SENATE BILL REPORT
SB 5264
As of January 27, 2021
Title: An act relating to declaring January as Chinese American history month and encouraging public schools to commemorate the month.
Brief Description: Declaring January as Chinese American history month and encouraging public schools to commemorate the month.
Sponsors: Senators Wagoner, Brown, Conway, Das, Dhingra, Hasegawa, Honeyford, Kuderer, Lovelett, Pedersen, Rivers, Schoesler, Stanford, Warnick and Wilson, C..
Brief History:
Committee Activity: State Government & Elections: 1/29/21.
Brief Summary of Bill
  • Declares January of each year as Chinese American history month.
SENATE COMMITTEE ON STATE GOVERNMENT & ELECTIONS
Staff: Melissa Van Gorkom (786-7491)
Background:

In 2000, Washington declared May of each year to be Asian Pacific American Heritage Month.  According to the 2010 census, the Asian population grew faster than any other race group in the United States between 2000 and 2010.  As of the 2010 census, there are about 4 million people of Chinese decent alone or in combination in the United States, a growth of 40 percent since the 2000 census.  Washington is home to the seventh-largest Chinese American population in the United States.  The 2010 census documented 94,198 people of Chinese descent alone living in Washington.

 

In 2019, Washington declared October of each year Filipino American History Month.
Summary of Bill:

The state declares that January of each year is Chinese American history month.


Public schools are encouraged to designate time for appropriate activities in commemoration of Chinese American history month and the lives, history, achievements, and contributions of Chinese Americans.
Appropriation: None.
Fiscal Note: Not requested.
Creates Committee/Commission/Task Force that includes Legislative members: No.
Effective Date: Ninety days after adjournment of session in which bill is passed.