AB 1955, authored by Assemblyman Chris Ward, D-San Diego, a gay member of the LGBTQ Caucus, is a gut-and-amend version of a bill written by Essayli. Essayli’s original 2023 bill would have required all school districts to adopt parental notification policies — which Democrats call “forced outing” policies — but it did not get a hearing in the Democratic-controlled Capitol.

Ward’s new version of the bill, which bans the policies, passed the Assembly Committee on Education on Wednesday after hours of public testimony.

When asked about the altercation on the Assembly floor, Speaker Robert Rivas, D-Hollister, said “the stakes are always high here in the state Capitol.”

“We all feel very emotional and passionate about the work that we do,” he said.

When asked whether there will be any consequences as a result of the confrontation, Rivas said he had a “brief conversation” with Assembly Republican Leader James Gallagher of Yuba City. The speaker declined to say what the two discussed.

Democrats rally around bill and its sponsor

After the almost-altercation with Jackson, Democrats called for a break to caucus before returning to the floor and allowing Essayli to finish his comments. His fellow Republicans, including Gallagher and Assemblyman Joe Patterson, R-Rocklin, testified against the bill.

“To my friends who are lesbian, gay, queer, I want what’s best for you,” Patterson said. “The debate on this bill is clearly emotional for many of us.”

Patterson’s children attend school in the Rocklin Unified School District, which passed a parental notification policy last September. His chief of staff, Tiffany Saathoff, is the current RUSD school board president, and supported the policy.

Patterson said he takes issue with Democrats implying that those who support the policies, like he and Saathoff, are “hateful” and that the policies “are made to appease extremists or individuals who are hateful to other people.”

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