I went to Sacramento April 22 to attend the first committee hearing on Bill AB 1281. It took a lot of hard work by a lot of people to get there. Thank you to all the California people who wrote letters. Our bill was heard by the California Assembly Education Committee, chaired by The Honorable Julia Brownley.

I arrived early to meet with Assembly Member Anthony J. Portantino (D-Pasadena) and his Legislative Director, Diane Shelton.

The Education Committee had 20 bills to hear that afternoon and the room was packed, with standing room only. The committee members had our bill and the legislative analysis – which happened to be brilliantly written – and then Mr. Portantino and I were ready to give testimony. His testimony was passionate and inspiring, as he talked about the need for the bill and the fact that six people in his district office staff are multiracial. I talked about some of the history of Project RACE and explained why multiracial needs to be added to the California Department of Education forms that require race and ethnicity. There were a few questions, which we answered, a vote, and passage.

This is a great start for AB 1281, but it is far from over. Next the bill goes to Appropriations Committee, and if it passes there, it will go to a full floor vote of the assembly. Then the whole process starts over on the Senate side. If it passes all of those committees, it goes to Governor Schwarzenegger, who has been vetoing many bills.

Please keep the letters of support coming!

I would like to thank Assembly Member Portantino, his legislative director, Diane Shelton, the Assembly Education Committee, all of our supporters, and members of Project RACE and Teen Project RACE.

Susan Graham
Executive Director
Project RACE, Inc.