Bill Text: CA ACR114 | 2023-2024 | Regular Session | Chaptered

California Assembly Concurrent Resolution 114

Bill Title: Cindy Montañez Day.

Spectrum: Moderate Partisan Bill (Democrat 65-18)

Status: (Passed) 2024-03-04 - Chaptered by Secretary of State - Res. Chapter 14, Statutes of 2024. [ACR114 Detail]

Download: California-2023-ACR114-Chaptered.html

Assembly Concurrent Resolution No. 114

CHAPTER 14

Relative to Cindy Montañez Day.

[ Filed with Secretary of State March 04, 2024. ]

LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST

ACR 114, Luz Rivas. Cindy Montañez Day.

This measure would declare that the Legislature honors the life and legacy of Cindy Montañez and declares January 19 as Cindy Montañez Day.

Fiscal Committee: NO

WHEREAS, Cindy Montañez is a lifelong Angeleno raised in the northeast San Fernando Valley. A daughter of immigrants, her mother was raised in a remote, mountainous region of the State of Veracruz, Mexico, and her father in the dry border State of Chihuahua; and

WHEREAS, Cindy’s parents ignited her passion for the environment and together the family would identify environmental injustices in their neighborhood. As a family, they participated in tree plantings and volunteered with local organizations when Cindy was just 12 years of age. They often visited state and national parks and the children were encouraged to pursue careers in social justice; and

WHEREAS, During her freshman year as a student at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA), Cindy participated in a 14-day hunger strike on campus that forced the university to start a Chicano Studies department, which led to the creation of the César E. Chávez Department of Chicana/o and Central American Studies. The department later became the second University of California campus to offer a doctorate degree in Chicana and Chicano Studies; and

WHEREAS, At 25 years of age, Cindy was elected as the youngest council member of her hometown of the City of San Fernando, California. She became mayor at 27 years of age, and at 28 years of age, she made history by becoming the youngest woman elected to the Legislature, where she became a champion for the environment, sustainable urban planning, and social justice; and

WHEREAS, In February 2004, Cindy was named the Chair of the Assembly Committee on Rules. At 30 years of age, she was the youngest person to ever chair the powerful committee, as well as the first Latina and the first Democratic woman to chair the committee; and

WHEREAS, Her legislative work focused on issues that were vital to her district. Specific focuses included education, the environment, health care, and consumer and worker protections. During her first term, 10 of her bills made it out of the Legislature and were signed into law. These bills included statutes to improve the management of urban landfills, a law to protect children from a sexually abusive parent, and laws to ensure the safety of workers. Cindy was the author of the landmark Car Buyer’s Bill of Rights; and

WHEREAS, Cindy then moved on to serve as Assistant General Manager at the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power, where she was a core part of the team transitioning the nation’s largest publicly owned utility to cleaner energy and a more sustainable local water supply; and

WHEREAS, In 2016, Cindy became the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of TreePeople, making her the first Latina CEO of an environmental organization in United States history; and

WHEREAS, Some of Cindy’s favorite things to do included hiking our local mountains, exploring California, and giving back to the City of Los Angeles. She is inspired by the magic of California’s ancient 2,000-year-old giant sequoia trees, the delectable taste of the fruit from her mother’s trees, and the ability to live and work inside oak woodlands within a major metropolis; and

WHEREAS, In addition to her role as CEO of TreePeople, Cindy was elected to a second term on the City Council of the City of San Fernando in November 2020 and is currently a board member of the UCLA Institute of the Environment and Sustainability; now, therefore, be it

Resolved by the Assembly of the State of California, the Senate thereof concurring, That the Legislature honors the life and legacy of Cindy Montañez and declares January 19 as Cindy Montañez Day; and be it further

Resolved, That the Chief Clerk of the Assembly transmit copies of this resolution to the author for appropriate distribution.