A Sacramento rally in support of AB-1726, including members of the Asian & Pacific Islander American Health Forum, Asian Health Services, Empowering Pacific Islander Communities, Southeast Asia Resource Action Center. The supporters included many members of the Hmong, Lao, and Mien-American communities. Photo courtesy of the Southeast Asia Resource Action Center

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Today, CAA is joining leading community-based organizations and civil rights groups in celebrating the passage of AB-1726. The new law will strengthen current efforts to identify health disparities within California’s diverse Asian American, Native Hawaiian, and Pacific Islander (AANHPI) communities.

The new law signed by Governor Brown requires the California Department of Public Health to expand the number of AANHPI groups for which they collect and report data to include Bangladeshi, Hmong, Indonesian, Malaysian, Pakistani, Sri Lankan, Taiwanese, Thai, Fijian, and Tongan Americans, among others. This will give state lawmakers a deeper understanding of these communities’ specific needs, provide effective and targeted solutions, and improve service delivery.

The enactment of AB-1726 is one of several significant victories for social justice and immigrant rights this year. SB-1015, the 2016 Domestic Workers Bill of Rights, was signed two weeks ago and will provide over 300,000 domestic workers in California with permanent overtime protections. It builds upon the original Domestic Workers Bill of Rights passed in 2013, which is due to expire in 2017. AB-1066 also became law that same day and will make farmworkers eligible for overtime pay after eight hours on the job or 40 hours in a single week.

CAA has been a proud supporter of these initiatives. We will continue to represent a Chinese and Asian American voice that is committed to the State’s most vulnerable, including those who are low-income, immigrants, and members of underserved communities. We welcome your input.

(By CAA     September 27, 2016 )