BILL ANALYSIS                                                                                                                                                                                                    Ó



                                                                            



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                                    THIRD READING


          Bill No:  SJR 23
          Author:   Huff (R)
          Amended:  As introduced
          Vote:     21

           
           SUBJECT  :    Chinese Americans in California

           SOURCE  :     Chinese American Citizens Alliance  Greater San  
          Gabriel Valley
                      Lodge


           DIGEST  :    This resolution acknowledges the history of the  
          Chinese in California, recognizes the contributions made to the  
          State of California by Chinese Americans and Chinese immigrants;  
          apologizes for past discriminatory laws and constitutional  
          provisions which resulted in the persecution of Chinese people  
          living in California; and requests Congress to adopt resolutions  
          of apology to the Chinese American community for enactment of  
          the Chinese Exclusion Laws.

           ANALYSIS  :    This resolution makes the following legislative  
          findings: 

          1.The Central Pacific portion of the transcontinental railroad  
            recruited the Chinese in America and later tens of thousands  
            of Chinese immigrants as a source of labor. Chinese in America  
            and Chinese immigrants were paid less than their white  
            counterparts and slept in tents while white laborers were  
            provided both food and shelter.  The Chinese laborers worked  
            under grueling and treacherous conditions in order to lay  
            thousands of miles of track.  On May 10, 1868, alone, Chinese  
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            workers laid 10 miles of track in less than 12 hours in order  
            to complete the last leg of the railroad. Without the  
            tremendous efforts and contributions of the Chinese in  
            building the transcontinental railroad, the development and  
            progress of our nation and California would have been delayed  
            by years.

          2.Once the transcontinental railroad was complete, Chinese in  
            California transitioned to other types of employment, making  
            considerable contributions to the progress and growth of our  
            state.  Chinese in California built ships for fishing along  
            our coast and developed the abalone and shrimp industries.  In  
            the Delta and the central valley, the Chinese in California  
            helped to recover the tule swamps, to build irrigation  
            systems, and to harvest various fruits and vegetables for  
            California's agriculture industry.

          3.The Legislature enacted discriminatory laws targeting Chinese  
            in America and Chinese immigrants in order to discourage  
            further immigration from China and sought to severely limit  
            the success of the Chinese laborers already here.

          4.Among other things, these laws denied the Chinese in  
            California the right to own land or property, the right to  
            vote, and the right to marry a white person, denied children  
            of Chinese descent access to public schools, denied Chinese  
            immigrants the right to bear arms, unfairly targeted women of  
            Chinese descent by imposing special requirements in order for  
            them to be allowed to immigrate into the state, authorized the  
            removal of Chinese immigrants to outside town and city limits,  
            denied Chinese laborers employment in public works projects  
            and through state agencies, prohibited the issuance of  
            licenses to Chinese in California, denied Chinese in  
            California the right to fish in California's waters, and  
            unduly taxed Chinese businesses and individuals who employed  
            Chinese laborers.

          5.Chinese in California were denied the right to testify as a  
            witness in any action or proceeding in which a white person  
            was a party, pursuant to a state law which was upheld in  
            People v. Hall (1854) 4 Cal. 399. As a result of the decision  
            to place Chinese in California outside of the protection of  
            the law, many Chinese in California were left extremely  
            vulnerable to violence and abuse.

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          6.Despite decades of systematic, pervasive, and sustained  
            discrimination, Chinese living in California persevered and  
            went on to make significant contributions to the growth and  
            success of our state.

          7.Today, Californians of Chinese descent occupy leading roles in  
            politics, business, and academia.  The contributions of  
            Chinese Americans to the State of California are vast and  
            irreplaceable.  They have played a central role in turning  
            California's university system, technology industry,  
            businesses, and agriculture into a world power.

          This resolution apologizes to the Chinese people for the  
          enactment of past discriminatory laws and constitutional  
          provisions which resulted in the persecution of Chinese living  
          in California, which forced them to live in fear of unjust  
          prosecutions on baseless charges, and which unfairly prevented  
          them from earning a living.  Reaffirms the Legislature's  
          commitment to preserving the rights of all people and  
          celebrating the contributions that all immigrants have made to  
          this state and nation, and requests Congress to adopt  
          resolutions of apology to the Chinese American community for the  
          enactment of the Chinese Exclusion Laws.

           Prior Legislation
           
          ACR 42 (Fong & De Leon, Resolution Chapter 79, Statutes of 2009)  
          expressed the Legislature's regret for enactment of past  
          discriminatory laws and constitutional provisions which resulted  
          in the persecution of Chinese living in California, and affirmed  
          its commitment to preserving the rights of all people and  
          celebrated the contributions that all immigrants have made to  
          the state and nation.  Most of the language from ACR 42 is  
          identical to SJR 23.  Unlike ACR 42 though, SJR 23 excludes  
          language relating to individual contributions of specific  
          Californians who are Chinese or of Chinese descent, and  
          apologizes, rather than expresses regret, for the state's  
          treatment of Chinese Americans and Chinese immigrants. 

          SR 201 (Senator Dianne Feinstein et al., 2011) stated that the  
          Senate acknowledged that the framework of anti-Chinese  
          legislation, including the Chinese Exclusion Act, is  
          incompatible with the basic founding principles of equality  

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          recognized in the Declaration of Independence and that it  
          regretted passing six decades of legislation targeting the  
          Chinese people for physical and political exclusion.

          HR 683 (Rep. Judy Chu, 2012), expressed regret for the passage  
          of legislation that adversely affected people of Chinese origin  
          in the United States because of their ethnicity.  It also  
          enumerated House of Representatives passed legislation and other  
          government policies that adversely affected Chinese persons in  
          the United States.

           FISCAL EFFECT  :    Fiscal Com.:  No

           SUPPORT  :   (Verified  4/23/14)

          Chinese American Citizens Alliance - Greater San Gabriel Valley  
          Lodge (source) 
          American and Chinese World War II Memorial Monument Association

           ARGUMENTS IN SUPPORT :    The resolution's sponsor states,  
          "Standard dictionaries distinguish major differences between  
          'regret' and 'apology.'  Those differences are also reflected in  
          many historical international negotiations and dialogs.  The  
          recognition by the California Legislature and Congress that an  
          apology is the appropriate action to be taken in redressing  
          prior legitimized discrimination is demonstrated by their  
          issuances of apologies for prior similar actions."

          "California has issued apologies to United States citizens and  
          legal residents of Mexico (2005), and Italians (2010),  
          Filipino-Americans (2011) and Japanese Americans (2013).   
          Congress has issued apologies to Japanese-Americans (1988),  
          Native Hawaiians (1993), African Americans (2009, 2009) and  
          Native Americans (2010)."


          AL:nl  4/30/14   Senate Floor Analyses 

                           SUPPORT/OPPOSITION:  SEE ABOVE

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