature may have a short memory, but our creditors do not.
• The Legislature will now have two appointees. The governor for future outcomes.
• And this Legislature, I think, has come together in a bipartisan way to get housing done.
• all we are talking about in the Legislature.

Transcript Highlights:

• However, if the Legislature ...to address urgent needs and mitigate near-term risks.
• That didn't give the Legislature much time to review all 6,000 of those positions.
• That didn't give the Legislature much time to review all 6,000 of those positions.
• That didn't give the legislature much time to review on. positions across various departments.
• That didn't give the legislature much time to review all 6,000 of those positions.

Summary: The subcommittee heard a series of Department of Food and Agriculture budget proposals, beginning with ongoing funding and trailer bill language for the Farm to School program and related climate-smart agriculture work. CDFA described the program’s goals of linking California producers with schools, expanding access to local and nutritious food, and supporting underserved farmers through technical assistance and outreach. The LAO recommended rejecting the proposal as presented because of the state’s budget condition and suggested that some activities might instead be supported through Proposition 98. Members questioned whether the program is reaching the schools and communities with the greatest need, how grants are scored, and whether the proposal’s goals are measurable enough to justify ongoing funding. The item was held open. The committee also discussed CDFA’s climate bond expenditure plan, which would allocate remaining Proposition 4 funds to existing programs such as SWEEP, Healthy Soils, urban agriculture, fairground emergency response upgrades, and invasive species work, as well as new or developing programs including year-round certified farmers markets, mobile farmers markets, regional farm equipment sharing, and tribal food sovereignty. CDFA said the funds would be released in stages based on program readiness, with audits and performance metrics tied to each program. The LAO found the plan reasonable and consistent with bond requirements. Members asked about audit responsibility, performance tracking, and whether the bond programs should be front-loaded or spread over a longer period. A third CDFA item addressed the elimination of vacant positions under prior budget reductions. CDFA and the Department of Finance explained that the positions were selected because they had been vacant for long periods or were hard to fill, and that departments identified the positions based on their own operational knowledge. The LAO supported retaining the special-fund positions and suggested the General Fund positions be weighed on their merits. Members raised concerns about the impact on core functions such as audits, investigations, milk marketing, and grape pricing reports, and asked for follow-up on how the department determined which positions could be removed. The committee then heard a CDFA IT proposal to add funding and four positions for information technology operations; the LAO had no concerns, and members discussed cybersecurity, legacy systems, and future risks such as AI and quantum threats. The committee took public comment and then voted to approve items 9 through 13, which included CDFA dog importation certificates, livestock carcass disposal, Gambling Control Commission IT support and tribal grant funding, and an ABC district office relocation. The hearing then moved to the Department of Cannabis Control, which presented a request to strengthen enforcement against the illicit cannabis market by adding a North State field office in Redding and three non-sworn support positions. DCC said the illicit market remains far larger than the legal market, with a large backlog of cases and significant public safety and environmental concerns. Finance supported the targeted expansion, the LAO had no comment, and members asked about regional coverage, officer safety, and whether a larger, more transformational enforcement effort might be warranted in the future.

Transcript Highlights:

• Last year, EQ heard, and the legislature, good morning, and the legislature passed SB 237, ...heard,
• But to do right by our constituents, we in the legislature can't afford to be caught flat-footed.
• This legislature has really sent a clear message to the oil and gas producers and refineries.
• to thank the Legislature for your leadership.
• Do you think the legislature should provide more tools or more obligations?

Committee: Senate Environmental Quality

Transcript Highlights:

• So what do we need and how can the legislature help?
• Added to your docket or added to the legislature, Mr.
• The legislature did not, um, they, the legislature said the caps can't go down, um, if, if the, um, if
• That's because of your funding in this legislature. It's given us the opportunity.
• That's something we've never contemplated as a legislature.

Committee: House Courts, Corrections & Justice Committee

Transcript Highlights:

• Uh, we're here today, uh, leaders in the legislature and, uh, from myself and, uh, representatives of
• so closely divided at a time legislature so closely divided at a time when<00:03:18.080><c> we</c><00
• Knowing that we are a legislature with 101 Democrats, 100 Republicans, but equally tied in the state
• Knowing that we are a legislature with 101 Democrats, 100 Republicans, but equally tied in the state
• </c><00:25:34.080><c> year</c> coming back to the legislature year coming back to the legislature year

Transcript Highlights:

• This avoids a major payout to the developer for any tax abatement provided by the legislature.
• Once the legislature decides to cross this Rubicon, this line, Mr. Speaker, there is no going back.
• They said we should defer the polishing off to the next legislature.
• It's not owned by one legislature. It's owned by all of us.
• And each legislature inherits it from the legislature that came before it, and we have a responsibility