Tuesday, September 27, 2022
Inland Action Meeting with the Inland Empire Legislative Caucus Held at Esri Headquarters
Minutes
Present from Inland Empire Legislative Caucus: Senator Rosilicie Ochoa Bogh, Senator Connie Leyva, Assemblyman James Ramos, Chair, Assemblyman Thurston “Smitty” Smith; Staff members: Nick Calero, Michael Chen, Anais Franco, Dillon Lesovsky, Jacob Rivera, Maha Rizvi, Manuel Saucedo
Present from Inland Action: David Ambroz, Megan Barajas, Deborah Barmack, Carole Beswick, Greg Bradbard, Mike Burrows, Mark Cloud, Ken Coate, Michelle Decker, Heather Dyer, Kevin Dyerly, Louis Goodwin, Milford Harrison, Lowell King, Doug Kleam, Steve Lambert, Mike Layne, Darcy McNaboe, Jacquelyn Mercado, Tomas Morales, Dan Murphy, Krista Newkirk, Vikki Ostermann, Steve PonTell, Cat Pritchett, Thomas Rice, Michael Rivera, Dan Roberts, Elizabeth Romero, Eric Ustation, Lupe Valdez, Michael Wells, Ray Wolfe
Guests: Bill Emmerson, Leia Fletes, Brad Jensen, Jackie Melendez, John Tang
Assemblyman James Ramos, Chair of the Inland Empire Legislative Caucus gave a welcome and introduced his colleagues Senator Leyva, Senator Ochoa Bogh and Assemblyman Smith who made brief opening comments. Inland Action Chair Lowell King welcomed the Caucus members and asked for self-introductions of those in attendance. After his opening remarks a video clip was show of a hearing on the Senate floor in which a Senator from the Los Angeles region ineptly described Inland Empire citizens. The Chair then introduced the following speakers and subjects.
- Burden of Inflation, Taxes, and Regulation on Business
Louis Goodwin, Fifth Third Bank
- Challenges Facing Inland Empire Businesses
Kristine Scott, Southern California Gas Company
- Working with Business to Improve Access to Education
Tomas Morales, California State University, San Bernardino
- Business Opportunities through the Community Economic Resilience Fund
Michelle Decker, Inland Empire Community Foundation
- Little Hoover Commission Initiatives and California 1991 Realignment
Bill Emmerson, Little Hoover Commissioner
At the conclusion of presentations legislators made comments and asked questions.
The meeting adjourned at approximately 9:45 a.m. for an optional visit to Esri’s Geo Lab.