GOOD AFTERNOON. WELCOME TO
EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT COMMITTEE.
I'M ASSEMBLYMEMBER RODRIGUEZ,
AND WELCOME TO TODAY'S HEARING.
AT TODAY'S HEARING, WE'LL TAKE
PUBLIC COMMENTS FROM THOSE IN
THE ROOM. MEMBERS OF THE PUBLIC
MAY ALSO SUBMIT TESTIMONY TO THE
COMMITTEE AT AERM DOT ASSEMBLY
DOT CA.GOV. FIRST, LET'S
ESTABLISH A QUORUM. SECRETARY,
CAN YOU PLEASE CALL THE ROLL?
HERE. BURNER. HERE. CALDERON.
HERE CALLED AROUND HERE.
CARILLO. CARILLO HERE. WALDRON.
WALDRON. HERE WE HAVE,
ESTABLISHED A QUORUM. NEXT, WE
HAVE THE BILLS ON CONSENT AS
FOLLOWED. NUMBER TWO, SB 1014
DODD REGARDING THE CALIFORNIA
WILDFIRE MITIGATION STRATEGIC
PLANNING ACT. THE MOTION IS DUE
PASS TO THE COMMITTEE ON NATURAL
RESOURCES, FILE NUMBER THREE, SB
1215, SENATE COMMITTEE ON
GOVERNMENTAL ORGANIZATION MAKING
TECHNICAL CHANGES TO THE
STRUCTURE OF THE STATE BOARD OF
FIRE SERVICES. THAT MOTION IS
DUE PASS TO THE COMMITTEE ON
APPROPRIATIONS, DO I HAVE A
MOTION? AND SECOND MOTION IS BY
VÌ. WHO WAS IT? DAVIES. SECONDED
BY MR. WARNER. THERE WE GO,
SECRETARY CORDERO. ON THE ON THE
CONSENT CALENDAR, SB 1014, THE
MOTION IS DUE. PASS TO THE
COMMITTEE ON NATURAL RESOURCES
AND SB 1215. THE MOTION IS DUE
PASSED TO THE COMMITTEE ON
APPROPRIATIONS. RODRIGUEZ HI.
RODRIGUEZ. AYE. DAVIES. DAVIES
AYE. ARAMBULA. HI. ARAMBULA. AYE
BENNETT. BURNER HI. BURNER. AYE.
CALDERON CALDERON. AYE. CARILLO.
CARILLO AYE. WALDRON. HI.
WALDRON. AYE AND CONSENT IS OUT.
UNANIMOUS AS WE ARE WAITING FOR
SOME TALKING POINTS FOR OUR
FIRST BILL, SB 990. PADILLA
STAFF IS BRINGING OVER SOME
TALKING POINTS, SO THAT WAY
WE'LL PRESENT AS STAN IS STILL
IN SESSION. SO I'LL WAIT A FEW
MORE MINUTES AND HOPEFULLY
THEY'LL SHOW UP. PERFECT TIMING.
I INVITE THE WITNESSES. YEAH.
OKAY. WITH THAT, WE'LL HAVE,
ASSEMBLY MEMBER CALDERON PRESENT
FOR SENATOR PADILLA. THEY'RE
STILL IN SESSION, AND THE
WITNESSES CAN COME FORWARD. AND
ASSEMBLY MEMBER, WHEN YOU'RE
READY, YOU CAN BEGIN. HI. MY
LIFE. OKAY. THANK YOU, MR.
CHAIR. AND MEMBERS, I'M HERE
TODAY TO PRESENT SB 990 ZERO.
LAST YEAR, CALIFORNIA SUFFERED A
RECORD NUMBER OF CATASTROPHIC
NATURAL DISASTERS, WHICH WILL
ONLY INCREASE IN FREQUENCY AND
INTENSITY AS CLIMATE CHANGE
WORSENS. THOUGH CLIMATE CHANGE
DISASTERS WILL TOUCH MANY
CALIFORNIANS, RECENT STUDIES
INDICATE THAT LGBTQ PLUS PEOPLE
ARE DISPROPORTIONATELY IMPACTED
BY DISASTERS, BOTH BECAUSE OF
PREEXISTING MARGINALIZATION AND
DISCRIMINATORY DISASTER RESPONSE
POLICIES. LGBTQ PLUS
INDIVIDUALS, PARTICULARLY THOSE
OF COLOR, FACE GREATER
DISPLACEMENT CONDITIONS COMPARED
TO CISGENDER HETEROSEXUAL
INDIVIDUALS. BIAS AND DISASTER
RESPONSE PROGRAMS. FAILURE TO
RECOGNIZE UNIQUE LGBTQ PLUS
FAMILY STRUCTURES. BARRIERS TO
OBTAINING PROPER IDENTIFICATION,
AND ANTI-LGBT B-T-Q PLUS
PRACTICES AT SOME DISASTER
RELIEF SERVICES PROVIDED BY
FAITH BASED ORGANIZATIONS CAN
ALL COMPOUND TO HEIGHTEN THE
RISKS THAT LGBTQ PLUS
COMMUNITIES FACE DURING A
DISASTER. STATE AND FEDERAL
AGENCIES CONTINUE TO LACK A
CLEAR STRATEGY ON HOW TO
INTEGRATE LGBTQ, PLUS PEOPLE
INTO DISASTER PREPAREDNESS
PLANNING AND EMERGENCY RESPONSE
IN ORDER TO EQUITABLY SERVE THE
LGBTQ PLUS COMMUNITY, WE MUST
CONSULT DIRECTLY WITH ADVOCATES,
ORGANIZATIONS AND RESEARCHERS TO
ENSURE THAT THEIR NEEDS ARE
BEING MET. SB 990 WOULD REQUIRE
THAT THE CALIFORNIA GOVERNOR'S
OFFICE OF EMERGENCY SERVICES
UPDATE THE STATE EMERGENCY PLAN
TO INCLUDE PROPOSED POLICIES AND
BEST PRACTICES FOR LOCAL
GOVERNMENTS AND NON-GOVERNMENTAL
ENTITIES TO EQUITABLY SERVE
LGBTQ PLUS COMMUNITIES DURING AN
EMERGENCY OR NATURAL DISASTER.
TO CRAFT THESE POLICIES, CAL OES
WOULD BE REQUIRED TO COORDINATE
DIRECTLY WITH REPRESENTATIVES OF
THE LGBTQ PLUS COMMUNITY STATE
POLICIES AND GUIDELINES SHOULD
REFLECT THE NEEDS OF ALL
CALIFORNIANS. SB 990 WILL HELP
CAL OES FURTHER UNDERSTAND HOW
TO SERVE VULNERABLE POPULATIONS.
WHEN DISASTER STRIKES. HERE
TODAY TO TESTIFY IS MICHAEL
RAMIREZ, WHO SERVES AS CHAIR OF
THE SAN BERNARDINO COUNTY BOARD
FOR THE AMERICAN RED CROSS AND
IS A MEMBER OF THE BOARD OF
DIRECTORS FOR THE POMONA VALLEY
PRIDE CENTER, ALONG WITH
NICHOLAS WEISS REPRESENTING THE
OFFICE OF THE CALIFORNIA
INSURANCE COMMISSIONER. AND WITH
THAT, YOU MAY PROCEED ONCE THE
SUPPORT. ALL RIGHT. THANK YOU.
THANK YOU FOR HAVING ME HERE
TODAY, MY NAME IS MICHAEL
RAMIREZ. AS MENTIONED, I SERVE
WITH THE BOARDS OF POMONA VALLEY
PRIDE AND THE AMERICAN RED
CROSS, ACCORDING TO A 2022 AND
2023 DATA FROM THE US CENSUS
HOUSEHOLD PULSE SURVEY, THE
FIRST NATIONAL DISASTER DATA SET
TO INCLUDE SEXUAL ORIENTATION
AND GENDER IDENTITY. LGBTQ PLUS
PEOPLE WERE DISPLACED AT NEARLY
TWICE THE RATE OF CISGENDER,
HETEROSEXUAL INDIVIDUALS. LGBTQ
PLUS PEOPLE IN CALIFORNIA WERE
ALSO MORE LIKELY TO EXPERIENCE
WATER INSECURITY, UNSANITARY
CONDITIONS, A SHORTAGE OF FOOD,
AND A FEAR OF CRIME AFTER
DISASTER. LGBTQ PLUS INDIVIDUALS
IN CALIFORNIA ALSO EXPERIENCE
EXTRAORDINARILY HIGH LEVELS OF
PERMANENT DISPLACEMENT, WITH
WORSE DISPLACEMENT CONDITIONS
AMONG LGBTQ PLUS PEOPLE OF
COLOR. THESE DATA VALIDATE
PREVIOUS QUALITATIVE RESEARCH
AND ANECDOTAL EVIDENCE ABOUT THE
EXPERIENCES OF LGBTQ PEOPLE
ACROSS THE COUNTRY. LGBTQ PLUS
COUPLES, FOR EXAMPLE, HAVE FACED
BARRIERS TO BEING SHELTERED
TOGETHER AFTER DISASTERS AND
TRANSGENDER PEOPLE HAVE BEEN
DENIED ACCESS TO A SHELTER THAT
CORRESPONDS WITH THEIR GENDER
IDENTITY. WE APPRECIATE THE WORK
OF THE STATE AND FEDERAL
PARTNERS TO BETTER UNDERSTAND
AND ADDRESS THE NEEDS OF THE
LGBTQ PLUS COMMUNITY. FEMA FOR
EXAMPLE, INCLUDED LGBTQ+
COMMUNITIES IN ITS 2022 EQUITY
ACTION PLAN AND NATIONAL
PREPAREDNESS REPORT. BUT EVEN
THAT DOCUMENT LACKS A CLEAR
STRATEGY ON HOW TO INTEGRATE
LGBTQ PLUS PEOPLE IN
PREPAREDNESS AND DISASTER
PLANNING AND RESPONSE. MORE WORK
NEEDS TO BE DONE, AND SB 9.90
PROVIDES AN IMPORTANT
OPPORTUNITY FOR CALIFORNIA TO BE
A LEADER IN THIS SPACE, AS AN
EMERGENCY MANAGER FOR MORE THAN
20 YEARS, I KNOW CALIFORNIA AND
VERY PROUD OF CALIFORNIA BEING A
LEADER IN THE EMERGENCY
MANAGEMENT SPACE WITH SEMS, WITH
THE WORK THAT WE'VE DONE WITH
THE ACCESS AND FUNCTIONAL NEED
COMMUNITIES, WE'VE EVEN TAKEN
CARE AND FOCUSED ON ANIMALS WITH
THE CARES ACT. SO EVEN EXCUSE
ME, EVEN THERE, WE RECOGNIZE
WHEN THERE'S A NEED TO ADDRESS
IT. CONSULTING DIRECTLY WITH THE
LGBTQ PLUS EXPERTS INCLUDING
SOCIAL SERVICE AGENCIES,
NONPROFIT ORGANIZATIONS,
ADVOCATES AND RESEARCHERS WILL
ALLOW CAL OES TO BETTER
UNDERSTAND HOW TO SUPPORT SOME
OF THE MOST VULNERABLE MEMBERS
OF OUR COMMUNITY WHEN DISASTER
STRIKES. I'VE BEEN ON THE OTHER
END OF PHONE CALLS WITH
RESIDENTS THAT HAVE CALLED FOR
SERVICES, AND WHEN WE DON'T HAVE
FEMA INDIVIDUAL ASSISTANCE OR
OTHER ASSISTANCE THAT'S
AVAILABLE, IT'S HARD TO TELL
THEM THAT THERE'S NOTHING REALLY
THAT WE CAN DO. AND TRY TO POINT
THEM TO THOSE NONPROFIT
COMMUNITY ORGANIZATIONS THAT
THAT MIGHT POSSIBLY BE ABLE TO
HELP. SO ANYTHING THAT WE COULD
DO TO BETTER PREPARE, OUR
VULNERABLE COMMUNITIES,
ESPECIALLY THE LGBTQ COMMUNITY,
WHICH I'M A PART OF, I WANT TO
SUPPORT, AND AS MANY FOLKS HAVE
SAID BEFORE, YOU KNOW, WE DON'T
WANT TO BE PLANNED FOR WITHOUT
US. DON'T PLAN FOR US, WITHOUT
US. AND SO THIS IS AN
OPPORTUNITY TO DO SO. THANK YOU.
THANK YOU, THANK YOU. AND ALSO,
NICHOLAS SIERRA, YOUR COMMENTS.
THANK YOU SO MUCH, MICHAEL, AND
ASSEMBLYWOMAN CALDERON, FOR
STANDING IN. GOOD AFTERNOON. MR.
CHAIR AND COMMITTEE MEMBERS. MY
NAME IS NICHOLAS WEISS, DEPUTY
LEGISLATIVE DIRECTOR FOR THE
DEPARTMENT OF INSURANCE UNDER
THE LEADERSHIP OF INSURANCE
COMMISSIONER RICARDO LARA.
FIRST, I WOULD LIKE TO THANK
SENATOR STEVE PADILLA FOR
AUTHORING THIS IMPORTANT
MEASURE. INSURANCE COMMISSIONER
RICARDO LARA IS A PROUD
CO-SPONSOR OF SENATE BILL 990.
SB 990 WOULD REQUIRE OES BY JAN
ONE, 2029, AND EVERY FIVE YEARS
THEREAFTER TO UPDATE THE STATE
EMERGENCY PLAN TO INCLUDE
PROPOSED POLICIES AND BEST
PRACTICES FOR LOCAL GOVERNMENT
AND NON-GOVERNMENTAL ENTITIES TO
EQUITABLY SERVE LGBTQ PLUS
COMMUNITIES DURING AN EMERGENCY
OR NATURAL DISASTER FOR LGBTQ+
INDIVIDUALS. AS MICHAEL SAID,
ARE OVERREPRESENTED IN AT RISK
POPULATIONS FOR WHOM DISASTERS
ARE MORE LIKELY TO BRING DEATH.
DISPLACEMENT WATER INSECURITY,
UNSANITARY CONDITIONS, A
SHORTAGE OF FOOD, AND A FEAR OF
CRIME AFTER DISASTER. IN RECENT
YEARS, THE LEGISLATURE HAS
STRENGTHENED CALIFORNIA'S
EMERGENCY PREPAREDNESS BY
REQUIRING CAL OES TO INTEGRATE
THE NEEDS OF VULNERABLE
POPULATIONS INTO EMERGENCY
PLANNING, SUCH AS ACCESS AND
FUNCTIONAL NEED POPULATIONS AND
MANY OF THOSE BILLS WERE
CHAMPIONED BY CHAIR RODRIGUEZ
AND PASSED BY THIS COMMITTEE. SB
990 SEEKS TO BUILD ON THOSE
EFFORTS BY INCORPORATING THE
UNIQUE NEEDS OF LGBTQ PLUS
PEOPLE INTO THE STATE EMERGENCY
PLAN. INSURANCE COMMISSIONER
LARA HAS TRAVELED THE STATE
DURING AND AFTER NATURAL AND
OTHER DISASTERS, AND HAS
WITNESSED THE HUMAN TRAGEDY AND
SUFFERING ENDURED BY
CALIFORNIANS. AS A RESULT OF
THESE EVENTS, WE MUST BE
INCLUSIVE OF ALL POPULATIONS IN
OUR DISASTER RESPONSE EFFORTS,
AND THIS BILL IS AN IMPORTANT
STEP IN THAT DIRECTION. ON
BEHALF OF INSURANCE COMMISSIONER
RICARDO LARA, I ASK FOR YOUR AYE
VOTE. THANK YOU. THANK YOU VERY
MUCH. NOW THAT, IS THERE ANYBODY
IN THE ROOM IN SUPPORT, CRAIG
PULSIPHER, ON BEHALF OF EQUALITY
CALIFORNIA, PROUD CO-SPONSOR AND
STRONG SUPPORT. ANYONE ELSE IN
SUPPORT SEEING NONE. ANYONE IN
OPPOSITION. SEEING NONE. HEARING
NONE. WE'RE BRINGING BACK. SO WE
HAVE A MOTION. ASSEMBLYMEMBER
WARNER AND SECONDED BY MR.
ARAMBULA. SO, ASSEMBLY MEMBER
SLASH SENATOR, WOULD YOU LIKE TO
CLOSE, YES, YOU KNOW, IT'S AN
HONOR TO PRESENT THIS BILL ON
BEHALF OF SENATOR PADILLA, AND I
RESPECTFULLY ASK FOR AN AYE VOTE
. THANK YOU. SO, ONCE AGAIN, THE
MOTION TO Dð PASS THE COMMITTEE
ON APPROPRIATION AS SECRETARY,
CALL THE ROLL. SB 990 PADILLA.
THE MOTION IS DUE PASSED TO THE
COMMITTEE ON APPROPRIATIONS.
RODRIGUEZ. RODRIGUEZ AYE.
DAVIES. DAVIES. AYE. ARAMBULA.
ARAMBULA AYE. BENNETT. BURNER A
BURNER. AYE. CALDERON. AYE.
CALDERON. AYE. CARILLO CARILLO.
AYE. WALDRON. WALDRON AYE. AND
THAT MOTION IS OUT. THANK YOU
VERY MUCH. AND I BELIEVE THAT IS
IT WE HAVE FOR TODAY IN THE
COMMITTEE. THANK YOU, MR. CHAIR.
I'LL DO LEAVE THE ROLL OPEN FOR
A FEW MINUTES IN CASE WE'RE
MISSING SOMEBODY. BUT I DON'T
THINK SO. BUT ONCE AGAIN, THANK
YOU ALL FOR JOINING US.
APPRECIATE IT.
SO WITH THAT, WE'LL GO AHEAD AND
CONCLUDE TODAY'S MEETING. I
DON'T THINK, OUR OTHER MEMBERS
MAY MAKE IT DUE TO OTHER, THINGS
THAT GOT GOING ON. SO WITH THAT,
THIS MEETING IS ADJOURNED. THANK
YOU.