00:00at all. Some of my technical questions, too. The lawyer that is here, so you have gone through the
00:05bill, right? You have read the language. It probably took, you got through it a lot faster
00:09than I did, I assume. Can I ask you, who is, and actually, we're going to become really good
00:15friends. I hope you know that, because who is your retainer? I'm sorry, Madam Chair, the Assembly
00:19members must be making veiled threats to my witness, which I don't appreciate. I don't know
00:23why he's talking about becoming really good friends. Let's just ask some questions and get
00:26some answers. If we could definitely stick to just asking the questions through the chair.
00:31Thank you. Because he is here to answer the legal question. Doesn't mean he's going to be your
00:35friend. Okay. Madam Chair, are we going to allow my colleague to ask questions, or is this going
00:40to be drowned out even longer? I just would like to know. It's kind of going back and forth there.
00:45Let's have one person speak at a time. Mr. Berman, I ask that you just respect us to ask these
00:49questions. Please ask your question to the witness. As long as you don't make veiled threats to my
00:54witnesses, that's no problem at all. A threat to be a friend. Okay, let's just let Assemblymember
00:58Tangapa ask his question, please. Well, who is funding the retainer for you to be here,
01:06and how long have you seen the language in this bill? When did you first get it, and when did you
01:12start seeing it? Because I did not get it until yesterday. So how much time did you have to review
01:17this? Mr. Tangapa, I'm here to answer technical questions about how the bill works. I'm not here
01:26to reveal attorney-client privilege information about the representation I provide or anything
01:33that went into the work product. I can answer questions about the face of the measure.
01:38Well, just for me, since it takes me so long to read, I just wanted to know how long you had to
01:43read it. And if you, as a representative here- Let's stick to the merits of the bill. Let's ask
01:47questions about- This is a merit. This is back- This is not the merits. How long it takes somebody to
01:51read a bill is not- We consult with people before we introduce those bills. This isn't a foreign
01:56concept. This isn't a lack of transparency. Assemblymember Tangapa, if you have a question
02:01about the merits of the bill, please ask it. Okay.
02:05Okay. Then we'll go into even more of the merits. So under the new redistricting proposal,
02:14in a lot of these, and the main reason why I'm asking for so much time is because the questions
02:18that I prepped yesterday when I saw this all changed because the maps changed at 8 p.m. last
02:23night. And I think that it's well within the process to say, like, I should know. The maps changed at
02:308 o'clock at 8 p.m. last night- The maps were released on Friday, I believe, and they have
02:34not changed. They changed per the census tract. Madam Chair, the fact that you don't know that
02:39should cause worry to everybody. Assemblymember Tangapa- I'm sorry. I'm sorry. 8 a.m. yesterday.
02:43Sorry. Sorry. Not 8 p.m. 8 a.m. this year. They changed at 8 p.m. last night. There was a change at 8 p.m.
02:47My understanding it was 8 a.m., but- I am eager to hear your questions in regards to whatever changes
02:54that were to the maps. Okay. Well, then Clovis would be split into three different congressional
02:59districts. Not anymore, because the last change that I got, as of two hours ago, on the new maps,
03:05now they are kept into one district. Can you explain the rationale for splitting up Clovis
03:10residents, thus weakening their voice? I think that would be a better question for the authors
03:14of the bill that actually has to do with the maps. My bill has to do with putting, or the Speaker's
03:19constitutional amendment has to do with giving voters the opportunity to have their
03:24voices heard, and whether or not we will have a special election on November 4th. So I am not
03:29prepared to speak to the specific iterations of the maps, but I believe somebody will be presenting
03:34that bill after this ACA, who hopefully will be better prepared to discuss individual line
03:40drawing of communities. Well, the maps are pertinent to this ACA, because they're all synonymous.
03:45But the ACA is to give voters the voice and an opportunity to have their voices heard on whether
03:49or not they want to have a mid-decade redistricting. Can you speak to the cost of the ACA and how much
03:55it's going to cost the taxpayers of California then? About the same as the recall that Republicans
03:59put forward? How much is that? Well, wait, but that recall was done by the Citizens Initiative. It wasn't done by
04:05this body. Fundamentally, there's a difference. But the answer remains the same, that it's the same cost. Your
04:11question was, what's the cost? And I said, it's the same as the recall. It doesn't matter who put it on the ballot. I'm
04:15just saying the answer. But how could you say it's the same of the recall since 2021 or 2021 to where we're at now? We've seen
04:1940 percent inflation rates. So is it 40 percent more? Do you understand that? Well, I mean, with the tariffs that Trump just put into
04:23effect, it's probably more than 40 percent inflation rates. But I believe the cost of the of the special
04:30election is approximately $200 million. I asked just how much does it cost? Mr. Tonga, excuse me, can you just let him
04:37answer the question? He's doing so. Just close your mouth, open your ears, listen to him for a second,
04:42please. We all need to listen to each other. So when someone else is speaking, let's have one speaker at a time.
04:50My mouth when somebody I'm just saying, no, I'm saying it to both of you. I'm going to say that
04:54to both of you. Please, please refrain from speaking when the other person is speaking. Thank you,
04:59Madam Chair. Ask a question. How much does this cost? Is there is there a actual actual fiscal analysis
05:07on how much this will cost the state of California in its current 2025-2026 cost? Not to the 2021. You
05:16can't. Well, I think the recall was approximately $200 million. So this will be over $200 million.
05:20Okay. I think somewhere between $200 and $250 million. Okay. And so with a rolling and looming
05:26$20 billion deficit predicted by the LAO all the way until 2028, you believe that it's within the right
05:32state of California and this legislative body, not the people who put it on the initiative. When it came
05:38to the recall election, that was done through a citizens initiative. Nobody here did that. This is being done
05:44by us. The legislators here. Hang on. By all means. So I'll let you pontificate as long as you want.
05:50Yeah. Thank you. I appreciate that. Um, is, do you believe that that $200 and we can adjust costs
05:59for inflation $300 million is what a state in a massive deficit and a rolling deficit year over year
06:06predicted by the LAO is what this state should be spending money on? Can I answer? Yes, sir. Thank you,
06:13Mr. Tucker. Thank you. So, uh, absolutely. And the reason for that is because the damage that
06:19this Republican Congress has done to the state of California makes $250 million looks like couch
06:25cushion change. My, one of my communities that I represent, Santa Clara County is going to voters
06:31to the, to the ballot to try to recoup some of the over $1 billion, over $1 billion just to the, the,
06:38the county of Santa Clara to their health system because of Trump's big, beautiful bill and the
06:44decimation that that is having that all nine Republican members of California's congressional
06:49delegation voted on like a bunch of feckless followers, no matter the damage that is doing
06:55to their communities, the billions of dollars that, that the, the Republican Congress is taking away
07:02and the cost that that's having for Californians and California taxpayers. And so if that's just
07:07Santa Clara County, 2 million people, and it's over $1 billion hit that their health care system
07:13is taking that the poorest residents of Santa Clara County rely on just to get their basic health care,
07:19over $1 billion. Imagine the cost that this Republican Congress is costing the entire state of California.
07:26So do I think that we should spend $200 million for the opportunity to avoid billions of dollars
07:32in, in Republican hits to our budget? I absolutely do. And I'm curious to see if voters will agree with me.
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