California Asian Pacific Islander Legislative Caucus

Background

Only one API (Mike Honda) was serving in the Legislature when Assembly Member George Nakano (D-Torrance) was elected to the Assembly in 1998. The two served together until Honda was elected to Congress in November 2000. The November election also brought two more APIs to the Legislature with the election of Assembly Members Wilma Chan (D-Oakland) and Carol Liu (D-La Cañada Flintridge). This increased the number of APIs in the Legislature to three.
With the number of API legislators quickly increasing, then-Speaker Robert Hertzberg officially sanctioned the formation of the California Asian Pacific Islander Legislative Caucus in January 2001 with Nakano as the Caucus' Inaugural Chair. In May 2001, Assembly Member Judy Chu (D-Monterey Park) was elected to the Assembly in a special election, increasing the Caucus membership to four. In November 2002, Assembly Member Leland Yee (D-San Francisco) was elected to represent the 12th Assembly District, bringing the Caucus membership to five. In November 2004, Assembly Member George Nakano left the Assembly due to term limits, but the Caucus maintained its membership of five with the election of Assembly Member Alberto Torrico (D-Newark). In September 2005, Assembly Member Ted Lieu was elected to the 53rd Assembly District in a special election – bringing the membership of the Caucus to six. In February 2008, Assembly Member Warren Furutani (D-Gardena) was elected to the 55th Assembly District in a special election. The Caucus membership reached a historic high of 10 State Legislators with the swearing in of Assembly Members Mariko Yamada (D-Yolo) and Paul Fong (D-Mountainview) and Senator Carol Liu in 2009. As a result of the increase membership, the Caucus became one of the largest Caucus in the State Legislature.

2003 
Assembly Member Nakano served as chair of the Caucus from 2001-2002 and was succeeded by Assembly Members Wilma Chan and Carol Liu as co-chairs of the Caucus in 2003. In 2003, the Caucus established and advocated for budget and legislative priorities for the first time in its history. As a result of the state's fiscal crisis, many key programs serving the Asian Pacific Islander communities were proposed for elimination or reduction. The Caucus advocated for these programs and was successful in their effort to help preserve programs such as the California Civil Liberties Public Education Program, Cash Assistance Program for Immigrants, Food Assistance Programs for Immigrants, and acupuncture as a Medi-Cal optional benefit. The Caucus also successfully authored and won bi-partisan passage of Assembly Joint Resolution 30, which called for the apology and resignation of Congressman Howard Coble (R-North Carolina) for his remarks about the Japanese American Internment.

2004 
In March 2004, Assembly Member Judy Chu succeeded Assembly Members Chan and Liu as chair of the API Caucus. The Caucus continued its advocacy work with the adoption of budget and legislative priorities for 2004. Budget priorities for 2004 included preserving cash and food assistance programs for immigrants, cash benefit program for Filipino veterans, and higher education funding. The Caucus also held its first annual API policy summit and dinner, "Speaking in One Voice" on June 7, 2004. The all day conference brought API leaders together from around the State to assess the state of Asian Pacific Islander American affairs and develop an agenda for the future. The summit culminated in a dinner honoring Dr. Wen Ho Lee and four community legislative heroes for their contributions to the API community.

2005
In March 2005, the Caucus members elected Assembly Member Judy Chu and Assembly Speaker Pro-Tempore Leland Yee to serve as Caucus co-chairs.

2006 
In March 2006, Assembly Member Alberto Torrico was elected to serve as chair of the Caucus. In November 2006, Assembly Members Mike Eng (D-Monterey Park), Mary Hayashi (D-Hayward and Fiona Ma (D-San Francisco) were elected to the Assembly, while Assembly Members Judy Chu, Carol Liu and Wilma Chan left due to term limits. Assembly Member Leland Yee was elected to the Senate, keeping the Caucus membership at six.

2008
In January 2008, Assembly Member Ted Lieu was elected to serve as chair of the Caucus. In February 2008, Assembly Member Warren Furutani (D-Gardena) was elected to the Assembly in a special election. His election increased the Caucus membership to seven as well as reaching a historic high of ten APIs to serve concurrently in the Legislature.

2009
In early 2009, Assemblymember Ted Lieu was reelected to serve as chair of the Caucus. In January 2009, Assembly Members Mariko Yamada (D-Yolo) and Paul Fong (D – San Jose) along with Senator Carol Liu (D – Altadena), who previously served as one of the founders of the API Legislative Caucus as an Asssemblymember, were sworn in as State Legislators. As a result, the membership of the Caucus increased to 10 APIs. The "Connecting the Dots" API Policy Summit was held in May and merited a visit by the U.S. Secretary of Commerce, Gary Locke. October saw the election of Assemblymembers Warren T. Furutani and Mary Hayashi to lead the Caucus as Chair and Vice Chair respectively.

Since the establishment of the API Caucus, its members have authored and supported a wide array of legislation benefiting the API community, including in the areas of civil rights, language access, health disparities, hate crime prevention, consumer protection, and cultural preservation. Members serve in key leadership positions in the Assembly that allow them to have maximum influence on the State's policymaking process and its subsequent impact on the API community.
During its eight year history, the Caucus has worked to fulfill its mission of representing and advocating for the diverse interests of the API communities throughout the state. Other Caucus activities have included: serving as a resource to the community and assisting with advocacy efforts, convening the annual API Policy Summit, holding joint briefings and hearings with other ethnic Caucuses and community groups on issues of common interest, and supporting the activities of the Commission on Asian Pacific Islander American Affairs.

2010
The Caucus partnered with the Congressional Asian Pacific American Caucus, the United States Census Bureau, and Asian Pacific Islander Counts to hold press conferences across California with the goal of increasing APIA participation in the US Census. In May, the API Legislative Caucus worked with the Commission on APIA Affairs, APIsCAN, AAEI, and AACRE to convene the Asian Pacific Island Policy Summit at the Sacramento Convention Center.  Bringing together more than 280 community leaders and activists, the API Policy Summit featured workshops addressing the issues of civil rights, education, health & human services, and housing & community development. Assemblymember Mike Eng took the lead in partnering with the University of California Asian American and Pacific Islander Policy Multi-campus Research Program in developing and distributing a report on the state of APIA education in California.

2011
Assemblymember Warren Furutani and Assemblymember Mary Hayashi were reelected as the API Legislative Caucus chair & vice-chair, respectively.  Additionally, the API Legislative Caucus created a Parliamentarian position on the Caucus board, which is responsible for maintaining the Standing Rules of the Caucus and shall serve as an advisor to the presiding officers and members on Caucus procedures.   Assemblymember Furutani appointed Assemblymember Mariko Yamada to serve in the role. A special election brought Ted Lieu into the California State Senate, joining Senators Carol Liu and Leland Yee. The Members in the Assembly also included Assemblymembers Mike Eng, Paul Fong, Fiona Ma, Richard Pan, and Das Williams.

The Caucus, along with its API Policy Summit co-conveners including Asian Pacific Islanders California Action Network, Asian American Education Institute, and Commission on Asian Pacific Islander American Affairs, organized and facilitated API Legislative Brain Storm meetings in Northern and Southern California to provide a space for community organizations and leaders to provide policy ideas directly to elected officials of the California State Legislature. The API Legislative Caucus coordinated with the Speaker's Office of Member Services on providing web resources for Member Offices that wanted to outreach in regards to the natural disasters that affected Japan on March 11, 2011. On March 24, 2011, the API Legislative Caucus organized with Direct Relief International and the Japanese American Citizens League to unveil the Japan Relief and Recovery Fund to provide support for relief efforts in the region.  During the APIA Heritage Month Floor Ceremony in May 2011, the Caucus honored Nisei Veterans of World War II during the event.  The API Legislative Caucus convened a series of informational hearings with the Commission on APIA Affairs across the state focusing on the South Asian & Muslim American community, Cambodian American youth, and the effects of place-based funding formulas on the APIA community.

2012
Assemblymember Warren Furutani and Assemblymember Mary Hayashi continued to serve as the API Legislative Caucus chair & vice-chair, respectively.  Additionally, Assemblymember Yamada continued in her role as Parliamentarian. The API Legislative Caucus partnered with the Commission on APIA Affairs, APIsCAN, and AAEI to convene the 8th Annual API Policy Summit at the Sacramento Convention Center. Bringing in more than 270 community leaders and activists, the API Policy Summit featured workshops addressing the issues of civil rights, education, health & human services, and housing & community development. In June, the API Legislative Caucus held an API Caucus Film Festival at the historic Crest Theatre in Sacramento. The festival played two award winning documentaries, Vincent Who? and The Manzanar Fishing Club,  about critical historical issues that shaped today's APIA community. The Asian & Pacific Islander (API) Legislative Caucus commemorated the 30th Anniversary of the death of Vincent Chen with Asian Pacific Americans for Progress through a Nationwide Digital Town Hall.  Assemblymembers Mike Eng, Warren Furutani, Mary Hayashi, and Fiona Ma departed the Legislature at the end of year.

2013
The API Legislative Caucus Members elected Assemblymember Paul Fong and Assemblymember Das Williams to serve as chair and vice-chair, respectively.   Assemblymember Paul Fong appointed Assemblymember Mariko Yamada to serve as Parliamentarian. The Senate had three APIA Members including Senators Ted Lieu, Carol Liu, and Leland Yee. Joining Assemblymember Richard Pan in the Assembly were four newly elected APIA Members including Assemblymembers Rob Bonta, Ed Chau, Al Muratsuchi, and Phil Ting. Assemblymember Bonta, notably, is the first Filipino American to serve in the California State Legislature. The Caucus maintained a historic high of eleven Members in the California State Legislature. The year started with the first annual API Legislative Caucus Welcome Back Reception. In February, the API Legislative Caucus partnered with the historic Frank Fats for the first annual Lunar New Year Reception.  The API Legislative Caucus also organized the first APIA Heritage Month Gala to coincide with the APIA Heritage Month Floor Ceremony to honor leaders in the APIA community.

2014
Assemblymember Paul Fong and Assemblymember Das Williams continued to serve as the API Legislative Caucus chair and vice-chair, respectively. Assemblymember Paul Fong appointed Assemblymember Rob Bonta to serve as Parliamentarian.

Since the establishment of the API Caucus, its members have authored and supported a wide array of legislation benefiting the APIA community, including in the areas of civil rights, language access, health disparities, hate crime prevention, consumer protection, and cultural preservation. Members serve in key leadership positions in the Assembly and Senate that allow them to have maximum influence on the State's policymaking process and its subsequent impact on the APIA community.

During its thirteen year history, the Caucus has worked to fulfill its mission of representing and advocating for the diverse interests of the APIA communities throughout the state. Other Caucus activities have included: serving as a resource to the community and assisting with advocacy efforts, convening the annual API Policy Summit, holding joint briefings and hearings with other ethnic Caucuses and community groups on issues of common interest, and supporting the activities of the Commission on Asian Pacific Islander American Affairs.

2022

Dr. Jasmeet Bains, newly elected Assemblymember to Assembly District 35, first Indian-origin Sikh woman to be elected to the California State Assembly, and to California’s AAPI Legislative Caucus.

Aisha Wahab, newly elected State Senator to Senate District 10, first Afghan-American woman to be elected to the California Senate, and to California’s AAPI Legislative Caucus.