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Welcome

Welcome to the California Asian & Pacific Islander (API) Legislative Caucus website. Here you will find information about the Members and activities of the API Legislative Caucus. There are also resources, such as past publications and legislative priorities, which are provided to assist you in better understanding and connecting with the legislative process.

Accounting for about 16% of the state's population, Asian and Pacific Islander Americans (APIA) continue to be among the fastest growing racial and ethnic groups in the state. California is home to about one-third of the nation's APIA population. As part of the substantial demographic shift in recent decades, the Caucus was founded in 2001 and serves to represent and advocate for the interests of the APIA community, including increasing APIA representation and participation at all levels of government.

The API Legislative Caucus will continue to serve, represent, and advocate for the interests of the APIA community and all Californians. With the continued growth and political involvement of the APIA community, we hope to continue addressing the needs of this population in order to bring positive changes to our communities. Please contact us with your thoughts and suggestions as they are valuable to us.

Representing, Connecting & Elevating
the Community

Represent

Represent and serve as ambassadors for the Asian American & Pacific Islander community in California’s government.

WHY: Accounting for about 16% of the state’s population, Asian American & Pacific Islanders (AAPI) continue to be among the fastest growing ethnic groups. However, we are still the most underrepresented. California has the highest number of AAPI eligible voters in the United States, 4,177,936 people (Pew Research Center). Californian AAPI voters have demonstrated our ability to shape and influence election results through increased voter eligibility, representation, community organizing, and civic engagement.

HOW: Through active participation in government from the AAPI community in 2021, we successfully elected three new AAPI women to the California State Legislature! Our dedication to diverse representation within our own Caucus establishes integrity with the AAPI community by supporting stronger advocacy for AAPI issues.

Connect

Fight to make sure that the Asian American & Pacific Islander community’s issues are seen and voices are heard in California’s government.

WHY: Collaboration establishes unity, shared knowledge, and understanding that generates opportunities for change.

HOW: Partnerships within and across our communities develop relationships of unity that permits more fruitful opportunities for our current and future endeavors.

Elevate

Uplift the Asian American & Pacific Islander community and be an ally to others.

WHY: Uplifting the community will become mainstream to educate people on AAPI heritage and community members who have helped impact the lives of all Californians thus celebrating their legacy.

HOW: The AAPILC was able to continue this mission by highlighting leaders in the AAPI community during AAPI heritage month, as well as, having various AAPI celebrations acknowledged as official holidays in California. These are major strides for AAPI representation and we hope to continue educating the public about AAPI contributions to society as well as our culture and heritage.
 

The AAPI Equity Budget

On July 12, 2021, the California legislature and Governor Newsom passed the Asian and Pacific Islander (API) Equity budget. The API Equity Budget, sponsored by the API Legislative Caucus, is a historic 3-year investment of $166.5 million in California’s API community. The budget will be used to fund critical resources in response to the surge in anti-API hate, as well as address the longstanding racial inequities that have harmed the API community for generations.

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