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Biography

California Assemblymember Al Muratsuchi represents the 66th Assembly District, located in the Los Angeles South Bay and Harbor Area. A champion for public education, Muratsuchi serves as Chair of the Assembly Education Committee and previously served as Chair of the Assembly Budget Subcommittee on Education Funding. He is fighting to transform public schools to promote student success and the well-being of every child, regardless of who they are and where they live. He is the lead author of Proposition 2, a $10 billion statewide school bond. Muratsuchi also authored the California Freedom to Read Act to fight book bans at public libraries.

The son of immigrants, Muratsuchi was born and raised on U.S. military bases overseas before arriving in California in 1982. The product of public schools and a first-generation college graduate, he attended the University of California, Berkeley, and received a Juris Doctor degree from UCLA before settling in the South Bay. Muratsuchi has dedicated his career to public service, working as a teacher, civil rights lawyer, and Deputy Attorney General with the California Department of Justice. Prior to serving in the California Legislature, he served on the Torrance Unified School District Board of Education and the Southern California Regional Occupational Center Board of Trustees. Muratsuchi lives in the South Bay with his wife Hiroko Higuchi, Ph.D., his daughter, who attends a local public school, and their dog Teddy.

Among Assemblymember Muratsuchi’s legislation:

  • Assembly Bill 938 (2024), to attract and retain quality educators by giving teachers and essential school staff a pay raise to make salaries competitive.
  • Assembly Bill 247 (2024), a $10 billion statewide school and community college bond measure placed on the November 2024 ballot as Proposition 2.
  • Assembly Bill 39 (2020) and Assembly Bill 2808 (2018), bills to increase state education funding and restore California to the top ten states in the nation in per pupil funding.
  • Assembly Bill 34 (2022), the California Broadband for All Bond Act, to close the digital divide by providing affordable internet service in low income and rural communities.
  • Assembly Bill 377 (2023), to increase ongoing funding for the Career Technical Education Incentive Grant (CTEIG) program to $450 million per year.
  • Assembly Bill 483 (2023), to increase Medi-Cal funding for school-based mental health and other health care services.
  • Assembly Bill 1825 (2024), the California Freedom to Read Act, to fight book bans at public libraries.
  • Assembly Bill 2226 (2024), to close the opportunity gap by making kindergarten mandatory in California.
  • Assembly Bill 2074 (2024), to support English Learners and multilingualism by implementing the California English Learner Roadmap.
  • Assembly Bill 2112 (2024), to support quality after school services through the Expanded Learning Opportunities Program (ELOP).
  • Assembly Bill 2134 (2024), to ensure that teachers and school employees can transfer earned sick leave among school districts.
  • Assembly Bill 461 (2017) cut state taxes for student loan debt forgiveness.
  • Assembly Bill 449 (2013) cracks down on teachers accused of misconduct.
  • Assembly Bill 272 (2019) restricts student cell phone use at school to promote student success and mental health.
  • Assembly Bill 557 (2022), a law to fight hate crimes that helped establish CA vs. Hate, a statewide hate crime reporting and support program.
  • Assembly Bill 1279 (2022), the California Climate Crisis Act, codified California’s goal to achieve carbon neutrality by 2045, as well as to reduce statewide greenhouse gas emissions by 85 percent. 
  • Assembly Bill 1775 (2018) blocked the Trump administration’s proposal for new offshore oil drilling along California’s coast.
  • Assembly Bill 754 (2014) created the California Protect Our Coast and Oceans Fund.
  • Assembly Bill 1647 (2017) protects communities living near refineries by requiring refineries to install community and fence-line air quality monitors.
  • Assembly Bill 2188 (2014) promotes rooftop solar by streamlining local permits and cutting red tape.
  • Assembly Bill 511 (2021), the California Small Business Crowdfunding Act, supports small business access to capital through equity crowdfunding.
  • Assembly Bill 777 (2014) cut taxes to help create thousands of jobs in California’s commercial space flight industry like SpaceX.
  • Assembly Bill 308 (2019) cut taxes for small businesses owned by U.S. Armed Forces servicemen and women.
  • Assembly Bill 2762 (2020), the California Toxic-Free Cosmetics Act, the first law in the nation to ban the manufacture and sale of personal care products containing toxic chemicals in California.
  • Assembly Bill 899 (2023), the first law in the nation to require baby food manufacturers to test their products for toxic heavy metals.
  • Assembly Bill 1502 (2022), a law that cracks down on nursing home owners and management with a history of health and safety violations.
  • Assembly Bill 1740 (2022), a law to crack down on catalytic converter thefts.
  • Assembly Bill 2390 (2022), a bill to crack down on retail theft by allowing the aggregation of stolen property value to file as a felony while providing for pretrial diversion to provide substance abuse or mental health treatment as needed.
  • Assembly Bill 2362 (2020), a gun safety law that authorizes the California Department of Justice to fine gun dealers who violate gun laws.
  • House Resolution 77 (2020), the California Legislature’s historic apology for supporting the unjust mass incarceration of Japanese Americans during World War II.
  • Assembly Bill 1782 (2018) established surfing as California’s official sport.

In addition to legislation, Assemblymember Muratsuchi has delivered significant state funding for his constituents:

  • $231 million in 2018 to extend the Los Angeles Metro light rail service to Torrance and Redondo Beach.
  • $10 million in 2017 to support career technical education at the Southern California Regional Occupational Center in Torrance.
  • $10 million in 2018 for El Camino College to build the South Bay Public Safety Training Center.
  • $10 million in 2023 for the UCLA Multimedia Ethnic Studies Textbook Project.
  • $3 million in 2017 for the California Civil Liberties Public Education Fund grant program.
  • $3.5 million in 2022 for the Torrance Unified School District to install solar panels at their high schools.
  • $4 million in 2022 for the City of Gardena to help close the digital divide by building a public broadband network.
  • $1.2 million in 2019 for the South Bay public broadband network to help close the digital divide.
  • $1.4 million in 2022 to support the Boys and Girls Club of the San Pedro and Harbor Area.
  • $500,000 in 2022 for the Palos Verdes Peninsula Unified School District to fix their high school bathrooms.
  • $5.5 million in 2022 for the City of Torrance to build a Homeless Community Response Center.
  • $500,000 in 2022 for the City of Redondo Beach to support their Homeless Court program.
  • $10 million in 2022 for the City of Redondo Beach to support wetland restoration.
  • $5 million in 2022 for the City of Redondo Beach to support the development of a park and open space at the AES power plant site.
  • $2.3 million in 2022 to renovate the Hermosa Beach pier.
  • $1.5 million in 2022 for the Palos Verdes Peninsula to build a wildfire early detection system.
  • $5 million in 2021 for the City of Torrance to build a memorial for the World War II unjust incarceration of over 125,000 Japanese Americans.
  • $3.5 million for the City of Manhattan Beach in 2023 for water infrastructure.
  • $700,000 for the City of El Segundo in 2023 for electric vehicle charging stations.
  • $300,000 for the City of Lomita in 2023 for water treatment infrastructure.

For his work, Assemblymember Muratsuchi has been recognized by a wide range of organizations:

  • Friend of Education Award, Association of California School Administrators, 2023.
  • Legislator of the Year, California School Boards Association, 2019.
  • Education Champion, California Association of School Business Officials, 2023.
  • Shining Star Award, Southern California Regional Occupational Center, 2014.
  • Outstanding Legislator Award, Boys and Girls Club of Harbor City, 2013.
  • Public Policy Award, Sierra Club Angeles Chapter, 2020.
  • Green Leadership Award, Environment California, 2018.
  • Environmental Justice Champion Award, California Environmental Justice Alliance, 2020.
  • Legislator of the Year, California Community Choice Association, 2019.
  • Legislator of the Year, California Solar Energy Industries Association, 2014.
  • Legislator of the Year, California Police Chiefs Association, 2017.
  • Legislator of the Year, AMVETS California, 2013.
  • Legislator of the Year, Asian Pacific Americans in Public Affairs, 2018.
  • Public Policy Leadership Award, Japanese American Bar Association, 2023.