Amended in Assembly April 21, 2014

California Legislature—2013–14 Regular Session

Assembly Concurrent Resolution No. 100

Introduced by Assembly Member Alejo

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(Coauthors: Assembly Members Ammiano, Bocanegra, Campos, Cooley, Daly, Eggman, Garcia, Gonzalez, Jones-Sawyer, V. Manuel Pérez, Rendon, Rodriguez, Stone, Wieckowski, and Williams)

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(Coauthors: Senators Correa, Hueso, Lara, Leno, Monning, and Torres)

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February 19, 2014

Assembly Concurrent Resolution No. 100—Relative to relations with El Salvador.

LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL’S DIGEST

ACR 100, as amended, Alejo. Relations with El Salvador.

This measure would extend an invitation to the people of El Salvador to join California and commit to the development of programs to foster social, economic, educational, scientific, and cultural programs in order to strengthen the democratization process and economic development of El Salvador and to promote economic ties and to improve international understanding and goodwill.

Fiscal committee: no.

WHEREAS, El Salvador and California are begin delete economic centers
for commercial, industrial, and financial business end delete begin insert both centers for
cultural and economic exchange end insert ; and

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WHEREAS, El Salvador and California share common cultural
ties, similar early history during the period of Spanish colonization,
and strong family ties among sectors of their populations; and

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WHEREAS, California has the largest number of foreign born
residents from El Salvador in the nation, with the Cities of Los
Angeles and San Francisco having the largest concentration of
Salvadorans in California; and

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WHEREAS, Salvadoran-Americans constitute the second largest
Latino community in California, numbering begin delete close to 600,000 end delete begin insert over
one million end insert throughout the begin delete State end delete begin insert state end insert and 6 percent of all
immigrants nationwide; and

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WHEREAS, El Salvador and California share common cultural
ties, similar early history during the Spanish colonization, and
strong family ties among sectors of their populations, and the Cities
of Los Angeles and San Francisco have the largest concentration
of Salvadoran-Americans in California; and

end delete begin delete

WHEREAS, Although El Salvador and California share a great
deal in common, they are sufficiently different that both would
benefit from increased trade, investment, tourism, cultural,
educational, and scientific exchanges; and

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WHEREAS, In 2010, the Legislature officially established the
area between Adams Boulevard and 11th Street on Vermont Avenue
in the City of Los Angeles as the El Salvador Community Corridor,
which is now home to more than 100 Salvadoran businesses; and

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WHEREAS, California’s educational and academic
communities, through casework and research studies carried out
by prestigious research institutions, have recognized the significant
begin delete economic, cultural migratory, and political end delete begin insert cultural and economic end insert
contributions of the Salvadoran-American community in California;
and

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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

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WHEREAS, Salvadoran-American workers in California support
our economy with indispensable labor, which in turn provides
remittances begin insert to families end insert in El Salvador, totaling 16.7 percent of El
Salvador’s gross domestic product in 2012, the largest percentage
in any Latin begin delete county end delete begin insert American country end insert ; and

WHEREAS, The United States prospered from a $692.6 million
trade surplus with El Salvador in 2013; and

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WHEREAS, El Salvador has been recognized by President
Obama’s Presidential Policy Directive on Global Development as
one of four select countries chosen based on data indicating
economic gains resulting from increased foreign investment and
trade between both nations; and

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WHEREAS, El Salvador and California would both benefit from
increased trade, investment, and tourism, and increased cultural,
educational, and scientific exchanges; and

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WHEREAS, President Barack Obama initiated the Presidential
Policy Directive on Global Development in 2010, which identified
El Salvador as one of four select countries chosen for increased
foreign investment based on their track record of partnering with
the United States, policy performance, and the potential for
continued economic growth; and

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WHEREAS, The Legislature 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

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WHEREAS, Establishing a relationship between El Salvador
and California would help achieve these goals, and would stimulate
and facilitate additional mutually beneficial begin delete exchanges in cities
such as Los Angeles and San Salvador end delete begin insert exchanges end insert ; and

WHEREAS, El Salvador is committed to developing a
cooperative relationship with California; now, therefore, be it

Resolved by the Assembly of the State of California, the Senate
thereof concurring, That the Legislature of the State of California,
on behalf of the people of the State of California, hereby extends
an invitation to the people of El Salvador to join California and
commit to the development of programs to foster social, economic,
educational, scientific, and cultural programs in order to strengthen
the democratization process and economic development of El
Salvador and to promote economic ties and improve international
understanding and goodwill; and be it further

Resolved, That the Chief Clerk of the Assembly transmit copies
of this resolution to the President of begin delete the end delete El Salvador begin insert , President
Barack Obama, end insert and the Governor of California.