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Broad coalition of legislators, students and faculty are seeking full funding to avert tuition hikes, and for greater access to CSU & UC at a Capitol press conference

It was a sad day Monday on the Senate floor when I had to adjourn in memory for Jared Tucker, a Lafayette resident who became the lone American killed in the Barcelona, Spain terrorist attack last week. Jared was beloved by many, a father of three girls and proud husband of Heidi. They were in Spain on their honeymoon, a year after they’d been married. Here are my comments from the floor.

Without the leadership of Gov. Jerry Brown, California would not have made the much-needed advances in curbing pension deficits that we've made in recent years. But, this proposal to borrow $6 billion and transfer it to Cal-PERS was rushed through the Senate without adequate study. The Senate approved it on a 24-13-3 vote. The non-partisan legislative analyst said it was not clear whether this idea would save the state money or whether it was even legal. It may in the end prove to be a good idea. But there was no need to pass it without adequate review.