After a clamorous legislative session, including organizing our 2023 FilAm Policy Symposium and Advocacy Day in Sacramento, our Coalition took a short break and returned last week for a mid-year inflection-reflection point.
Last week, our statewide Coalition of FilAm nonprofits, grassroots organizations and CBOs gathered to reflect upon our successes and lessons learned from this legislative cycle. Among those successes, hosting our first in-person Advocacy Day at the State Capital since 2019 and facilitating a series of budget and advocacy workshops for our members.
Our statewide policy platform consisted of advocating for Ethnic Studies credentialing with AB 1255, reinstating Cultural Heritage District funding through AB 1382 to support the economic revitalization and community development efforts of neighborhoods and districts holding significance to Filipino American history such as Little Manila in Stockton, SoMA Pilipinas in San Francisco, Pinoytown in San Jose, and Historic Filipino in Los Angeles. Lastly, we advocated for establishing Hate Crimes reporting standards with AB 449.
While AB 1255 sits as a two-year bill, we’re organizing support letters and closely watching ABs 1382 and 449 to move them through the committee process.
All bills introduced this year will either make it or not make it, but the deadline to be passed to the Governor’s desk is September 14th.
We will keep everyone updated through these developments and shout outs to our FIERCE Coalition member organizations:
Amado Khaya Initiative
Asian Pacific Islander Community Actions (APICA)
Bayanihan Desert
Bulosan Center for Filipino Studies
Empowering Marginalized Asian Communities (EMAC)
Filipino American Educators Association of California (FAEAC)
Filipino Advocates for Justice (FAJ)
Little Manila Rising
National Federation of Filipino American Associations (NaFFAA) NorCal Region
Pilipino American Los Angeles Democrats (PALAD)
Philippine National Day Association
SoMA Pilipinas
