BILL NUMBER: ACR 100 AMENDED
BILL TEXT
AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY JUNE 4, 2014
AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY APRIL 21, 2014
INTRODUCED BY Assembly Member Alejo
(Coauthors: Assembly Members Ammiano, Bocanegra, Campos, Cooley,
Daly, Eggman, Garcia, Gonzalez, Jones-Sawyer, V. Manuel Pérez,
Rendon, Rodriguez, Stone, Wieckowski, and Williams)
(Coauthors: Senators Correa, Hueso, Lara, Leno, Monning, and
Torres)
FEBRUARY 19, 2014
Relative to relations with El Salvador.
LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST
ACR 100, as amended, Alejo. Relations with El Salvador.
This measure would extend an invitation to the people of
El Salvador to join California and commit to the development of
programs to foster social, economic, educational, scientific, and
cultural programs in order to strengthen the democratization process
and economic development of El Salvador and to promote economic ties
and to improve international understanding and goodwill.
encourage the Governor's Office of Business and Economic
Development to work in coordination with the Legislature to develop
comprehensive trade promotion and foreign investment activities that
encourage stronger economic ties with El Salvador.
Fiscal committee: no yes .
WHEREAS, El Salvador and California are both centers for cultural
and economic exchange; and
WHEREAS, El Salvador and California share common cultural ties,
similar early history during the period of Spanish colonization, and
strong family ties among sectors of their populations; and
WHEREAS, California has the largest number of foreign born
residents from El Salvador in the nation, with the Cities of Los
Angeles and San Francisco having the largest concentration of
Salvadorans in California; and
WHEREAS, California is currently the eighth largest economy in the
world and depends on international trade, which can be enhanced by
the economic development of foreign trade partners; and
WHEREAS, More than 4.4 million jobs in California depend on
international trade, with trade-related employment being one of the
strongest growing and well-paying labor sectors in the state; and
WHEREAS, El Salvador has an emerging global economy with close
cultural and demographic ties to California, providing the state a
unique opportunity to engage in binational economic development
activities; and
WHEREAS, Salvadoran-Americans constitute the second largest Latino
community in California, numbering totaling
over one million throughout the state and 6 percent of all
immigrants nationwide; and
WHEREAS, In 2010, the Legislature officially established the area
between Adams Boulevard and 11th Street on Vermont Avenue in the City
of Los Angeles as the El Salvador Community Corridor, which is now
home to more than 100 Salvadoran businesses; and
WHEREAS, California's educational and academic communities,
through casework and research studies carried out by prestigious
research institutions, have recognized the significant cultural and
economic contributions of the Salvadoran-American community in
California; and
WHEREAS, Salvadoran-American workers in California support our
economy with indispensable labor, which in turn provides remittances
to families in El Salvador, totaling 16.7 percent of El Salvador's
gross domestic product in 2012, the largest percentage in any Latin
American country; and
WHEREAS, The United States prospered from a $692.6
$731 million trade surplus with El Salvador in
2013; and
WHEREAS, El Salvador and California would both benefit from
increased trade, investment, and tourism, and increased
cultural, educational, and scientific exchanges
tourism, and business partnerships ; and
WHEREAS, The United States dollar is used as a medium of exchange
in El Salvador, which encourages the United States to import and
export goods and services; and
WHEREAS, President Barack Obama initiated the Presidential Policy
Directive on Global Development in 2010, which identified El Salvador
as one of four select countries chosen for increased foreign
investment based on their track record of partnering with the United
States, policy performance, and the potential for continued economic
growth; and
WHEREAS, The Legislature is committed to encouraging relationships
and exchanges between California and other regions of the world in
order to promote better economic ties, understanding, and cultural
relations; and
WHEREAS, Establishing a relationship between El Salvador and
California would help achieve these goals, and would stimulate and
facilitate additional mutually beneficial exchanges; and
WHEREAS, In September 2013, El Salvador was awarded a $277 million
grant by the United States to improve El Salvador's competitiveness
and productivity in international markets; and
WHEREAS, Currently, the World Bank lending portfolio in El
Salvador comprises $290 million in commitments for projects including
training services and job placement for poor people in urban areas,
increasing access to the labor market, strengthening local
governments, and improving public education; and
WHEREAS, The California Legislature recognizes the potential for
mutually beneficial gains resulting from El Salvador's economic
development and is committed to encouraging exchanges with El
Salvador in order to promote better economic ties through means
including, but not limited to, all of the following:
(a) Supporting economic development activities of the Salvadoran
foreign consulate trade officials located in California to establish
partnerships to serve as platforms for expanding California exports
and promoting California as a destination for investment.
(b) Developing a series of export-related seminars and webinars
on best exporting practices, protecting intellectual property rights,
and utilizing the Governor's Office of Business and Economic
Development (GO-Biz) support services and other related topics.
(c) Hosting incoming Salvadoran delegations in order to promote
Californian products and services, encourage foreign investment, and
expand economic exchange.
(d) Facilitating trade missions to El Salvador to promote
California products and services in prioritized industries; and
WHEREAS, El Salvador is also committed to
developing a cooperative relationship with California
pursuing mutually beneficial economic activities with California
; now, therefore, be it
Resolved by the Assembly of the State of California, the Senate
thereof concurring, That the Legislature of the State of California
, encourages on behalf of the
people of the State of California, hereby extends an invitation to
the people of El Salvador to join California and commit to the
development of programs to foster social, economic, educational,
scientific, and cultural programs in order to strengthen the
democratization process and economic development of El Salvador and
to promote economic ties and improve international understanding and
goodwill; and be it further Go-Biz, to work in
coordination with the Legislature to develop and implement
comprehensive trade promotion and foreign investment activities that
encourage stronger economic ties with El Salvador. These activities
will identify opportunities to work with El Salvador and
Salvadoran businesses to support California priority exports to E
l Salvador and Salvadoran investments in California; and
be it further
Resolved, That the Chief Clerk of the Assembly transmit copies of
this resolution to the President of El Salvador, President Barack
Obama, and the Governor of California.