One of his earliest bills to clear the assembly required high school government classes to give 18-year-olds the chance register to vote.12 True to his campaign theme, he shepherded a popular bill into law that lengthened prison terms for gang members caught committing crimes on or near school property (it passed the assembly 72–3, and the state senate 36–0).13 In the first half of 1992, his bill allowing high school girls to try out for boys’ teams cleared the assembly, as did his measure forbidding businesses from requiring their employees to speak English (which passed the senate with amendments). (24 January 2017): H615. His proposal to allow residents to use their tax refund to donate directly to the California Gang Violence Prevention and Education program also passed the assembly.14 Becerra even had a unique policy of inviting voting-aged constituents to follow him around in the state capital to learn what he did as their representative.15, Only weeks into Becerra’s freshman term in the state assembly, venerable Los Angeles Democrat, Edward R. Roybal, announced his retirement from the U.S. House after a career that had spanned three decades. [7] He graduated in 1976 from C.K. 25Michael S. Arnold, “Latinos Make Political Gains,” 18 June 1992, Los Angeles Times (Nuestro Tiempo): 1; Office of the Clerk, U.S. House of Representatives, “Election Statistics, 1920 to Present.”, 26Office of the Clerk, U.S. House of Representatives, “Election Statistics, 1920 to Present.”. [citation needed], After redistricting, ahead of the 2012 elections, most of Becerra's old district became the 34th district. Xavier Becerra is a married man. For his first three terms, he shied away from introducing bills on the floor, but used his seats on both the Education and Labor and the Judiciary Committees to push his agenda. There's no doubt that California Attorney General Xavier Becerra is a staunch pro-choice Democrat, but the question is whether he's too close to Planned … [41] While it was reported that he had already accepted,[42] he announced on December 15 that he would not accept the position. Born in Sacramento, California, Attorney General Becerra is the son of working-class parents and was the first in his family to receive a four-year degree, earning his … [27] Becerra was selected to serve on the Joint Select Committee on Deficit Reduction (also known as the Super Committee) on August 11, 2011. Instead, Becerra is playing favorites", "Who Are Contenders for Biden's Cabinet? 30Mark Z. Barabak, “California’s New Breed of Latino Lawmakers,” 16 July 1997, Los Angeles Times: A1. 15, p. 3–6; Lizette Alvarez, “For Hispanic Lawmakers, Time to Take the Offensive,” 25 August 1997, New York Times: A14. He remained at Stanford to earn a law degree in 1984.2 Becerra and his wife, Dr. Carolina Reyes, met at Stanford. Born in Sacramento, California, on January 26, 1958,[2] Becerra is the son of working-class parents, Maria Teresa and Manuel Guerrero Becerra. Xavier Becerra (/hɑːviˈɛər bɪˈsɛrə/ hah-vee-AIR beh-SEHR-ə (American Spanish: [haˈβjeɾ beˈse.ra]); born January 26, 1958) is an American politician and lawyer serving as the 33rd and current attorney general of California since 2017. The California Legislature confirmed Becerra to the post on January 23, 2017. As a freshman, Becerra found himself in a very public fight with the powerful chairman of Ways and Means, Democrat Dan Rostenkowski of Illinois. Critics said the responsibility to write the ballot title and summary should be transferred to a different, non-partisan office. In 1997, at the start of the 105th Congress (1997–1999), House leaders placed Becerra on the prestigious Ways and Means Committee which handles America’s tax and revenue policy. But in 1990, his state representative, Charles M. Calderon, moved to the state senate, and local leaders quickly encouraged Becerra to run for the open assembly seat.4, At the time he declared his candidacy, Becerra had only lived in the district for a few years. He is married to Carolina Reyes. [24] He won his bid to succeed John Larson as Vice-Chair in the 111th Congress, defeating Marcy Kaptur of Ohio by a vote of 175–67. He worked as a lawyer at the Legal Assistance Corporation of central Massachusetts, before returning to California in 1986 to work as an administrative assistant for state senator Art Torres. 51Paul Kane, “Pelosi Says She Will Remain House Minority Leader,” 15 November 2012, Washington Post: A4. I am eternally grateful to my constituents for their tremendous counsel and support over those two decades,” Becerra wrote in his resignation letter to the House. Despite not living in the district, Becerra quickly announced his candidacy for Congress after Roybal’s preferred successor declined to run. “It has been a distinct honor to serve the people of Los Angeles and my country for more than 24 years. [32] Becerra received a 100% rating from Planned Parenthood and NARAL Pro-Choice America in 2012. [66][65], Despite the multiple lawsuits against the Trump administration filed with other state attorneys general, Becerra had not joined antitrust efforts against any major tech companies. Xavier Becerra Ethnicity, Parents, Family and Net Worth: Everything To Know About. “A lot of folks like my parents could suffer the same consequences” if they were simply given money to invest privately, he said. Like many famous people and celebrities, Xavier Becerra keeps his personal life private. He served as a deputy attorney general in the California Department of Justice from 1987 to 1990, before he was elected to the California State Assembly, where he served one term from 1990 to 1992.