Address to the California State Legislature & the People of California
"A New Covenant for the Golden State"
California State Capitol, Sacramento
Opening
Madam Speaker, President Pro Tempore, distinguished members of the Legislature, and most importantly — the people of California:
We gather today not simply to legislate, but to lead. California has always been more than a state. We are an idea. We are the western edge of the American promise — the place where the continent ends and the future begins. And today, I come before you because that future is calling, and we have not yet answered.
We are the fifth largest economy on the face of this Earth. We house the most innovative minds, the most diverse workforce, and the most strategically positioned coastline in the entire Western Hemisphere. And yet — our roads crumble. Our schools are underfunded. Our municipal contracts are riddled with inefficiency and quiet corruption. Our licensing systems trap hardworking professionals behind walls of bureaucracy. And Washington collects our tax dollars by the billions while returning pennies on the dollar.
That ends today. California must stop waiting for permission to be great.
I. Municipal Contract Reform — Ending the Culture of No-Bid Silence
Let us begin where the rot starts — at the contract level.
For too long, municipal contracts in this state have been awarded in the shadows. No-bid contracts handed to political allies. Public dollars flowing to private interests with no transparency, no accountability, and no consequences. The people of California deserve to know exactly who is being paid, for what, at what price, and with what result.
I am calling today for the Municipal Contract Transparency and Reform Act — legislation that mandates:
Full public disclosure of all municipal contracts exceeding $50,000
Competitive bidding requirements across all city and county departments with no exceptions without documented justification
Independent auditing of contract performance on a quarterly basis
Whistleblower protections for any city employee who reports bid manipulation or contract fraud
Automatic contract termination for any vendor found to have engaged in bribery, kickbacks, or collusion
We do not simply want to catch the corrupt after the fact. We want to build a system so transparent that corruption finds no shadows to hide in.
II. Licensing Reform — Unlocking the Real Estate and Mortgage Professions
California's real estate and mortgage industries are the engines of our housing economy. And yet we have built licensing systems that are slow, inconsistent, expensive, and — too often — weaponized as gatekeeping tools against working-class professionals and small independent operators.
We are calling for the California Real Estate and Mortgage Licensing Modernization Act, which will:
Digitize and streamline the full licensing process, reducing approval timelines from months to weeks
Eliminate redundant examination fees and replace them with a consolidated, fair assessment structure
Establish reciprocity agreements with other states to allow qualified professionals to work across borders without duplicative licensing burdens
Create a clear and enforceable Code of Conduct for brokers, lenders, and servicers — with real consequences for predatory practices
Expand access to licensing education through community colleges and accredited online institutions, so that licensure is no longer a privilege of geography or wealth
Establish an independent Mortgage and Real Estate Industry Oversight Board with consumer representation — not just industry insiders — at the table
The real estate professional who serves a first-generation homebuyer in Fresno deserves the same streamlined, fair regulatory environment as the top broker on Wilshire Boulevard. Licensing should protect the public — not protect incumbents.
III. Federal Dollars — California Must Collect What It Has Earned
Here is a fact that should outrage every taxpayer in this room:
California sends far more money to Washington than we receive in return. For every dollar Californians pay in federal taxes, we receive back approximately 77 cents in federal expenditures. We are, in effect, subsidizing the rest of the nation while our own infrastructure collapses, our own schools go underfunded, and our own communities go underserved.
That is not a partnership. That is an imbalance — and it must be corrected.
I am calling on this Legislature to take a dual-track approach:
Track One: California must immediately and aggressively pursue every available federal dollar — every infrastructure grant, every education allocation, every housing voucher, every workforce development fund, every disaster relief appropriation — that we are legally entitled to. We will no longer leave federal aid on the table out of pride, politics, or bureaucratic inertia. Our Grants Acquisition Office will be fully staffed, fully funded, and fully activated.
Track Two: This Legislature will send a formal resolution to the United States Congress calling for federal tax equity reform — a restructuring of the federal tax return formula that fairly compensates high-contributing states for what they put in. If Washington wants California's tax base, Washington must serve California's needs. We are not a donor state without rights. We are a sovereign partner in this union, and we demand to be treated as one.
IV. Infrastructure and Education — Building the Foundation of the Next Century
A state that does not invest in its roads cannot move its goods. A state that does not invest in its children cannot build its future.
We are announcing today a California Infrastructure and Education Renaissance Initiative, which will:
On Infrastructure:
Prioritize repair and expansion of California's port infrastructure — particularly the Ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach — to position us as the dominant Pacific trade gateway
Fund a comprehensive highway and bridge repair program targeting the 1,500 structurally deficient bridges across this state
Expand high-speed rail connectivity to link our agricultural Central Valley to our coastal economic centers
Build out the digital infrastructure — broadband access — that rural communities have gone without for too long
On Education:
Restore per-pupil spending to competitive national levels
Expand Career Technical Education in real estate, finance, construction, logistics, and technology
Fund dual-enrollment partnerships between high schools and community colleges so that no California student graduates without a pathway
Establish the California Founders Scholarship — targeting first-generation college students pursuing business, law, engineering, and civic leadership
The children sitting in classrooms in Stockton, in Bakersfield, in Compton — they are not liabilities. They are the next generation of California's workforce, and they deserve a world-class education funded by the world's fifth-largest economy.
V. Rooting Out Corruption — Zero Tolerance, Full Transparency
Corruption is not a partisan issue. It is a California issue. And it is costing us — in wasted public dollars, in broken public trust, and in the quiet tax that honest citizens pay when dishonest officials steal from them.
We call today for the California Anti-Corruption and Public Accountability Act, which will:
Establish an Independent Office of Public Integrity — insulated from political interference — with subpoena power, investigative authority, and a direct reporting line to the Legislature and the public
Require mandatory financial disclosure for all elected officials, department heads, and contract-awarding officers — updated annually and published online
Create a Public Corruption Rapid Response Unit within the California Department of Justice
Impose permanent bars from public office for any official convicted of bribery, bid rigging, or misappropriation of public funds
Protect and compensate whistleblowers who expose corruption at any level of government
When public money is stolen, real services are cut. When contracts are rigged, real workers lose. Corruption is not a victimless crime. It is theft from every Californian who pays taxes and expects something in return.
VI. California as the Center of Pacific Trade — Our Strategic Destiny
Let us speak plainly about where the world is going.
The twenty-first century is a Pacific century. The economic gravitational pull of the world is shifting westward — toward Asia, toward Southeast Asia, toward the Pacific Basin. And California sits at the exact center of that axis. Los Angeles. San Diego. San Francisco. Oakland. These are not just California cities — they are Pacific capitals.
We must plan accordingly.
I am proposing the California Pacific Trade and Economic Leadership Strategy — a long-range, bipartisan plan to:
Position California's ports as the premier entry point for Pacific commerce into North America
Build Pacific Trade Development Zones along our coast with streamlined permitting, tax incentives, and state-backed infrastructure investment
Establish trade and investment offices in key Pacific partner nations — Vietnam, South Korea, Japan, the Philippines, India, and the nations of ASEAN
Develop a California Maritime Workforce Academy to train the next generation of logistics, shipping, customs, and international trade professionals
Partner with UC and CSU systems to create Pacific Basin Studies programs that produce diplomats, economists, and business leaders fluent in the languages and cultures of our trading partners
California is not simply positioned to benefit from Pacific trade. California is positioned to lead it. But leadership requires strategy, investment, and intention — not merely geography.
VII. China Trade Policy — Accountability at the Point of Exchange
We must be honest about China.
For decades, the promise of Chinese trade brought investment, goods, and economic activity to California's ports and businesses. And yet, what has accompanied that trade? The systematic theft of American intellectual property. Predatory pricing designed to eliminate domestic competition. State-subsidized manufacturing that does not play by the rules of any free market. And, increasingly, the use of economic leverage as a geopolitical weapon.
California cannot and should not be complicit in a trade relationship that undermines American workers, compromises American security, and rewards a government that does not share our values.
I am calling today for California to:
Lead a state-level boycott of non-essential Chinese goods in all state procurement and government purchasing — sending a market signal that our public dollars will not fund an adversarial economic system
Support federal legislation — and if necessary sponsor a California congressional caucus resolution — to impose a Point-of-Exchange Tax on all goods and services flowing between foreign state-owned or state-subsidized enterprises and American markets
Advocate for tariff structures that level the playing field for California manufacturers, farmers, and technology companies competing against artificially subsidized Chinese competitors
Divest California public pension funds from any holdings in Chinese state-owned enterprises or companies identified as security risks by the U.S. Department of Defense
This is not about hostility toward the Chinese people. It is about holding a government accountable for its economic conduct — and protecting the California workers and businesses that compete against a system rigged against them.
VIII. The Point-of-Exchange Tax — Making Global Commerce Pay Its Fair Share
For too long, multinational corporations have used California's infrastructure, California's workforce, and California's consumer market — and then sheltered their profits offshore, paying little or nothing back to the communities that made their success possible.
That arrangement is over.
I am proposing the California Global Commerce Accountability Act, which will:
Impose a Point-of-Exchange Assessment on all commercial transactions conducted by foreign companies doing business in California above a defined revenue threshold
Close the digital goods and services tax gap — ensuring that international tech platforms, streaming services, and data companies pay California taxes on revenue generated from California consumers
Establish a Corporate Presence Standard — any company maintaining a significant economic presence in California, regardless of where they are incorporated, will be subject to California corporate tax obligations
Require country-by-country tax reporting for all multinationals operating in California, in coordination with federal IRS requirements, to expose profit-shifting schemes
Direct all revenue collected through this mechanism into a California Future Fund — dedicated exclusively to infrastructure, education, and clean energy investment
We are not anti-business. We are pro-fairness. Every small business on Main Street in Modesto pays their taxes. Every family restaurant in Fresno pays their taxes. The multinational corporation generating billions from California consumers has no moral or economic justification to do less.
Closing — California's Covenant with Its Future
California, let me close with this:
We have been too patient with dysfunction. Too tolerant of corruption. Too deferential to Washington when Washington has not been fair to us. Too cautious in our ambitions when our position in this world demands boldness.
The Pacific is rising. Trade is shifting. The global economy is being reorganized in real time. California is not a spectator in this transformation — we are, by geography, by economy, by the diversity and talent of our people, the natural protagonist of this American century.
But protagonists must act. They must plan. They must build. They must demand accountability from those who govern them and integrity from those who represent them.
Today, we begin that work.
We will reform our contracts. We will open our licensing. We will collect every federal dollar we are owed. We will invest in our roads, our ports, and our children. We will root out corruption wherever it hides. We will position this state as the permanent center of Pacific commerce. And we will ensure that every company that profits from California pays their fair and honest share.
This is not a partisan agenda. This is a California agenda.
The Golden State did not get its name by accident. Gold was found here because people came here willing to dig — willing to do the hard work that fortune demands.
We are ready to dig again.
God bless California. God bless the United States of America.
Thank you.
"The western edge of the American promise — where the continent ends and the future begins."