Applauds great work of China SF, Chamber to attract Chinese companies to San Francisco

San Francisco – Assemblymember Philip Y. Ting (D-San Francisco) continued his series of recognition events to highlight May as Asian Pacific Islander American Heritage Month. Today he acknowledged the great work of the San Francisco Office of Economic and Workforce Development, China SF, the San Francisco Chamber of Commerce and two of the many Chinese companies that have started or relocated to San Francisco.

“San Francisco is a city of bridges, including the one that links the two biggest economies in the world,” Ting, founder of ChinaSF and co-chair of its San Francisco Advisory Board, said at the event. “The United States and China realized they need partnerships at the city level, as cities hold the key to implementing bold business plans. San Francisco is perfectly positioned, and has the right systems in place to grow our region’s economy by facilitating business opportunities between the countries.”

San Francisco’s Office of Economic and Workforce Development, the China SF initiative and the San Francisco Chamber of Commerce work toward the ongoing economic vitality of San Francisco. Representatives from the organizations were recognized by Assemblymember Ting for that effort. In attendance were Executive Director ChinaSF Darlene Chiu Bryant, and San Francisco Chamber of Commerce President & CEO Bob Linscheid.

ChinaSF is involved with many aspects of San Francisco’s development beyond the core industries - including seeking investment for capital infrastructure, attracting Chinese business to set up their North America headquarters in San Francisco, and supporting San Francisco’s institutions of higher education and their opportunities in China. But their expertise in International business attraction and retention is what brings many companies to San Francisco, including GCL Solar and Asian Pacific International Capital. Executives from those companies also attended the Ting event.

“GCL Solar’s CEO Peter Xie, its president Yumin Liu, and Wilson Chen, president of Asian Pacific International Capital are here today because they are the pioneers forging a global economy,” Ting said. “The presence and growth of Chinese companies in San Francisco will contribute to the economic well-being of our City and lead to a healthy economic future for our partners. There is no limit to the business we can do together.”

Assemblymember Ting is the Chair of Assembly Democratic Caucus and the Assembly Select Committee on Asia/California Trade and Investment Promotion, and he serves on the Budget, Business, Professions and Consumer Protection, Environmental Safety and Toxic Materials and the Revenue and Taxation committees.

Assemblymember Phil Ting Congratulates Distinguished APIA Honoree andSan Franciscan, Chancellor Frank Wu

San Francisco – Assemblymember Philip Y. Ting (D-SF) highlighted May as Asian Pacific Islander American (APIA) Heritage Month today by acknowledging Frank Wu, a distinguishedrecipient of this year’s California Asian & Pacific Islander Legislative Caucus Awards. Wu is the Chancellor and Dean of UC Hastings School of Law in San Francisco.

“My friend Frank Wu is the son of immigrants who has risen to the pinnacles of American higher education leadership,” Ting said. “He is dedicated to civic engagement and volunteer service, and his writings and influence have made a difference in countless APIA communities as they struggle for equality. Dear to my heart is his intellectual pursuit of civil justice issues and his advocacy for constructive relations between the peoples of the United States and Greater China.”

Wu is the author of Yellow: Race in America Beyond Black and White, and co-author of Race, Rights and Reparation: Law and the Japanese American Internment, which received a major grant from the Civil Liberties Public Education Fund. He was appointed by the federal Department of Education to its National Advisory Committee on Institutional Quality and Integrity, which advises the administration on higher education accreditation, and by the Defense Department to the Military Leadership Diversity Commission, which submitted to Congress the report “From Representation to Inclusion”. He also served as a trustee of Gallaudet University, the only university in the world dedicated to deaf and hard of hearing persons, and he served on the Board of the Leadership Conference on Civil Rights Education Fund. Chancellor Wu is an elected member of the American Law Institute and a Fellow of the American Bar Foundation.

“The APIA community, San Francisco and California are fortunate to have such an eminent scholar in our midst,” added Ting. “I’m a proud member of the California State Legislature’s APIA Caucus, and our selection of Frank Wu as a distinguished honoree could not be more appropriate. He now officially has an esteemed place in California history.”

The California State Assembly celebrates May as APIA Heritage Month by commending California’s Asian & Pacific Islander American community for their notable accomplishments and outstanding service to the state. Awards are presented to distinguished APIAs during a special floor ceremony dedicated to honoring leaders who have demonstrated excellence in the areas of public service, mental health, higher education, journalism, ethnic studies, culinary arts, and civil rights. This year’s award recipients are:

Speaker of the Assembly John A. Pérez, Leadership and Vision Award; Associate Justice Goodwin Liu, California State Supreme Court, Excellence in Law; Chancellor and Dean Frank Wu, UC Hastings School of Law, Excellence in Education; Acting Director Sharon Hoshida, UC Santa Barbara Women’s Center, Excellence in Public Service; Legislative Director Angie Wei, California Federation of Labor, Excellence in Labor; Sammy Lee, U.S. Olympic double gold medalist in diving, Excellence in Sports.

Assemblymember Ting is the Chair of Assembly Democratic Caucus and the Assembly Select Committee on Asia/California Trade and Investment Promotion, and he serves on the Budget, Business, Professions and Consumer Protection, Environmental Safety and Toxic Materials and the Revenue and Taxation committees.

City Adopts Resolution to Support AB 362

Sacramento – Assemblymember Philip Y. Ting (D-San Francisco) applauded action taken this week by the Los Angeles City Council, whose members voted unanimously to adopt Resolution (Rosendahl-Wesson-Zine) in support of AB 362, Ting’s legislation to exempt from state taxation compensation provided by California employers to employees in same-sex partnerships.

“Whenever California’s biggest city weighs in on a statewide issue, Sacramento listens,” said Ting. “So it is very important for the momentum of AB 362 that the City of Los Angeles understands our legislation is a matter of fairness, and stands in solidarity with the LGBT community.”

Under existing law, employer sponsored health insurance provided to the partners and children of lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) employees in same-sex partnerships does not qualify for federal tax exemptions. As a result, same-sex couples incur on average an extra $1,069 in taxes per year. In response to this excessive tax burden, California employers have started to adopt policies to compensate their LGBT employees for this federal tax expense. However, under existing law, these reimbursements are subject to state income taxes. AB 362 would exempt these compensations from state taxation.

“Assemblymember Ting’s legislation is a fair approach for one of the 1,100 federal benefits offered to opposite sex couples only. So, until DOMA (Defense of Marriage Act) is deemed unconstitutional, we’ll just chip away at it,” said Los Angeles City Councilmember Bill Rosendahl, an author of the resolution. “A growing number of employers are recognizing the injustice of laws that deny federal marriage benefits to same sex partnerships. They should not be penalized for providing a benefit to all their employees.”

DOMA, enacted September 21, 1996, is a federal law that restricts federal marriage benefits and inter-state marriage recognition to opposite sex marriages. The U.S. Supreme Court heard an appeal to overturn DOMA with United States v. Windsor oral arguments on March 27, 2013. Their decision is expected in June.

“We know that discrimination can negatively impact the health of LGBT individuals and their families, so healthcare is paramount,” said Ting. “Treating healthcare coverage as some sort of luxury benefit is simply offensive. We’ll change that when AB 362 becomes law.”

AB 362 is sponsored by Equity California and supported by a number of organizations including, the San Francisco Chamber of Commerce, Facebook, and several labor and health organizations.

Assemblymember Ting is the Chair of Assembly Democratic Caucus and the Assembly Select Committee on Asia/California Trade and Investment Promotion, and he serves on the Budget, Business, Professions and Consumer Protection, Environmental Safety and Toxic Materials and the Revenue and Taxation committees.

Sacramento - Working to protect senior pedestrians, Assemblymember Philip Y. Ting (D-San Francisco) presented legislation yesterday that would encourage local transportation agencies to install “senior” pedestrian warning signs for at-risk sites such as senior centers and senior living complexes. AB 707, which authorizes local jurisdictions to request grant funding from California’s Pedestrian Safety Account to cover the costs of the pedestrian warning signs, passed the Assembly Transportation Committee on a unanimous vote.

"We owe our seniors the freedom to move about without the fear of being hit by fast-moving traffic," Ting said. "AB 707 will provide added safety to those areas where seniors congregate. By giving motorists a heads up with additional signage warning of senior pedestrians in close range, the number of accidents will be reduced."