SACRAMENTO, CA – The California Asian American & Pacific Islander (AAPI) Legislative Caucus, composed of 11 members of the State Assembly and Senate, announces its 2025 Policy Priorities Package. The Caucus’ priority legislation are bills that fall under three priority issue areas, including bills that support immigrant communities, expand affordable housing, and support students in K-12 education and higher education:
Supporting Immigrant Communities
AB 262 (Assemblymember Jessica Caloza) – Establishes a state-level grant program to provide direct financial assistance to individuals, local agencies, and community organizations when federal disaster aid is unavailable or delayed.
AB 413 (Assemblymember Mike Fong) – Requires the Housing and Community Development Department to translate any services and guidelines into the top five languages other than English spoken in the homes of Californians.
AB 1362 (Assemblymember Ash Kalra) – Closes a loophole in current labor law by clarifying that all foreign labor contractors have worker rights as temporary immigrant workers, with only two exceptions: J-1 visas and talent agency recruiters.
Housing
AB 239 (Assemblymember John Harabedian) – Establishes a State-Led Disaster Housing Task Force, jointly convened by the California Department of Housing and Community Development and the Office of Emergency Services, to coordinate and streamline disaster housing recovery efforts among state, federal, and local agencies; appoints a State Disaster Housing Coordinator to oversee funding distribution and technical assistance; among others.
AB 863 (Assemblymember Ash Kalra) – Requires a translated eviction notice, complaint, and summons to be provided to tenants who have either negotiated their lease in another language or if the landlord has reason to believe they speak one of the top five non-English languages in California as their primary language: Spanish, Chinese, Tagalog, Vietnamese, and Korean.
SB 509 (Senator Anna Caballero/Assemblymember Dr. Jasmeet Bains co-author) – Requires the Office of Emergency Services to work in cooperation with the Commission on Peace Officer Standards and Training to develop a training on recognizing and responding to transnational repression. The bill also defines transnational repression in order to provide clarity to law enforcement, and specifies that it is state policy to protect Californians against transnational repression and hold foreign governments accountable for committing those acts.
Education
AB 49 (Assemblymember Al Muratsuchi) – Prohibits U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officers from entering a school site or child care facility for any purpose without providing valid identification, a written statement of purpose, a valid judicial warrant, and approval from the school district's superintendent or director of the child care center. The bill also requires that if an ICE official meets the requirements to enter a school site or childcare facility, their access would be restricted to where students or children are not present.
AB 695 (Assemblymember Mike Fong) – Establishes the CA Community Colleges Access and Continuity for Deported Students Act to provide deported California Community Colleges students the opportunity to continue their education online after leaving the United States.
AB 1348 (Assemblymember Dr. Jasmeet Bains) – Makes immigration enforcement activities that result in mass absences in schools a qualifying event for the purpose of calculating average daily attendance for funding after an emergency.
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The California Asian America & Pacific Islander Legislative Caucus represents and advocates for the interest of the diverse AAPI communities throughout California. It seeks to increase Asian Americana & Pacific Islander participation and representation in all levels of government.
Contact:
Sophia Kwong Kim
sophia.kwong@asm.ca.gov