The 2005 Legislative Report Card on Racial Equity evaluates and grades the Governor and members of the California State Legislature on their responses to eighteen pieces of legislation that, if passed by the Legislature and signed into law by the Governor, would have the most direct positive impact on communities of color.
Although a growing number of legislators are introducing policies to advance racial equity, the 2005 Legislative Report Card on Racial Equity finds that the State Legislature and Governor Schwarzenegger lack both the political will and a cohesive plan to address the needs of the growing majority of the state’s population.
The report card is broken down into five issue areas: educational equity, economic justice, health equity, civil rights, and criminal justice. Each section provides an overview of racial disparities, a description of key legislation advance in 2005, and a summary of grades for the Assembly, Senate, and Governor. Demographics of each legislative district are included in the appendix.