* This transcript was created by voice-to-text technology. The transcript has not been edited for errors or omissions, it is for reference only and is not the official minutes of the meeting. [00:06:21] ALRIGHT, [00:06:23] CAN FOLKS HEAR ME NOW? IT'S NOT BEEN FIVE MINUTES. OKAY. UH, THANK YOU ALL FOR JOINING US [CALL TO ORDER] TODAY FOR THE EQUITY AND HUMAN RELATIONS COMMISSION. UM, WE ARE GOING TO GO AHEAD AND CALL THE MEETING TO ORDER. MADAM CLERK, MAY I PLEASE HAVE [ROLL CALL] ROLL CALL. COMMISSIONER BROWN. PRESENT. COMMISSIONER BUTLER. COMMISSIONER DEON? HERE. COMMISSIONER GILLETTE? HERE. COMMISSIONER COLE? HERE. COMMISSIONER LATA? HERE. COMMISSIONER LI FLORES. HERE. COMMISSIONER MONTGOMERY? HERE. COMMISSIONER AL. HERE. COMMISSIONER SCHULTZ PRESENT. COMMISSIONER SHA MALONE. HERE. UH, VICE CHAIR BATS. COMMISSIONER DOCKERY AND CHAIR COVINGTON. HERE WE HAVE QUORUM. THANK YOU FOR THE RECORD. UM, VICE CHAIR BATS AND COMMISSIONER DOCKERY ARE EXCUSED FROM THE MEETING TODAY. ALL OTHER COM COMMISSIONERS, ABSENT ARE UNEXCUSED. UM, ARE THERE ANY OBJECTIONS FROM THE COMMISSION? SEEING NONE, WE'LL MOVE FORWARD. UH, SO THANK YOU ALL FOR [CHAIR REMARKS] JOINING THE EQUITY HUMAN RELATIONS COMMISSION. UH, HAPPY SUMMER, WHICH IS ACTUALLY FALL FOR CALIFORNIA, ESPECIALLY LONG BEACH. IT'S SO HOT OUTSIDE. UH, WE APPRECIATE EVERYONE JOINING TODAY. UH, AS A REFERENCE, THE EQUITY HUMAN RELATIONS COMMISSION'S MISSION IS TO INSPIRE AND SUPPORT SOCIAL JUSTICE AND EQUITY IN THE CITY OF LONG BEACH AND FOSTER MUTUAL UNDERSTANDING AND RESPECT FOR ALL. I WANTED TO REMIND EVERYONE IS JOINING TODAY THAT IN THE BACK WE HAVE PARKING VALIDATIONS. SO IF YOU NEED THAT, PLEASE TAKE ONE AS YOU LEAVE. UM, I'M GONNA BE ASKING COMMISSIONER FLORES, UH, TO INTRODUCE OUR LAND ACKNOWLEDGEMENT FOR THE DAY. THANK YOU. TONIGHT, I ACKNOWLEDGE I'M SPEAKING TO YOU TODAY FROM TRADITIONAL ANCESTRAL AND UN UNSEATED TERRITORY OF THE GAMBINO TONGVA PEOPLES, THE TRADITIONAL CARE TAKERS OF THIS LAND WHO WERE DISPOSED OF THEIR LAND AND YET CONTINUE TO STEWARD THIS LAND TODAY. SO I JUST WANNA INVITE FOLKS INTO PAUSE AND HONOR THEIR CULTURE, HISTORY, AND IDENTITY AND ANCESTORS AS WELL AS LIVING ELDERS AND COMMUNITY MEMBERS. INDEED, THEY ARE STILL HERE. AND WHEREVER YOU ARE TODAY, I INVITE YOU TO PAUSE AND ACKNOWLEDGE THE PEOPLE WHOSE LANDS YOU ARE ON AND LET THEIR ENDURANCE AND STRENGTH INSPIRE YOU. WE ALSO PAUSED TO ACKNOWLEDGE THAT OUR COUNTRY WAS BUILT ON THE FREE LABOR OF ENSLAVED AFRICANS AND CONTINUES TO FUNCTION FROM THE LABOR OF OUR DIVERSE COMMUNITIES OF COLOR EVERY DAY. LET'S TAKE A FEW MOMENTS TO PAUSE AND ACKNOWLEDGE OUR PAST AND GIVE HONOR TO THOSE WHOSE LANDS AND SHOULDERS WE STAND ON TODAY. THANK YOU COMMISSIONER FLORES. UH, WITH THAT WE'RE GONNA MOVE INTO OUR FIRST AGENDA ITEM, MADAM CLERK, MAY WE HAVE IT READ? ITEM [1. 25-56351 Recommendation to approve the minutes for the Equity and Human Relations Commission meeting of Wednesday, August 6, 2025.       Suggested Action: Approve recommendation. ] NUMBER ONE IS A RECOMMENDATION TO APPROVE THE MINUTES FOR THE EQUITY AND HUMAN RELATIONS COMMISSION MEETING OF WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 6TH, 2025. MAY WE HAVE A MOTION AND A SECOND SEEING MOVED BY COMMISSIONER SCHULTZ AND SECONDED BY COMMISSIONER GILLETTE. [00:10:04] ARE THERE ANY QUESTIONS OR CORRECTIONS TO THE MINUTES FROM OUR COMMISSIONERS? SEEING NONE, UH, I'LL NOW OPEN IT UP FOR PUBLIC COMMENT. SO IF YOU'RE INTERESTED TO SPEAK IN REGARDS TO OUR MINUTES, YOU CAN PLEASE LINE UP AT THE PODIUM AND THEN WE'LL COUNT HOW MANY FOLKS ARE READY TO SPEAK ON THE MINUTES? SEEING NONE, MADAM CLERK, DO WE HAVE ANY ONLINE? IF THERE ARE ANY MEMBERS OF THE PUBLIC ONLINE THAT WOULD LIKE TO PROVIDE PUBLIC COMMENT ON ITEM NUMBER ONE, PLEASE USE THE RAISED HAND FUNCTION. NOW, SEEING NONE THAT CONCLUDES PUBLIC, I COMMENT FOR THIS ITEM. THANK YOU SO MUCH, MADAM CLERK. MAY WE NOW CALL FOR A VOTE? OH, GET OVER THERE. IT'S NOT GOING. COMMISSIONER BROWN, IF YOU'D LIKE TO GIVE A VOICE VOTE, I CAN TAKE THAT. WHOOPS. YES. THANK YOU. HI, WELCOME. AND COMMISSIONER BUTLER, WOULD YOU LIKE TO VOTE ON THE MINUTES? YES. THANK YOU. I RECEIVED YOUR YES. MOTION CARRIES. ALL RIGHT, THANK YOU MADAM CLERK. UH, [PUBLIC COMMENT Opportunity to address the Equity and Human Relations Commission on non-agenda items. Each speaker is limited to three minutes to make their comments unless extended by the Chair.] I SEE THAT THERE'S A LOT OF FOLKS IN THE ROOM TODAY. UM, I WANTED TO GAUGE IF ANYBODY'S HERE TO SPEAK ON OFF PUBLIC ITEM. I MEAN OFF AGENDA ITEMS TODAY FOR PUBLIC COMMENT. I WANNA SEE IF I NEED TO MOVE IT UP OR NOT. I'M SEEING ONE. UH, SO WHAT WE'LL DO IS, UH, WE'LL CALL FOR PUBLIC COMMENT, UH, GENERAL PUBLIC COMMENT NOW, AND THEN WE'LL MOVE INTO THE REST OF THE AGENDA. ALRIGHT. IF YOU WOULD LIKE TO PROVIDE NON AGENDA, PUBLIC COMMENT, PLEASE STAND UP NOW. OH, YOU WANNA WAIT UNTIL THE END? OH, ON AGENDA ITEM. THANK YOU FOR THE CLARIFICATION. OKAY. UH, SO WE'LL COUNSEL THAT AND MOVE INTO AGENDA ITEM NUMBER TWO. THE SPEAKER IN THE ZOOM HAS INDICATED BY RAISING THEIR HAND THAT THEY WOULD LIKE TO PROVIDE PUBLIC COMMENT. DID YOU STILL WANNA MOVE FORWARD WITH GENERAL PUBLIC COMMENT NOW OR WOULD YOU PREFER TO PUSH IT BACK TO THE END? WE'LL TAKE IT NOW. OKAY. I APOLOGIZE FOR THE MIX UP. MR. SIFE, YOU HAVE BEEN UNMUTED. PLEASE MUTE, UNMUTE YOURSELF. UH, THANK YOU. GOOD EVENING COMMISSIONERS. UH, BILL SIVE COUNCIL DISTRICT THREE. IT'S BEEN A WHILE SINCE I'VE BEEN ABLE TO ATTEND A, UH, MEETING. APOLOGIZE FOR THAT. UH, JUST WANTED TO BRING TO YOUR ATTENTION. I SENT TO TONY, UH, AN EMAIL JUST BEFORE THE MEETING STARTED. I AM COLLABORATING WITH, UH, GRACE UNITED METHODIST CHURCH ON THIRD AND JUAN APPAREL AND PUBLIC COUNCIL ON THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 18TH AT 6:00 PM AT GRACE UNITED METHODIST CHURCH. WE'RE PROVIDING A FREE COMMUNITY FORUM ON MEDICAL DEBT. UM, I'VE GOT A LOT OF SUPPORT FROM CAL STATE LONG BEACH, THE LONG BEACH AGENT SERVICES COLLABORATIVE, UH, THE ROSE PARK NEIGHBORHOOD ASSOCIATION AND OTHER NEIGHBORHOOD ASSOCIATIONS THAT ARE REALLY EXCITED ABOUT THIS TOPIC, UH, BECAUSE IT CONCERNS EVERYBODY. UM, CURRENTLY LOTS OF LAYOFFS CHANGES AT THE FEDERAL LEVEL REGARDING PEOPLE BEING CUT OFF ON MEDICARE, MEDI-CAL OR WHATEVER. SO THIS IS A VERY TIMELY TOPIC. IT'S OPEN TO EVERYONE IN THE COMMUNITY, UH, ALL AGES, ALL GENDERS, ALL GENDER IDENTITIES, UM, ALL ABILITIES. WE'RE JUST HERE TO EDUCATE THE COMMUNITY. THANK YOU. AND THERE ARE NO OTHER MEMBERS IN THE ZOOM TO PROVIDE PUBLIC COMMENT AT THIS TIME. SO THAT CONCLUDES GENERAL PUBLIC COMMENT. THANK YOU, MADAM CLERK. LET'S MOVE TO ITEM NUMBER TWO. MAY I HAVE A MOTION AND A SECOND PLEASE, OR YOU'RE GONNA CALL IT OUT FIRST? ITEM NUMBER [2. 25-56352 Recommendation to receive and file a presentation from Long Beach Peace Area Network regarding the proposed Civil and Human Rights Investment Screening.       Suggested Action: Approve recommendation. ] TWO IS A MOTION TO RECEIVE AND FILE A PRESENTATION FROM LONG BEACH PEACE AREA NETWORK REGARDING THE PROPOSED CIVIL AND HUMAN RIGHTS INVESTMENT SCREENING. DEION LAURA, MOVED BY COMMISSIONER DELEON AND SECONDED BY DR. LARA. ALRIGHT, WITH THAT, MAY I HAVE, UH, OUR PRESENTERS COME UP? PLEASE WELCOME. AND THEN FEEL FREE TO GET STARTED WHEN YOU'RE READY. OKAY. WE'RE GONNA HAVE [00:15:01] TO SWITCH THIS A FEW TIMES. UM, I'M NATE TNI, A DISTRICT THREE RESIDENT FOR ALMOST 40 YEARS. I'M HERE REPRESENTING THE LONG BEACH AREA PEACE NETWORK, COMMONLY CALLED LOIN. LOIN APPROACHED THE COMMISSION BECAUSE OF OUR LONGSTANDING SINCE 1990, UH, AND BUILDING ON OTHER ORGANIZATIONS PRIOR TO THAT, OUR LONGSTANDING COMMITMENT TO PEACE AND JUSTICE. OUR MEMBERS INCLUDE PEACE ACTIVISTS, LABOR SUPPORTERS, AND ENVIRONMENTAL ADVOCATES. WE SUGGESTED THAT LONG BEACH ESTABLISH A HUMAN RIGHTS SCREENING FOR OUR INVESTMENTS. IN LINE WITH THE VALUES OUR CITY EMBODIES IS HERE TO PROVIDE GREATER DEPTH TO OUR, OUR REQUEST. GOOD EVENING. MY NAME IS FRANCESCA VOYA. I'M IN DISTRICT FIVE. UH, I'M SOMEONE WHO ADVOCATES IN VARIOUS SPACES FOR EQUITY INITIATIVES. SO I'M REALLY GRATEFUL FOR THE OPPORTUNITY TO BE HERE. UM, TODAY I'M GONNA WALK YOU THROUGH A LITTLE BIT OF BACKGROUND AND CONTEXT FOR THIS POLICY THAT WE'RE PROPOSING. UH, GIVE YOU A LITTLE BIT OF AN OVERVIEW OF THE POLICY AND IMPLEMENTATION. TALK A LITTLE BIT WHY THIS IS RELEVANT TO LONG BEACH, AND THEN CONCLUDING STATEMENTS. UH, BEFORE WE START, I DO WANNA OPEN UP WITH THIS QUOTE, WHICH WAS ACTUALLY ALSO INCLUDED AT THE BEGINNING OF THE RACIAL AND EQUITY RECONCILIATION INITIATIVE, WHICH I ACKNOWLEDGE WAS CREATED TO ACTIVELY ADDRESS ANTI-BLACKNESS IN THE CITY AND TO ADVANCE ANTI-RACIST POLICY. BUT IT ALSO ACKNOWLEDGED THE INTERCONNECTEDNESS OF LIVED EXPERIENCE ACROSS COMMUNITIES. AS YOU CAN SEE IN THIS QUOTE, IT READS, YOU DO NOT HAVE TO BE ME IN ORDER TO, FOR US TO FIGHT ALONGSIDE EACH OTHER. I DO NOT HAVE TO BE YOU TO RECOGNIZE THAT OUR WARS ARE THE SAME. WHAT WE MUST DO IS COMMIT OURSELVES TO SOME FUTURE THAT CAN INCLUDE EACH OTHER AND TO WORK TOWARD THAT FUTURE WITH THE PARTICULAR STRENGTHS OF OUR INDIVIDUAL IDENTITIES. AND IN ORDER FOR US TO DO THIS, WE MUST ALLOW EACH OTHER OUR DIFFERENCES AT THE SAME TIME AS WE RECOGNIZE OUR SAMENESS. SO I REALLY WANNA GROUND US IN THE POWERFUL STATEMENT IN THIS POWERFUL STATEMENT TO HELP PROVIDE UNDERSTANDING AND CONTEXT FOR WHY WE ARE PROPOSING THE CIVIL AND HUMAN RIGHTS INVESTMENT SCREENING. BORROWING FROM AUDREY LORDE'S WORDS, I HOPE TO REMIND US THAT WITHIN OUR DI DIVERSE BACKGROUNDS AND IDENTITIES, WE CAN RECOGNIZE THE SHARED GOALS WE HOLD AND THAT WE CAN COLLECTIVELY COMMIT TO ADVOCATING FOR A BETTER FUTURE FOR OUR CITY. SO MOVING FORWARD, LOOKING AT WHAT WILL A CIVIL AND HUMAN RIGHTS INVESTMENT SCREENING DO? UM, THE GOAL HERE IS TO REALLY ALIGN CITY INVESTMENTS WITH EQUITY VALUES AND HUMAN RIGHTS INITIATIVES THAT THE CITY HAS ALREADY COMMITTED TO. IN ADDITION, THE HOPE IS THAT THROUGH THIS SCREENING, WE CAN ALSO STRENGTHEN PUBLIC TRUST THROUGH ETHICAL INVESTMENT PRACTICES AS WELL. AND SO WHY THIS POLICY MATTERS NOW IS THAT WE KNOW THAT LONG BEACH RESIDENTS ARE INTERESTED IN HOW PUBLIC FUNDS REFLECT COMMUNITY VALUES. AND WE SEE THIS ACTUALLY IN THE WAYS THAT THE CITY ALREADY ENGAGES WITH RESIDENTS. IN FACT, WE KNOW THAT THE CITY ENGAGES WITH RESIDENTS WHEN IT COMES TO BUDGET MEETINGS. AND WE KNOW THAT, THAT RESIDENTS ARE NOT ONLY ATTENDING, BUT THEY'RE ALSO CONTRIBUTING THEIR THEIR BACK, UM, THEIR FEEDBACK. THEY'RE ALSO CONTRIBUTING SUGGESTIONS AND THEY'RE TALKING ABOUT HOW THEIR VALUES IS WHAT THEY WANNA SEE IN THE BUDGET. AND SO WE FEEL LIKE THIS POLICY CAN BE AN EXTENSION OF THAT. UM, IN ADDITION, WE KNOW THAT WITHOUT A SCREENING POLICY, THIS MEANS THAT INVESTMENTS CAN UNINTENTIONALLY SUPPORT HUMAN RIGHTS ABUSES. SO THIS POLICY CAN GIVE US THE TOOLS TO ALIGN OUR FINANCES WITH OUR VALUES, WITH THE GOAL OF AVOIDING THIS. AND SO FOR LONG BEACH SHOULD TAKE ON THIS SCREENING POLICY. THIS CAN BE AN ADDITIONAL WAY IN WHICH THE CITY CAN ALSO CONTINUE TO BE AN INNOVATIVE LEADER IN THE REGION. UM, YOU KNOW, I THINK WE ALL KNOW THAT LONG BEACH PRIDES ITSELF IN HAVING A REPUTATION FOR REGIONAL LEADERS AND SPECIFICALLY LEADING IN SOCIAL JUST JUSTICE INITIATIVES. AND SO THIS WOULD BE AN EXTENSION OF THAT. UM, LAST, I JUST WANNA TURN ONCE MORE TO THE RACIAL EQUITY AND RECONCILIATION INITIATIVE PUBLISHED BY THE CITY OF LONG BEACH, WHERE IT DOES INCLUDE THAT LONG BEACH'S CORE VALUES INCLUDE TO OFFER GREAT COMPASSION, EMPATHY, AND HUMILITY. AND SO WE SEE THIS AS AN, AN IMPORTANT VALUE TO BE MINDFUL OF, ESPECIALLY AS WE ARE THINKING ABOUT HOW FUNDS ARE UTILIZED AND INVESTED. LONG BEACH ALSO ALREADY HAS A STRONG ETHICAL FOUNDATION AS SEEN IN OUR CODE OF CONDUCT AND ETHICS. HERE WE CAN SEE THAT OUR CITY'S VALUE STATEMENT READS THAT THE PEOPLE OF LONG BEACH DEPEND ON A CITY GOVERNMENT THAT OPERATES EQUITABLY, ETHICALLY. AND THAT WORKS TO PROMOTE AND PRESERVE PUBLIC TRUST AND CONFIDENCE. AND WITH THESE VALUES, IT ALSO VERY CLEARLY OUTLINES THE KEY CHARACTERISTICS THAT YOU SEE ON THE SCREEN HERE, WHICH INCLUDE EQUITY, ACCOUNTABILITY, IMPARTIALITY, DIVERSITY, TRANSPARENCY, AND INTEGRITY. SO WE KNOW THESE ARE NOT ABSTRACT IDEALS, BUT THEY ARE OPERATIONAL [00:20:01] COMMITMENTS. THIS POLICY OPERATIONALIZES THAT DUTY BY SCREENING INVESTMENTS AGAINST WELL-DEFINED HUMAN RIGHTS AND EQUITY STANDARDS. IN OTHER WORDS, IT BRINGS OUR VALUES INTO ACTION WHERE IT MATTERS MOST IN HOW WE MANAGE OUR PUBLIC MONEY. SO MOVING ON TO THE PROPOSED SCREENING POLICY, JUST TO GIVE YOU AN IDEA OF WHAT THIS WILL LOOK LIKE. THE GOAL IS TO, AGAIN, I WANNA REEMPHASIZE FIRST OFF THAT THE GOAL IS TO, UM, ADOPT THIS SCREENING POLICY THAT IS ROOTED IN ETHICAL GOVERNANCE. UM, AND ALSO THAT THE GOAL WITH THIS IS THAT IT WILL APPLY TO ALL CURRENT AND FUTURE PUBLIC INVESTMENTS. SO IT'S ALSO FORWARD THINKING. UM, SO AGAIN, WHEN WE'RE THINKING ABOUT BEING LEADERS AND BEING INNOVATIVE LEADERS, UM, I THINK THIS IS SOMETHING TO CONSIDER THAT WE ARE ALSO BEING FORWARD THINKING IN THIS INITIATIVE. UM, IT DOES PROHIBIT INVESTMENTS TIED TO CIVIL AND HUMAN RIGHTS VIOLATIONS, WHICH I'LL GO MORE INTO IN A MOMENT. UM, AND IT ALSO DOES THREE MAIN THINGS. UH, FIRST IT WILL REQUIRE, UH, AGAIN, PROHIBITS INVESTMENTS TIED TO CIVIL AND HUMAN RIGHTS VIOLATIONS, BUT IT ALSO REQUIRES TRANSPARENCY, MONITORING AND PUBLIC REPORTING. UM, THE LAST THING THAT IT ALSO DOES IS THAT IT WILL TRIGGER DIVESTMENT FROM PUBLIC INVESTMENTS WITHIN THREE MONTHS IF CORRECTIVE ACTION IS NOT TAKEN BY VIOLATORS. SO I'LL EXPAND ON EACH OF THOSE INITIATIVES IN A MOMENT. SO MOVING FORWARD TO LOOK AT THE PROHIBITED INVESTMENT CATEGORIES, YOU CAN SEE HERE WE HAVE FIVE MAIN SCREENING CATEGORIES. AND THE IDEA IS THAT, UM, NUMBER ONE, THAT THEY ARE SPECIFIC, THEY'RE INTENTIONAL, AND THAT THEY INDICATE THAT THE CITY WILL NOT INVEST IN ANY COMPANY OR INSTITUTION THAT BENEFITS FROM OR IS COMPLICIT IN THE FOLLOWING. UM, THE FIRST BEING GENOCIDE, APARTHEID MILITARY OCCUPATION OR SYSTEMIC DISCRIMINATION. THE SECOND BEING LABOR RIGHTS VIOLATIONS SUCH AS FORCED OR CHILD LABOR, WAGE THEFT, OR UNSAFE WORKING CONDITIONS. THE THIRD BEING PROVIDING TECHNOLOGY OR MATERIALS UTILIZED IN ACTS OF STATE VIOLENCE. THE FOURTH BEING CAUSING ENVIRONMENTAL HARM THAT DISPROPORTIONATELY IMPACTS MARGINALIZED COMMUNITIES. THE FIFTH BEING ABUSIVE SUPPLY CHAINS THAT FAIL DUE DILIGENCE IN ELIMINATING SLAVERY AND OR HUMAN RIGHTS ABUSES. UM, SO THE GOAL IS TO, TO DEFINE THESE VERY CLEARLY, WHICH WE HAVE IN, UM, THE PROPOSED POLICY. UM, AND WITH THIS, THIS WILL HELP THE CITY AVOID AMBIGUITY AND ENSURES CONSISTENT APPLICATION OF THE STANDARD. UM, ON TOP OF THIS, THE GOAL, AS I'VE MENTIONED A FEW TIMES ALREADY, IS TO REALLY, UM, EMBRACE THIS VALUE OF ACCOUNTABILITY AND TRANSPARENCY. UM, SO WITH THE POLICIES ENFORCEMENT MECHANISMS, UM, IT ENSURES THAT IT'S MORE OF A STATEMENT OF INTENT, BUT ALSO, LIKE I SAID, ESTABLISHES ACCOUNTABILITY AND TRANSPARENT AND, AND THE CITY IS TRANSPARENT ABOUT INVESTMENTS. UM, AS SUCH, THE CITY, THE POLICY CALLS FOR THE CITY TO CONDUCT ANNUAL PORTFOLIO AUDITS WITHIN SCREENING OF THE CITY'S INVESTMENT PORTFOLIO TO CHECK COMPLIANCE WITH THE POLICY. AND THEN IN THIS SCREENING PROCESS, UM, THE GOAL IS THAT THE CITY IS TO ALSO PRESUME EXCLUSION WITHOUT PROOF OF COMPLIANCE. SO IF THERE IS NO CREDIBLE PROOF OF COMPLIANCE, IT IS TO BE ASSUMED THAT THE INVESTMENT IS NON-COMPLIANT WITH THE SCREENING CATEGORIES UNTIL PROOF CAN BE FOUND OTHERWISE. SO ESSENTIALLY WE WANNA MAKE SURE THAT THESE INVESTMENTS ARE COMPLIANT. WE WANNA MAKE SURE THAT THEY ARE, UM, PROVIDING THAT PROOF AS WELL. AND THEN OF COURSE, IN THE SPIRIT OF TRANSPARENCY AND ACCOUNTABILITY, QUARTERLY REPORTS WILL GO TO CITY COUNCIL AND THE OFFICE OF ETHICS AND TRANSPARENCY. AND AS MENTIONED EARLIER, VIOLATIONS ARE FOUND THE CITY WILL FIRST ENGAGE WITH THE COMPANY OR INSTITUTION TO SEEK CORRECTION. AND IF THE PROBLEM REMAINS UNSOLVED AFTER THREE MONTHS, THE CITY WILL DIVEST. SO THE INTENT IS TO HAVE AN OPEN CONVERSATION AT FIRST AND THEN GIVING THAT TIME. UM, AND THEN IF NO CORRECTIVE ACTION IS TAKEN, LIKE I SAID, WE'LL DIVEST, UM, IN ALIGNMENT WITH OUR EXISTING TRANSPARENCY COMMITMENTS. THESE AUDITS AND FINDINGS ARE TO BE PUBLICLY ACCESSIBLE THROUGH CITY WEBSITE AT AND AT AN OPEN CITY COUNCIL MEETING. SO THE HOPE IS THAT THIS WILL ALSO BE PRESENTED AND EASILY ACCESSIBLE TO LONG BEACH RESIDENTS. SO TRANSPARENCY IS THE BRIDGE BETWEEN POLICY AND PUBLIC TRUST UNDER THIS PROPOSAL. PUBLIC ACCESS TO AUDITS AND SCREENING ARE IMPORTANT TO ENHANCE THE COMMUNITY'S CONFIDENCE IN CITY GOVERNANCE AND IS ROOTED IN ETHICAL GOVERNANCE. THIS MAKES THE PROCESS VISIBLE, CLEAR, AND ESTABLISHES AN OPERATING PROCEDURE. THIS ALIGNS WITH THE CITY'S CODE OF CONDUCT AND ETHICS. SO GOING BACK TO ONE OF THOSE FIRST SLIDES WHERE TRANSPARENCY IS DEFINED AS POLICIES AND PROCEDURES THAT ARE OPEN TO PUBLIC OBSERVATION AND SCRUTINY. SO WE HAVE REALLY BEEN MINDFUL OF THAT IN THIS SCREENING POLICY. UM, THIS ALSO INCLUDES INTEGRITY [00:25:01] BEING DEFINED AS THE PRACTICE OF BEING TRUTHFUL, SEEKING TRUTH AND ADHERENCE TO THE CITY'S VALUES, WHICH I THINK REALLY CAPTURES THE CORE OF THIS POLICY AS A WHOLE. AND RECONNECTING WITH THE CITY'S RACIAL EQUITY AND RECONCILIATION INITIATIVE, THIS POLICY DOES ALIGN WITH ONE OF THE MAIN GOALS OF BUILDING TRUST, TRANSPARENCY AND ACCOUNTABILITY WITH THE COMMUNITY, WHICH I SAID ABOUT FOUR TIMES IN THE LAST FEW MINUTES. SO I, I THINK WE CAN SEE THE CONNECTION THERE. UM, SO THINKING ABOUT HOW THIS IS VERY SPECIFICALLY RELEVANT TO THE CITY OF LONG BEACH AND HOW THIS IS ALIGNED WITH THE CITY'S VALUES AND EQUITY COMMITMENTS, I JUST WANNA WALK YOU THROUGH A FEW DIFFERENT CONNECTIONS THAT WE HAVE MADE. THE FIRST IS ACKNOWLEDGING THAT IT ACTUALLY DOES ALIGN WITH THE GROW LONG BEACH ECONOMIC BLUEPRINT. AND THERE'S A FEW QUOTES ON HERE THAT WE'VE TAKEN FROM THIS BLUEPRINT TO DRAW THOSE CONNECTIONS. SO THE FIRST, UH, STATES HERE THAT THE VISION, AGAIN, THIS IS FROM THE BLUEPRINT, THAT THE VISION FOR MORE INCLUSIVE AND SUSTAINABLE ECONOMIC OPPORTUNITIES IS REALLY AT THE CORE OF THIS BLUEPRINT. UM, AT THE SAME TIME IN THE SECOND QUOTE, IT ALSO INCLUDES INCREASE EQUITABLE OPPORTUNITIES FOR THE CITY'S DIVERSE WORK, UH, WORKFORCE. UM, AND SO THESE POINTS REALLY DIRECTLY ALIGN WITH THE, UH, SCREENING POLICY BECAUSE THE CITY WILL COMMIT NOT ONLY TO INVESTING OR TO NOT INVESTING, I SHOULD SAY, IN AN ENTITY THAT IS IN VIOLATION OF, UH, LABOR RIGHTS VIOLATIONS. UM, IT'LL ALSO DEMONSTRATE THE CITY'S ADVOCACY FOR A JUST AND EQUITABLE WORKING ENVIRONMENT. AND SO IT AGAIN, REALLY ALIGNS WITH THESE TWO POINTS HERE. IN ADDITION, THE BLUEPRINT ALSO COMMITS TO BUILDING A CLIMATE FORWARD ECONOMY AND SUPPORTS EFFORTS FOR ENVIRONMENTAL JUSTICE, WHICH BY IMPLEMENTING A SCREENING POLICY LIKE THIS ONE WILL DO EXACTLY THAT BECAUSE WE ARE CONSCIOUS OF ENVIRONMENTAL JUSTICE, WHICH IS WHY THIS IS PART OF THE CATEGORIZATIONS LISTED IN THE SCREENING POLICY. UM, LAST, THE POLICY ALSO RECOGNIZES THAT, OR I'M SORRY, THE BLUEPRINT ALSO RECOGNIZES THAT THERE IS A DIRECT CONNECTION BETWEEN ECONOMIC POLICY AND QUALITY OF LIFE. AND SO AGAIN, THAT'S REALLY AT THE CORE OF THIS POLICY AS A WHOLE, THAT BY DEMONSTRATING HOW WE ARE INVESTING, UM, AND BEING THOUGHTFUL AND INTENTIONAL, WE ARE ALSO CONSIDERING HOW THAT DIRECTLY IMPACTS FOLKS' QUALITY OF LIFE, UM, AND HOW WE ARE ENSURING THAT THE WAY WE INVEST ALIGNS WITH OUR VALUES. UM, I ALSO WANT TO, UM, ACKNOWLEDGE THAT THIS POLICY AIMS TO REDUCE HARM TO LONG BEACH'S MOST SYSTEMICALLY IMPACTED RESIDENTS. AND I'M ACTUALLY, OH, WENT TOO FAR. THERE WE GO. AND I ACTUALLY WANT TO BORROW THE WORDS FROM THE SIGN THAT YOU SEE HERE ON THE SCREEN, UM, THAT I THINK REALLY CAPTURE VERY WELL THE ULTIMATE GOAL OF THIS SCREENING PROCESS, WHICH IS TO DIVEST FROM ENTITIES THAT ARE DESTRUCTIVE, ESPECIALLY TO OUR MOST VULNERABLE COMMUNITIES. SO, UM, THIS ACTUALLY BY THE WAY, IS, UM, A, A SIGN THAT WAS SHOWN IN, UM, SUPPORT OF LENA GONZALEZ'S INITIATIVES TO DIVEST FROM FOSSIL FUELS. SO THIS IS ACTUALLY LOCALLY RELEVANT TO US AS WELL. UM, I ALSO WANT TO TURN TO THE CLIMATE JUSTICE AND LABOR EQUITY INITIATIVES THAT LONG BEACH HAS ALSO SET FORWARD. SO BOTH OF THESE ARE FROM PUBLICATIONS FROM THE CITY OF LONG BEACH, THE FIRST INDICATING, UM, THE DIVERSE LABOR FORCE THAT WE HAVE HERE IN LONG BEACH. AND THE SECOND IS ACTUALLY ACKNOWLEDGING THE VULNERABLE COMMUNITIES THAT ARE MOST VULNERABLE TO WITHIN LONG BEACH THAT ARE MOST VULNERABLE TO CLIMATE CHANGE. AND THAT SPECIFICALLY INCLUDES, UM, AIR POLLUTION, UM, IT INCLUDES RISING, UM, TEMPERATURES, UM, ACCESS TO GREEN SPACE. SO THIS IS ALREADY RECOGNIZED BY THE CITY OF LONG BEACH. UM, AND SO AGAIN, WHAT THIS SCREENING PROCESS WILL DO IS ELIMINATE THE WAYS IN WHICH WE ARE CONTRIBUTING TO THE HARM THAT IS INFLICTED, UM, BY INDUSTRIES OR DIFFERENT ENTITIES THAT PUT THESE VULNERABLE COMMUNITIES AT RISK, BECAUSE THIS IS SOMETHING THAT LONG BEACH IS ALREADY CONSCIOUS OF. AND WE'RE LOOKING AT HOW WE CAN DO THIS IN INNOVATIVE WAYS, AND THIS POLICY IS ONE OF THOSE INNOVATIVE WAYS THAT WE CAN ACTUALLY DO THAT. I ALSO WANT TO ACKNOWLEDGE THAT THIS ACTUALLY DOES ALSO ALIGN WITH LONG BEACH'S VALUES ACT, UM, WHICH OF COURSE HAS ALSO RECENTLY GOTTEN A LOT OF ATTENTION AND SUPPORT WITHIN THE CITY. AND, UH, IF WE KIND OF LOOK AT THE OVERVIEW OF THIS VALUES ACT AT THE CORE, IT IS INTENDED TO CREATE SAFE WORKSPACES SUPPORT DUE PROCESS AND ENSURE SAFETY OF COMMUNITIES. AND SO I WOULD MAKE THE ARGUMENT THAT THIS POLICY DOES THAT AS WELL. UH, THIS SCREENING POLICY DOES BECAUSE WE ARE ADVOCATING FOR SAFER WORK ENVIRONMENTS, WE ARE ADVOCATING FOR THE PRESERVATION AND PROTECTION OF HUMAN RIGHTS, AND WE ARE REALLY LOOKING TO REDUCE [00:30:01] HARM AND VIOLENCE TO VULNERABLE COMMUNITIES AND THEREFORE ENSURING SAFETY OF COMMUNITIES. UM, I KNOW I'VE ALREADY MENTIONED IT A FEW TIMES, BUT AGAIN, JUST TO SHOW HOW THIS IS ALIGNED WITH THE RACIAL EQUITY AND RECONCILIATION INITIATIVE, UM, ONE OF THE GOALS THAT REALLY STOOD OUT OF ME IN THIS INITIATIVE IS GOAL NUMBER TWO, WHICH IS DESIGN AND INVEST IN COMMUNITY SAFETY AND VIOLENCE PREVENTION. UH, AND SO THIS IS ALSO THINKING, LIKE I SAID BEFORE, UM, THE CITY HAS PROPOSED THIS IDEA OF THINKING INNOVATIVELY. HOW CAN WE LOOK AT THIS IN VARIOUS ASPECTS OF OUR CITY? SO WE'RE NOT JUST LOOKING AT, UM, YOU KNOW, POLICY, BUT WE'RE ALSO THINKING ABOUT THE ECONOMY. WE'RE ALSO THINKING ABOUT INFRASTRUCTURE. AND SO, AGAIN, I WOULD ARGUE THAT THIS POLICY IS ONE OF THOSE WAYS THAT WE CAN ADDRESS THIS ISSUE OF INVESTING IN COMMUNITY SAFETY AND VIOLENCE PREVENTION. UM, IT ALSO EMBRACES THESE CORE VALUES, AGAIN, LISTED IN THE RACIAL EQUITY AND RECONCILIATION INITIATIVE. UM, ONE TO OFFER GREAT COMPASSION, EMPATHY, AND HUMILITY TO ACKNOWLEDGE THAT INTERSECTIONALITY EXISTS, UM, AND TO BUILD TRUST, TRANSPARENCY, AND ACCOUNTABILITY. AND SO WITH THESE CORE VALUES, I RETURNED TO THAT QUOTE FROM THE BEGINNING WHERE I AM REMINDED THAT WE ACKNOWLEDGE THE DIFFERING LIVED EXPERIENCES, OUR DIFFERING IDENTITIES, UM, AND OUR STRUGGLES MIGHT BE INDIVIDUAL, BUT THAT THERE'S COMMON INTERCONNECTEDNESS BETWEEN THESE. AND SO WE ACKNOWLEDGE THAT INTERSECTIONALITY EXISTS. WE ACKNOWLEDGE THAT WE ARE NOT JUST THINKING ABOUT SELF, BUT WE'RE THINKING ABOUT OUR COMMUNITY AS A WHOLE. AND AGAIN, THAT IS WHAT REALLY INSPIRED THIS SCREENING PROCESS. UM, JUST TO KIND OF QUICKLY AND BRIEFLY, UH, HIGHLIGHT THAT WITHIN THE POLICY, WE ALSO INTEGRATED, UH, LEGAL POLICY AS FOUNDATION TO THIS, TO THIS SCREENING PROCESS. SO FOR EXAMPLE, REFERENCED IS THE CALIFORNIA CONSTITUTION, STATE AND FEDERAL CIVIL RIGHTS LAWS, CIVIL RIGHTS ACT OF 1964, AND ALSO INTERNATIONAL LAW. SO WE HAVE BEEN INTENTIONAL ABOUT ALSO GROUNDING THIS IN A LEGAL FOUNDATION. UM, I ALREADY MENTIONED THAT, UH, WE ARE SEEING AN INCREASE OF, UM, EXCITEMENT AND REALLY SUPPORT FOR THIS INITIATIVE LED BY SENATOR ALINA GONZALEZ TO DIVEST FROM FOSSIL FUELS. AND WE KNOW THAT THERE'S GROWING MOMENTUM BEHIND THIS AND THAT THERE IS SUPPORT REGIONALLY, WHICH JUST DEMONSTRATES THAT THERE IS AN INTEREST IN POLICY LIKE THIS WITHIN THE CITY OF LONG BEACH AND IN THE REGION AS A WHOLE. UM, SO, YOU KNOW, I THINK THAT IS A GREAT EXAMPLE TO, TO SHOW THAT WE, WE DO HAVE THE SUPPORT FROM THE CITY. UM, AND I ALSO LIST HERE SB 180 5 FROM 2015, WHICH IS AN EXAMPLE OF THERMAL COAL DIVESTMENT TO AGAIN, SHOW THAT THIS IS SOMETHING THAT IS VERY POSSIBLE. SO SOME ANTICIPATED BENEFITS FROM THIS POLICY IS THAT IT PROTECTS THE CITY FROM LEGAL AND REPUTATIONAL RISK. UM, IT ALSO PROVIDES THE OPPORTUNITY FOR ETHICAL INVESTMENT OPPORTUNITIES TO PROMOTE SUSTAINABLE AND INCLUSIVE ECONOMIC GROWTH. SO, UH, WE ACKNOWLEDGE THAT THIS CAN OPEN THE DOOR FOR INVESTING IN THESE VALUES THAT WE ARE EMBRACING AND THAT WE'VE OUTLINED HERE TODAY. UH, WE ALSO BELIEVE THAT THIS WILL DEFINITELY STRENGTHEN COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT AND TRUST AND STRENGTHEN RELATIONSHIPS BETWEEN THE CITY AND THE RESIDENTS AT A TIME WHERE WE KNOW THAT THAT IS SOMETHING THAT RESIDENTS ARE ASKING FOR. THEY'RE REALLY INTERESTED AND INTRIGUED IN HOW THEIR GOVERNMENT FUNCTIONS. WE ARE SEEING AN INCREASE IN CIVIC ENGAGEMENT. AND SO THIS WILL JUST STRENGTHEN THAT COM, THAT COMMUNICATION AND THAT RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN CITY AND RESIDENTS. UM, IT ALSO ENDS CONTRADICTORY AND INVESTMENTS MISALIGNED WITH CITY VALUES. SO IF WE'RE ADVOCATING FOR CLIMATE CHANGE, THEN ALL COMPONENTS OF OUR POLICIES AND OUR GOVERNMENT SHOULD REPRESENT THAT. UM, IT DOESN'T MAKE SENSE IF WE'RE INVESTING IN INDUSTRIES THAT ARE HARMING OUR VULNERABLE COMMUNITIES THAT ARE IMPACT BY CLIMATE CHANGE WHILE ALSO SAYING THAT WE ADVOCATE FOR, FOR CLIMATE CHANGE. SO WE SHOULD BE INTENTIONAL ABOUT DOING ALL OF THE ABOVE. UM, AND AGAIN, I THINK THIS REALLY JUST POSITIONS THE CITY AS REGIONAL LEADERS. WE'VE SEEN THAT FOLKS ON THE WEST COAST ESPECIALLY LOOK TO LONG BEACH AS LEADERS IN VARIOUS CAPACITIES. AND I THINK THAT THIS WOULD BE AN ADDITIONAL WAY THAT WE CAN DO THAT. AND I'M GONNA INVITE NATA UP AGAIN. OH, YOU'RE HERE. ON THAT SIDE. SO, SO, UM, AGAIN, LOBO HAS HELPED DEVELOP THIS WITH LOT OF COMMUNITY INPUT. AND WHAT WE THINK IS THAT WHAT, WHAT WHAT WE WANT FROM YOU IS TO RECOMMEND THAT CITY COUNCIL IMMEDIATELY ADOPT AND IMPLEMENT A SCREENING [00:35:01] POLICY AS AN ETHICAL GOVERNANCE APPROACH. WE NEED THIS VERY MUCH TO BE ALIGNED WITH OUR OWN VALUES ALL THE WAY AROUND. THE MAYOR FREQUENTLY SAYS THE BUDGET REFLECTS OUR VAL VALUES, SO DO OUR INVESTMENTS. SO WHAT WE WANT IS YOU TO RECOMMEND THAT CITY COUNCIL ADOPT A HUMAN RIGHTS SCREENING POLICY. THANK YOU. APOLOGIES FOR THE DELAY TAKING NOTES. UM, SO WITH THAT, THANK YOU FOR THE PRESENTATION. WE'RE GONNA OPEN IT UP FOR PUBLIC COMMENT. IF ANY MEMBERS OF THE PUBLIC WOULD LIKE TO PROVIDE PUBLIC COMMENT ON ITEM NUMBER TWO, PLEASE LINE UP AT THE PODIUM. NOW YOU CAN MOVE FORWARD AND PROVIDE YOUR COMMENT. OKAY. UM, HELLO, UH, EQUITY AND HUMAN RIGHTS COMMISSION. MY NAME IS ELLIE NOAH, I'M A RESIDENT OF LONG BEACH, A RENTER IN THE SECOND DISTRICT, A MEMBER OF OUR LGBT COMMUNITY, AN EDUCATOR AND A JEWISH WOMAN. I GREW UP LEARNING ABOUT THE HOLOCAUST THAT OCCURRED NEARLY A HUNDRED YEARS AGO, THAT TARGETED JEWISH PEOPLE, QUEER PEOPLE, DISABLED PEOPLE AMONG MANY OTHER GROUPS. I HEARD THE MESSAGE OF NEVER AGAIN, ECHOED IN EVERY TEACHING ABOUT THOSE TIMES, AND I REALLY TOOK THAT TO HEART. I PERSONALLY COMMITTED TO FURTHERING ANY EFFORTS THAT SUPPORTED INCREASING HUMAN RIGHTS. I, I REALLY HAD NO IDEA I WOULD GROW UP TO LIVE IN A WORLD WHERE CONTEMPORARY HOLOCAUSTS AND HUMAN INJUSTICES CONTINUE TO BURN ACROSS THE WORLD WITH A TERRIFYINGLY HUGE NUMBER OF LIVES TAKEN AND AT RISK. MANY OF THESE INJUSTICES ARE LARGELY FUNDED BY THE INVESTMENTS OF FEDERAL, STATE, AND LOCAL GOVERNMENTS WITHIN THIS COUNTRY. INVESTMENTS IN COMPANIES THAT MAY SEEM HARMLESS, UM, BUT ARE OFTEN MUCH MORE NEFARIOUS UNDER THE SURFACE. PUSHING FORWARD AGENDAS THAT FURTHER HUMAN SUFFERING. THE CIVIL AND HUMAN RIGHTS SCREENING IS AT ITS CORE AN OPPORTUNITY FOR THE CITY OF LONG BEACH TO SAY NEVER AGAIN. MONEY MAKES THINGS HAPPEN. BOTH GOOD AND BAD MONEY HAS THE OPPORTUNITY TO STOP HARM IN ITS TRACKS OR TO FURTHER HARM. EVERY DOLLAR INVESTED ON OUR BEHALF HAS MATERIAL IMPACT ON THE PEOPLE OF LONG BEACH AND THE GLOBAL COMMUNITY. CALIFORNIA'S CONSTITUTION, ARTICLE 16 SECTION SIX MANDATES THAT PUBLIC FUNDS MUST SERVE A LEGITIMATE PUBLIC PURPOSE AND THAT IT IS THE CITY'S DUTY TO AVOID INVESTMENTS ASSOCIATED WITH UNLAWFUL OR UNETHICAL CONDUCT. HAVING THE SCREENING PROCESS IN PLACE ENSURES THAT WE STAY IN ALIGNMENT WITH THE EXPECTATIONS OF STATE INVESTMENTS. WITH THE CIVIL AND HUMAN RIGHTS SCREENING, LONG BEACH HAS THE OPPORTUNITY TO MAKE HISTORY AND CHANGE THE FUTURE FOR THE BETTER. THE PEOPLE OF LONG BEACH DESERVE TO HAVE OUR INVESTMENTS REFLECT OUR ETHICS, AND IN TURN, POSITIVELY IMPACT COMMUNITIES ACROSS THE WORLD AS WE PARTICIPATE IN THE GLOBAL ECONOMY. I'M EXCITED FOR YOU ALL TO HAVE THE OPPORTUNITY TO APPROVE THIS MEASURE AND RECOMMEND THAT THE LONG BEACH CITY COUNCIL IMPLEMENT THIS POLICY IMMEDIATELY. THANK YOU. GOOD EVENING COMMISSIONERS. THANK YOU FOR TAKING THE TIME TO LISTEN TO THE PRESENTATION AND TO OUR COMMENTS ABOUT THE CIVIL AND HUMAN RIGHTS INVESTMENT SCREENING POLICY. I'M A RESIDENT OF LONG BEACH, A RENTER IN DISTRICT, DISTRICT ONE, AND A JEWISH QUEER WOMAN. I LOVE THIS CITY AND OUR COMMUNITY, AND I WANNA BE ABLE TO TAKE PRIDE IN WHAT LONG BEACH STANDS FOR AND STANDS AGAINST. THIS POLICY CAN MAKE A BIG IMPACT WITH MINIMAL EFFORT AND ADOPTING IT IS JUST COMMON SENSE. LONG BEACH IS KNOWN FOR BEING AT THE FOREFRONT OF SOCIAL JUSTICE ISSUES. AND THIS POLICY WOULD ALLOW LONG BEACH TO CONTINUE THIS BY ENSURING CITY INVESTMENTS ALIGN WITH OUR CITY'S CLEARLY STATED EQUITY AND HUMAN RIGHTS VALUES. WHILE FOSTERING PUBLIC TRUST THROUGH TRANSPARENCY AND ETHICAL GOVERNANCE INVESTMENTS MAY INADVERTENTLY CONTRIBUTE TO HUMAN RIGHTS ABUSES. ONE OF THE AREAS THIS CAN HAPPEN IS THROUGH SUPPLY CHAIN ABUSES. THIS INCLUDES CIVIL, HUMAN AND LABOR RIGHTS VIOLATIONS, AS WELL AS RAW MATERIAL SOURCING PRACTICES. OUR COMMUNITY CANNOT SEPARATE ITSELF FROM THESE VIOLATIONS, AND WE CERTAINLY CANNOT SUPPORT THESE ACTS BY INVESTING IN COMPANIES THAT ENGAGE IN THEM, UH, ENGAGE IN THESE ABUSES. FORCED [00:40:01] LABOR AND DISCRIMINATION IN THE SUPPLY CHAIN AND BUSINESS PRACTICES ALSO IMPACT US LOCALLY AS WELL. COMPANIES THAT THE CITY INVESTS WITH NEED TO BE HELD TO STANDARDS THAT SAFEGUARD HUMAN AND CIVIL RIGHTS. TO DO THIS, COMPANY'S MUST PUBLISH ANNUAL CIVIL AND HUMAN RIGHTS IMPACT REPORTS HAVE BOARD LEVEL COMMITTEES ON ENVIRONMENTAL, SOCIAL, AND GOVERNANCE ISSUES, AND DISCLOSE POLITICAL CONTRIBUTIONS AND LOBBYING ACTIVITY THAT MAY RELATE TO CIVIL AND HUMAN RIGHTS OUTCOMES. TRANSPARENCY IS KEY. UH, TRANSPARENCY IN SUPPLY CHAINS IS ESSENTIAL TO UPHOLDING CIVIL, HUMAN AND LABOR RIGHTS BOTH LOCALLY AND GLOBALLY. THIS ALSO REQUIRES COMPLIANCE WITH THE CALIFORNIA TRANSPARENCY AND SUPPLY CHAINS ACT, WHICH REQUIRES DISCLOSURES OF EFFORTS TO ELIMINATE SLAVERY AND HUMAN RIGHTS ABUSES FROM SUPPLY CHAINS. THIS IS A GREAT START AT THE STATE LEVEL AND WE CAN ENSURE THIS FURTHER WITH OUR CITY ADOPTING THIS SCREENING POLICY. THIS POLICY WILL ENSURE ALL CITY INVESTMENTS ARE ALIGNED WITH TRANSPARENCY AND ACCOUNTABILITY STANDARDS. TRANSPARENCY IS NOT OPTIONAL. IT IS THE FOUNDATION FOR ETHICAL GOVERNANCE AND PROTECTS HUMAN RIGHTS. OUR CITY CAN LEAD BY EXAMPLE, ENSURING THAT EVERY DOLLAR INVESTED ALIGNS WITH HUMAN RIGHTS, CIVIL RIGHTS, AND ENVIRONMENTAL JUSTICE. THIS MUST BE AN ETHICAL GOVERNANCE PRIORITY. I URGE THE COMMISSION TO RECOMMEND THAT CITY COUNCIL IMMEDIATELY ADOPT AND IMPLEMENT THIS SCREENING TOOL. THANK YOU. I ALSO THANK YOU ALL FOR BEING HERE AND SERVING ON THE COMMISSION AND FOR LISTENING TO OUR PROPOSAL. MY NAME IS KAREN HARPER AND I AM A MEMBER OF THE LONG BEACH AREA PEACE NETWORK. UM, I'M A RESIDENT OF LONG BEACH SINCE 1970 IN DISTRICT THREE AND A HOMEOWNER. UM, AND I HAVE BEEN COMMITTED TO SOCIAL JUSTICE WORK THROUGH THE YEARS. FOR EXAMPLE, WORKING WITH THE HMONG REFUGEES HERE IN TOWN, UH, THE SIERRA CLUB LOS CERRITOS TASK FORCE ON WHICH GIANT LONG BEACH ENVIRONMENTALIST SERVES SUCH AS CAPTAIN CHARLIE, CHARLIE, I JUST WENT BLANK ON HIS LAST NAME. MOORE MOORE MOORE , AND ANN TRELL AND, AND REBECCA ROBLES. UM, AND I'VE WRITTEN A SERIES OF CHILDREN'S BOOKS, ONE OF THEM ON LILLIAN ROBLES, WHO WAS, UM, A MAJOR ENVIRONMENTALIST AND SACRED SITES PROTECTOR. SHE'S A HOTMAN ENO, BUT WORKED WITH THE TONGVA AND THE LOCAL ISSUES. UM, I AM EMBARRASSED THAT I HAVE NOT ASKED ALL OF YOU AND THE CITY FOR A HUMAN RIGHTS SCREEN UNTIL NOW, BECAUSE I'VE BEEN INVESTING IN SOCIALLY RESPONSIBLE INVESTING AS IT USED TO BE CALLED FOR YEARS. IF IT'S IMPORTANT TO ME, IT'S IMPORTANT TO MY CITY AND IT'S WAY PAST TIME FOR US TO DO THIS. UM, I WANTED TO SPEAK A LITTLE BIT ON THE ENVIRONMENTAL ISSUES WITH THE HUMAN RIGHTS SCREEN. WE LIVE IN A CITY WHERE WE HAVE A RIV, A MOUTH OF A RIVER, AND THE ESTUARIES THAT WERE TURNED INTO PORTS HAVE A RIVER THAT WAS TURNED INTO A CEMENT CHANNEL. WE HAVE ONE OF THE BEST SURFING BEACHES IN THE WORLD, WHICH WAS LANDFILL IN, WE HAVE BELMONT SHORE AND NAPLES AND THE PENINSULA THAT ALL WERE MARVELOUS WETLANDS THAT HAD TO BE FILLED IN IN ORDER TO PUT ALL THESE HOUSES ON IT. WE HAVE GOT A LOT OF WORK TO DO TO THINK ABOUT AMENDS TO WHAT WE HAVE DONE TO THIS ENVIRONMENT. WE HAVE WHAT'S BEEN CALLED DIESEL ALLEY ON THE WEST SIDE. WE HAVE HAD TIMES WHEN CHILDREN COULD NOT GO OUT FOR RECESS BECAUSE THE AIR WAS TOO POLLUTED. SO IT'S TIME TO INCLUDE THE VALUE OF ENVIRONMENTAL STOPPING ENVIRONMENTAL HARM IN OUR INVESTMENTS. UM, OUR REQUEST IS BACKED BY STATE LAW AND NATIONAL LAW AND INTERNATIONAL LAWS. THE CALIFORNIA CONSTITUTION STATES THAT ENVIRONMENTAL HARM MAY CONSTITUTE A VIOLATION OF FUNDAMENTAL RIGHTS AT THE FEDERAL LEVEL. WITH THE CIVIL RIGHTS ACT OF 1964, IT PROTECTS AGAINST DISCRIMINATION PRACTICES THAT RESULT IN UNEQUAL ACCESS TO HEALTH AND SAFETY. AND INTERNATIONAL, ALONG WITH THE GENEVA CONVENTION, PROHIBITS DESTRUCTION OF THE NATURAL ENVIRONMENT THAT HARMS PEOPLE. TOGETHER. ALL THESE LAWS SUPPORT THIS ACTION THAT WE ARE ASKING YOU TO TAKE TO OUR CITY COUNCIL FOR OUR FUTURE. WE THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR [00:45:01] THIS CONSIDERATION AND WE'RE CONFIDENT THAT YOU'RE GOING TO ACT AND HELP US MAKE A BETTER WORLD LOCALLY AND INTERNATIONALLY. THANK YOU. GOOD EVENING COMMISSIONERS. MY NAME IS ALYSSA GUTIERREZ. I'M A SECOND DISTRICT RESIDENT MOM OF FOUR AND HAD THE HONOR OF SERVING ON THIS COMMISSION FOR FOUR AND A HALF YEARS, THREE OF WHICH, UH, WENT AS CHAIR. DURING THAT TIME, WE TOOK BOLD STEPS EVEN WHEN THEY WERE DIFFICULT OR UNPOPULAR BECAUSE WE KNEW THAT OUR ROLE IS NOT TO LOOK AWAY FROM INJUSTICE, BUT TO CALL IT OUT AND DEMAND ACTION. I CARRY THIS RESPONSIBILITY TO FIGHT FOR JUSTICE AS A JEWISH PERSON WHO GREW UP IMMERSED IN THE STORIES OF THE HOLOCAUST OF MY PEOPLE FROM A YOUNG AGE, I WAS TAUGHT THAT NEVER AGAIN WAS NOT MEANT TO BE SELECTIVE. IT WAS MEANT TO BE A MORAL COMMITMENT TO HUMANITY THAT NO COMMUNITY SHOULD EVER FACE MASS KILLING, APARTHEID OR OCCUPATION. AGAIN. THIS HUMAN RIGHTS SCREENING POLICY IS AN EXTENSION OF THAT PROMISE. WHILE IT DOES NOT NAME ANY ONE COMPANY OR COUNTRY, WE KNOW THE REALITY GENOCIDE, APARTHEID AND OCCUPATION ARE HAPPENING IN OUR WORLD, WORLD TODAY WITH OUR MONEY. AND IF LONG BEACH INVESTS IN COMPANIES THAT PROFIT FROM THOSE ATROCITIES, WE ARE NOT NEUTRAL. WE ARE COMPLICIT. I CHOSE LONG BEACH AS MY HOME 12 YEARS AGO AND PUT DOWN ROOTS HERE BECAUSE I LOVE THIS CITY. I LOVE ITS DIVERSITY, ITS PROGRESSIVE VALUES. IT LONG BEACH IS A PLACE WHERE PEOPLE CAN FEEL SEEN AND HEARD, WHERE COMMUNITIES THAT ARE OVERLOOKED ELSEWHERE CAN FIND RECOGNITION AND BELONGING. THAT'S WHY I'M PROUD TO LIVE HERE AND WHY I'M SO INVESTED IN SEEING OUR CITY LIVE UP TO THE VALUES IT PROFESSES. THESE VALUES WERE MADE EVEN STRONGER WITH THE ADOPTION OF THE RACIAL EQUITY AND RECONCILIATION INITIATIVE. THIS COMMISSION'S BLUEPRINT, WHICH COMMITS US TO CONFRONT STRUCTURAL HARM AND CENTER JUSTICE IN CITY DECISION MAKING. THAT COMMITMENT CANNOT STOP AT OUR BORDERS. IF OUR VALUES MEAN ANYTHING, THEY MUST GUIDE NOT ONLY HOW WE TREAT OUR COMMUNITIES, BUT ALSO HOW WE SPEND OUR DOLLARS. BECAUSE A BUDGET IS ALWAYS A MORAL DOCUMENT AND WE KNOW HOW POWERFUL DIVESTMENT CAN BE. HISTORY SHOWS US THIS. WHEN CITIES, UNIVERSITIES, AND GOVERNMENTS AROUND THE WORLD DIVESTED FROM COMPANIES SUPPORTING SOUTH AFRICAN APARTHEID, THAT COLLECTIVE ACTION HELPED BRING DOWN A BRUTAL SYSTEM OF RACIAL SEGREGATION. LONG BEACH HAS THE CHANCE TO BE PART OF THE SAME LEGACY OF MORAL LEADERSHIP, SHOWING THAT WHERE WE PLACE OUR DOLLARS CAN EITHER UPHOLD OPPRESSION OR HELP DISMANTLE IT. IT'S NOT AN EASY TIME IN OUR SOCIETY TO FIGHT FOR JUSTICE. IT REQUIRES COURAGE. AND COURAGE HAS ALWAYS BEEN WHAT THIS COMMISSION HAS BEEN CALLED TO EMBODY COURAGE, TO STAND WITH COMMUNITIES WHO ARE SUFFERING EVEN WHEN IT'S INCONVENIENT AND EVEN WHEN IT'S UNPOPULAR. SO TONIGHT, I URGE YOU, MAKE THIS AN ETHICAL GOVERNANCE PRIORITY AND RECOMMEND THAT CITY COUNCIL IMMEDIATELY ADOPT AND IMPLEMENT THE HUMAN RIGHTS SCREENING POLICY. NEVER AGAIN MUST MEAN NEVER AGAIN FOR ANYONE. THANK YOU. THANK YOU VERY MUCH FOR ALLOWING ME TO SPEAK. MY NAME IS MARLENE ALVARADO. I'M IN DISTRICT ONE AND I'M WITH LONG BEACH AREA PEACE NETWORK AND ALSO LONG BEACH BDS AND ALSO DSA. IT IS IMPORTANT TO HAVE A HUMAN RIGHTS SCREENING WHEN CONSIDERING INTERNATIONAL INVESTMENTS FOR LONG BEACH. TODAY, NORTHWEST AND CENTRAL LONG BEACH ARE MOST AFFECTED BY ENVIRONMENTAL POLLUTION. ACCORDING TO THE STATE'S KELL ENVIRONMENTAL SCREENING, THEY EXPERIENCE THE HIGHEST LEVEL OF ASTHMA, DIABETES, AND HEART DISEASE BY EXACERBATING CHRONIC ILLNESSES AMONG THE MOST VULNERABLE, AMONG THE MOST VULNERABLE. CLIMATE CHANGE DOES NOT RECOGNIZE BORDERS. THESE COMMUNITIES ARE PREDOMINANTLY COMMUNITIES OF COLOR, LOW INCOME WITH LONG BEACH. BEING WITH NORTH, UH, WEST LONG BEACH BEING THE MOST IMPACTED. THEY ALSO FACE HIGHER RISK FROM CLIMATE CHANGE IMPACTS LIKE EXTREME HEAT AND CLOSE COASTAL FUNDING FLOODING LONG BEACH NEEDS TO ALSO CONSIDER A HUMAN RIGHTS SCREENING WHEN CONSIDERING INTERNATIONAL INVESTMENTS TO ENSURE THAT INTERNATIONAL COMPANIES THAT ARE CAUSING ENVIRONMENT DESTRUCTION IN WAR ARE NOT ADDING TO CLIMATE CHANGE. CLIMATE CHANGE DOES NOT RECOGNIZE BORDERS. THE IMMENSE AMOUNT OF GREENHOUSE GAS EMISSIONS FROM ISRAELI MILITARY ACTIVITY AND THE IMMENSE CARBON FOOTPRINT OF EVENTUAL RECONSTRUCTION WILL CONTRIBUTE TO CLIMATE CHANGE. ONE STUDY FOUND THAT THE INITIAL TWO MONTHS OF WAR GENERATE MORE CARBON DIOXIDE EQUIVALENT EMISSIONS. THAT THE ANNUAL FOOTPRINT OF OVER 20 CLIMATE VENERABLE NATION VULNERABLE NATIONS. IN [00:50:01] THE FIRST MONTH OF THE GAZA WAR, IT DROPPED 25,000 TONS OF METRIC BOMBS, THE WEIGHT EQUIVALENT TO TWO NUCLEAR BOMBS, CREATING CATASTROPHIC POLLUTION AND SULFATE, HYDROGEN CYANIDE AND AMMONIUM WITH THE INVASION. ISRAEL'S MILITARY VEHICLES PRODUCE HUNDREDS OF THOUSANDS OF TONS OF CARBON MONOXIDE, NITROGEN OXIDE, HYDROGEN CARBON, AND SULFIDE DIOXIDE. IN ADDITION TO CT TWOS, THEIR SMALL FIREARMS EMITTED TONS OF LEAD. THE GENA CON, THE GENEVA CONVENTION OF 1949 PROHIBITS DESTRUCTION OF THE NATURAL ENVIRONMENT IN CON CONFLICT ZONES. ISRAELI MET ME METEOROLOGICAL SERVICES STATES THAT THE BOMBING OF GAZA, ITS LONG-TERM PROBLEM. THE EASTERN MEDITERRANEAN IS ONE OF THE MOST VULNERABLE AREAS TO CLIMATE CHANGE. WITH AN AVERAGE TEMPERATURE INCREASE BY 1.5 CELSIUS BETWEEN 1950 AND 2017, WITHOUT THE IMMEDIATE LONG-TERM CEASEFIRE, ISRAEL WILL ONLY INCREASE CROSS BORDER ENVIRONMENTALISM. DISASTER. CLIMATE CHANGE WILL AFFECT LONG BEACH. WE NEED TO CONSIDER WHEN WE BUY PRODUCTS FROM OTHER COUNTRIES THAT IT WILL NOT ADD TO ENVIRONMENTAL DESTRUCTION AND WE NEED TO CALCULATE COMMUNITY WIDE RISK FACTORS IN IMPLEMENTING. CAN YOU WRAP UP YOUR COMMENT? THE LONG BEACH COMMUNITY? THANK YOU FOR YOUR TIME. THANKS TO THE COMMISSION FOR HEARING OUR PROPOSAL AND FOR MOTIONING IT. MY NAME IS TED GRISWOLD. I AM A RENTER IN DISTRICT ONE. LIKE SOME OF MY FRIENDS BEFORE ME, I'M, UH, I GREW, I'M JEWISH. I GREW UP LEARNING ABOUT THE JEWISH HOLOCAUST AND HOW TO RECOGNIZE WHEN SIMILAR ATROCITIES ARE HAPPENING. AND AS I'VE GOTTEN OLDER, I'VE LEARNED COME TO LEARN THAT US PUBLIC FUNDS ARE TAX DOLLARS, HAVE GONE INTO INVESTMENTS THAT HAVE ENABLED GENOCIDES IN CENTRAL AMERICA, AFRICA, AND SOUTHWEST ASIA DURING MY LIFETIME AND TRAGICALLY CONTINUE TO DO SO IN THE PRESENT MOMENT. THE CIVIL AND HUMAN RIGHTS SCREENING POLICY ENSURES THAT OUR CITY FUNDS BE USED IN ACCORD WITH BARE MINIMUM ETHICAL STANDARDS. THE POLICY WOULD NOT, WOULD LIKELY NOT BE A MAJOR DISRUPTION IN CITY INVESTMENTS AS IT ONLY APPLIES TO THE MOST EGREGIOUS VIOLATIONS OF ETHICAL CONDUCT. AND AS AND AS IT REDUCES HARM IN COMMUNITIES AROUND THE WORLD, IT WOULD SIMULTANEOUSLY ENSURE THAT OUR INVESTMENTS BENEFIT THE MOST UNDERSERVED AND VULNERABLE COMMUNITIES LOCALLY AS WELL. HOW WE SPEND OUR COMMUNAL FUNDS HERE ULTIMATELY IMPACTS OTHER COMMUNITIES IN CALIFORNIA, IN THE COUNTRY AND AROUND THE WORLD. AND I HOPE WE CAN ADOPT THIS POLICY TO ENSURE THAT OUR RESOURCES ARE NOT GOING TOWARDS SOME OF THE MOST SHAMEFUL HUMAN RIGHTS VIOLATIONS OF OUR LIFETIMES. THANK YOU. UM, GOOD EVENING, UH, COMMISSIONERS, UH, CITY STAFF. UH, MY NAME'S ADA HII AND UH, I AM A COMMUNITY MEMBER, BUSINESS OWNER AND LIVED MANY YEARS IN LONG BEACH. UH, TONIGHT I SPEAK TO YOU ABOUT GENOCIDES, UH, NOT AS A WORD, UH, BURIED IN THE HISTORY BOOKS, BUT AS A LIVING WOUND. GENOCIDE IS THE DELIBERATE DESTRUCTION OF A PEOPLE. IT IS THE THEFT OF LAND. IT IS THE ERASURE OF MEMORIES, THE SILENCING OF CHILDREN BEFORE THEY EVEN HAVE THE CHANCE TO DREAM. IT IS NOT DISTANT, IT IS NOT. IN THE PAST, HISTORY IS FULL OF THESE CRIMES. THE HOLOCAUST IN EUROPE, RWANDA, BOSNIA, DARFUR. EACH TIME THE WORLD SAID, WE DID NOT KNOW WE COULD NOT ACT. BUT TODAY WE KNOW BETTER. IT'S, THE QUESTION IS NOT WHETHER WE KNOW. THE QUESTION IS WHETHER WE WILL CHOOSE SILENCE. THIS IS WHY THE CIVIL AND HUMAN RIGHTS INVESTMENT SCREENING IS NOT JUST PAPERWORK. IT'S NOT JUST SYMBOLIC. IT'S A MORAL LINE BECAUSE MONEY IS NEVER NEUTRAL. UH, OUR PUBLIC DOLLARS CAN EITHER BUILD SCHOOLS AND BRIDGES, OR IT CAN FINANCE BOMBS AND BULLDOZERS. THEY CAN LIFT LIFE OR THEY CAN EXTINGUISH IT. AND IF COMPANIES, INSTITUTIONS, OR GOVERNMENTS PROFIT FROM THE MACHINERY OF GENOCIDE, THEN EVERY DOLLAR INVESTED IN THEM IS A FINGERPRINT ON THE CRIME. THIS IS NOT ABOUT CHARITY. IT IS ABOUT OUR RESPONSIBILITY. IT IS ABOUT, UH, REFUSING TO BECOME A SHAREHOLDER IN HUMAN SUFFERING OF THE MOST ATROCIOUS TYPES OF HUMAN AND CIVIL RIGHTS VIOLATIONS. SOME WILL SAY THIS IS TOO DISRUPTIVE, TOO MUCH, TOO BOLD. BUT HISTORY TEACHES US THAT JUSTICE IS ALWAYS CALLED TOO MUCH. AND TI UNTIL TIME PROVES IT, IT WAS THE ONLY THING WORTH FIGHTING FOR. AND THEN SILENCE TURNS INTO SHAME. MALCOLM WAS TOO DANGEROUS. MANDELA WAS A CRIMINAL. AND EVEN MARTIN LUTHER KING WAS AN EXTREMIST. YET HISTORY REMEMBERS THEIR COURAGE, NOT THE SILENCE OF THOSE WHO TOLD THEM TO WAIT. COMMISSIONERS, THE CITY HAS A CHOICE. WE CAN LOOK AWAY OR WE CAN FACE THE MOMENT AND SAY, LONG BEACH WILL NOT BE WRITTEN ON THE SIDE OF SILENCE BECAUSE OUR HUMANITY IS NOT FOR [00:55:01] SALE. OUR VALUES ARE NON-NEGOTIABLE. A PALESTINIAN WRITER ONCE SAID THAT RESISTANCE IS NOT A QUESTION OF HEROISM. IT IS A QUESTION OF DIGNITY. TONIGHT WE HAVE THE CHANCE TO CARRY THAT DIGNITY FORWARD TO SHOW THAT OUR CONSCIOUS STILL HAS A PLACE IN OUR POLITICS TO SHOW THAT LONG BEACH WILL NOT BE WRITTEN IN THE MARGINS OF ATROCITIES. AND WHAT AND WHEN FUTURE GENERATIONS ASK. WHAT WE DID, LET IT BE KNOWN THAT LONG BEACH FOUND COURAGE TO LEAD, THAT THEY CHOSE TO HONOR MEMORY, DEFEND LIFE, BUILD COMMUNITIES, AND INVEST IN JUSTICE. THAT WHEN FACED WITH CHOICE, WE DID NOT HESITATE. WE STOOD ON THE SIDE OF HUMANITY. GROUNDED IN THE MOST IMPORTANT ARE LONG BEACH VALUES. AND WE ACTED TOGETHER AS A CITY, WE SHOULD BE ABLE TO BE TRANSPARENTLY KNOW HOW OUR PUBLIC FUNDS ARE BEING INVESTED. THANK YOU. UH, GOOD EVENING COMMISSIONERS. MY NAME'S ANTHONY BRYSON. I'M A RESIDENT IN DISTRICT ONE HERE IN LONG BEACH. UM, I STRANGE BECAUSE I, I LIVE, I WORK AND I'M AN ACTIVIST IN THIS CITY, SO I'M REALLY INVESTED IN THIS CITY AND I THANK YOU FOR AT LEAST HEARING THIS PROPOSAL OF CIVIL AND HUMAN RIGHTS INVESTMENT. AS A HUMAN RIGHTS ACTIVIST, I CONSTANTLY ASKED MYSELF, HOW DO YOU CONSUME ETHICALLY IN A CAPITALIST SYSTEM WHERE SO MUCH OF OUR COMFORT HERE IN AMERICA IS RELIANT ON THE EXPLOITATION OF BLACK AND BROWN PEOPLE ACROSS THE WORLD? THIS IS A START HERE IN LONG BEACH. BY IMPLEMENTING THIS PROPOSAL IS A START TO HAVING ETH ETHNICAL CONSUMPTION IN A CAPITALIST SOCIETY. LONG BEACH CAN STILL THRIVE AND PROVIDE GOOD GOODS AND SERVICES TO THEIR RESIDENTS THAT HAVE AN INVESTED INTEREST BEHIND THEM. TODAY, IT'S ELON MUSK AND HIS COMPANIES TOMORROW, IT'S ANOTHER OLIGARCH IN THEIR COMPANIES. BUT BY PUTTING THIS FORWARD, WE PREVENT OUR ENTANGLEMENT WITH THOSE COMPANIES, WITH THOSE ATROCITIES, WITH THOSE ALLEGATIONS. WE'RE GOING TO BE HOSTING EVENTS FOR THE OLYMPICS. LONG BEACH IS A COMMUNITY THAT'S BEAUTIFUL, VIBRANT, AND HAS AN OPPORTUNITY TO BE A TRENDSETTER AND SHOW THE REST OF THE NATION AND THE REST OF THE CAPITALIST WORLD WHAT ETHICAL CONSUMPTION CAN LOOK LIKE. SO I URGE YOU TO BRING THIS TO CITY COUNCIL FOR ME, A LONG BEACH RESIDENT WHO'S BLACK, WHO'S GAY, AND DOESN'T KNOW IF I CAN, YOU KNOW, PURCHASE THE NEW IPHONE BECAUSE IT'S KILLING BLACK AND BROWN. PEOPLE IN CONGO DON'T KNOW WHAT SODA TO BUY BECAUSE IT'S RELATED TO THE GENOCIDE IN PALESTINE. BUT IF THE GROCERY STORES IN LONG BEACH OR STOCKED WITH ETHICAL INVESTMENTS, IF THE CLOTHING SUPPLIES AND BRANDS ARE BACKED WITH ETHICAL INVESTMENTS HERE IN LONG BEACH WILL FLOURISH AND THE CITY WILL FLOURISH, THE RESIDENTS WILL FLOURISH AND THEY'LL FEEL EMPOWERED BECAUSE THEY DON'T HAVE TO PICK AND CHOOSE BETWEEN THE GENOCIDE OR SURVIVING OR BETWEEN COKE OR PEPSI. THEY CAN JUST PURCHASE AND BE HAPPY CONSUMERS IN THIS CITY. THAT'S WHAT WE WANT, RIGHT? REX DEVELOPS LONG BEACH GROWS. SO AS WE GROW AND WE GET THIS AMPHITHEATER AND ALL THIS COOL, AMAZING STUFF, LET'S MAKE SURE WE DO IT THE RIGHT WAY. LET'S MAKE SURE WE DO IT WHERE IT'S NOT CAUSING ENVIRONMENTAL DAMAGE, IT'S NOT CAUSING SOCIOLOGICAL DAMAGE AND MAKING FAMILIES WORRY IF THEIR TAX DOLLARS ARE GOING TO KILL THEIR SIBLINGS OR THEIR FAMILY MEMBERS ACROSS THE WORLD BECAUSE THAT'S THE POWER OF INVESTMENT. AND SO YOU GUYS HAVE THE POWER TO INVEST IN THE PEOPLE. THANK YOU. HELLO. I AM A RESIDENT OF LONG BEACH. UM, GIVE ME A MINUTE ASKING HASHEM FOR THE COURAGE TO SPEAK HERE. 'CAUSE I AM A VOICE OF ONE RIGHT NOW. UM, I AM NOT GOING TO CONVINCE ANY OF YOU TO CHANGE YOUR POSITIONS ABOUT ISRAEL, PALESTINE OR THE BOYCOTT. I SEE THAT THIS COMMISSION HAS CHO CHOSEN A PRESENTER AND A GROUP THAT PROUDLY POSTS ON HIS FACEBOOK PAGE TO BOYCOTT ISRAEL MAKES ME SUSPECT ABOUT THE WHOLE HUMAN RIGHTS AND CIVIL PIECE. UM, IN NOVEMBER 1ST, THE EQUITY COMMISSION, SOME OF YOU WERE COMMISSIONERS PUT ON LESS THAN THREE WEEKS AFTER THE MASSACRE IN ISRAEL BY [01:00:01] HAMAS, A RESOLUTION THAT BASICALLY WAS CONDEMNING ISRAEL. MY GRANDDAUGHTER, WHEN SHE WAS EIGHT YEARS OLD, POSTED UP A SIGN. IT SAID, FOOL ME ONCE, SHAME ON YOU, FOOL ME TWICE. STILL SHAME ON YOU. I WAS FOOLED ON NOVEMBER 1ST, THE ITEM WAS PUT ON THE AGENDA. THE ONLY PEOPLE WHO KNEW ABOUT IT TO SPEAK UP WERE THOSE WHO SUPPORTED THE ANTI-ISRAEL PEACE. TONIGHT'S AGENDA TWO WAS PUT UP. THERE WAS NO ATTACHMENT, NO DOCUMENTATION, EVEN THOUGH I JUST HEARD THAT THE COMMUNITY HAD WORKED ON IT FOR QUITE A WHILE TO PUT IT ON. AND YET IT HADN'T BEEN POSTED. UM, AS OF TODAY, I HAVE ADDED THREE PUBLIC COMMENTS THAT HAVE BEEN BLOCKED AND THAT HAVEN'T PUT ON THE AGENDA SITE FOR THE PUBLIC TO SEE. I REALLY QUESTION WHY LONG BEACH, UM, PEACE AREA NETWORK WAS CHOSEN FOR THIS PRESENTATION. WITH THE HANDOUTS, YOU HAVE THE PRESENTATION, BUT THERE'S NO POLICY HANDED OUT, WHICH WAS AN ATTACHMENT. SO I QUESTION, WHEN YOU'RE TALKING ABOUT CIVIL AND HUMAN RIGHTS, WHETHER ANYBODY HERE, GIVEN THE NUMBER OF KAFIS BEING WORN, ARE TARGETING ONE COUNTRY. DO YOU HAVE A COUNTRY IN MIND? THEN BE OPEN OF IT. ALL OF YOU TALK ABOUT TRANSPARENCY AND ACCOUNTABILITY, THEN BE TRANSPARENT, THEN WE KNOW WHAT YOU'RE SAYING. DON'T TRY TO GO UNDER AND AROUND WITHOUT TELLING US. IT'S HORRIBLE WHEN YOU'RE, WHEN, WHEN YOU DON'T AGREE WITH WHAT'S BEING SAID. SO DON'T DO IT TO THE PEOPLE WHO DON'T AGREE. BE TRANSPARENT, THEN WE KNOW WHAT WE'RE DEALING WITH. THANK YOU. THAT WAS FINE. GOOD EVENING. UH, MY NAME IS NOAMI MARTINEZ. I'M RESIDENT OF LONG BEACH SINCE 2012. I, UM, DID NOT, I DID NOT COME, I DID NOT COME HERE PREPARED TO SPEAK. SO THIS IS VERY IMPROMPTU AND I APPRECIATE YOU LISTENING TO ME. MAY I HAVE THE TIME RESTARTED? THANK YOU. I DID. WE DIDN'T HEAR EVERYTHING YOU SAID. I'M SORRY. UH, MY NAME IS NOMI MARTINEZ. I AM A RESIDENT OF LONG BEACH SINCE 2012. UM, I DID NOT COME PREPARED TO SPEAK, SO, UH, FORGIVE ME IF I TRIP ON MY WORDS. UM, I AM A LATINA FROM YOUR COMMUNITY AND I JUST LISTENED TO THIS ENTIRE PRESENTATION. UM, I'M NOT HERE WITH THIS GROUP, I'M JUST HERE TO JUST KIND OF SEE WHAT WAS GOING ON. AND, UM, I THINK, UH, YOU HAVE A GROUP OF REALLY BRILLIANT PEOPLE HERE THAT ARE BASICALLY HANDING YOU AN OPPORTUNITY TO, UM, CREATE A LEGACY AND LEAVE A LEGACY BEHIND ON A SILVER PLATTER. UM, AND I REALLY THINK THAT YOU SHOULD TAKE ADVANTAGE OF THAT. AND, UH, JUST TO THE COMMENTS OF, UH, THE LAST SPEAKER, IT WOULD BE AN ALTRUISTIC TO NOT CALL OUT, YOU KNOW, ALL OF THE CULPRITS THAT ARE RESPONSIBLE FOR ANY HARM, WHETHER IT BE THE ENVIRONMENT, WHETHER IT BE FOR HUMAN RIGHTS. UH, COINCIDENTALLY FOR ME, SOMETHING THAT SPARKED MY INTEREST IN SOCIAL JUSTICE WAS READING ABOUT THE HOLOCAUST AT 11 YEARS OLD. UM, AS A LATINA, I THINK, YOU KNOW, WHAT'S GOING ON TODAY HERE IN OUR OWN NEIGHBORHOODS AND SEEING THE HARM THAT'S BEING CAUSED TO MY PEOPLE SPECIFICALLY, IT RESONATES A LOT, ESPECIALLY THE BEGINNINGS OF THE HOLOCAUST, WHICH VERY MUCH MIRROR WHAT WAS HAPPENING OVER THERE AT ONE POINT. OR, UM, SO YEAH, UM, I JUST URGE YOU TO ADOPT THIS BLUEPRINT BECAUSE IT IS VERY RARE THAT SOMEBODY PUTS THIS MUCH WORK AND THIS MUCH INTENT, UH, THIS, THESE MANY DETAILS. BECAUSE YOUR JOBS ARE VERY DIFFICULT. I ASSUME, YOU KNOW, YOU HAVE TO BASICALLY CROSS ALL THE T'S, DOT ALL THE I'S MAKE SURE THAT EVERYBODY IS PLEASED, UH, BECAUSE YOU CAN'T, AT THE END OF THE DAY, YOU CAN'T PLEASE EVERYBODY. SO THERE'S ALWAYS GONNA BE SOMEBODY THAT'S UPSET. BUT I THINK THIS PLAN, UM, THINKS ABOUT HUMANITY AS A WHOLE. IT'S NOT SPECIFICALLY FOCUSING ON ONE COMMUNITY, IT'S, IT'S SPECIFICALLY FOCUSING ON THE IMPACT THAT IT HAS ON ALL OF THE ASPECTS THAT CREATE THE CITY OF LONG BEACH. SO, UH, THANK YOU VERY MUCH FOR YOUR TIME. HAVE A GOOD NIGHT. THANK YOU ALL FOR, UM, SHARING PUBLIC COMMENT IN PERSON. WE'RE GONNA MOVE TO SEE IF THERE'S ANY PUBLIC COMMENTS ONLINE. IF THERE ARE ANY MEMBERS OF THE PUBLIC THAT WOULD LIKE TO PROVIDE PUBLIC COMMENT IN ZOOM, PLEASE USE THE RAISE HAND FUNCTION. NOW WE HAVE ONE COMMENT, TURTLE ROCK. YOU'RE ALLOWED TO SPEAK NOW. PLEASE UNMUTE YOURSELF [01:05:06] IF YOU'RE SPEAKING. WE CANNOT HEAR YOU. PLEASE UNMUTE YOURSELF. YES, WE CAN HEAR YOU NOW. THANK YOU. YOUR TIME HAS STARTED. YES, THANK YOU. YES, THANK YOU. I HAVE TO SAY I WAS, YES. CAN YOU HEAR ME? YES. WONDERFUL. I HAVE TO SAY, I WAS REALLY CONCERNED COMMISSIONERS ABOUT WHAT I HEARD WAS HAPPENING HERE TONIGHT. WHILE I APPRECIATE THE COMMITTEE THAT YOU'RE ON AND THE JOB THAT YOU'RE TASKED WITH, I BELIEVE I AM UNMUTED. CAN YOU HEAR ME? YES, WE CAN HEAR YOU. I'M SO SORRY. OKAY, WONDERFUL. UH, COMMISSIONERS, I'M CALLING IN TONIGHT BECAUSE I'M VERY CONCERNED ABOUT WHAT I'M HEARING. THANK YOU. I'M CALLING IN TONIGHT BECAUSE I'M CONCERNED ABOUT WHAT I'M HEARING. THERE'S A DELAY. I'M AFRAID I'M, I'M NOT SURE IF YOU CAN HEAR ME PROPERLY. MADAM CLERK, CAN WE START THE TIME OVER FOR HER? YES, WE CAN. THE PERSON AND WE CAN HEAR YOU. JUST GO AHEAD AND PROVIDE YOUR COMMENTS. THEIR TIME HAS BEGUN. THERE'S A FIDUCIARY RESPONSIBILITY THAT A CITY HAS AND IT DOESN'T SOUND LIKE THAT'S SOMETHING THAT'S BEING TAKEN INTO ACCOUNT. NO, THANK YOU. THERE WAS A DELAY FOR SOME REASON. THERE'S A FIDUCIARY. THANK YOU. THERE'S A FIDUCIARY RESPONSIBILITY THAT A CITY HAS THAT I'M AFRAID IS BEING IGNORED TONIGHT. AGAIN, THERE'S, IT'S GOT AN ECHO AND A DELAY. I'M SORRY. THE MAIN THING THAT I'M REALLY WANTING TO GET ACROSS TO THE COMMISSIONERS IS WHERE IS THIS LINE THAT YOU'RE GOING TO BE DRAWING IN ETHICAL INVESTMENTS? IS HAMAS ETHICAL? ARE WE GOING TO ALLOW MONEY TOWARDS TERRORIST ORGANIZATIONS? I MEAN, WHO IS THE COMMISSION TO BE DECIDING FIDUCIARY? UGH, THIS IS TERRIBLE. IT'S NOT. THE RECORDING HAS GOT A TREMENDOUS DELAY. IT'S NOT ALLOWING ME TO SPEAK PROPERLY. I DON'T KNOW WHY. PLEASE JUST MAKE YOUR COMMENTS. IF YOU CAN, UH, MUTE ANY OTHER DEVICES THAT YOU HAVE THAT MAY BE WHAT CAUSING IS CAUSING THE DELAY. OH, THERE'S NO OTHER DEVICE. LET ME SEE IF I CAN PULL IN FROM SOMEWHERE ELSE. DID THE PERSON STOP UNMUTE? DID THEY GIVE UP? OKAY. UM, WHAT I WILL RECOMMEND, CAN WE END THE PUBLIC COMMENT IF THEY'RE THE LAST ONE, OR MOVE ON TO THE NEXT PERSON AND THEN ADVISE THEM TO EITHER SHARE VIA EMAIL OR SHARE THEIR COMMENT VIA EMAIL AND WE'LL RE RECEIVE IT AT A LATER TIME. YEAH, BECAUSE WE, WE CAN HEAR THEM, BUT WHATEVER THAT'S GOING ON IN THE BACKGROUND IS STOPPING THEM FROM ACTUALLY, SO THEY'VE LOGGED OFF NOW. OKAY. THEY'RE LOGGED OFF. ALL RIGHT. UM, WELL, IF YOU ARE WATCHING A PERSON WHO GAVE THE THE PUBLIC COMMENT, FEEL FREE TO EMAIL, UM, THE, UH, THE OFFICE OF EQUITY STAFF, TONY, UH, AND WE WILL RECEIVE THAT, UM, COMMENT FROM YOU AT A LATER TIME. SO THANK YOU FOR YOUR PUBLIC COMMENT. UM, MADAM CLERK, ARE THERE ANY OTHER COMMENT, PUBLIC COMMENT FROM ZOOM? IF THERE ARE ANY ADDITIONAL MEMBERS OF THE PUBLIC THAT WOULD LIKE TO PROVIDE PUBLIC COMMENT, PLEASE USE THE RAISE HAND NOW. YES, WE HAVE ONE PUBLIC COMMENT. SPEAKER IRVINE MATTERS. ARE YOU ABLE TO HEAR ME? WE CAN HEAR YOU FINALLY. THANK YOU. I WAS CALLING IN. I'M VERY DISTRESSED BY WHAT I'M HEARING HERE TONIGHT. COMMISSIONERS, WHILE I UNDERSTAND THE JOB THAT YOU HAVE, THERE'S A FIDUCIARY RESPONSIBILITY THAT A CITY HAS. THE CITY HAS TO BE PAYING ATTENTION TO THE MONEY IT HAS THAT GIVES, THIS IS TAX PAYER MONEY. THIS ISN'T PEOPLE'S PERSONAL MONEY. THIS ISN'T YOUR PERSONAL INVESTMENT. THE PEOPLE WHO [01:10:01] ARE IN THAT ROOM, YOU CAN DO WHATEVER YOU WANT TO WITH YOUR PERSONAL INVESTMENTS. THERE'S THE EMPLOYEES IN LONG BEACH WHOSE RETIREMENTS DEPEND ON HOW THINGS ARE INVESTED. AND I JUST DON'T THINK COMMISSIONERS, WITH ALL DUE RESPECT, THAT YOU WANT THE RESPONSIBILITY OF DECIDING HOW TO INVEST PEOPLE'S RETIREMENT ACCOUNTS. WHAT IF YOU'RE WRONG? WHAT IF YOU INVEST POORLY? ARE YOU GOING TO TAKE THE RESPONSIBILITY OF DECIDING WHAT IS ETHICAL, WHAT ISN'T ETHICAL? WHAT IS GOOD FOR THE ENVIRONMENT AND WHAT'S BAD FOR THE ENVIRONMENT? DO YOU REALLY HAVE THAT KNOWLEDGE BASE TO MAKE THOSE DECISIONS? IS THAT SOMETHING THAT WHEN YOU WERE GIVEN THE COMMISSION POSITION, YOU FELT YOU KNEW HOW TO DO? BECAUSE THAT SEEMS LIKE A VERY HIGH LEVEL OF UNDERSTANDING OF BOTH ECONOMICS, FINANCIAL RESPONSIBILITIES. THIS IS REAL MONEY WE'RE TALKING ABOUT. THIS ISN'T MADE UP FUNDS. PEOPLE IN YOUR CITY DEPEND ON THESE FUNDS, NOT ONLY FOR THEIR RETIREMENT, BUT ALSO FOR THEIR INCOME. SO I NEED YOU TO REALLY CONSIDER, IS THIS THE BEST INTEREST OF THE CITY OR IS THIS PEACE NETWORK? IF YOU'LL KINDLY LOOK UP, IT'S AN ORGANIZATION CALLED CODE PINK AND DSA THAT ARE BEHIND ALL OF THIS. THEY HAVE TOOLKITS THAT INSTRUCT THEM EXACTLY WHAT TO BE SAYING TO YOU. AND YOU'RE BEING HAD RIGHT NOW, I REALLY HOPE YOU'LL TAKE THE TIME TO LOOK UP CODE PINK AND ALL OF THE WORK THEY PUT INTO ACTUALLY DOING BDS DIVESTMENT FROM ISRAEL AS A A, A FAKE COMING IN. LIKE THEY CARE ABOUT THE ENVIRONMENT COMING IN, LIKE THEY CARE ABOUT THE, UM, ETHICS AND, AND HUMANITARIAN CAUSES WHEN REALLY ALL THIS IS, IS HIDDEN. BDS, LET'S CALL IT WHAT IT IS. SO PLEASE, COMMISSIONERS, DO THE RIGHT THING. PAY ATTENTION TO WHAT YOU'RE REALLY VOTING ON AND REALLY THINK THROUGH YOUR FIDUCIARY RESPONSIBILITY TO THE CITIZENS OF LONG BEACH WHO DESERVE THE BEST WITH THEIR MONEY, WITH THEIR RETIREMENT, AND WITH, UH, ANY DECISIONS THAT YOU MAKE. TAKE IT SERIOUSLY BECAUSE THESE PEOPLE IN THE ROOM RIGHT NOW ARE HAVING THE BEST OF YOU SEEING NO OTHER RAISED HANDS IN THE ZOOM. THAT CONCLUDES PUBLIC COMMENT FOR THIS ITEM. THANK YOU, MADAM CLERK. UM, SO WE'RE NOW GONNA TAKE THE CONVERSATION, UM, WITHIN THE COMMISSION. SO NOW'S AN OPPORTUNITY TO QUEUE UP. UH, AND IF YOU HAVE ANY QUESTIONS FOR OUR PRESENTERS OR COMMENTS ON THE ITEM, UH, NOW'S THE TIME TO BE ABLE TO PROVIDE THAT. UH, LET ME GO TO THE CORRECT SCREEN SO THAT I CAN SEE WHO'S QUEUING UP. UH, I AM NOT SEEING IT ON OUR END, SO IF YOU WANNA RAISE YOUR HAND, UH, AND THEN WE WILL JUST GO FROM THERE. SO, DR. LAURA, THANK YOU CHAIR. UH, FIRST OF ALL, UH, MUCH APPRECIATION TO ALL THOSE WHO COMMENTED DURING PUBLIC COMMENT, BOTH ONLINE AND HERE IN PERSON, AND ALSO TO THE PRESENTERS. UM, UH, ONE OF THE FIRST THINGS I DO WHEN LISTENING TO PRESENTATIONS COUPLED WITH THE DOCUMENTS THAT I RECEIVE IS READ, READ, READ, READ. UM, AND AS YOU PRESENTED A GOOD MULTITASKER READ THIS LIKE FIVE DIFFERENT TIMES. I CANNOT FIND ANYTHING THAT I WOULD DISAGREE WITH IN, IN SPIRIT. SO I REALLY APPRECIATE THAT WHEN I, WHEN I READ AND I HAVE READ OVER AND OVER AND OVER AGAIN. HOWEVER, I DO HAVE A QUESTION, UM, ON THE IMPLEMENTATION COMPONENT. AND IT'S A TWO FOLDED QUESTION. ONE, WHAT OTHER, WHETHER IT'S PEER CITIES, MUNICIPALITIES, UM, OR EVEN IF THEY WOULD NOT NECESSARILY BE CONSIDERED PEER. 'CAUSE WHO GETS A DEFINED PEER? WHAT OTHER CITIES MAY HAVE SOMETHING LIKE THIS, RIGHT? AND WHAT HAVE BEEN THE IMPACT IN COMMUNICATION IN TERMS OF THIS PROCESS? OKAY, SO LOOK AT FIVE DIFFERENT STEPS AND, UM, THAT ARE OUTLINED HERE IN TERMS OF IMPLEMENTATION AND MONITORING. SO I, I WOULD LIKE TO KNOW WHAT THAT LOOKS LIKE, UH, BEYOND THESE FIVE BULLET POINTS. AND I CAN'T SPEAK FOR THE ENTIRE BODY, BUT YOU KNOW, MY COLLEAGUES, I, I'M SURE WOULD, WOULD PROB WOULD PROBABLY BE INTERESTED IN THIS IMPLEMENTATION PIECE. SO I WANT TO SAY A NUMBER OF THINGS ABOUT THAT. FIRST OF ALL, UM, THE, THE BASE OF, OF INVESTMENT IN, WE HAVE A HIGH SCREEN FOR INVESTMENT ALREADY. THIS ADDS ANOTHER LAYER TO THE EXISTING SCREEN. IT DOES NOT TAKE AWAY ANYTHING ELSE. UM, THERE ARE CITIES, BUT THEY HAD, THIS IS ACTUALLY QUITE UNIQUE IN ITS OWN WAY. UM, BOTH IOWA CITY, IOWA AND RICHMOND, CALIFORNIA HAVE DONE SOMETHING IN [01:15:01] THESE LINES. THIS INCLUDES BROADER STATEMENTS. IOWA CITY ACTUALLY FOCUSED ONLY ON ISRAEL. WE ARE NOT FOCUSED ONLY ON ISRAEL. WE ARE FOCUSED ON INVESTMENT IN GENERAL. UM, AND, UM, FOR AROUND ISSUES THAT IMPACT CIVIL AND HUMAN RIGHTS ACROSS THE BOARD. UH, SO, UH, SO THE IOWA CITY RESOLUTION, FOR EXAMPLE, DOES NOT INCLUDE ANYTHING ABOUT CHILD LABOR, WHICH GOD KNOWS IOWA'S GOT A PROBLEM WITH. UH, SO, UM, IT'S, UH, WE'RE, WE'RE BROADER AND I THINK BETTER AT THAT. BUT THERE ARE SOME EXAMPLES THAT I, I'M JUST DOING, I DOING THAT OFF WHAT I REMEMBER, RICHMOND, CALIFORNIA AS WELL. UM, AND THEN THERE ARE OTHERS IN DISCUSSIONS. WE'VE HAD CONVERSATIONS WITH PEOPLE IN OAKLAND WHO ARE WORKING ON SIMILAR KINDS OF ACTIVITIES. UH, HEY, THANK YOU. AND REGARDING ANY, UM, IMPLICATIONS FOR THE, THE, THE, THE PROCESS THAT YOU CAN ENVISION IN THIS? OR MAYBE THAT'S A QUESTION FOR OTHER EXPERTS IN THE ROOM, MEANING WITH OUR CITY THAT, I'M TRYING TO ENVISION THIS. HOW WOULD THIS LOOK LIKE YOU SAID, SO THIS WOULD BE ADDED ON TO , ADDED ON TO THE SCREENING FOR GOOD RETURNS. I MEAN, WE HAVE SCREENS ON, RETURNS ON INVESTMENT AND SECURITY AND ALL OF THAT. SO THIS IS ANOTHER LAYER TO IT. AND THERE ARE A NUMBER OF PLACES, AND I, I'M SORRY I DIDN'T PREPARE, UH, DR. LAURA ON THIS LEVEL, BUT THERE ARE A NUMBER OF PLACES THAT HAVE ACTUALLY COMPILED SUCH LISTS OF COMPANIES THAT ARE NOT IN COMPLIANCE WITH HUMAN AND CIVIL RIGHTS. UM, AND, UH, WE CAN GET THAT TO YOU. UM, I, I HAVE A CONTACT, I DIDN'T BRING IT WITH ME, I'M SORRY. BUT THERE ARE WAYS, THERE ARE COMPANIES THAT ARE LISTED. THE ONE THAT COMES TO MIND, OF COURSE FOR ME IS CATERPILLAR IS ON EVERYBODY'S LIST. UM, AND IF WE WERE TO INVEST IN CATERPILLAR BOND AND THEY ISSUE BONDS, UH, LONG BEACH ALSO PRIMARILY INVEST IN BONDS AND ONLY MAJOR COMPANIES ISSUE BONDS. CATERPILLAR IS ONE OF THEM THAT I THINK OF THAT'S ON MANY LISTS AS VIOLATING HUMAN AND CIVIL RIGHTS. THANK YOU. THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR THAT ANSWER. AND I'M, I, I MAYBE INTRIGUED THAT IOWA PASSED, UH, BY RE, IOWA CITY. IT'S A CITY, IT'S A COLLEGE TOWN, , UH, BECAUSE, UH, THE OLD SAYING FOR LONG BEACH USED TO BE IOWA BY SEA, IOWA BY THE SEA, RIGHT? SO IT'S INTERESTING THAT THEY DID THAT. UM, SO NEXT UP WE HAVE, UH, COMMISSIONER DEION, AND THEN MONTGOMERY ON DECK. THANK YOU. AND IT'S VERY EXCITING ON A 90 DEGREE DAY TO HAVE A LOT OF COMMUNITY HERE. UH, YOU KNOW, SOMETIMES WE HAVE MEETINGS WHERE THERE IS NOBODY IN THOSE SEATS. AND TODAY WE HAVE, UM, A LOT, RIGHT? I THINK IT'S REALLY POWERFUL TO SEE THAT. UH, I DID A LOT OF READING AND BRITISH COVERAGE FOR THIS ITEM BECAUSE I HAD A FEELING, I HAD QUESTIONS. I FIGURED OTHER SET QUESTIONS AS WELL. AND I THINK I MIGHT ACTUALLY HAVE QUESTIONS, UH, FOR YOU, UH, TO ANSWER COMMISSIONER LARA FIRST ON CITY COMPARISON. SO I DID SOME READING, AND IT LOOKS LIKE THERE ARE A COUPLE CITIES HERE IN CALIFORNIA THAT DO HAVE SIMILAR REQUIREMENTS WITHIN THEIR INVESTMENT POLICIES. AND SO I WANNA LOOK AT THOSE RIGHT NOW AND I'LL READ THEM OUT. UM, SO FOLKS HAVE ACCESS TO IT. UM, FIRST IS THE CITY OF BERKELEY, WHICH ACTUALLY HAS A SERIES OF DIFFERENT, UH, ORDINANCES, RESOLUTIONS AND DIRECTIVES WITHIN THEIR RESPONSIBLE INVESTING POLICY THAT ALREADY EXISTS. A NUCLEAR FREE BERKELEY ACT DIVESTED FROM GUN MANUFACTURERS AND TOBACCO, UM, A PROHIBITION ON OPPRESSIVE STATES CONTRACTS DIVESTED FROM PUBLICLY TRADED FOSSIL FUEL COMPANIES, DIVESTED FROM PRISONS, DIVESTMENT FROM ANY COMPANIES THAT ARE BUILDING THE US MEXICO BORDER WALL, UH, AND OTHERS, RIGHT? AND SO WE HAVE THIS SUITE OF DIFFERENT POLICIES THAT ALREADY EXIST IN THE CITY OF BERKELEY. I ALSO WANNA FUND, UH, SHARE AN EXAMPLE THAT IS EVEN MORE SIMILAR TRUST, WHICH IS OAKLAND. AND OAKLAND ACTUALLY HAS A TON OF STUFF IN HERE THAT DATES BACK DECADES. IN 1988, UH, THE CITY OF OAKLAND CITY COUNCIL PASSED AN ORDINANCE, THE RESTRICTED INVESTMENT, UM, RELATED TO NUCLEAR, UH, UH, WEAPONS. THEY HAD A NUCLEAR FREE ORDINANCE, AS IN 1988. IN 1998. UH, THEY CREATED ANOTHER ONE AROUND, UH, MAKING SURE THAT INVESTMENTS WERE ALIGNED WITH THE BANKING NEEDS OF THE CITY IN 1998. THEY, THEY CREATED A RESOLUTION THAT PREVENTED INVESTMENT IN TOBACCO IN 2014, PERMITTED INVESTMENT IN FOSSIL FUELS, 2013 FROM FIREARMS, UH, IN 2019, ANY SORT OF THINGS IN VIOLATION OF THEIR SANCTUARY CITY POLICIES. SO ANYTHING THAT IS CONTRACTING WITH ICE, CBP, UM, AND REFUGEE RESETTLEMENT, UH, THAT SHARES DATA WITH ICE. RIGHT? AND SO I THINK WE LIKE WHAT, WHAT FOLKS ARE SHARING HERE ACTUALLY HAS A LOT OF LEGAL GROUNDS, NOT JUST CONCEPTUALLY, [01:20:01] BUT ALSO IN THE STATE, UM, FOR CITIES OF SIMILAR SIZE TO LONG BEACH, BEING ABLE TO HAVE THESE POLICIES AT PLAY. SO I WANNA FLAG THAT, THAT THERE'S NOT, UH, WHILE I LIVE LONG BEACH BEING THE FIRST AT THINGS MM-HMM . I ACTUALLY DON'T THINK WE'D BE THE FIRST . I MEAN, THAT'S REALLY EXCITING. UM, I DIDN'T KNOW THE IOWA BY THE SEA THING, AND IT'S A, SOMEONE BORN AND RAISED IN LONG BEACH. WE'LL TALK ABOUT THAT LATER. UM, BUT SO I THINK THERE'S A LOT OF PRECEDENT HERE. AND THE OTHER PIECE, UM, AROUND REPORTING, WHICH WAS, UM, CAME BY COMMERCIAL LAW STATEMENTS THAT I THINK IS REALLY IMPORTANT, UH, IS THE FACT THAT THERE IS ALREADY A, UH, REPORTING SCHEDULE THAT EXISTS IN THE CURRENT CITY'S INVESTMENT POLICY. SO, AS OF THE FY 25 INVESTMENT POLICY FOR THE CITY, SECTION ONE, PART SEVEN, SUBPART THREE, THE CITY TREASURER ALREADY DOES A QUARTERLY REPORT TO THE CITY MANAGER, AUDITOR AND COUNCIL WITHIN 90 DAYS AT THE END OF THE QUARTER. SO THERE'S ALREADY A CADENCE IN HERE THAT HAS FIVE DIFFERENT ITEMS, UM, FOR EVERY PART OF THE INVESTMENT PORTFOLIO, EVERY SINGLE QUARTER, IN ADDITION TO AN ANNUAL REPORT IN, UH, INVESTMENT POLICY, ONE SECTION SEVEN SUBPART TWO AROUND, UM, ANNUAL INVESTMENT POLICY STATEMENTS TO THE CITY. AND SO, WHAT THIS ALL MEANS TO ME IS THIS IS ALSO NOT UNPRECEDENTED, RIGHT? WHAT IT MEANS IS, UH, THAT THERE'S ALREADY A CADENCE BUILT IN FOR THE CITY TREASURER TO HAVE REGULAR REPORTING ON INVESTMENTS. ALL OF THIS IS TO SAY THAT WHAT I'M HEARING TODAY IS REPLICABLE, FEASIBLE, AND HAS PRECEDENT, UH, AND MOST IMPORTANTLY FEELS URGENT TO THE MOMENT. AND SO, I, I REALLY APPRECIATE FOLKS COMING IN HERE BEFORE THE END OF THIS CONVERSATION. I WILL BE MAKING A MOTION TO AMEND THIS FROM A RECEIVING FILE TO A MOTION TO ADVANCE. AND SO WE'LL TALK THROUGH WHERE THAT IS LATER, BUT I WANNA CREATE SPACE FOR OTHER PEOPLE TO ASK QUESTIONS. THANK YOU. COMMISSIONER DELEON, COMMISSIONER MONTGOMERY, THANK YOU. AND THANK YOU ALL WHO CAME TO SPEAK TODAY. I REALLY APPRECIATE IT. UM, I DON'T HAVE ANY QUESTIONS. I JUST HAVE WORDS TO SAY. I THINK LONG BEACH IS A VERY FORWARD THINKING AND FORWARD ACTING CITY. SO IT MAKES SENSE FOR US, IN MY OPINION, TO ENACT A CIVIL AND HUMAN RIGHTS INVESTMENT SCREENING. UM, AND JUST TO SAY HOW FORWARD THINKING THIS COMMISSION IS AND THE CITY IS, WE DID PASS A CEASEFIRE BACK IN DECEMBER OF 2023. A FEW PEOPLE, A FEW PEOPLE HERE TONIGHT, DID MENTION OUR CEASEFIRE. AND WHILE I UNDERSTAND THAT THIS RECOMMENDATION IS FOR COMPANIES AND I THINK ORGANIZATIONS, I WOULD LOVE TO SEE ONCE IT IS HOPEFULLY PASSED BY OUR CITY COUNCIL, I WOULD LOVE TO SEE IT BE ENACTED, UM, MORE BROADLY SO THAT WAY WE CAN GO, UM, AND DIVEST FROM COUNTRIES, UM, ACCORDING TO NOT MY TAXPAYER, NOT MY TAX DOLLARS.ORG, EXCUSE ME, LONG BEACH SENT $29,290,712 TO ISRAEL. UM, AND I JUST THINK THAT'S MONEY THAT CAN BE BETTER USED SOMEWHERE ELSE IN OUR CITY FOR OUR RESIDENTS. SO THANK YOU FOR BRINGING THIS TO OUR ATTENTION. I LOOK FORWARD TO HOPEFULLY ADVANCING THIS ITEM WITHIN OUR COMMISSION AND SEEING IT GO TO CITY COUNCIL. THANK YOU. THANK YOU, COMMISSIONER MONTGOMERY. ARE THERE ANY OTHER COMMISSIONER COMMENTS? YES, COMMISSIONER COLE, THANK YOU SO MUCH. 'CAUSE YOUR PRESENTATION WAS REALLY GREAT. AND, UH, IN PRINCIPLE, I BELIEVE IN SO MANY OF THE POINTS, AND I LOVE THIS CITY TOO, AND BECAUSE WE ARE SO FORWARD THINKING, BUT I'M DISAPPOINTED THAT IT, THIS IS ALL KIND OF WRAPPED INTO THE WHOLE ISRAELI PALESTINE GEN, CONFLICT GEN AND THE FEELING THAT IS TIED TO THAT NO MATTER WHAT SIDE I MAY OR MAY NOT BE ON, ONE POOR PERSON CAME UP HERE TO SPEAK THEIR MIND. AND, YOU KNOW, I, THERE'S NO REASON EVERYONE'S ALLOWED TO SPEAK FREELY. SO JUST KIND OF LEFT A BAD TASTE. AND I AGREE PRINCIPLE, BUT CLEARLY IN THE INTENTION BEHIND THIS IS TO FOCUS ON THAT ISSUE FROM MY VANTAGE PER, SO I'M DISAPPOINTED TO, TO HEAR THAT AND SEE IT. YEAH, I, I APPRECIATE YOUR COMMENT. I WANT TO EMPHASIZE THAT I WAS INTENTIONAL ABOUT INCLUDING THAT QUOTE AT THE BEGINNING WHEN I SAID THIS IS ABOUT AN INTERCONNECTED ISSUE AND, UM, POLICY. AND THAT WE WERE SERIOUS ABOUT THAT THERE IS NO, UM, INTENT TO TRY AND MAKE IT SEEM LIKE WE'RE DOING SOMETHING ELSE. LIKE WE DISCUSSED. WHAT ARE THE ELEMENTS THAT WE WANT TO INCLUDE IN HERE? BECAUSE WE DO ACKNOWLEDGE THAT CLIMATE CHANGE IS CONNECTED TO MILITARY OCCUPATION, THAT LABOR VIOLATIONS IS CONNECTED TO HUMAN RIGHTS VIOLATIONS, THAT SUPPLY CHAIN VIOLATIONS ARE CONNECTED TO HUMAN RIGHTS VIOLATIONS. SO, UM, WE ACTUALLY, BELIEVE IT OR NOT, STARTED WITH MORE CATEGORIES THAN WHAT WE HAVE HERE. AND WE HAD TO NARROW THEM DOWN BECAUSE WE SAID THIS IS TOO MUCH. SO I WANT TO JUST MAKE CLEAR THAT WE [01:25:01] ACTUALLY WERE VERY THOUGHTFUL IN THE CATEGORIES THAT WE SELECTED. AND, UM, YOU KNOW, I WOULD ALSO SAY THAT WE'RE NOT TRYING TO BE UNCLEAR IN WHERE WE STAND, UM, IN OUR PRESENTATION. I THINK WE WERE VERY INTENTIONAL ABOUT THE SUBJECTS THAT WE TALKED ABOUT, AND WE INVITED, OR WE INVITE FOLKS TO SPEAK FREELY ALL THE TIME. SO, UM, AND WE DON'T TELL PEOPLE WHAT TO SAY OR WHAT NOT TO SAY, RIGHT? SO I JUST WANT TO MAKE CLEAR THAT, UM, WHEN WE SAID THAT WE ARE TALKING ABOUT INTERCONNECTED ISSUES, WE WERE SERIOUS ABOUT THAT. WE, I'M, I'M NOT SOMEONE THAT'S HERE TO DECEIVE YOU. THESE ARE THINGS THAT I'VE BEEN ADVOCATING FOR IN LONG BEACH FOR YEARS, ALL OF THESE THINGS. UM, AND SO THAT'S WHY THEY'RE HERE. AND, AND I'M NOT THE ONLY ONE, RIGHT? THE FOLKS THAT WORKED ON THIS, 'CAUSE I'M NOT THE ONLY ONE. THERE WAS LOTS OF FOLKS THAT CAME TOGETHER AND BROUGHT THEIR POINT OF VIEW WHO ALSO HAVE BEEN ADVOCATING FOR THESE THINGS. SO, UM, YOU KNOW, I, I HOPE THAT, THAT THIS COMMISSION TAKES THAT INTO CONSIDERATION AND, UM, TAKES MY WORD FOR WHAT IT IS. I HAVE ONE MORE COMMENT, WHICH IS I'VE BEEN AROUND A LONG TIME, AS YOU KNOW. UM, AND IF ANYBODY THINKS I'M A FRONT FOR ANYTHING, I SAY I'M NOT A FRONT FOR . I'M NOT A FRONT FOR THEM. I'M A FRONT FOR LONG BEACH AREA PEACE NETWORK AT THE MOMENT. UM, AND I ALSO AM A MEMBER OF JEWISH VOICE FOR PEACE. SO, YOU KNOW, ALL OF ME, UM, I CAN TALK ABOUT OTHER THINGS, BUT I'VE BEEN INVOLVED FOR A LONG TIME IN LABOR ISSUES AND IN ENVIRONMENTAL ISSUES AS WELL AS THE ISSUE OF GENOCIDE THAT IS HAPPENING NOW. AND I'M JEWISH, BY THE WAY, SO YOU NEED TO KNOW THAT, I GUESS UNDER THESE CIRCUMSTANCES. , AND I'M SORRY, ONE MORE THING TOO. WE WORKED SO HARD ON THIS, SO TO BE TOLD THAT WE GOT THESE TALKING POINTS OFF THE INTERNET, I WAS LIKE, WE HAVE WORKED DAY AND NIGHT, SO, UH, WE DID NOT GET THESE OFF SOME TALKING POINTS, LIKE WE WORKED ON THESE TOGETHER. RIGHT, RIGHT. THANK YOU FOR THE RESPONSE. COMMISSIONER SHAMONE, THANK YOU VERY MUCH FOR YOUR PRESENTATION. IT'S GREATLY APPRECIATED. UM, I SHARE THE SAME SENTIMENTS AS COMMISSIONER MONTGOMERY IN THAT, UM, AT THE VERY END, I WAS REALLY DISAPPOINTED THAT SOMEBODY SPOKE, HAD A DIFFERENT OPINION. AND, UM, AS THAT PERSON WALKED BACK TO THEIR SEAT, A LOT OF PEOPLE SAID, FREE PALESTINE. NOW, I'M NOT SAYING I'M FOR OR AGAINST, YOUR PRESENTATION WAS SPECTACULAR, BUT WE WANT TO MAKE SURE THAT WE'RE INCLUSIVE, NOT EXCLUSIVE. WE AGREE, AND THAT'S EXTREMELY IMPORTANT TO BE ABLE TO AGREE TO DISAGREE AND COME UP WITH A SOLUTION. THANK YOU, COMMISSIONER SHA MALONE. UH, BEFORE I PASS IT OVER TO COMMISSIONER MONTGOMERY, UH, I WILL ASK OUR COMMISSIONERS, UH, IF THERE ARE QUESTIONS ON THE POLICY AND THE PRESENTATION, UM, IF WE CAN PROVIDE THOSE TO HAVE THE PRESENTERS ANSWER THOSE, UH, THAT WOULD BE APPRECIATED, UH, AND START TO DEVELOP OUT, UM, ANY QUESTIONS THAT WILL HELP YOU, UH, DECIDE IF YOU'RE GONNA VOTE IN FAVOR OF ACCEPTING, UH, THE RECEIVE AND FILE THAT'S ON THE CURRENT, UM, ASK OF THE COMMISSION. UM, SO COMMISSIONER MONTGOMERY, IT IS. THANK YOU. UM, I JUST WANTED TO PIGGYBACK OFF WHAT COMMISSIONER COLE SAID. FROM MY REC, FROM MY MEMORY, I BELIEVE NATO WAS HERE LAST MONTH. I BELIEVE ADAM WAS HERE LAST MONTH. I BELIEVE ALYSSA WAS ALSO HERE LAST MONTH. AND THEY ALSO, THEY SAID THAT THEY WANTED TO BRING THIS TO OUR COMMISSION. HMM. SO WITHIN THAT MONTH'S TIME, LIKE WE HAD TIME ON OUR OWN TO LIKE GOOGLE AND FIGURE OUT WHAT THEY WERE GONNA BE TALKING ABOUT. SO I THINK FOR FOLKS TO SAY THAT THEY MAY BE DISAPPOINTED THAT THERE WAS ONLY ONE PERSON FROM, THAT'S NOT FREE PALESTINE, WHATEVER YOU WANNA SAY. I THINK THAT'S, UM, IN MY OPINION, DISHONEST BECAUSE THEY TOLD US THAT THEY WANTED TO TALK ABOUT THIS CHAIR. COVINGTON SAID HE WANTED TO BRING IT TO THE TABLE. UM, SO WE ALL HAD FAIR WARNING. AND THAT'S ALL I HAVE TO SAY. THANK YOU, COMMISSIONER MONTGOMERY. UM, SO I'M GONNA SEE IF THERE ARE ANY OTHER COMMENTS, UH, RELATED TO THE PRESENTATION. UM, I WANT TO QUEUE UP, BUT IF THERE'S OTHER QUESTIONS, I WANT THEM TO GO BEFORE ME. OKAY. YOU CAN QUEUE UP ION. THANK YOU. UM, SO WITH THIS, UM, ALSO WANTED TO RESPOND REALLY QUICKLY. I THINK, UM, I KNOW SOMEONE SHARED THAT THERE WASN'T PUBLIC COMMENT AVAILABLE ONLINE. [01:30:01] I WENT ON THE WEBSITE AND I DO SEE IT ON THERE. AND SO, UM, IF ANYONE WAS NOT ABLE TO ACCESS THE DIGITAL PUBLIC COMMENTS, IT IS ON THE SITE. UM, AND SO HOPEFULLY FOLKS WHO WANT TO ACCESS IT CAN, UM, UH, I WOULD LIKE TO MAKE AN AMENDMENT TO THE MOTION, UM, THAT IS CURRENTLY ON THE FLOOR. CURRENTLY WE HAVE RECEIVING FILE. UM, INSTEAD, I'D LIKE TO MOTION THAT THE CITY THAT THE COMMISSION RECOMMENDS, THE CITY COUNCIL ADOPTS AND IMPLEMENTS AS PRESENTED IN INVESTMENT POLICY THAT INCORPORATES AN ETHICAL AND HUMAN RIGHTS SCREENING, COMMISSIONER DE LEON. UNFORTUNATELY, THIS WILL HAVE TO BE IZED WITH THAT MOTION. WE CANNOT JUST, UM, CHANGE THE MOTION IN THIS SITUATION BECAUSE IT IS SUCH A SUBSTANTIVE, UM, CHANGE TO THE MOTION THAT THAT'S CORRECT, COMMISSIONER, IT WAS AGENDIZED TONIGHT FOR JUST A RECEIVING FILE. BUT TO ACTUALLY, UH, VOTE TO, TO FORWARD THIS TO CITY COUNCIL FOR THEM TO TAKE ACTION ON IT, THAT WOULD ACTUALLY NEED TO BE BROUGHT ON A SEPARATE, A SEPARATE CALENDAR, AND BE PROPERLY AGENDIZED FOR, FOR THE PUBLIC. TO, TO CLARIFY, I KNOW THAT IN THE PAST WE HAD A RECOMMENDATION WHERE, UH, WE HAD A PRESENTATION THAT THE DEFAULT WAS RECEIVED IN FILE, AND THEN WE FORMED AN AD HOC OUTTA THAT, THAT THEN TRANSFERRED IT TO THE COUNCIL. SO IT WASN'T, UH, DIRECTLY ADJUSTING FROM RECEIVING FILE TO A RECOMMENDATION TO ADVANCE. UM, BUT WE WERE ABLE TO DO SOMETHING OTHER THAN A RECEIVE AND FILE IN THAT, IN THAT MOMENT. SO, TO CLARIFY, ARE WE, UM, WHAT CAN AND CAN'T WE DO ON AMENDMENTS THROUGH THE MOTION ON THE FLOOR? OR CAN IT ONLY BE A, A RECEIVE AND FILE? BECAUSE IF THAT'S THE CASE, UH, I, I DON'T THINK WE'VE ALWAYS DONE THAT. SO THE, YOU'RE RIGHT. I THINK THE COMMISSION RIGHT NOW, IF THEY WANTED TO VOTE, UH, UH, I THINK ONE OF THE, THE AGENDA ITEMS IS THE AD HOC COMMITTEES. IF THEY WANTED TO CREATE, IF THE COMMISSION WANTS TO CREATE AD HOC TO, TO FURTHER DISCUSS THIS, THAT'S TOTALLY FINE AS WELL. IT JUST, IT'S JUST ACTUALLY FORWARDING THIS TO, UH, TO COUNCIL FOR THEM TO TAKE ACTION ON IT. THAT'S WHAT'S, UH, PROBLEMATIC. GOT IT. CAN I ASK A CLARIFYING QUESTION? I, I WANNA GET A SENSE OF WHAT, WHAT IS THE MENU OF OPTIONS? IF THE INTENT IS, UM, THAT I WANT TO GET, UM, THIS POLICY WHICH, UM, UH, FEELS FAIRLY FULLY FORMED IN OUR MINDS TO GET TO COUNCIL, WHAT ARE THE AVENUES AT PLAY FOR US TO DO THAT? IT SOUNDS LIKE ONE OPTION IS TO CREATE AN AD HOC THAT WOULD LOOK AT THIS, AND THEN WE COULD EITHER DIRECT DIRECTLY AD HOC TO GO DIRECTLY TO COUNSEL, OR THEY COULD PRESENT BACK HERE. ANOTHER OPTION IS THAT WE AGENDIZE IT WITH THE MOTION ON THE FLOOR BEING TO, UH, SUBMIT RECOMMENDATIONS. COUNSEL, ARE THERE ANY OTHER, IN THE SPIRIT OF THAT, UH, GOAL, ARE THERE ANY OTHER WAYS THAT WE CAN MOVE THIS FORWARD OR ATTEMPT TO, PEOPLE WILL HAVE TO VOTE FOR IT, AND THEN THAT'S NO, NOT GUARANTEED. I, I THINK THE TWO OPTIONS, COMMISSIONER THAT YOU MENTIONED ARE PROBABLY THE MOST COMMON. I THINK THE EASIEST TO GET THIS TO MOVE FORWARD IS EITHER THROUGH A AD HOC OR JUST HAVE IT PROPERLY, UH, AGENDIZED ON A SEPARATE, YOU KNOW, SEPARATE MEETING. I THINK THAT, ESPECIALLY I, AND I THINK THE IZING IT ON A, ON A FUTURE MEETING IS PROBABLY THAT THE QUICKEST WAY TO DO THAT, BECAUSE THEN IT SHOWS THE PUBLIC EXACTLY WHAT ACTION, UH, YOU KNOW, THE COMMISSION IS INTENDING TO TAKE. THEY, THE COMMISSION VOTES ON IT, DISCUSSES IT. UM, PUBLIC HAS, HAS OPTION TO, TO COMMENT ON IT. AND THEN THE MOTION PASSES. IT CAN BE BROUGHT DIRECTLY TO COUNCIL AFTER THE, AFTER THAT. I THINK AD HOC IS PROBABLY A LITTLE BIT MORE TIME SINCE LIKE, MORE OF A TIME DELAY BECAUSE, YOU KNOW, THE AD HOC HAS TO MEET ON THEIR OWN, DISCUSS AND THEN REPORT BACK, AND THEN THE COMMISSION HAS TO, HAS TO SPEAK ON IT, UH, IN OPEN FORUM. SO I, I WOULD RECOMMEND THE, THE, THE FORMER CITY ATTORNEY. I HAVE A QUESTION, A CLARIFYING QUESTION. SO IN THIS PRESENTATION, UH, NOT ONLY DID THEY PRESENT, UH, THE OVERALL LIKE, UH, FRAMEWORK OF THE POLICY, BUT WE HAVE AN ATTACHED POLICY THAT THE COMMISSIONERS WERE ALL ABLE TO REVIEW AND PREPARE FOR TODAY, SINCE IT'S A PART OF THE PRESENTATION. CAN WE AMEND THE RECOMMENDATION TO APPROVE THAT THE POLICY AS IS CAN GO TO COUNCIL, YOU KNOW, CHAIR COVINGTON? I THINK THAT THE, THE PROBLEM IS IT'S STILL THE, THE COMMISSION'S STILL TAKING THAT ACTION TO FORWARD SOMETHING TO COUNCIL, AND THAT THAT'S WHAT NEEDS TO BE PROPERLY AGENDA. SO EVEN IF THE ATTACHMENT IS, IS FINE, AND IT'S ALL THE COMMISSIONERS ARE ON BOARD, I THINK WHAT WE NEEDED TO HAVE DONE IS, IS PUT ON THE AGENDA, SORT OF LIKE WHAT, WHAT THAT INTENT WAS. SO LIKE A, LIKE AN ITEM TO, TO TAKE THE, THE, THE PLAN OR, OR WHATEVER THE, THE, THE ATTACHMENT IS, UH, TO HAVE THAT, THE INTENT TO MOVE FORWARD TO, TO COUNCIL. SO I THINK WITHOUT THAT BEING THE WAY THAT THE, THE CURRENT AGENDA FOR TODAY IS, IS WORDED, I DON'T THINK WE'D BE ABLE TO DO THAT PROPERLY. GOTCHA. THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR THAT. SO FOR COMMISSIONER DELEON, UH, I THINK THE RECOMMENDATION IS THAT THE, AND I BELIEVE YOU'RE THE MOTION OR ON THIS TBH. YEAH. UM, SO THE AMENDMENT, UH, WOULD BE FOR THIS TO COME BACK TO THE NEXT, UM, COMMISSION MEETING FOR AN APPROVAL TO SUBMIT TO COUNCIL [01:35:03] THAT PLEASE , I COULD REPEAT IT. SO I WOULD LIKE TO AMEND THE MOTION, UM, TO, UH, BRING THIS TOPIC TO COMMISSION, UH, NEXT MONTH, UM, WITH THE SUGGESTED ACTION BEING TO APPROVE THE RECOMMENDATION AS SUBMITTED TO COUNSEL AND COMMISSIONER DE, OR EXCUSE ME, COMMISSIONER LAURA AS THE SECONDER. DO YOU AGREE? I AGREE. UM, UH, DEFINITELY. THERE'S JUST ONE MINOR, SINCE EVERYTHING HAS TO BE TECHNICAL HERE. THERE'S ONE MINOR POTENTIAL TYPO THAT I NEED TO CHECK. THE OTHER, IT'S SUBSTANTIVELY FINE. JUST MINOR TYPO. AND THEN WE CAN CLARIFY THAT. SO THE TYPO WE CAN ADDRESS NEXT. WE CAN, WE CAN, IT'S, IT'S SUPER MINOR, BUT YOU KNOW, YOU KNOW, EVERYTHING HAS TO BE SO TECHNICAL. SO IF WE'RE MOVING THIS AS IS, WE'LL JUST CHANGE THAT LITTLE TYPO AND THEN THAT'S IT. OKAY. SOUNDS GOOD. THANK YOU. SO I'M HEARING THAT THE SECONDER ACCEPTS THE FRIENDLY, AND SO THE FIRST MOTION, DO YOU ACCEPT YOUR AMENDMENT? YES. PERFECT. SO WE HAVE A MOTION, AN AMENDED MOTION ON THE FLOOR, UM, BEFORE WE, UH, GO FOR A VOTE. UM, I, WE HAVE COMMISSIONER SCHULTZ QUEUED UP. THANK YOU FOR YOUR PRESENTATION. IT WAS, UH, VERY WELL PRESENTED, UH, UH, A VERY INFORMATIVE, UH, UH, I, I, I LOVE IT WHEN I LEARN SOMETHING AT THESE EVENTS. UH, THANK YOU TO ALL MEMBERS OF THE PUBLIC WHO CAME OUT TODAY. WE'RE NOT ALLOWED TO ADDRESS ANY SPECIFIC PERSON OR THING THAT SAID, HOWEVER, IN GENERAL, I'LL MAKE THE COMMENT, UH, BOLD FACED TYPE WHEN YOU'RE MAKING SIGNS, IT'S MUCH EASIER TO READ FROM A . I WAS GONNA TAKE A PICTURE AND ENLARGE IT, BUT THEN I DIDN'T WANT TO GET IN TROUBLE FOR TAKING A PICTURE. , ALL THIS STUFF'S GOING THROUGH MY HEAD, SO, UH, UH, BUT, UM, APPRECIATE PUBLIC INPUT. UM, THERE, THERE WERE SOME WORDS SAID, UH, TODAY AND SOME EMAILS RECEIVED BEFORE. UM, THE, UM, WE GET PACKETS AND, AND INFORMATION, UH, UH, TO LET, LET US KNOW WHAT PUBLIC COMMENT IS IN, UH, VIOLATIONS OF THE BROWN ACT WERE, UM, LEVIED AGAINST US, UH, IN THESE PACKETS. UH, AND PERHAPS, UH, THINGS WEREN'T POSTED ON ON TIME. CAN, CAN STAFF OR CITY ATTORNEY S SPEAK TO THAT, UM, THAT SOMETHING WASN'T POSTED ON? I JUST, SO THE BROWN ACT REQUIRES THAT THE AGENDA BE POSTED 72 HOURS BEFORE THE MEETING. UM, BUT THAT DOES NOT INCLUDE THE ATTACHMENTS. THE RULES AROUND THAT IS THAT THE PUBLIC RECEIVES THE ATTACHMENTS AND PUBLIC COMMENT AT THE SAME TIME AS THE COMMISSION. AND THAT IS WHAT HAPPENED. FANTASTIC. I JUST WANTED TO MAKE SURE THAT'S CLEAR FOR US AND, AND EVERYBODY IN, IN THE PUBLIC. UH, AND THAT'S IT. AGAIN, THANK YOU, UH, EVERYBODY, UH, FOR BEING HERE TODAY. BOLDFACED TYPE. THANK YOU. . ARE WE DONE? LOVE IT. UH, NOW YOU HAVE SOME HOMEWORK TO WORK ON IF YOU COME BACK NEXT MONTH. . WE GOT IT. UM, SO I'LL CLOSE OUT, UH, FOR COMMISSIONER, UH, COMMENTS. UH, I APPRECIATE ALL THE PERSPECTIVES THAT WERE BROUGHT HERE TODAY. UH, AS A COMMISSION, OUR, OUR ROLE IS TO REALLY HEAR ALL THE PERSPECTIVES OF OUR RESIDENTS TO FIND, UM, RESOLUTION AND ACTIONS TO RECOMMEND TO CITY COUNCIL TO, SO THAT THEY CAN CONSIDER, UH, AS A COMMISSION. WE ARE AN ADVISORY BODY. WE ARE NOT THE DECISION MAKERS, , UH, WE GET TO SAY, HEY, COUNSEL, WE THINK THIS IS A RAD IDEA. PLEASE CONSIDER IT. UH, PLEASE AGENDIZE IT. AND THEN WORK WITH APPROPRIATE DEPARTMENTS TO FINE TUNE IT AND ACTUALLY CREATE THE POLICY THAT IS INTENDED TO BE. UM, SO WITH THAT IN MIND, I APPRECIATE, UM, THE, THE PUBLIC COMMONERS AND EVERYONE WHO SUBMITTED ONLINE AND IN PERSON. UH, WHAT I APPRECIATE MOST ABOUT THE POLICY, UH, WAS A LINE THAT SAYS, WHEREAS HUMAN RIGHTS ARE INHERITED AND INAL, UH, RIGHTS TO FREEDOMS TO WHICH ALL PEOPLE ARE ENTITLED, INCLUDING THE RIGHT TO LIFE, DIGNITY, EQUALITY, FREEDOM AND SECURITY, AS RECOGNIZED UNDER THE UNIVERSAL DECLARATION OF HUMAN RIGHTS. UM, AND IT ALIGNS WITH THE CITY'S VALUE STATEMENT, WHICH IS THE PEOPLE OF WANT BEACH DEPEND ON THE CITY GOVERNMENT TO OPERATE EQUITABLY, ETHICALLY, AND WORK TO PROMOTE AND PRESERVE PUBLIC TRUST AND CONFIDENCE. AND HERE, AS A COMMISSION, OUR MISSION IS TO INSPIRE AND SUPPORT SOCIAL JUSTICE EQUITY IN THE CITY OF LONG BEACH TO FOSTER MUTUAL UNDERSTANDING, [01:40:01] RESPECT FOR ALL THE PRESENTATION, AS WELL AS THE POLICY THAT WAS PRESENTED. DOES JUST THAT IT CREATES A MECHANISM IN WHICH THERE IS TRANSPARENCY AND UNDERSTANDING OF HOW THE CITY IS ACTUALLY INVESTING ITS MONEY. UH, HOWEVER, IT'S INVESTING ITS MONEY. I WANT TO SEE THE ACTUAL FINANCIAL DEPARTMENT PRESENT ON HOW THE CITY'S INVESTING MONEY. 'CAUSE WE ALL MIGHT BE SURPRISED BY THAT. MM-HMM . UM, AND SO WITH THAT, I'M IN FULL SUPPORT OF, UH, THE REC, THE AMENDED RECOMMENDATION TO BRING IT BACK NEXT MONTH. SO WITH THAT, MAY WE HAVE A ROLL CALL? VOTE? CAN WE SIT? I KNOW COMMISSIONER BUTLER, IF YOU'D LIKE TO GIVE YOUR VOTE. YES. THANK YOU. COMMISSIONER COLE. THANK YOU. UH, COMMISSIONER ? YES, THANK YOU. AND COMMISSIONER SHA MALONE. YES. THANK YOU. MOTION CARRIES. THANK YOU. THANK YOU ALL FOR YOUR TIME. THANK YOU. APPRECIATE IT. AND THANK YOU TO OUR PRESENTERS, UM, FOR ALL OF THE, THE HOMEWORK, UH, THAT YOU DID TODAY. UM, WITH THAT, IF YOU ARE EXITING, A REMINDER IS THAT WE HAVE THE VALIDATION FOR PARKING. SO FEEL FREE TO TAKE ONE AS YOU EXIT. UM, FOR OUR COMMISSION, UH, IT IS 7 45. WE HAVE APPROXIMATELY 45 MINUTES UNTIL WE ARE SCHEDULED TO END TODAY. UM, SO I AM, WE'RE GONNA TRY TO GET THROUGH SOME OF THESE, BUT SOME OF THESE ITEMS MAY NEED TO BE ROLLED OVER. UH, WITH THAT BEING SAID, UM, I'M GONNA, UH, MOVE THE ARRANGEMENT OF THE ITEMS UP, UM, TO TAKE ITEM FOUR NEXT. UH, AND THEN ITEM THREE AFTER THAT, IF WE HAVE TIME, UH, WE WILL, UH, DEFER ITEM FIVE. UM, AND MORE INFORMATION WILL BE SENT VIA EMAIL AS TO WHY WE'RE DOING THAT. BUT ESSENTIALLY, UM, WE WERE GONNA AGENDIZE, UH, BYLAW AMENDMENT, BUT IN OUR BYLAWS, IT ACTUALLY ALLOWS US TO ADVOCATE FOR ANY APPROVED ITEM. UM, SO WE'LL BE FOLLOWING UP WITH COMMISSIONERS ON THAT AT A LATER TIME. AND TO CLARIFY, WE'RE WITHDRAWING ITEM NUMBER FIVE, CORRECT? THANK YOU. WE'RE WITHDRAWING ITEM NUMBER FIVE. UM, AND THEN IF WE HAVE TIME, WE'LL GET TO SIX. UM, SO WITH THAT, MAY I HAVE, UM, ITEM FOUR, RED [4. 25-56354 Recommendation to review and approve the Listening Sessions Framework, developed by the Listening Session Framing Ad Hoc Committee, including recommendations for the upcoming Equity and Human Relations Commission Listening Sessions.       Suggested Action: Approve recommendation. ] PLEASE. ITEM NUMBER FOUR IS RECOMMENDATION TO REVIEW AND APPROVE THE LIST LISTENING SESSIONS FRAMEWORK DEVELOPED BY THE LISTENING SESSIONS FRAMING AD HOC COMMITTEE, INCLUDING RECOMMENDATIONS FOR THE UPCOMING EQUITY AND HUMAN RELATIONS COMMISSIONS, LISTENING SESSIONS. SECOND, UH, SO WE HAD A LITTLE TECHNICAL SNAFU HERE, SO, UM, WE'RE GONNA MOTION WITH COMMISSIONER MONTGOMERY, AND THEN SECOND BY COMMISSIONER BUTLER. THANK YOU. GOT IT. THANK YOU. OH, WELL, FINE. JUST LEAVE . UM, WITH THAT, UH, MAY WE HAVE THE PRESENTATION FROM THE AD HOC BUTLER? OKAY. COMMISSIONER BUTLER, YOU'RE UP. I JUST READ THIS. YOU CAN SUMMARIZE, YOU CAN READ, INFORM THE COMMISSION, WHAT THE MOST IMPORTANT INFORMATION. GOOD EVENING EVERYBODY. THANK YOU FOR YOUR PATIENCE WITH TONIGHT'S MEETING, AND I APPRECIATE YOUR ENERGY LEVEL TONIGHT. UM, THE LISTENING SESSIONS FRAMEWORK, AD HOC COMMITTEE HAS WORKED REALLY, REALLY HARD. WE'VE MET SEVERAL TIMES IN THE LAST COUPLE, TWO TO THREE WEEKS, PUTTING, UM, EVERYTHING TOGETHER. WE HAVE WORKED ON THIS DOCUMENT EXTENSIVELY, AND SO I'M GONNA TRY AND SUMMARIZE IT AS BEST AS I CAN. BUT I AM GONNA READ THE FIRST PARAGRAPH VERBATIM. SO, THE PURPOSE OF THE LISTENING SESSIONS IS TO IDENTIFY AND ELEVATE THE PERSPECTIVES OF HISTORICALLY MARGINALIZED, MARGINALIZED GROUPS IN LONG BEACH. THE SECTIONS ARE DESIGNED TO STRENGTHEN COMMUNITY CAPACITY FOR SELF-ADVOCACY, WHILE DIRECTLY INFORMING [01:45:01] THE EH C'S POLICY PRIORITIES AND RECOMMENDATIONS TO THE CITY COUNCIL. THIS PROCESS WILL ALIGN WITH THE COMMISSION'S MISSION AND VISION OF ADVANCING EQUITY, INCLUSION, AND HUMAN DIGNITY, WHILE ALSO ADDRESSING BOTH EMERGING AND SYSTEMIC ISSUES IMPACTING RESIDENTS. ADDITIONALLY, THE SESSIONS WILL SERVE AS A FOUNDATION FOR DEVELOPING THE COMMISSION'S NEXT TWO YEAR ROADMAP TO ENSURE ACCESSIBILITY AND EQUITY INTERPRETATION AND TRANSLATION SERVICES WILL BE PROVIDED. COLLECTIVELY, THESE EFFORTS WILL FOSTER STRONGER CONNECTIONS BETWEEN THE COMMISSION AND THE COMMUNITY, WHILE ADVANCING TRANSPARENT, INCLUSIVE, AND DATA INFORMED ADVOCACY. UH, THE LISTENING SESSIONS ARE EXPECTED TO GENERATE BOTH QUALITATIVE INSIGHTS AND DEMOGRAPHIC DATA THAT DEEPEN THE COMMISSION'S UNDERSTANDING OF COMMUNITY NEEDS THROUGH DIRECT ENGAGEMENT WITH RESIDENTS. I LIED. I'M GONNA READ BOTH OF THOSE PARAGRAPHS BY FOSTERING TRUST IN CREATING SAFE INCLUSIVE SPACES FOR DIALOGUE. THE PROCESS WILL ILLUMINATE GAPS IN BLIND SPOTS IN CITY SERVICES, C CITY SERVICES AND ADVOCACY EFFORTS. THE SESSIONS WILL ALSO INFORM THE DEVELOPMENT OF SPECIFIC, MEASURABLE, ACHIEVABLE, RELEVANT, TIME BOUND, INCLUSIVE, AND EQUITABLE GOALS AND PRIORITIZED STRATEGIES. ULTIMATELY, THE OUTCOMES WILL INCLUDE THE SUBMISSION OF THREE TO FIVE FORMAL RECOMMENDATIONS TO THE CITY COUNCIL, THE INTEGRATION OF COMMUNITY VOICES AND PROGRESS INTO THE EH C'S ANNUAL REPORT, AND THE STRENGTHENING OF PARTNERSHIPS WITH COMMUNITY-BASED ORGANIZATIONS AND CITY DEPARTMENTS TO SUPPORT ONGOING COLLABORATION AND ACCOUNTABILITY. YES, ASHLEY? OKAY. MAY I JUST ADD ONE QUICK THING HERE? ABSOLUTELY. IN YOUR INTRO, I THINK WE WERE ALL IN GROUPS TO ACHIEVE LISTENING SESSIONS FOR THREE DIFFERENT AREAS. AND I JUST WANNA MAKE SURE THAT EVERYBODY IS AWARE THAT THIS IS A PLATFORM FOR ALL OF THOSE. SO THIS IS LIKE THE FRAMEWORK FOR EVERY DIFFERENT LISTENING SESSION. MM-HMM . SO YOU TAKE THIS PLATFORM AND THEN JUST USE IT. IT'S LIKE A, LIKE A TEMPLATE. LIKE A TEMPLATE READY TO GO. SO I KNOW THAT WE'VE GOT OUR FIRST, UM, SOCIAL AND COMMUNITY CONTEXT, UM, LISTENING SESSION, SEPTEMBER THROUGH NOVEMBER. SO WE TAKE EVERYTHING THAT YOU'RE SAYING TO CREATE THAT, AND THEN THEREAFTER, EVERYBODY ELSE GETS TO CREATE IT IN THE SAME VEIN. SO WE'RE ALL DOING THE SAME THING, RIGHT? AND, AND THAT'S SO THAT WE ARE CONSISTENT, UH, ACROSS THE BOARD. YOU KNOW, THERE'S NO REASON TO REINVENT THE WHIP. WE HAVE, WE, WE PUT IN EXTENSIVE WORK DEVELOPING THIS FOR THAT VERY PURPOSE SO THAT ALL OF YOU GUYS DON'T HAVE TO DO THIS ON YOUR OWN. OKAY? SO THIS IS THE GUIDELINE THAT WE ARE PRE, THAT WE ARE SUGGESTING THAT WE ALL FOLLOW. OKAY. SO I'M GONNA PAUSE AND ASK IF THERE ARE ANY QUESTIONS OR DOES THAT CONCLUDE THE PRESENTATION? PRETTY MUCH. ALRIGHT. SO, UM, WE ALSO HAVE IN HERE OUTLINED FOR YOUR PERUSAL AT YOUR CONVENIENCE, MAYBE NIGHTTIME READING, HOW WE'RE GONNA ENGAGE, ENGAGE THE COMMUNITY AT HAND PERTAINING TO THE DIFFERENT TOPICS. ALSO, UM, MAKING THESE MEETINGS ACCESSIBLE AND SAFE FOR PEOPLE. AND THAT'S ONE OF THE REASONS WHY WE WANNA HAVE THE FIRST ONE HERE SO THAT PEOPLE CAN ZOOM IN AND WE CAN RECORD IT. SO THERE'S SAFETY ISSUES. THERE ARE A LOT OF CONCERNS ABOUT SOME OF OUR NEIGHBORHOODS OR RESIDENTS BEING AFRAID OF GOING OUT INTO THE COMMUNITY FOR THESE TYPES OF THINGS THAT LIBRARIES OR OTHER COMMUNITY VENUES, OR EVEN THIS VENUE. SO WE PLAN TO HAVE THE FIRST ONE HERE AS A TEMPLATE OF HOW IT SHOULD WORK AND LOOK. UM, SO SOME OF THE LOCATIONS WE WERE TALKING ABOUT, THIS LOCATION, UM, POSSIBLY THE NORTH LONG BEACH HIGHER EDUCATION CENTER LOCATION, WHICH IS IN NORTH LONG BEACH. UM, PARTICULARLY MAYBE FOR THE BUSINESS, UM, ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT, UH, STABILITY NUMBER TWO, BECAUSE THEY HAVE A BUSINESS CENTER THERE. EXACTLY. BUT WE SHALL SEE WHERE WE ARE WITH PEOPLE FEELING SAFE ABOUT BEING OUT AND ABOUT AT THAT POINT. IF NOT, WE RECOMMEND IT BEING HERE. BUT ANY LOCATION, COMMUNITY LOCATION WOULD BE FINE. UM, AND SHE'S ABSOLUTELY RIGHT BECAUSE WE, WE LOOKED AT THE PROS AND THE CONS OF MEETING HERE, BUT THE PROS OF MEETING HERE WAY OUTWEIGH THE CONS FOR ALL THE OBVIOUS REASONS FOR THE, THE CURRENT. THAT'S WHERE WE'RE LOCATED. AND THERE IS A [01:50:01] GREATER FEELING OF SAFETY IN MEETING HERE, CONSIDERING TODAY'S, UH, SOCIAL CLIMATE. YES. FOR THIS SEASON, WE RECOMMEND HERE FOR THE FIRST ONE. YES, THE VERY FIRST ONE HERE. ALSO, WE HAVE DEVELOPED A, UH, FIVE QUESTIONS MM-HMM . TO ENGAGE THE AUDIENCE IN, IN THEIR COMMENTS AND, UM, SHARING THEIR THOUGHTS ABOUT HOW WE CAN DO BETTER. THE LOGISTICS ARE THAT THEY WOULD BE 90 MINUTE MEETINGS. THE FIRST 30 MINUTES WOULD BE MEET AND GREET AND ALLOW PEOPLE TO GET THERE IF BUDGET PERMITS, HAVE SOME SNACKS, YOU KNOW, WATER AND FRUITS OR CRACKERS KIND OF THING. COOKIES. UM, EACH PERSON, THE GUIDELINES FOR THESE MEETINGS WOULD BE TWO MINUTES PER PERSON, KIND OF SIMILAR TO HERE. UM, WE WOULD, UM, COLLECT THE DATA AND FIGURE OUT WHAT KIND OF METHOD WE WANNA USE TO BRING BACK THAT INFORMATION AND SHARE IT WITH THE COMMUNITY IN DIFFERENT COMMUNITY SOCIAL PLATFORMS SUCH AS OUR NEWSLETTER, CITY COUNCIL, NEWSLETTERS, ET CETERA. AND SO WE WOULD EVALUATE AND MAKE SURE WE HAD THREE TO FIVE RECOMMENDATIONS BASED ON EACH LISTENING SESSION. CORRECT. UM, THIS WILL ALL ALLOW US TO BE TRANSPARENT, ACCOUNTABLE, AND SHARE THE INFORMATION. UM, I DON'T KNOW IF YOU SEE THIS PAGE, BUT TONY DID A GREAT JOB OF CREATING THE PROMOTIONAL FLYER TO GO ON TO ALL THE PLATFORMS OF THE PEOPLE, COMMUNITY MEMBERS WE WANNA REACH, SO WE CAN ALL USE THE SAME ONE AND JUST, YOU KNOW, UH, PLUG IN OUR INFORMATION. AND, UM, I THINK THAT'S ABOUT IT. AND THERE IS AT THE END, UM, UH, EVALUATION, AN EVALUATION FORM MM-HMM . FOR ANYBODY TO, TO USE AND LET US KNOW HOW WE'RE DOING AND WHAT WE CAN DO BETTER, ET CETERA. DOES ANYBODY HAVE ANY QUESTIONS? NO, I JUST WANTED TO ADD THAT BEFORE, BEFORE WE ENTERTAIN YOUR QUESTIONS, WE, WE WENT THROUGH THE PROPOSED QUESTIONS AND BECAUSE WE REALLY WANTED TO MAKE SURE THAT THEY WERE USER FRIENDLY MM-HMM . SO WE'RE NOT TALKING DOWN TO ANYBODY, BUT WE'RE NOT TALKING ABOVE ANYBODY'S HEAD BECAUSE WE REALLY WANNA GET AS MANY RESPONDENTS AS POSSIBLE. WE DON'T WANNA TALK TO JUST THE COMMUNITY BASED ORGANIZATION HEADS. WE WANT THE RESIDENTS OF THE CITY TO FEEL COMFORTABLE IN COMPLETING WELL IN PARTICIPATING AND, AND COMPLETING THESE SURVEYS AT THE END OF OUR, OUR LISTENING SESSIONS. THANK YOU. MM-HMM . BEFORE. ONE LAST THING. OKAY. I THINK IT'S REALLY IMPORTANT TO NOTE THAT EVERYTHING WILL BE, WE'LL HAVE TRANSLATORS, WE'LL ALSO HAVE ACTIVITIES FOR KIDS SO KIDS COULD COME AS WELL. MAYBE IT'S NOT CHILDCARE, BUT ACTIVITIES TO HELP WITH THAT PROCESS. PERFECT. I SEE TONY. AND THEN WE HAVE TO, BEFORE WE EVEN START THE CONVERSATION, WE HAVE TO OPEN UP FOR PUBLIC COMMENT. PERFECT. YES. THANK YOU. I JUST WANTED TO CHIME IN A LITTLE BIT 'CAUSE I WAS, UM, IN ALL OF THE AD HOC MEETINGS AS WELL. SO, UH, AGAIN, THE, THE FRAMEWORK IS BASED AS AN OUTLINE TO PROVIDE CONSISTENCY THROUGHOUT ALL OF THE LISTENING SESSIONS. UM, UH, THE FIVE OF THEM THAT WILL BE TAKING PLACE IN THE NEXT COMING MONTHS AND YEAR. UM, AGAIN, IT'S, IT'S FRAMED AS THE PURPOSE AND AND OUTCOMES OF THE RETREAT, UH, THE COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT APPROACH. UM, AND THESE ARE RECOMMENDATIONS THAT THE AD HOC HAS BEEN WORKING ON AND DEVELOPED FOR ALL OF YOU TO, TO FOLLOW AS GUIDANCE AS YOU START PLANNING YOUR OWN INDIVIDUAL, UM, UH, LISTENING SESSIONS THROUGH THE AD HOCS. UH, AGAIN, SOME SUPPORTS FOR PARTICIPANTS. UM, UH, IF YOU CAN TAKE SOME TIME LOOKING AT THE FRAMING THE CONVERSATION, THE AD HOC DEVELOPED A, UH, UH, A LIST OF FIVE QUESTIONS THAT THEY WOULD LIKE TO BE ADDED AND ASKED AT EVERY SINGLE LISTENING SESSION. SO, UM, IT'S SOMETHING I THINK WORTH NOTING FOR ALL OF YOU AS AS THE BODY. UH, AND THEN, UM, AGAIN, THERE'S ALSO AN EVALUATION. UH, I WANT TO NOTE THAT ALL OF THIS WAS PUT TOGETHER FROM THE NOTES THAT WERE TAKEN FROM THE MAY 3RD RETREAT, WHICH ARE ACTUALLY ALSO INCLUDED HERE AS AN ATTACHMENT. THAT'LL BE ATTACHMENT NUMBER TWO. THAT INCLUDES ALL OF THE NOTES WITH ALL OF THE, THE, THE THEMES AND THE TOPICS THAT WERE DISCUSSED AT THE RETREAT. IT ACTUALLY ALSO OUTLINES SOME QUESTIONS, SOME POT POTENTIAL QUESTIONS THAT COULD BE ASKED AT EACH INDIVIDUAL, UM, LISTENING SESSION. SO I WANNA MAKE SURE THAT YOU MAKE NOTE OF ALL OF THAT. AND THEN AT THE END, AGAIN, FOR YOU TO LOOK AT THE, UH, EVALUATION FORM, UM, THAT WAS CREATED, UH, AS A RECOMMENDATION. THANK YOU. UM, WE'RE NOW GONNA GO TO PUBLIC COMMENT AND THEN WE'LL DO COMMISSIONER DISCUSSION AFTERWARDS. IF THERE ARE ANY MEMBERS OF THE PUBLIC IN PERSON THAT WOULD LIKE TO PROVIDE COMMENT ON ITEM NUMBER FOUR, PLEASE LINE UP AT THE PODIUM. NOW, SEEING NONE, IF THERE ARE ANY MEMBERS OF THE PUBLIC IN ZOOM THAT WOULD LIKE TO PROVIDE PUBLIC COMMENT, PLEASE USE THE RAISED HAND FUNCTION AT THIS TIME. SEEING NONE, THAT CONCLUDES PUBLIC COMMENT FOR THIS ITEM. THANK YOU. WELL, I'LL GO TO COMMISSIONER [01:55:01] DISCUSSION. UH, ARE THERE ANY FOLKS WHO HAVE QUESTIONS FOR THE AD HOC? OKAY, I HAVE ONE. UM, SO THE INITIAL OBJECTIVE OF THE AD HOC WAS TO PLAN THE VERY FIRST, UM, LISTENING SESSION, UH, TO BE SCHEDULED EITHER IN THE MONTH OF SEPTEMBER OR CLOSE TO IT. UM, I APPRECIATE THE FRAMEWORK, IF, IF IT IS A REALLY GREAT FRAMEWORK AND A LOT OF WORK THAT WENT INTO IT, UM, WHICH WILL SET THE TONE FOR ALL OF THE FRAMEWORKS TO COME. UM, SO I'M CURIOUS, ARE WE STILL ON TRACK TO HAVE THE FIRST LISTENING SESSION IN OCTOBER? OR, UM, ARE WE PUSHING BACK OUR TIMELINE TO, TO ACCOMMODATE FOR THE PLANNING OF THE NEXT, THE FIRST AD HO THE FIRST LISTENING SESSION TO COME? I BELIEVE IT. YES, WE WILL. WE ARE ON TRACK. WE JUST WANTED PERMISSION AND APPROVAL TO PROCEED IN THIS MANNER AND TO CREATE A TEMPLATE FOR ALL OF US MOVING FORWARD. SO IF IT'S APPROVED, WE CAN MOVE FORWARD WITH CREATING THAT LISTENING SESSION. AND I THINK HERE IT SAYS, UH, SEPTEMBER THROUGH NOVEMBER, SO HOPEFULLY YES, IN OCTOBER OR EARLY NOVEMBER. RIGHT. WE JUST, WE WANNA MAKE SURE IT'S CONDUCTED THIS FALL LOOKING AT THE, AND SINCE OCTOBER, IT'S KIND OF RIGHT SMACK IN THE MIDDLE. I THINK WE'RE IN THE SWEET SPOT WITH THAT SINCE THIS IS ONLY JUST THE BEGINNING OF SEPTEMBER. MM-HMM . MM-HMM . UM, YEAH, LIKE MY FELLOW COMMISSIONERS HAVE STATED, UM, THE FIRST LISTENING SESSION SHOULD OCCUR BETWEEN SEPTEMBER AND NOVEMBER. UM, PIGGYBACKING WHAT OFF COMMISSIONER BUTLER JUST SAID, I DO KNOW WE SAID WE WANTED THE, UM, THE PEACE ACTION, THE SPECIFIC ONE, THE PEACE ACTION NETWORK, THE GROUP THAT PRESENTED EARLIER FOR THEM TO COME AND OCTOBER THOUGH. SO I WANT US TO BE MINDFUL OF THAT. UM, BECAUSE THESE LISTENING SESSIONS ARE STRUCTURED, LIKE OUR REGULAR COMMISSION MEETINGS, IT'S GONNA HAVE A REGULAR COMMISSION AGENDA. SO I DON'T SEE HOW WE CAN HAVE THAT ITEM AND ALSO A LISTENING SESSION BOTH IN OCTOBER. SO I THINK IF THIS FIRST LISTENING SESSION IS GOING TO HAPPEN, IT'S MOST LIKELY GONNA BE NOVEMBER UNLESS WE WANT TO PUSH BACK THAT OTHER AGENDA ITEM THAT WE JUST SAID WOULD COME UP NEXT MONTH. I JUST WANNA MAKE AND TO PIGGY YEAH, TO PIGGYBACK ON WHAT COMMISSIONER MONTGOMERY IS SAYING, CONSIDERING HOW LONG THAT THIS PARTICULAR AGENDA ITEM TOOK TONIGHT, IT WOULD, WE WOULD BE HERE ALL NIGHT, UM, IF WE COMBINE THE TWO. BECAUSE IF, IF I'M NOT MISTAKEN, WE'RE PLANNING TO DO THE LISTENING SESSION DURING OUR REGULAR MEETING TIME. IS THAT, IS THAT THE PLAN? THAT'S CORRECT. WAS THAT THE PLAN? YES. IT COULD HAPPEN AT A REGULAR SCHEDULED COMMISSION MEETING, OR IT CAN BE SCHEDULED AT A, AS A SPECIAL MEETING AND THEN WE WOULD FIND A DATE THAT WORKS FOR EVERYONE TO ATTEND. UM, SO THAT IS SOMETHING FOR THE AD HOC TO CONSIDER. OKAY. UM, I BELIEVE WE DISCUSSED IT AS A REGULAR COMMISSION MEETING. THAT'S WHAT I REMEMBER IT, IT'S, SO IT'S EITHER GONNA BE IN OCTOBER OR NOVEMBER. THE FIRST WEDNESDAY. THAT WAS MY UNDERSTANDING, UNLESS WE WANT TO DO IT AS A SPECIAL MEETING, BUT I DON'T THINK WE TALKED ABOUT THAT. I, I DON'T RECALL A SPECIAL MEETING BEING DISCUSSED MM-HMM . BUT, BUT WE ALSO WANT TO KEEP IN MIND THE TIMELINESS OF ADVERTISING. THIS, THIS EVENT. WE WANNA MAKE SURE WE HAVE ENOUGH SUFFICIENT TIME TO NOTIFY THE COMMUNITY RESIDENTS AND SO THAT THEY CAN MAKE PLANS TO ACTUALLY BE HERE. THEREFORE, NOVEMBER WOULD BE THE BEST OPTION IF WE DO IT DURING OUR COMMISSION MEETING, DURING OUR REGULAR COMMISSION MEETING. YEAH. I, I'M, I'M DEFINITELY IN FAVOR OF DOING IT AT THAT TIME. I, AND IF WE DO DO THAT, OCTOBER MAY NOT BE THE BEST TIME CONSIDERING WE JUST INVITED THE GROUP THAT WAS JUST HERE TO COME BACK, UM, AND BE WITH US IN OCTOBER. I'M, I'M KIND OF PLAYING DEVIL'S ADVOCATE HERE 'CAUSE WE, WE, WE WANT THE LISTENING SESSION TO BE AN HOUR AND A HALF IS WHAT WE SAID. 90 MINUTES MAX. IT TOOK 90 MINUTES FOR US TO GET PAST THE AGENDA ITEM THAT THE PREVIOUS GROUP SPOKE ON BE, AND THEN WE WOULD HAVE TO CONSIDER, DO WE DO THE LISTENING SESSION FIRST? THAT, WHICH WOULD BE MY PREFERENCE, BECAUSE WE DON'T WANNA LOSE THE AUDIENCE, THE REST OF THE AUDIENCE. MM-HMM . UM, YEAH, WE NEVER DISCUSSED THE SPECIAL MEETING AS WAS ALREADY DISCUSSED. YES. SO I WOULD PROPOSE SINCE THE FIRST [02:00:01] ONE, IT'S GONNA BE BASICALLY AN EXAMPLE THAT WE'RE HAVING HERE. IT SHOULD BE NOVEMBER 5TH, WHICH WOULD BE OUR REGULAR COMMISSION MEETING. YES. AND IT WOULD START AT SIX O'CLOCK. IT WOULD RUN FROM SIX TO SEVEN 30. AND WE GIVE IT A SHOT THAT GIVES THE AD HOC ENOUGH TIME TO MEET, TO HAVE A FEW MEETINGS TO REACH OUT TO THESE COMMUNITY ORGANIZATIONS TO GET FLYERS GOING AND TO GET ALL THE MARKETING STUFF OUT. SO THAT, TO ME, THAT'S A PERFECT TIMELINE. AND THEN WE CAN DISCUSS IT AND WE CAN GIVE OUR FEEDBACK TO THE OTHER AD HOCS SO THEY CAN KNOW HOW TO GO FORWARD IN PLANNING AS WELL. BUT I THINK JUST FOR THIS ITEM, IF EVERYONE'S IN AGREEMENT WITH THE FRAMEWORK, AND IF THERE ARE NO OTHER QUESTIONS ABOUT THIS, I THINK WE SHOULD TRY TO VOTE BECAUSE IT'S PRETTY STRAIGHTFORWARD IN MY OPINION. JUST A, A QUICK, A QUICK QUESTION. AND IF I COULD WITHOUT QING UP CITY ATTORNEY, IS THIS A QUORUM LIST LESS THAN QUORUM AD HOC? THIS, THIS IS THE AD HOC CORRECT? THE, THE LISTENING A QUORUM, THE LISTENING COMMITTEE. IS THAT WHERE YOU, YOU HAVE TO HAVE LESS THAN A QUORUM? THE, THE LISTENING SESSION? I'M SORRY. NO, IT WOULD BE A REGULAR, IT COULD BE THE FULL, IT COULD BE THE FULL, OKAY. YEAH. THE LISTENING SESSION COULD BE THE FULL, FULL COMMISSION. THE ACTUAL LISTENING SESSION AD HOC NEEDS TO BE LESS THAN A QUORUM. ABSOLUTE. OKAY. THANK YOU. I THINK, UH, COMMISSIONER GILLETTE HAS A QUESTION. IT'S ALREADY BEEN SET. I, I AGREE WITH THE SCHEDULE THAT YOU JUST PROPOSED. THANK YOU. MM-HMM . COOL. AND, AND JUST ONE OTHER THING WE WANNA KEEP IN MIND, BECAUSE THERE ARE SOME BUDGET CONSIDERATIONS. WE WANNA HAVE SUFFICIENT ENOUGH TIME TO REVIEW THE BUDGETS AND GET INPUT ON THOSE ITEMS THAT REQUIRE, UM, BUDGET SUCH AS REFRESHMENTS, YOU KNOW? OH, I HAVE A QUESTION. BECAUSE WE ARE TALKING ABOUT PROVIDING SOME TYPE OF SNACKS FOR THOSE INDIVIDUALS WHO ARE COMING HERE DIRECTLY FROM WORK AND WHO ARE BRINGING THEIR CHILDREN, BECAUSE WE ARE ENCOURAGING EVERYBODY TO COME AND ENCOURAGE 'EM TO BRING THEM, TO BRING THEIR CHILDREN, BECAUSE WE DON'T WANT THAT TO CREATE, UH, UH, A BARRIER OR, OR AN IMPEDIMENT FOR ANYBODY FROM, FOR ANYBODY'S ATTENDANCE. WE, WE WANNA HEAR FROM EVERYBODY. THIS MANY ALSO, I JUST THANK YOU SO MUCH. I JUST WANNA ADD ONE QUICK, WE'RE DE AND THEN WE'LL COME BACK TO COMMISSIONER SCHULTZ, AND THEN WE'LL END WITH OKAY. ALL OF THE QUESTIONS GETTING ANSWERED AT ONCE. YOU'RE GOOD. UM, JUST ONE QUICK CLARIFYING QUESTION FOR THE, UM, EVALUATION AD HOC COMMITTEE ON PAGE THREE. UM, LOVE THAT IDEA OF US, LIKE CREATING A GROUP THAT THEN, UH, FOLLOWS ON THE RECOMMENDATIONS AND ACTUALLY DIGS INTO WHAT WE CAN, UH, PULL OUT. UH, IS THE INTENT THAT WE HAVE, LIKE, UM, A, A NEW ADOC COMMITTEE FOR EVALUATION AFTER EACH LISTENING SESSION IS DONE? OR IS IT, UM, ONE OF THE END OF ALL THE LISTING SESSIONS WHERE WE PULL OUT THE TOP THREE TO FIVE RECOMMENDATIONS ACROSS THE ENTIRE YEAR? JUST A CLARIFICATION. I THINK EACH AD HOC COMMITTEE PER LISTENING SESSION WILL REVIEW THE INFORMATION AND COME UP WITH THAT RECOMMENDATION OF WHAT THE TOP THREE TO FIVE KEY POINTS ARE, IF THAT'S OKAY WITH THE GROUP. I LIKE THAT. COMMISSIONER SCHULTZ, I'M REALLY IMPRESSED WITH THIS FRAMEWORK. . THANK YOU. THAT'S A LOT OF WORDS AND PARAGRAPHS AND VERY WELL PUT TOGETHER. THANK YOU FOR, FOR, FOR DOING THAT WORK. UH, UH, GEN GENUINELY. I, I'M, I'M, WHAT'S THAT? I SAID COULD YOU REPEAT THAT AGAIN, ? I SAID YOU'RE AWESOME. MY, MY QUESTION IS, GOING OFF CAMPUS, I'VE ALWAYS BEEN A PROPONENT OF KEEPING THINGS IN CHAMBERS. AND IF, IF YOU LEAVE CAMPUS, UM, DOES THAT GO AGAINST OUR POTENTIAL 11, $12,000 BUDGET TO TAKE TV THREE TO A A A A COMMUNITY ROOM OR TO HOLD IT OFF, OFF AWAY FROM THE CITY CHAMBER? DOES THAT GO AGAINST THE E HC BUDGET? WELL, J JUST A REMINDER, ANY MEETING THAT YOU HAVE OUTSIDE OF THE CHAMBERS WILL NOT HAVE, UH, HYPER POTENTIAL. SO THEY WILL ONLY BE IN PERSON WITHOUT ANY C CAPACITY. YEAH, GOOD TO KNOW. CAN, CAN. AWESOME. AND, AND WE, UM, WE DISCUSSED THAT, UM, HAVING IT IN CHAMBERS MM-HMM . THERE ARE A LOT OF PEOPLE THAT ARE SCARED TO LEAVE THEIR HOMES. SO WE WANTED TO MAKE IT CONVENIENT AND IT'S OPEN AS POSSIBLE BY HAVING ZOOM AND THEN ME BEING ABLE TO PARTICIPATE MM-HMM . WITHOUT BEING HERE. IF WE TAKE THAT, UM, OFF CAMPUS TO A COMMUNITY CENTER, THERE ARE A LOT OF PEOPLE THAT REALLY ARE SCARED TO COME OUT DAY OR NIGHT. MM-HMM . AND JUST, JUST TO, TO CLARIFY, UM, WHEN THE DISCUSSION WAS HAD AT THE, AT THE AD HOC, ALL OF THE AD HOC WAS IN AGREEANCE OF HAVING THE, THE, ALL OF THE LISTENING SESSIONS HERE AT THE CHAMBERS BECAUSE OF THE HYBRID, [02:05:01] UM, POSSIBILITIES, UM, WHICH WOULD ALLOW PEOPLE TO FEEL MORE SAFE TO PARTICIPATE VIRTUALLY. UM, THE AD HOC INCLUDED THAT OTHER VERBIAGE OF THE POSSIBILITY TO EXPLORE OUTSIDE LOCATIONS JUST AS A POSSIBILITY IN THE RECOMMENDATION FOR YOU TO CONSIDER IF IT'S SOMETHING YOU WOULD LIKE TO CONSIDER. BUT THE, THE CONVERSATION THE AD HOC HAD WAS TO HAVE THE, THE LISTENING SESSIONS HAPPEN HERE AT THE CHAMBERS. MM-HMM . THANK YOU. UM, SEEING THAT THERE'S NO OTHER, UM, QUESTIONS. UM, I KNOW THAT THE ITEMS TO IMPROVE THE FRAMEWORK, UM, I'M, I'M CURIOUS ABOUT TIMELINE, UM, AND PREPARATION. SO THIS AD HOC CREATED THE FRAMEWORK FOR ALL OF THE LISTENING SESSIONS. AND WHAT IS BEING RECOMMENDED TODAY IS TO THEN DISSOLVE THIS AD HOC SO THAT THE SOCIAL AND COMMUNITY CONTEXT AD HOC CAN THEN START PLANNING THEIR FIRST LISTENING SESSION. MM-HMM . IS, IS THAT, UM, AM I HEARING THAT CORRECT? I, I THINK THAT'S THE RIGHT APPROACH. OKAY, GREAT. YEAH. UM, SO LET ME JUST DOUBLE CHECK OUR, OUR AGENDA ITEM RECOMMENDATION TO REVIEW AND APPROVE THE FRAMEWORK DEVELOPED BY THE AD HOC COMMITTEE, INCLUDING RECOMMENDATIONS FOR THE UPCOMING LISTENING SESSION. PERFECT. UM, SO THAT'S INCLUDED IN THE, THE, THE RECOMMENDATIONS FOR THE UPCOMING LISTENING SESSIONS. SO IN ORDER TO DISSOLVE THIS AD HOC, WE HAVE TO DISSOLVE IT IN ITEM NUMBER SIX. CORRECT. OKAY, COOL. UM, AND WE'RE COMING UP WITH ONLY 20 MINUTES LEFT. UH, I HAVE A QUESTION FOR COMMISSIONER COLE. MM-HMM . UM, IS IT OKAY IF WE DELAY MM-HMM . OUR ITEMS UNTIL NEXT MONTH? YEAH. OKAY. GREAT. UH, SO WITH THAT BEING SAID, LET'S GO TO A ROLL CALL VOTE ON APPROVING THE FRAMEWORK. UH, AND THEN WE'RE GONNA MOVE UP AN ITEM TO DISSOLVE THIS AD HOC AS WELL. OH MY GOSH. COMMISSIONER AL. YES. THANK YOU. AND COMMISSIONER SHA MALILLO. YES. MUCH APPRECIATED. THANK YOU. MOTION CARRIES. PERFECT. UH, LET'S TRY TO DO THESE NEXT COUPLE OF ITEMS REALLY QUICKLY. , UH, IF POSSIBLE. UH, SO WE'LL MOVE TO, UM, ITEM. CONGRATULATIONS, Y'ALL. WE GOT A FRAMEWORK. WOOHOO. YAY, . ALRIGHT. UM, SO NEXT WE'RE GONNA MOVE TO ITEM. WE'RE GONNA PULL UP ITEM SIX. ITEM NUMBER SIX IS RECOMMENDATION [6. 25-56356 Recommendation to receive and file a report from current Ad Hoc Committees; discuss anticipated Ad Hoc Committees for upcoming projects; and, if appropriate, take action to dissolve or create Ad Hoc Committees.       Suggested Action: Approve recommendation. ] TO RECEIVE AND FILE A REPORT FROM CURRENT AD HOC COMMITTEES. DISCUSS ANTICIPATED AD HOC COMMITTEES FOR UPCOMING PROJECTS, AND IF APPROPRIATE, TAKE ACTION TO DISSOLVE OR CREATE AD HOC COMMITTEES. PERFECT. THANK YOU. MAY I HAVE A MOTION AND A SECOND? ALRIGHT, WE HAVE MOTION BY DR. LARA AND SECOND, AND BY COMMISSIONER SCHULTZ. UM, SO WITH THE PRESENTATION, LET'S START WITH, UH, THIS AD HOC, THE LISTENING SESSION AD HOC. SO WE'LL NEED A RECOMMENDATION TO DISSOLVE THIS AD HOC AND THEN, UM, CREATE THE NEXT AD HOC, WHICH INCLUDES, UH, THE COMMISSIONERS LISTED FOR, UM, THE FIRST ONE. AND WE'LL JUST DOUBLE CHECK IF THOSE COMMISSIONERS ARE INTERESTED IN CONTINUING ON THAT AT NEW AD HOC. UM, SO IS THERE SOMEONE FROM THE AD HOCS WILLING TO MAKE THE MOTION? WOULD I MOTION TO DISSOLVE THE LISTENING FRAMEWORK AD HOC AND TO CREATE THE PLANNING? OKAY. SO I WOULD LIKE TO MOTION TO DISSOLVE THE LISTENING SESSIONS FRAMEWORK, WHICH HAD COMMISSIONER FLORES, COMMISSIONER BUTLER, COMMISSIONER MONTGOMERY, COMMISSIONER, DR. SHAHA BATZ, COMMISSIONER SHAW AND COMMISSIONER DOCKERY. AND I WOULD LIKE TO MOTION TO CREATE THE SOCIAL AND COMMUNITY CONTEXT AD HOC, WHICH HAS COMMISSIONER SAMWELL, COMMISSIONER COLE, COMMISSIONER FLORES, COMMISSIONER GILLETTE, COMMISSIONER LAURA, AND COMMISSIONER MONTGOMERY. THANK YOU. PERFECT. WITH THAT, UM, BEFORE WE MOVE FORWARD, ARE ALL THE COMMISSIONERS LISTED? IS THERE ANYONE THAT'S LISTED NOT INTERESTED IN CONTINUING [02:10:01] IN THE AD HOC? CAN YOU REPEAT THAT QUESTION? UH, FOR THE COMMISSIONERS LISTED FOR THE PLANNING OF THE SOCIAL AND COMMUNITY CONTEXT LISTENING SESSION, ARE THERE ANY MEMBERS OF THE COMMISSION WHO ARE LISTED? THIS IS, UH, COMMISSIONER SAMUEL WEIL, COLE FLORES, GILLETTE, LAURA AND MONTGOMERY. ARE THERE ANY OF YOU WHO ARE NOT INTERESTED IN, UM, SERVING ON THE AD HOC QUESTION? SORRY. 'CAUSE I KNOW I'M IN ANOTHER ONE FOR, SO FOR THIS FIRST ONE, WHICH IS LIKE, RIGHT NOW, I DON'T THINK I'M GONNA BE ABLE TO OKAY. BUT I KNOW I'M ON ANOTHER ONE. YES. YOU CAN ALWAYS SERVE AT A DIFFERENT TIME. OKAY. UM, SO WE'LL PULL CALL FROM THE LIST. UM, JUST SO THAT THE MOTION IS REFLECTIVE OF WHO'S INTERESTED AND CHAIR, I JUST WANNA, UM, SAY THAT I DID RECEIVE INTEREST FROM DR. BATZ TO BE PUT ON THIS AD HOC. OKAY. WE'LL INCLUDE DR. BATS AS WELL CHAIR TO THAT. OKAY. UM, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6. UM, COMMISSIONER LARA, UH, CHAIR, IT'S NOT THAT I'M NOT INTERESTED, BUT FOR CAPACITY REASONS, I WILL REMOVE MYSELF FROM THIS. AND I THINK I HEARD DR. BATS IS COMING ANYWAY, SO IT SHOULD BE A WELL-ROUNDED YES. GROUP. AND THEN WE'RE ALSO GONNA ADD BUTLER AS WELL. PERFECT. THANK YOU. OKAY. UM, SO THAT IS, UM, THE MOTION FOR THAT PARTICULAR AD HOC. UM, BEFORE WE GO INTO VOTE, WE HAVE TO HEAR THE REST OF THE PRESENTATIONS FROM ALL OF THE AD HOCS. UM, SO MAY I HAVE AN UPDATE ON THE BIPOC, UH, THE, UM, OBSERVATION OF ART, MAINTAINING YES. PRESERVATION OF AFRICAN AMERICAN ART WITHIN THE CITY? YES. SO WE ARE GETTING VERY CLOSE TO SETTING UP A MEETING WITH THE, UM, ART COUNCIL VIA COREY ALLEN, UM, ALLEN, WHO USED TO BE A COMMISSIONER ON OUR COMMISSION. UM, SO WE'RE WORKING ON THAT. AND THEN WE'LL HAVE SOON A DATE TO ALSO MEET WITH THE CITY COUNCIL PERSON RESPONSIBLE FOR THE PRESERVATION OF ART. PERFECT. SO WE'RE WORKING TOWARD THAT. THANK YOU FOR THE UPDATE. MM-HMM . UH, CAN WE GET AN UPDATE FROM THE ENVIRONMENTAL A HOC? YEAH, I THINK, UM, AND, UH, COMMISSIONER NICOLE WILL CHIME IN PLEASE IF, IF, IF NEEDED. WHAT I'M THINKING IS THAT WE CAN, UH, DISSOLVE THE AD HOC AS CURRENTLY FORMED, AND THEN, UH, FORM A NEW AD HOC FOCUSED ON EQUITY AND DISASTER AND EXTREME WEATHER EVENTS RESPONSE. UM, WHICH IS WHAT WE'VE BEEN TALKING ABOUT. I THINK WE'RE READY TO, TO MAKE MOTIONS ON THAT. AWESOME. SO WE'LL ADD THAT TO THE LIST, UM, FOR OUR APPROVAL TONIGHT. CONGRATULATIONS, Y'ALL. IS IT THE SAME MEMBERS? UH, YES. WILL IT BE THE SAME MEMBERS? DOES ANYONE JOIN US? OH, UM, QUESTION. YES. THANK YOU MADAM CHAIR. UM, FOR THIS NEW ITERATION OF THE AD HOC ON EMERGENCY PREPARED EMERGENCY DISASTER AND PREPAREDNESS, UM, ARE ALL THE SAME MEMBERS WANTING TO CONTINUE OR ARE THERE OTHER FOLKS WHO WANT TO JOIN A SWITCH OFF? I, I, I, SORRY. COME ON. OKAY. ADDING, UH, COMMISSIONER SCHULTZ. PERFECT. YAY. I'M EXCITED. YAY. I'M EXCITED. OKAY. ARE THERE, ARE THERE ANY FOLKS ON THIS SIDE? YES. COMMISSIONER BROWN. ALRIGHT. UH, AND THEN JUST DOUBLE CHECKING, IT'S DELEON COLE, SCHULTZ BROWN, AND WHO ELSE? UH, COMMISSIONER DOCKERY WAS ON IT. OKAY. AND COMMISSIONER DOCKERY. SO THAT'S FIVE. OKAY. IT'S WITHIN, UM, THE NUMBER. OKAY, COOL. WITH, UH, THE SAME WITH THE, UH, ADDITION OF SCHULTZ AND BROWN. THANK YOU FOR THAT. UH, NEXT, UH, UP ON THE LIST IS, UH, THE EQUITY ASSESSMENT TOOL. UH, AND YOU WANT TO GIVE THE UPDATE, IT'S JUST NEXT MONTH. WELL, WE'RE POSTPONING IT, BUT YOU HAVE ALL THE DOCUMENTATION IF YOU HAVE ANY COMMENTS TO BRING TO THE TABLE. NEXT TIME WE ARE READY, I'M READY TO PROVIDE YOUR QUESTIONS AND WE'LL HAVE THAT DISCUSSION. THANK YOU SO MUCH. THANKS. AND ALSO THANK YOU TO STAFF FOR, UM, RECEIVING THE INFORMATION AND PROVIDING IT, UM, TO THE COMMISSION AND THE PUBLIC. UH, WE REALLY APPRECIATE THAT AS WELL. UM, AND I BELIEVE LISTENING SESSIONS, THAT WAS DISSOLVED STATEMENTS PRESERVING ENVIRONMENTAL JUSTICE. THAT CONCLUDES, UM, ALL OF THE AD HOC UPDATES. UH, MAY WE HAVE, DO WE NEED THE MOTION [02:15:01] READ OUT FOR BOTH OR CAN WE JUST VOTE? YOU'RE FINE. BUT BEFORE WE VOTE, WE'LL NEED TO TAKE PUBLIC COMMENT IF WE HAVEN'T ALREADY. YES. THANK YOU. PERFECT. IF THERE ARE ANY MEMBERS OF THE PUBLIC IN PERSON THAT WOULD LIKE TO PROVIDE PUBLIC COMMENT, PLEASE LINE UP AT THE PODIUM. NOW, SEEING NONE IN PERSON, IF THERE ARE ANY MEMBERS OF THE PUBLIC IN ZOOM THAT WOULD LIKE TO PROVIDE PUBLIC COMMENT ON ITEM NUMBER SIX, PLEASE USE THE RAISE HAND FUNCTION. NOW. SEEING NONE, THAT CONCLUDES PUBLIC COMMENT FOR THIS ITEM. THANK YOU. MAY WE HAVE ROLL CALL, VOTE PLEASE. CHAIR. UH, FOR THE RECORD, UH, COMMISSIONER FLORES STEPPED OUT MOMENTARILY. OH. UM, WELL, WE HAVE ENOUGH TO MOVE FORWARD UNLESS MADAM CLERK NO, THAT'S FINE. OKAY. AND THEN COMMISSIONER SEMI WHALE. YES. THANK YOU. AND COMMISSIONER SHAONE? YES, THANK YOU. MOTION CARRIES. PERFECT. UM, SO WITH THAT WE HAVE A MOTION. UM, CONGRATULATIONS ON EVERYONE WHO SERVED ON AN AD HOC, UH, AND ALL THE WORK THAT YOU PUT IN TO GET INTO THE POINT OF DISSOLVING AND, UH, CREATING NEW ONES. UH, THIS IS A PART OF OUR COMMISSION IN ORDER TO, UH, ACHIEVE OUR OBJECTIVES. UH, SO I'M VERY PROUD OF EVERYBODY'S, UH, CONTRIBUTIONS TO THE AD HOCS THUS FAR, UH, AND ALL THE WORK THAT IS COMING THROUGH THEM. UM, WITH THAT, UH, WE HAVE 10 MINUTES. UM, SO I WANTED [7. 25-56357 Recommendation to receive and file a monthly update from the Office of Equity.         Suggested Action: Approve recommendation. ] TO SEE IF WE HAVE OFFICE OF EQUITY, UH, UPDATES AND THEN WE'LL CLOSE OUT WITH COMMISSIONER, UM, ANNOUNCEMENTS. AND IF THERE ARE NONE, WE CAN MOVE TO COMMISSIONER ANNOUNCEMENTS. YEAH, WE JUST HAVE VERY SMALL ANNOUNCEMENTS. GO FOR IT. OKAY. SO I JUST, I WANT TO MENTION THAT THE CITIZENS ADVISORY COMMISSION ON DISABILITIES HAS A JOB INTERVIEW SKILLS WORKSHOP ON THURSDAY, OCTOBER 2ND FROM ONE 4:00 PM AT THE BILLY JEAN KING LIBRARY. AND THEY WILL ALSO BE HOSTING AN ALL YOUR RIGHTS IN THE WORKPLACE, UH, WORKSHOP VIA ZOOM ON OCTOBER 23RD. SO I SHARED THE INFORMATION WITH YOU VIA EMAIL EARLIER TODAY. THANK YOU SO MUCH. UH, AND WE ARE MEED BY COMMISSIONER MONTGOMERY AND SECOND BY COMMISSIONER LA DR. LAURA. UM, ARE THERE ANY DISCUSSIONS IN REGARDS TO THE UPDATES? OH, ACTUALLY PUBLIC COMMENT. IF THERE ARE ANY MEMBERS OF THE PUBLIC AND PERSON THAT WOULD LIKE TO PROVIDE PUBLIC COMMENT ON ITEM NUMBER SEVEN, PLEASE LINE UP AT THE PODIUM. NOW, SEEING NONE, IF THERE ARE ANY MEMBERS OF THE PUBLIC IN ZOOM THAT WOULD LIKE TO PROVIDE PUBLIC COMMENT, PLEASE USE THE RAISE HAND FEATURE AT THIS TIME. SEEING NONE, THAT CONCLUDES PUBLIC COMMENT FOR THIS ITEM. THANK YOU. ARE THERE ANY COMMISSIONER DISCUSSIONS ON THE UPDATES THAT WERE PROVIDED BY THE OFFICE OF EQUITY? SEEING NONE, CAN WE GO FOR A VOTE? AND COMMISSIONER SAMUEL? YES. THANK YOU. AND COMMISSIONER SHA MALILLO? YES. THANK YOU. MOTION CARRIES. THANK YOU SO MUCH. UM, SO WITH THAT ITEM NUMBER THREE IS BEING CARRIED OVER. ITEM NUMBER FIVE IS BEING WITHDRAWN. UH, WE'RE GONNA MOVE INTO COMMISSIONER [ANNOUNCEMENTS] ANNOUNCEMENTS AND WE COMMENT? YES. COMMISSIONER GILLETTE. I WANTED TO INVITE EVERYONE TO THE FOURTH ANNUAL FILIPINO AMERICAN HISTORY MONTH CELEBRATION. IT'S GONNA BE ON TUESDAY, OCTOBER 7TH, UH, AT THE CIVIC CENTER LOBBY, STARTING AT 3:00 PM TO 5:00 PM FOLLOWED BY CITY COUNCIL PRESENTATION AT FIVE 15 ROUGHLY. AND THERE WILL ALSO BE A RESOURCE FAIR FROM 2:00 PM TO 7:00 PM AT THE CIVIC CENTER PLAZA. WE DO NOT HAVE THE FLYERS JUST YET, BUT I WILL FORWARD IT TO THE OFFICE OF EQUITY TO CIRCULATE. BUT PLEASE JOIN US. THANK YOU. THANK YOU FOR THAT COMMISSIONER, DR. LARA. SO, UH, ANOTHER INVITATION FOR EVERYONE IN THESE CHAMBERS. UM, THE L-G-B-T-Q CENTER IN LONG BEACH IS HOSTING, UH, Q FILMS, UH, LONG BEACH, STARTING TOMORROW. UH, FOR A LIST OF FILMS, I JUST HAVE THEIR WEBSITE. YOU THINK I'D HAVE THIS MEMORIZED, BUT HERE I'M GONNA READ Q FILMS LONG BEACH.COM. YOU WILL SEE, UH, ALL THE LIST OF, OF MOVIES STARTING TOMORROW NIGHT WITH THE, UH, WITH THE LAUNCH OF THE FESTIVAL. AND IT'LL RUN ALL THE WAY TOWARDS, UH, SUNDAY, UM, AND OTHER SOCIAL EVENTS IN BETWEEN THOSE FILMS. IT IS, UH, YET ANOTHER HIGHLIGHT. I, NOT JUST THE CENTER, BUT I WOULD, I WOULD ARGUE THE [02:20:01] CITY. UM, IT'S JUST AN AMAZING FILM TESTIMONY AND ONE OF THE FEW QUEER ORIENTED FILM FESTIVALS, IF I'M NOT MISTAKEN, IN THE COUNTRY. AND THAT'S SOMETHING DEAF WAY TO BE PROUD OF IN OUR COMMUNITY. THANK YOU, DR. LAUREN. REPEAT THE WEBSITE AGAIN. OF COURSE. UH, THE WEBSITE IS Q FILMS LONG BEACH.COM. IT'S SUCH A AMAZING EVENT THAT HAS ITS OWN WEBSITE AS OPPOSED TO, UH, ON THE CENTER, ALTHOUGH THE CENTER SIDE TOO, BUT IT IS AFFILIATED WITH THE CENTER, UM, AND HAS ITS OWN WEBSITE. YES. SO TOMORROW I'LL BE JOIN. I'LL BE THERE AT SEVEN 30 IF ANYBODY WANTS TO JOIN IN THE FUN TO SEE THE BOB MACKEY FILM. MM-HMM . YAY. ON FASHION. YEAH. THANK YOU SO MUCH. UM, YES, ON FRIDAY Y'ALL WE'RE HAVING BOB MACKEY COME TO THE CITY OF LONG BEACH. UM, SO LOOK AT GOOGLE AND LOOK HIM UP. UH, A CREATIVE OF A LOT OF FASHION, UH, ESPECIALLY, UM, THAT SPARKED A LOT OF DRAG, UM, AND EXTRAVAGANZA, UM, MADE MANY DRESSES FOR CHER, UH, AND OTHER CELEBRITIES. SO, UH, DO COME OUT TO Q FILMS, UH, AND SUPPORT. UH, YOUR TICKET GOES TO DONATIONS TO THE CENTER OF LONG BEACH. AS YOU KNOW, THE CENTER, AS LONG AS OTHER LGBT CENTERS, UH, ARE, UH, SURVIVING THROUGH MANY, UM, FEDERAL BUDGET CUTS AND OTHER CH FINANCIAL CHALLENGES. SO IF THERE'S EVER A TIME TO DONATE TO THE CENTER, NOW IS THE TIME TO DO SO. UH, THANK YOU FOR THAT ANNOUNCEMENT. ARE THERE ANY OTHER ANNOUNCEMENTS? YES, COMMISSIONER FLORES. CAN, CAN I JUST GIVE A SHOUT OUT TO TONY? THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR GUIDING US THROUGH THE JOURNEY OF CREATING THIS TEMPLATE. YOU'RE AMAZING. THANK YOU FOR HELPING US GET THAT OFF THE GROUND. COOL. UM, MAY I MAKE ONE COMMENT? OH, YEAH. I MEAN, AND THAT SPIRIT AS WELL. UM, OH, SORRY. YEAH, I'LL JUMP IN REAL QUICK. UM, AS PART OF MY JOB, I'VE BEEN AT A LOT OF THE BUDGET OVERSIGHT COMMITTEE MEETINGS AND, UH, DIFFERENT, YOU KNOW, COUNCIL MEETINGS AND WANT TO ECHO THE SHOUT OUT TO OUR CITY STAFF WHO HAVE BEEN, UH, HAVING TO GO IN A LOT OF LONG MEETINGS AND PRESENTATIONS. AND I THINK THEY'VE DONE A REALLY POWERFUL JOB CONVEYING THE, THE POWER OF THE PROGRAMS THAT OFFICE EQUITY OVERSEES. UH, IT IS BANG FOR ITS BUCK, I THINK ONE OF THE MOST IMPACTFUL THINGS WE HAVE IN THE CITY. AND, AND THESE TWO ARE INSTRUMENTAL IN THAT. SO CELEBRATING THAT, UH, AS I SIT IN THE BACK CORNER DURING A BOC MEETING, IT'S GOOD TO SEE, UH, FRIENDLY FACES DOING GOOD WORK. SO JUST WANNA CELEBRATE Y'ALL. THANK YOU, COMMISSIONER BUTLER. OKAY, I JUST WANNA GIVE ONE LAST THANK YOU. KUDOS. SHOUT OUT TO THE AD HOC FRAMING AD HOC COMMITTEE. DID I SAY THAT? YEAH. FOR ALL OF YOUR HARD WORK IN SUCH A REMARKABLY SHORT TIME. AND, UM, I JUST CAN'T THANK YOU ENOUGH. IT WAS TRULY A PLEASURE TO WORK WITH ALL OF YOU. THANK YOU. THANK YOU, THANK YOU. AND HOPEFULLY THE NATE, ALL THE ONES MOVING FORWARD, WE'LL MOVE JUST AS EXPEDITIOUSLY. YES. THANK YOU. GOODNIGHT. THANK YOU. UH, AND, UH, TONIGHT IS ACTUALLY DR. BAT'S BIRTHDAY, UH, WHICH IS WHY THEY'RE UNABLE TO JOIN US TODAY. UH, SO SENDING A VERY HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO OUR VICE CHAIR, DR. BATZ. NO . HEY. UM, AND SO IN ADDITION TO THAT, UM, IN REGARDS TO ADVOCACY EFFORTS, UM, SEPTEMBER 5TH, EXCUSE ME, ACTUALLY SEPTEMBER 9TH, UH, TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 9TH AT ONE O'CLOCK, AND AS WELL AS AT FIVE O'CLOCK, UM, MORE LIKELY AROUND NINE OR 10, DEPENDING ON HOW MANY, UH, PUBLIC COMMENTS THERE ARE. UM, SEPTEMBER 9TH IS THE LAST TIME TO USE YOUR VOICE AS A COMMISSIONER TO ADVOCATE FOR OUR BUDGET REQUEST OF $22,000. UH, THE CITY COUNCIL IS CURRENTLY CONSIDERING, UM, IF THERE ARE FUNDS ABLE TO DISTRIBUTE TO MANY IMPORTANT AND VALID BUDGET REQUESTS. AND SO IF YOU HAVE THE TIME, FEEL FREE TO ATTEND EITHER THE BUDGET OVERSIGHT COMMITTEE. YOU CAN ALSO SEND AN EMAIL, UH, YOU CAN DO AN E-COM, UM, ON ANY OF THE ITEMS, UM, ADVOCATING FOR THE FUNDS. UH, AND IF YOU'RE ABLE TO ATTEND ON, UH, THE NINTH AT 5:00 PM UP UNTIL PROBABLY 10 30 OR MIDNIGHT, BECAUSE THAT MEETING'S GONNA GO VERY LONG, UH, YOU WILL ACTUALLY SEE THE BUDGET PASSED. AND SO, UM, PLEASE STAY TUNED AND SEE IF OUR BUDGET REQUESTS, UM, HAVE BEEN FILLED. UH, [02:25:01] AND THANK YOU EVERYONE WHO HAD CONTRIBUTED TO THOSE EFFORTS. UH, AND, UH, WE, WE WILL SEE HOW, UM, THE, THE DOMINO PIECES FALL. SO, UH, IF THERE'S NO OTHER ANNOUNCEMENTS, UH UH OKAY. COMMISSIONER SAMUEL WILD. UM, SO I JUST WANTED TO SAY THAT, UM, SEPTEMBER IS NATIONAL RECOVERY MONTH. UM, YOU KNOW, SO FOR ANYBODY THAT HAS BEEN AFFECTED BY, OR HAS A FAMILY THAT EITHER DIED OF OVERDOSE OR SUBSTANCE USE, MENTAL HEALTH STRUGGLES, UM, IF YOU COULD, UM, YOU KNOW, JUST OBSERVE THIS MONTH AND BE IN SOLIDARITY WITH US, UM, FOR THOSE WHO, UM, WHO LIVE WITH IT EACH AND EVERY DAY WHO HAVE LIVED EXPERIENCE. SO, THANK YOU. ALRIGHT. AND WITH ONE MINUTE TO SPARE, I WILL OFFICIALLY CALL THIS MEETING, [ADJOURNMENT] UH, TO A CLOSE ADJOURN. THANK YOU ALL. ENJOY YOUR EVENING. * This transcript was created by voice-to-text technology. The transcript has not been edited for errors or omissions, it is for reference only and is not the official minutes of the meeting.