A major legislative focus, Assembly Bill 91 was introduced on January 6th by Assemblymember John Harabedian, who also serves as Chair of the Armenian Legislative Caucus Foundation. This bicameral, bipartisan coalition\u2014now the largest it has ever been\u2014consists of 50 lawmakers dedicated to promoting Armenian-American interests in the California State Legislature. AB-91 would mandate state and local agencies in California that collect demographic data to expand their classifications to include major Middle Eastern, North African, and other transnational regional groups in all official public forms and documentation. Such agencies would also be required to report the data they\u2019ve collected to the US Census Bureau prior to each centennial survey. As part of the bill\u2019s effort, Armenians would be counted separately alongside 30 other distinct groups indigenous to the region and its surrounding area.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Armenian-Americans are currently grouped under the \u201cwhite\u201d category in demographic data, which has led to significant underrepresentation for the community both in California and across the United States due to the label\u2019s broad parameters and the lack of distinct ethnic and national sub-categories attributed to it in most public forms. This \u2018data invisibility\u2019 can limit Armenian-Americans\u2019 access to vital resources, including state and federal funding, scholarships, and grants for community-based initiatives such as cultural programs and events. AB-91 aims to mitigate these disparities by ensuring a more precise, inclusive, and representative classification of Armenian-Americans and other historically undercounted communities within California\u2019s diverse population. The size and strength of our local community add weight to the urgency and importance of this effort, as California is home to the largest Armenian community in the United States and also represents the second-largest Armenian diaspora in the world. The bill is scheduled to be heard in the Assembly Judiciary Committee on March 25th, 2025, at 8 AM PST. We encourage members of the Armenian-American community to watch the live hearing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Senate Bill 472 \u2013 Holocaust and Genocide Education Grant Program<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Although the Armenian Genocide is included in California\u2019s Curriculum Frameworks and Instructional Materials, its instruction varies widely across classrooms statewide. Senate Bill 472, introduced by Senator Henry Stern with co-sponsorship from Senators Benjamin Allen and Scott Wiener, aims to address this inconsistency by establishing the \u2018Holocaust and Genocide Education Grant Program\u2019. Pending a final budget determination by the state legislature, this program would allocate a dedicated funding stream from the State Treasury to local educational agencies in California with the stated aim of enhancing curricula and training educators to effectively teach about the Holocaust and other genocides in public schools, which would include the Armenian Genocide. Advocating for the expansion of Armenian Genocide education has been a longstanding priority for the ANCA-WR and the wider Armenian-American community, and we remain committed to ensuring SB-472 secures the necessary support in both chambers. No hearing has been scheduled for this bill as of March 14th, 2025.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Legislative Meetings<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n From Monday, March 10th, to Tuesday, March 11th, ANCA-WR and ANCA-NorCal met with the following offices:<\/p>\n\n\n\n California State Senate:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n California State Assembly:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cWe have many allies in the California State Legislature, and we are grateful for their strong support of our communities across the state. The California Armenian Legislative Caucus is the largest it\u2019s ever been at 50 members strong. We must maintain our momentum as a community to ensure our priorities and concerns are heard,\u201d stated Oshin Harootoonian, Chair of ANCA-WR Board of Directors. The ANCA-WR office, in coordination with our regional chapter in Northern California, continues to monitor legislative priorities and issues pertinent to the Armenian-American community in the Golden State. In the coming weeks, we hope to join more members of the California State Legislature in local meetings at their district offices<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" On March 10th and 11th, representatives from the Armenian National Committee of America – Western Region joined the ANCA Northern California chapter for a two-day advocacy round in Sacramento. ANCA-NorCal is a regional chapter of ANCA-WR that represents local chapters ANCA San Francisco, ANCA Silicon Valley, and ANCA Sacramento. The delegation, which included ANCA-WR Chair […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":23390,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[115],"tags":[129,384],"class_list":["post-23380","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news","tag-anca-western-region","tag-384"],"yoast_head":"\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/ancnews.info\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/WR2-947x1024.jpg\")
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