Senate Concurrent Resolution No. 103

Introduced by Senator De León

March 27, 2014

Senate Concurrent Resolution No. 103—Relative to California/El Salvador relations.

LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL’S DIGEST

SCR 103, as introduced, De León. California and El Salvador: partnership.

This measure would extend an invitation to the government of El Salvador to partner with California to promote democratic institutions, the rule of law, and economic opportunity and growth, and to foster international understanding through increased trade and investment and mutually beneficial educational, economic, and cultural exchanges between California’s and El Salvador’s institutions.

Fiscal committee: no.

WHEREAS, The Legislature of the State of California is
committed to encouraging relationships and exchanges between
California and other regions of the world in order to promote better
economic ties, understanding, and cultural relations; and

WHEREAS, El Salvador and California have long shared
common interests and each stand to benefit from increased trade,
investment, and tourism, as well as cultural, educational, and
scientific exchanges; and

WHEREAS, The 12-year Salvadoran Civil War, which began
in the early 1980’s and took the lives of over 75,000 Salvadorans,
resulted in a massive influx of refugees to California, specifically
to Los Angeles and San Francisco; and

WHEREAS, The City of Los Angeles, a sister city to San
Salvador, is home to the largest concentration of Salvadoran
nationals in the United States, making it inextricably linked to the
nation of El Salvador; and

WHEREAS, Of the 1.6 million Salvadorans who live in the
United States, more than 500,000 call California home. Salvadorans
constitute the second largest Latino community in California, and
live in major cities such as San Francisco and Los Angeles; and

WHEREAS, The state’s 22nd Senate District encompasses the
neighborhoods of Pico-Union and Westlake, where many
Salvadoran refugees settled during the Salvadoran Civil War and
is also home to a plaza and statue in commemoration of the
humanitarian Monsignor Oscar A. Romero in MacArthur Park;
and

WHEREAS, El Salvador and California are committed by the
historic cultural relations between their people, which represents
an important opportunity to promote economic, commercial,
cultural, and business relations; and

WHEREAS, Establishing a formal relationship between El
Salvador and California would help achieve important goals, and
would strengthen and facilitate additional mutually beneficial
exchanges in cities like sister cities Los Angeles and San Salvador;
and

WHEREAS, March 24, 2014 is a special occasion, as it will
mark the 34th Anniversary of the Martyrdom of Monsignor Oscar
A. Romero, whose tomb President Obama visited on March 23,
2011; and

WHEREAS, Monsignor Romero is a historical icon of the
Salvadoran people, and in that spirit, the State of California joins
President Obama, the City of Los Angeles, the Salvadoran
community, the government of El Salvador, and millions of
followers in El Salvador and around the world, in paying tribute
to his life and teachings; and

WHEREAS, El Salvador recently held a presidential election
on March 9, 2014, that according to international observers,
including the Organization of American States (OAS), the United
Nations, and hundreds of United States citizens, was free and
democratic, and for which the Supreme Electoral Tribunal (TSE)
was praised, for the election’s transparency and professionalism;
and

WHEREAS, The State of California joins the United Nations,
international observers, the OAS, and many civil and religious
organizations in recognizing the work of the TSE, and calls upon
the two major political parties to respect the will of the people as
demonstrated by the March 9th election, and to respect the final
outcome announced by the TSE, which has the legal mandate under
the Salvadoran Constitution; and

WHEREAS, The State of California will work closely with the
newly democratically elected government of El Salvador, and
President-elect Salvador Sánchez Cerén, to promote private
investment in both El Salvador and California, and encourage
Californian private companies to invest in El Salvador; and

WHEREAS, The United States prospered from a $692.6 million
trade surplus with El Salvador in 2013; now, therefore, be it

Resolved by the Senate of the State of California, the Assembly
thereof concurring, That the Legislature, on behalf of the people
of the State of California, hereby extends an invitation to the
government of El Salvador to partner with California to promote
democratic institutions, the rule of law, and economic opportunity
and growth, and to foster international understanding through
increased trade and investment and mutually beneficial educational,
economic, and cultural exchanges between California’s and El
Salvador’s institutions; and be it further

Resolved, That the Secretary of the Senate transmit copies of
this resolution to the President of El Salvador, to the Governor of
California, and to the author for appropriate distribution.