ACA7, the legislative proposal to work around and effectively handicap Prop. 209, is not going to get on this year’s general election ballot!

June 27th was the last day for a legislative measure to qualify for the November 5th, 20-2024 general election ballot. Since the California State Senate has not scheduled any committee hearing for ACA7, we can conclude that the proposal is not headed towards the ballot this year.

With a Democratic supermajority in Sacramento and the state assembly’s strong push to revive racial discrimination through ACA7, this development is certainly a pleasant surprise. By contrast, ACA8 - another priority legislation for the Legislative Black Caucus under the scheme of “reparations” and introduced at around the same time as ACA7**, has been sailing smoothly without strong organized opposition** and is anticipated to get on the ballot. Diligence, persistence and resistance are paying off.

CFER took on the task to educate Californians about the proposal, while CFER leaders, in their individual and volunteer capacity, played an instrumental role in the success.

In June 2023, CFER blew the whistle on ACA7, after being alerted to it by our friends at the California Family Council. We continuously monitored all the committee hearings in the California Assembly, sent various action alerts and greatly raised public awareness on the important issue of equal rights in California.

More importantly, CFER team members have volunteered time and efforts for the “No on ACA7” campaign, which is triumphant in sparing the California electorate from having to vote on government-sponsored discrimination again. Professor Gail Heriot, veteran co-chair of the Prop. 209 campaign and CFER’s Executive Vice President, took the lead and chaired the “No on ACA7” campaign. In the past six months, Gail worked tirelessly to lobby all state senators with poignant arguments against ACA7. She led all the zoom calls and in-person meetings with senators and their staffers, participated in most of the No on ACA7 rallies and wrote a number of excellent essays on the topic. Her true leadership and service inspired many of us to follow in her steps. In the victory statement, Gail wrote:

“This is a big win for us. And this is a win for all Californians.”

Many partner organizations, including the Center for Equal Opportunity, Pacific Legal Foundation, Equal Rights for All Pac, Parents Defending Education Action, National Association of Scholars, San Diego Asian Americans for Equality and Silicon Valley Chinese Association Foundation, joined CFER in the “No on ACA7” coalition. Check out the complete list for our coalition here.

Certainly, averting another attempt to legalize discrimination takes more than a short-term campaign. It is the culmination of longstanding efforts, including those undertaken by CFER, to monitor pertinent policy developments, build public awareness, mount legal challenges and educate the voters.

At the upcoming CFER conference “Defending the City upon a Hill: Promoting Equality, Merit and Free Speech” in August, Gail and CFER President Frank Xu will discuss the past and present of defending Prop. 209, with a focus on ACA7. CFER Executive Director Dr. Wenyuan Wu will moderate the panel. If you have not done it yet, register today for our annual event!

While Californians don’t have to decide on ACA7 in this November, the measure is still likely to be put on a subsequent ballot in 2026 or even earlier with a special election. On 6/14, ACA7 was assigned to the Senate Judiciary Committee and remains there for the time being. We will continue to monitor its status changes in the state senate and keep you updated. We will also closely monitor other race-based bills such as ACA8 and organize educational efforts to inform voters.

CFER made a critical contribution to making this important win a reality. We are proactively safeguarding the precious principle of equal protection for all Californians. Can you please donate to CFER to continuously support our indispensable work? We could have not made it this far without your financial support!