Transcript Highlights:

• Senator Padilla's commitment to further reduce the financial impact on consumers.
• I think the most serious... ...increases fraud risk and inflates costs.
• I've also toured the impacted areas. I've spoken to so many victims, and it's heartbreaking.
• I've also toured the impacted areas. I've spoken to so many victims, and it's heartbreaking.
• certain about what those impacts will be when we look at changes in legislation or rulemaking.

Committee: Senate Insurance

Transcript Highlights:

• </c><00:14:50.360><c> was</c> piloting this program the impact was piloting this program the impact was
• </c> that safe stable home it has impacts that safe stable home it has impacts into<00:27:03.559><c>
• The impact that MFPP has on our community is beyond what numbers I can show you.
• </c> resources and or referrals the impact resources and or referrals the impact that<00:38:24.000><c
• The impact that MFPP has on our community is beyond what numbers I can show you.

Committee: Senate Housing and Homelessness Prevention

Transcript Highlights:

• designed for people 13 or older and those with more developed bone density capable of withstanding the impact
• It helps out the county recorder's fees to catch up with inflation.
• It helps out the county recorder's fees to catch up with inflation.

Summary: The Assembly met on May 23, 2025, after a quorum call, prayer, and Pledge of Allegiance. Members also made several guest introductions and memorial recognitions, including tributes to labor leader Louisa Blue and a Memorial Day moment of silence. The body adopted a motion to suspend Assembly Rule 63 for certain Appropriations Committee bills, and later took up a second-day consent calendar and several resolutions. The chamber adopted ACR 68, declaring July 2025 as Parks Make Life Better Month, and ACR 83, proclaiming California Maritime Day; both received broad support. On the floor file, members passed a series of bills covering child passenger safety, student financial aid, downtown office-to-housing conversion districts, rental vehicle theft prevention, fire hazard zone reviews, medical data protections, UC admissions transparency, office-to-housing streamlining, inoperable RV removal, domestic violence and child welfare, insurance classification for social service workers, sustainable aviation fuel CEQA review, UC hiring background checks, accessory dwelling units, fish and wildlife exemptions for Sutter County infrastructure, speed limit assessments, geothermal permitting, special education transfers, recorder fee adjustments, and a BIT program exemption for farmers and ranchers. Most measures passed with little or no opposition. AB 435, which would have implemented a five-step test standard for child passenger safety laws, was later reconsidered and failed on a vote of 36-12 after the call was lifted. The Assembly also adopted the second-day consent calendar, including multiple bills and resolutions, and added co-authors to several resolutions. The session ended with adjournments in memory and an adjournment until Tuesday, May 27 at 1 p.m.

Transcript Highlights:

• So I just wanted to know what other counties have been impacted by this. Thank you.
• We also know that the economic impact is significant. The U.S.
• In rural areas like District 4, those impacts are magnified.
• impact on the budget is well justified, and I feel a couple of concerns here.
• The federal U. impacts American ship owners doing business in California.

Committee: Senate Revenue and Taxation

Transcript Highlights:

• How does the impact of this compare to what is current law?
• What would the impact of this kind of be on a real local basis?
• <00:19:03.799><c> by</c><00:19:03.960><c> this</c> impacted by this impacted by this budget<00:19:06.640
• ><00:19:22.640><c> there</c> being the biggest impact or is there being the biggest impact or is there
• </c> this will have just a devastating impact this will have just a devastating impact uh<00:38:18.599

Committee: House Human Services Finance and Policy

Transcript Highlights:

• And then how would that impact the companies that are presently doing this? Mr.
• How that would impact their business, I don't know.
• To what extent, if any, can we quantify that the mistake impacted the tabulated results?
• And it's not terribly long ago, but again, hey, there's been a lot of inflation.
• point because of inflation.

Bills: SB1003 , SB1060 , SB1134 , SB1275 , SB1327 , SB1429 , SB1618 , SB1634 , SB1654 , SB1803 , SCR1002 , SCR1005 , SCR1023 , SCR1027

Committees: House Federalism, Military Affairs & Elections , House House Federalism, Military Affairs & Elections Committee of Reference

Keywords: election, canvass, certification, ballot tabulation, write-in candidates, registration, voting procedures, voter registration, temporary absence, absentee voting, residency, military voters, overseas voters, election law, Arizona Revised Statutes, political signs, campaign materials, public safety, municipal regulation, foreign relations

Transcript Highlights:

• Federal turbulence is real and has an impact.
• At the same time, as it relates to things that will impact communities and impact local decision-making
• The economic impact is significant.
• Imagine the impact on our tax base.
• Imagine the impact on our tax base.

Committee: Joint Joint Committee on Economic Development and Emerging Technologies

Summary: The committee held a hearing on Governor Healey’s economic development proposal, H. 5386, also referred to as the Mass Winds Act, focused on global investment, talent, innovation, housing, and business competitiveness. Governor Healey, Secretary of Economic Development Eric Paley, and Secretary of Administration and Finance Matt Gorzkowicz described the bill as a response to federal uncertainty and global competition, building on the 2024 Mass Leads Act. They highlighted proposed investments in a Global Mass initiative, including a $50 million innovation access fund and $20 million for sites to help international companies locate or expand in Massachusetts, along with support for AI, quantum, robotics, defense innovation, climate tech, downtown revitalization, and creative/cultural economy projects. They also emphasized measures to lower business costs, including reducing the LLC filing fee, expanding the small business energy tax exemption, and streamlining housing and development rules. Committee members questioned the administration about non-compete reform, AI and data-center infrastructure, housing affordability, and whether the bill would help retain workers and companies in Massachusetts. The governor and secretaries argued that the non-compete changes would restore the original compromise by requiring any alternative to garden leave to be negotiated at separation, and they said the bill’s housing and workforce provisions are intended to help young workers stay in the state. They also said Massachusetts is already investing in AI training, an AI hub, and energy-related planning, while acknowledging that data-center growth will require careful attention to water, electricity, and ratepayer impacts. Several witnesses testified on specific sections. Northeastern University supported the internship tax credit, saying experiential learning helps students gain jobs and remain in Massachusetts. The Latino Empowerment Advisory Council supported the waiver of redundant English testing for internationally trained nurses, saying it would speed entry into the workforce without lowering clinical standards. Russell Beck opposed the non-compete changes, arguing they would undermine the 2018 compromise and could reduce other forms of employee compensation. The Secretary of the Commonwealth’s office opposed the LLC fee reduction, citing revenue loss and fraud concerns. Municipal and regional groups, including the MMA and the Metro Mayors Coalition, supported site plan review codification and downtown/arts investments, while urging continued municipal input. The AFL-CIO asked for trigger language to preserve labor protections if federal law changes, and business and industry witnesses generally supported the bill’s competitiveness and global investment provisions. No votes were taken; the hearing was informational, with written testimony invited after the meeting.

Transcript Highlights:

• We talked about the pillar around the climate and the air quality impacts.
• The inflation-adjusted costs reported to investors are relatively stable.
• So you calculate important impacts to health.
• Impact the per-gallon price of gasoline.
• Fossil fuels do have impacts, full stop.

Summary: The Assembly Committee on Utilities and Energy held its annual oversight hearing on the transportation fuels sector, focused on California’s fuel transition, the announced refinery closures by Phillips 66 and Valero, and the potential effects on supply, prices, and the broader fuel system. Committee leadership said the state needs a system-wide transition plan rather than a piecemeal approach, and state witnesses from CARB, the CEC, and DPMO described the fuel market as a complex, interconnected ecosystem involving crude production, refining, storage, imports, and delivery. They emphasized that declining gasoline demand from EV adoption is occurring alongside shrinking in-state refining capacity, which could increase volatility and price spikes if not managed carefully. CARB Chair Liane Randolph reviewed the state’s climate and air-quality programs, including AB 32, SB 32, the 2022 scoping plan, the low-carbon fuel standard, and vehicle emissions rules. She said these policies have reduced emissions substantially but that California still faces major ozone and PM2.5 problems, especially in disadvantaged communities. Randolph also said federal actions challenging California waivers could complicate the state’s clean-air efforts, and she noted that while liquid fuels will still be needed in some sectors, the state must continue reducing fossil fuel dependence while protecting public health. CEC Vice Chair Siva Gunda and DPMO Director Ty Milder presented data on gasoline demand, refinery throughput, crude imports, and price differentials. Gunda said the Legislature’s special-session laws gave the agencies transparency and planning tools, and that the CEC is developing a fuels transition plan while evaluating whether any regulatory tools should be used. Milder previewed DPMO findings that Californians have paid a long-running “mystery gasoline surcharge” averaging 41 cents per gallon since 2015, with higher margins concentrated in branded gasoline and among vertically integrated firms. He said the data show a concentrated market with some refiners doing well and others struggling, and that DPMO will continue investigating price behavior, competition, and supply risks. Members pressed the witnesses on whether state regulations contributed to refinery exits or higher prices, and on whether the agencies had adequately analyzed consumer costs. Witnesses said they had not yet implemented the new permissive tools from SB X1-2 and AB X2-1 because they were still assessing risks and benefits, and they stressed that refinery closures and capital decisions are driven by broader market conditions as well as regulation. No vote was taken; the hearing was informational, with the committee seeking updates and urging the agencies to develop a practical transition strategy that balances affordability, reliability, climate goals, and worker/community protections.

Transcript Highlights:

• And then the impact that it has on participants.
• And those figures don't even include the 218,000 primary crop workers who could also be impacted.
• Tying ag wages to the index artificially inflates costs every year, regardless of how farms are actually
• You've already heard the direct impacts on hotel REITs, so I'll focus on the broader issue.
• There's also a direct impact on retirement investments.

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:

• and then the... ...funds are coming in within the timeframe that we had planned for, and then the impact
• And those figures don't even include the 218,000 primary crop workers who could also be impacted.
• Tying ag wages to the index artificially inflates costs every year, regardless of how farms are actually
• You've already heard the direct impacts on hotel REITs, so I'll focus on the broader issue.
• There's also a direct impact on retirement investments.

Committee: House Labor and Employment

Transcript Highlights:

• Tax Changes Notification Form, codifies current practice at the JLBC and OSPB to project revenue impacts
• The bill also directs the governor to consider a special session if the impact reaches $100 million or
• Codifies current practice at the JLBC and OSPB to project revenue impacts from the federal tax legislation
• The bill also directs the governor to consider a special session if the impact reaches $100 million or
• website the table of fees for groundwater transportation and update the fee annually to reflect inflation

Summary: The caucus reviewed a long calendar of House bills across education, health, water, land, housing, labor, public safety, and taxation. Several measures dealt with artificial intelligence, including bills on AI disclosures for minors, AI-assisted divorce arbitration, an Arizona AI education program, AI privilege protections, and a required AI course in schools. Other topics included ESA administration funding, a prohibition on public money for certain foreign-controlled genetic sequencing devices, towing regulations, DUI and ignition interlock changes, health facility and nursing facility complaint timelines, internationally trained physicians, nurse anesthetist reimbursement, pharmacy penalties, childhood cancer research, cybersecurity encryption, school mental health instruction repeal, superintendent performance pay, adoption disclosures in student health settings, anti-Semitism in schools, and a range of water, land, and housing bills. Members frequently raised concerns about local control, unfunded mandates, constitutional issues, and the scope of state intervention. Several bills drew criticism for affecting school curriculum, public education, reproductive rights, protest activity, or tribal communities. Others were supported as technical fixes, consumer protections, or funding measures. The caucus also discussed a series of bills related to the Mexican gray wolf, state land management, solar and wind siting, groundwater transport, and rural development, with some members objecting that the proposals would undermine federal protections or tribal interests. A number of bills were pulled from consent for further discussion, including HB 2020, HB 2957, HCR 2044, HB 2352, HB 2667, HB 2906, HB 2093, HB 2386, HB 2481, HB 2830, HB 2076, HB 2411, HB 2136, HB 2665, and HB 2904. The meeting ended with an announcement of the Latino Caucus guest presentation and an emotional tribute to Reverend Jesse Jackson, followed by presentation of an Affordability Award to Representatives Lorena Austin and Stephanie Simacek for work on economic justice and working families. The caucus then adjourned.

Transcript Highlights:

• So his current salary, as it exists, would be subject to the inflator, the inflator increases.
• Chairman, I think we need to know what operating items were impacted by adjusting with a salary.
• I couldn't tell you exactly the impact on that.
• I think that it would give an opportunity to do what is the impact of that operating budget and get more
• Because when the Senate took those dollars all, we didn't change anything, so that didn't impact when

Committee: House Appropriations - Human Resources Division

Summary: The committee took up Senate Bill 2025, the Veterans Home/Veterans Affairs budget, and worked through the long sheet line by line. Members discussed base payroll, salary and health insurance increases, FTE pool adjustments, IT rate increases, operating expenses, transportation grants, the PTSD service dog program, salary equity requests, temporary help/intern funding, a Veterans Benefit Specialist FTE, accrued leave, and several one-time or carryover items including the Fisher House, document scanning, and veterans medical transportation. The committee also reviewed proposed policy language that would shift governance authority for the Veterans Home and Department of Veterans Affairs from the Administrative Committee on Veterans Affairs to the governor, and would remove board authority over salary-setting and related hiring powers. A major portion of the meeting focused on clarifying the commissioner salary equity line and how the agency had shifted operating dollars to fund the commissioner’s current salary increase. After discussion with agency staff and Lonnie, the committee voted to remove the separate commissioner salary equity increase line and instead restore operating funding, ultimately setting the operating line at $50,000 above the prior amount rather than fully funding the executive request. The committee also approved funding for the Veterans Benefit Specialist FTE, approved a carryforward/exemption for accrued leave, approved authority to accept $200,000 in federal transportation grant funds, approved the $500,000 transfers related to veterans homelessness, and approved the exemption language for certain federal/state fiscal recovery funds after discussing whether the funds were properly obligated. On the governance amendment, members expressed concern about making a major policy change in an appropriations bill, but also frustration over the board’s salary actions. After debate, the committee adopted the amendment transferring governance authority to the governor by a 7-1 vote. The committee also approved a smaller amount for veteran service officer salary equity than requested, and rejected funding for temporary salaries and an intern. The chair then directed staff to prepare the amended bill for further action, with the committee planning to revisit it once the revised version was ready.

Transcript Highlights:

• Federal turbulence is real and has an impact.
• At the same time, as it relates to things that will impact communities, impact local decision making
• The economic impact is The economic impact is significant.
• Imagine the impact on our tax base.
• Imagine the impact on our tax base.

Bills: H5386

Committee: Joint Joint Committee on Economic Development and Emerging Technologies

Keywords: economic development, innovation, investment, housing, small business, global trade, infrastructure

Transcript Highlights:

• And if that was found to not negatively impact California's consumers.
• Part of, I think, the importance of highlighting this, this is inflation-adjusted.
• The inflation-adjusted costs reported to investors are relatively stable.
• So you calculate important impacts to health, and...
• Impacts, full stop.

Committee: House Utilities and Energy

Summary: The Assembly Committee on Utilities and Energy held its annual oversight hearing on the transportation fuels sector, focused on refinery closures, gasoline supply and prices, in-state oil production, and implementation of SBX1-2 and ABX2-1. The chair emphasized that California needs a system-wide transition plan to manage the decline in fossil fuel demand while avoiding supply shocks and consumer harm, especially in light of Phillips 66’s planned refinery changes and Valero’s announced intent to close its Benicia refinery. CEC Vice Chair Siva Gunda and CARB Chair Liane Randolph described the broader fuel transition: EV adoption is rising, gasoline demand is declining, and California’s refining system is increasingly tight and interconnected with imports, storage, pipelines, and marine terminals. Randolph reviewed CARB’s climate and air-quality programs, including the low-carbon fuel standard, and said California still has major ozone and particulate pollution problems even as emissions have fallen. Both agencies stressed that the state must balance climate goals, air quality, consumer protection, and investor confidence, and that additional refinery closures could increase price volatility and strain supply. DPMO Director Ty Milder presented new data on gasoline pricing, saying Californians have paid a “mystery gasoline surcharge” of about 41 cents per gallon since 2015, with higher branded gasoline markups and elevated industry margins concentrated among vertically integrated firms. He said the data show some refiners do well while others struggle, and that the market is highly concentrated. Committee members questioned whether the data proved manipulation or whether state regulations and declining supply were contributing to refinery exits and higher prices. Witnesses said no specific consumer-cost threshold is used in CARB’s economic analysis, and CEC officials said they have not yet implemented the new permissive tools because they are still evaluating whether the benefits outweigh the risks. No votes were taken.

Transcript Highlights:

• I'm focusing on the fiscal capacity disparity aid, and I would like to see how it impacts each town.
• I don't see that factor and how it impacts each town in accordance with the formula, which you'll see
• I just want to make sure it includes both the inflation adjustment and the bump.
• This has a huge impact in terms of legal understanding of what the term is.
• </c><04:13:58.479><c> immediately</c> School budgets just inflated immediately School budgets just inflated

Summary: The committee met in executive session on HB 563, which revises the adequacy education grant formula, including differentiated aid for free and reduced-price meals, English language learners, and special education, and also restores fiscal capacity disparity aid. Members explained that for FY 26 the formula largely stays the same with the usual 2% increases, while FY 27 would raise the base cost and several aid categories, including a substantial increase in special education differentiated aid. Supporters said the bill recognizes higher special education costs and separates fiscal capacity disparity from the extraordinary needs grant, which they argued better targets property-poor communities. A major point of discussion was the fiscal capacity disparity aid component. Some members asked for more detail on how the formula affected individual towns and how much money was being allocated. The sponsors said the spreadsheet showed the impacts and estimated the fiscal capacity disparity portion at about $13.3 million, benefiting roughly 40 communities, with Manchester the only municipality expected to receive less under the new approach. They also said the change partially rebalances money that had shifted heavily toward larger cities under the extraordinary needs grant and that the special education increase is new money, not taken from the hold harmless or extraordinary needs funds. Several members supported the amendment as a good-faith step and a bipartisan compromise, while others expressed frustration that they did not have enough time or information to review the spreadsheets in detail before voting. After extended debate, the committee recessed for lunch to allow the spreadsheet to be distributed and reviewed, with the understanding that the bill would continue later in the day and then move on to the other bills on the docket.

Transcript Highlights:

• We'd like to suggest and we support this increase because we've not kept up with inflation.
• There's a very real impact to Californians from this industry. California is counties.
• There's a very real impact to Californians from this industry.
• Avian influenza has impacted every single state, affecting more than 168 million domestic birds, and
• To date, the virus has also impacted more than 975 dairy herds, 100 cats, and 70 people in the U.S.

Summary: The Assembly Agriculture Committee met as a subcommittee at first because a quorum was not yet present, then adopted its committee rules for the 2025-2026 legislative session by a 5-0 vote. The committee heard a series of agriculture-related bills, with most measures receiving broad support and moving forward. AB 1142 by Assemblymember Hoover would raise the fee thresholds for small public horse events that are exempt from equine medication monitoring rules; supporters said the current limits are outdated and hurt small riding clubs, and the bill passed to Appropriations. AB 411 by Assemblymember Papin would allow ranchers to compost livestock carcasses on-farm; supporters cited cost, environmental, and predator-control benefits, while rendering industry representatives asked for amendments to protect existing services and limit the bill’s scope. The bill passed to Natural Resources. AB 482 by Assemblymember Solache would modernize the California Table Grape Commission law and raise assessment caps without increasing assessments themselves; it passed to Appropriations. AB 312 by Vice Chair Alanis would shorten the holding period for ag theft property from six months to three months; it also passed to Appropriations. The committee also heard AB 937 and AB 947 by Assemblymember Connolly. AB 937 would make technical changes to the Organic Transition Pilot Program to improve access to organic transition support, with testimony from a farmer who said the program helped him pursue organic certification; the bill passed to Appropriations. AB 947 would expand and refine technical assistance under the Healthy Soils/Climate Smart Agriculture programs, including training, grant writing, matching funds coordination, equipment sharing, and outcome monitoring; supporters said the changes would help small and organic producers access state climate programs, and it also passed to Appropriations. AB 1486, presented by the chair, would use Proposition 4 funding to start grants for public postsecondary agricultural research farms focused on climate resiliency; members praised the role of CSU and UC research farms, and the bill passed to Natural Resources as amended. The most extensive discussion centered on AB 928 by Assemblymember Rogers, the California Cockfighting Cruelty Act. Supporters argued the bill would help law enforcement target cockfighting and rooster trafficking, reduce avian disease risks, and protect public health and animal welfare; opponents, including poultry hobbyists, breeders, and 4-H-related participants, said it would overreach into lawful poultry keeping and harm heritage-breed and youth programs, urging instead that cockfighting penalties be increased to a felony. Committee members echoed concerns about unintended impacts on legitimate poultry owners and requested continued work on exemptions and language. The bill passed to Judiciary on a 5-2-1 vote, with one no vote and one abstention, and the chair noted that further committee review would continue as the bill advances.

Transcript Highlights:

• </c> ushered in the end of the inflation ushered in the end of the inflation reduction<00:37:06.800><
• It's called inflation.
• back our debt with inflated dollars.
• Inflation. And you debase the currency.
• What would be the economic impact?

Transcript Highlights:

• Um, but knowing the fiscal impacts of what that would mean providing that across the entire county and
• This exemption would lower construction costs and reduce a property tax impact on Plymouth residents
• </c> costs and reduce a property tax impact costs and reduce a property tax impact on<00:21:27.320><c
• The two-year fund impact for fiscal years 2026 and 2027 this year is, excuse me, $860,000.
• </c><00:46:13.839><c> since</c> th000 since the cost of inflation since th000 since the cost of inflation

Committee: Senate Taxes

Transcript Highlights:

• The impact of this bill reaches far beyond that simple statement.
• The impact of this bill reaches far beyond that simple statement.
• The impact of this bill reaches far beyond that simple statement.
• They actually inflate the money supply when they make loans. Is that correct?
• They actually inflate the money supply when they make loans. Is that correct?

Committee: House County and Municipal Government

Transcript Highlights:

• So I just wanted to know what other counties have been impacted by this. Thank you.
• We also know that the economic impact is significant. The U.S.
• In rural areas like District 4, those impacts are magnified.
• The impact on the budget is well justified, and I feel a couple of concerns here.
• This would be an impact to the General Fund, which means cuts to other general services.

Summary: The committee heard and advanced several tax and revenue measures, beginning with SB 1329 on solar property tax assessment. The author and solar industry witnesses argued the bill would create a uniform statewide method, provide certainty for developers, and exclude tax credits and other intangibles from valuation; county assessors and several counties opposed it, saying it would reduce assessed value and depart from market-based appraisal. The bill was moved to Appropriations on a 2-0 vote and placed on call. The committee also heard SB 1406 to close the “Montana tax loophole” used to avoid California vehicle taxes, with support from the California Teachers Association and no registered opposition; it passed 2-0 and was placed on call. SB 984, conforming California law to the federal tipped-income deduction, drew support from the restaurant industry, Howard Jarvis Taxpayers Association, and enrolled agents, and passed 3-0 to Appropriations, on call. Later, the committee considered wildfire- and energy-related tax credits. SB 1084 would create a fire-safe home tax credit for home hardening and defensible space improvements; supporters said it would reduce wildfire losses and insurance costs, and it passed 3-0 on call. SB 1118 would provide credits for backup generators and solar battery systems in high fire-threat areas; the author framed it as a resilience measure for households and small businesses, but members raised concerns about cost, diesel use, and whether the credit would reach lower-income households. The bill was moved 1-0 and placed on call, with the chair and other members noting unresolved budget and policy concerns. SB 1424, expanding a partial sales tax exemption to zero-emission vehicle refueling equipment, received support from hydrogen and electric transportation groups and passed 4-0 on call. The committee also advanced SB 1249, a senior tax deduction for taxpayers ages 86 to 90, with support from LeadingAge California and senior advocates; members noted it was narrowly targeted and passed 4-0 on call. SB 1113, conforming California tax law to the federal tonnage tax regime for U.S.-flag international shipping companies, drew support from maritime industry groups and opposition from ILWU over the fiscal impact; it passed 4-0 on call. SB 1137, the Medical Expense Deduction Act, would allow a targeted deduction for medical expenses for lower-income taxpayers; supporters said it would help families facing high out-of-pocket costs, and it passed 4-0 on call. Finally, SB 1415 would extend a partial welfare property tax exemption to mixed-income housing that includes moderate-income units; supporters said it would help finance “missing middle” housing, while assessors and housing stakeholders requested amendments and guardrails. The bill was also moved forward on a committee vote and placed on call.