California Lawmaker Passes $1.4 Million Bill to Track Anti-Asian Attacks

February 24, 2021

In response to the spike in attacks against Asian Americans, California lawmakers are approving a significant amount to aid the Stop AAPI Hate reporting center in its efforts to fight anti-Asian racism.

In passing Assembly Bill 85 (AB85) on Monday, Assemblymember Phil Ting (D-San Francisco), who chairs the Assembly Budget Committee was able to help secure a total of $1.4 million in state funding for the organization, reports the Sacramento Bee.

Stop AAPI Hate will use the money in its ongoing research and tracking of anti-Asian incidents.

AB 85 is part of the Golden State Stimulus package that Gov. Gavin Newsom signed into law on Tuesday. The package provides $7.6 billion in additional resources for California’s ongoing COVID-19 response.

In a statement, Ting highlighted the importance of securing such an amount in helping to put a stop to the growing number of hate incidents.

“The rise in hate incidents against Asian Americans during the pandemic is alarming,” Ting said. “But, we can’t solve a problem without knowing how big it is. New state funding allows the data gathering to continue, and the research will ultimately lead us to solutions that will make all communities safer.”

Senator Richard Pan (D-Sacramento), who serves as chair of the Asian Pacific Islander Legislative Caucus, expressed appreciation of the approved funding.

“The history of the Asian American Pacific Islander community in the United States has been punctuated by times of racism and hate including the Chinese Exclusion Act, the unjust incarceration of Japanese Americas in World War II, the murder of Vincent Chin, hate crimes against Sikhs after 9/11, and most recently, attacks and murder of API seniors incited by racist rhetoric about the COVID pandemic,” Pan said in a statement.

The Asian Pacific Policy and Planning Council, Chinese for Affirmative Action and San Francisco State University’s Asian American Studies department created the Stop AAPI Hate’s reporting center in March of last year to monitor anti-Asian discrimination across the country.

The center received 2,583 self-reported incidents of anti-Asian discrimination from all over the country in its first five months alone. Over 40% of those reports were from California.

Do you have a hate incident to report? Help us document the recent rise in hate crimes against Asian Americans by going to STOP AAPI HATE to report an incident. Please stay safe out there.

Featured Image Screenshot via California Assembly Democrats

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