California governor signs state budget that includes $157 million to fight anti Asian bias

California is taking historic steps to address the recent rise in hate incidents against Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders (AAPI). Gov. Gavin Newsom on Monday signed a $262.6 billion budget that includes $156.5 million to support victims of anti-Asian hate incidents, data collection and media outreach. 

The API Equity Budget sponsored by the API Legislative Caucus is among the most significant actions ever taken in response to the surge in anti-AAPI hate and violence over the past year and addresses racial inequities that have harmed AAPI communities since the 1800s.

“This funding is essential in addressing both the pandemic-related hate our community is facing and the racial inequities that have too long shaped the lives of California’s AAPI community," said state Senator Richard Pan, D-Sacramento, Chair of the API Legislative Caucus. 

“This sends a message to the API community that the State of California sees them and that we matter."

The majority of the funds, $110 million, will go to community groups who have been engaged in fighting the racist attacks and assisting the victims. Since the start of the pandemic, xenophobia and bigotry against the AAPI community have escalated to unprecedented levels. 

Stop AAPI Hate, a community organizing collecting reports of anti-Asian incidents  has received more than 6,600 reports of hate incidents since March 2020. Almost half of those incidents were reported in California, and these racist attacks have disproportionately affected the most vulnerable members of the community, including elders, young people, and AAPI women who report hate incidents two times as often as AAPI men.

The API Equity Budget is a small line item in the $260 billion-plus state budget  signed by Newsom. The budget can still be amended before the Legislature adjourns in September, but the API caucus is calling on Newsom to keep the fAPI Equity Budget intact in the final version.

“For decades, API communities have been longing to be seen and heard. The pandemic amplified the need to do more amid rising hate against Asian Americans. The state’s remarkable investment acknowledges this struggle by ensuring that victims have access to culturally competent services and resources," said said Assemblymember Phil Ting, D-San Francisco, Chair of the Assembly Budget Committee. 

"It also shores up research and data collection, so we can look at ways to prevent such attacks from happening in the first place. Every person has the right to shop, go to school and enjoy our neighborhoods safely without fear of being attacked. It is my hope that with this historic investment our communities feel safe once again.”

Following is a summary of where the funds will go:

• $10 million will provide support to Stop AAPI Hate to track, respond, and prevent incidents of racial bias and harm;
• $10 million will go to the AAPI Data project to increase accurate data collection and data equity on AAPI needs, challenges, and barriers;
• $10 million will go to anti-bias block grant to provide funding to schools to create restorative justice programs to address hate and macroaggressions early;
• $5 million will support a peer social media network project addressing bullying and mental health for children and youth;
• $1.5 million will go towards a workgroup to address education attainment for low income first generation AAPI college students, and support the Commission on Asian Pacific Islander American Affairs as it coordinates these programs; and
• $10 million will go to ethnic media outlets to reach AAPI and other underserved communities in California.

“Our communities have been vital to California since its founding in 1850,” said Karthick Ramakrishnan, Chair of the California Commission on Asian and Pacific Islander American Affairs. “These investments are unprecedented in the state’s history, and will go a long way to ensure that our state remains deeply inclusive and is able to harness the talents and contributions of everyone who calls California home.”

As the sponsor of this effort, the API Legislative Caucus built a strong partnership with the California Commission on APIA Affairs and the Stop AAPI Hate Coalition, and together mobilized and joined forces with over 150 AAPI and ally organizations to champion this historic bill.

“The challenge to root out systemic racism will not be completed overnight, but we now have the tools to expand services, invest in the hardest-hit neighborhoods, increase anti-bias education, and better track and prevent these cowardly attacks,”  said Assemblymember Evan Low, D-Silicon Valley, who serves as Vice Chair of the API Legislative Caucus.

The $263 billion-plus state budget can still be amended before the Legislature adjourns in September, but the API caucus is calling on Newsom to keep the fAPI Equity Budget intact in the final version.

“This is a really historic proposal because it's really a flashpoint for our community to stand up and to ask to be seen, but also ask to be heard,” said Ting.

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