On June 8th and 9th, a delegation comprising of representatives from the Japanese Chamber of Commerce of Northern California (JCCNC) and the Japan Business Association of Southern California (JBA) visited Sacramento to meet with state legislators.

Representing JCCNC was its President, (Mr. Seino of Kinokuniya Bookstores), Second Vice President (Mr. Enomoto of JFC International), Auditor (Mr. Matsuura of Bank of the West, and Business Consultants Network), Governmental Affairs and Regulatory Compliance Committee Chairman (Mr. Teraoka of Teraoka & Partners), Executive Director (Mr. Sugiura) and JETRO San Francisco Chief Executive Director (Mr. Haraoka).

Representing JBA was its President (Mr. Ikei of New Otani Hotel and Garden Los Angeles), Business and Administration Committee Chairman (Mr. Horiki of Panasonic Disc Manufacturing Corp.), Legal Counsel (Mr. Iwanaga of Pillsbury Winthrop Shaw Pittman LLP), and Executive Director (Mr. Seto). Also accompanying this delegation was Mr. Scott Keene, an attorney and lobbyist based in Sacramento.

On June 8th, representatives of JBA and JCCNC welcomed a presentation by Senator Liz Figueroa who addressed California¡Çs harbors (focusing on Los Angeles) and contentious environmental issues that are affecting ports. The delegation next met with Senator Debra Bowen who has always demonstrated her strong support of California-Japan relations.

Members of the JBA/JCCNC delegation also met with Assembly Speaker pro Tempore Leland Yee and Senator Gil Cedillo. Senator Cedillo spoke of his revised bill, SB 60, for which he sought support from JBA and JCCNC. (As this matter had many complicated elements on issuance of driver¡Çs licenses to illegal immigrants, neither JCCNC nor JBA clearly expressed opinions of SB 60).

JBA and JCCNC delegates also met with Secretary of State Bruce McPherson and Senate Minority Leader Dick Ackerman.

In a meeting with Deputy Legislative Secretary Dennis Albiani of the Governor¡Çs Office, delegates were advised that, compared to other states in the U.S., the state of California and its governor are working hard to strengthen relations with the Japanese business sector. He added that the survey data presented by JETRO clearly demonstrates that Japanese investment in the state of California has helped to improve the state economy.

In the late afternoon, JBA/JCCNC delegates and state officials were welcomed to a Green Tea Reception in the Governor¡Çs Council Room that featured product samples from NRE World Bento and green tea from Shizuoka Prefecture. Data compiled by JETRO was distributed in booklet form titled ¡ÈJapanese Companies in California¡É at this reception. Distributed to state officials, this informational booklet provides statistics stressing the importance of the economic partnership with Japan.

On the evening of June 8th, JBA and JCCNC delegation hosted a dinner in honor of the Asian Pacific Islander Joint Legislative Caucus which welcomed Assemblymembers Judy Chu, Carol Liu, Alan Nakanishi, Alberto Torrico and Secretary of the California Department of Food and Agriculture, A.G. Kawamura.

On June 9th, JBA and JCCNC delegates met with representatives of the California Chamber of Commerce including Allan Zaremberg, President, Dominic DiMare, Vice President of Government Relations, Susanne Stirling, Vice President of International Relations, and Drew Savage, Vice President of Corporate Affairs. The meeting ended with representatives of both groups pledging mutual support.

JBA and JCCNC representatives visited the Senate Floor and then proceeded to the Business, Transportation and Housing Agency where they met with Deputy Secretary for Legislation, Curt Augustine, and DMV Assistant Director of Legislation, Bill Cather, to address legislation that may impact legal foreign applicants of California driver¡Çs licenses.

Although a more detailed report of the matter is still forthcoming, both men, with 10 years of experience in the field of driver¡Çs license issues regarding Japanese companies in California, are quite aware of the potential complications. A new bill (HR 1268-Real ID) was recently passed and one of the provisions of this bill is that it will integrate several agencies. JBA and JCCNC representatives expressed concern that this may result in miscommunication and mishandling that have been experienced by legal foreign applicants in the recent past when laws governing issuance of California driver¡Çs licenses were changed following the September 11th terrorist attacks.

Further discussions indicated that California is pioneering ahead of most other states by implementing a system that will connect the Department of Motor Vehicles with the Social Security Administration and Department of Homeland Security (US Citizenship and Immigration Services). Hopefully, this system will decrease the processing time to issue driver¡Çs licenses to legal foreign applicants.

When this legislation becomes effective, representatives from every state will assemble to discuss its implementation. Due to California¡Çs extensive experience in this field, delegates were promised that issues of concern expressed by the Japanese business community will be addressed when the aforementioned meeting convenes. With regard to Senator Cedillo¡Çs proposed bill, SB 60, delegates were advised that issuing driver¡Çs licenses to illegal immigrants could triple the current workload.

As California senators and assembly-members are subject to term-limits, there are fewer and fewer state officials that understand the California-Japan relationship and its rich history. For this reason, JCCNC and JBA representatives visit Sacramento annually to inform and explain to as many state officials as possible the importance of Japanese investment and contributions to the state of California and its economy. Hopefully this year¡Çs delegation was able to accomplish its objectives to keep state officials informed of the importance of the California-Japan relationship.