On Jan. 6, Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger submitted his revised reorganization plan to the Little Hoover Commission, continuing to call for the elimination of the Commission and Pacific Islander American Affairs.
The Little Hoover Commission plays an advisory role in the reorganization process and will be holding a public hearing in Sacramento tomorrow on Jan. 28. It will present its recommendations to the Legislature in another month.
“It’s a very bad sign to send to the API community that fought very hard to get this commission,” said Philip Ting, a member of the commission and executive director of the Asian Law Caucus in San Francisco.
The commission does not use any taxpayer money, and commissioners spend their own money to attend meetings, Ting said. The governor wants the responsibilities of the commission, along with those of other bodies such as the Commission on the Status of Women, to be fulfilled by a proposed new Governor’s Office of Community Affairs that would be “directly accountable to the governor for the success or failure of the programs operated by these separate agencies.”
However, the current commission’s strength is that its members come directly from the community and are independent, said Diane Ujiiye, another commissioner and co-chair of the Asian Pacific Islanders’ California Action Network (APIsCAN), a statewide network of over 50 API groups.
“We’ve often had a folding chair at the table,” Ujiiye said. “We want one of those big chairs with the cushy arms. That’s the way we make sure our concerns are heard.”
“By eliminating us and incorporating us, that actually increases the payroll cost to the state,” said Dr. Norman Hui, the chair of the commission, referring to the increased staffing costs.
Despite the threat to its nascent one-year-old existence, the commission has continued to prod forward, releasing a report last month that called for outreach, training and resources on four issues: English-language education programs, translation at government agencies, hate crimes against APIs and new Hmong refugees.
The commission’s first public event was a daylong hearing in Sacramento last year on the resettlement of new Hmong refugees. This year, the commission is still planning to follow up on the issues detailed in the report as well as examine the problem of gambling in the API community.
The idea for the commission came from APIsCAN and was introduced by then Assemblyman George Nakano (D-Torrance). In 2002, his bill was passed and signed by Gov. Gray Davis.
“It’s an extremely important step forward to have this kind of commission,” Nakano said. “They really don’t have an argument for eliminating it.”
Because the commission was established by the Legislature, Schwarzenegger cannot eliminate it without the Legislature’s approval.
“The proposal to abolish [the commission] does not make fiscal sense and decreases the ability of APIs to participate in government,” wrote Assemblywoman Judy Chu (D-Monterey Park). “Additionally, the establishment of this commission has become a historic moment for APIs.”
Commission on Asian and Pacific Islander American Affairs
Philip Ting (governor’s appointment)
executive director, Asian Law Caucus
Fritz Friedman (governor’s appointment)
senior vice president, Sony Pictures Home Entertainment
David Kim (governor’s appointment)
general manager, Overture Services
Akemi Arakaki (governor’s appointment)
lawyer, Los Angeles County Public Defender’s Office
Diane Ujiiye (governor’s appointment)
prevention director, Asian American Drug Abuse Program Inc.
Ann T. Nguyen (Senate appointment)
district representative, office of state Sen. Deborah Ortiz
Alexis Wong (Senate appointment) president, AGI Capital Group
Francisco Hsieh (Senate appointment)
president, Hsieh Public Relations
Charles Woo (Senate appointment) founder and CEO, Megatoys
Albert Seto (Assembly appointment)
owner, Seto’s Construction
Paul Osaki (Assembly appointment)
executive director, Japanese Cultural & Community Center of Northern California
Luisa Blue (Assembly appointment)
president, Asian Pacific American Labor Alliance
Dr. Norman Hui (Assembly appointment)
self-employed dentist