Asian American legislators hope to advance AAPI causes in Texas. Here's how.

State Reps. Gene Wu, Salman Bhojani, and Suleman Lalani announced Monday they intend to create an Asian American and Pacific Islander legislative caucus. The announcement coincided with the progressive organization Rise AAPI holding AAPI Legislative Day at the Capitol to discuss the obstacles and opportunities Asian American and Pacific Islander Texans have this legislative session.

The committee will be co-chaired by Wu, D-Houston, and Angie Chen Button, R-Richardson. In addition to Bhojani, D-Euless, and Lalani, D-Sugar Land, Reps. Hubert Vo, D-Houston, and Jacey Jetton, R-Katy, will serve in the caucus. The legislators intend to register the caucus with the Texas Ethics Commission soon, according to Wu's office.

"The formation of the AAPI caucus is a big stepping stone, a big milestone for our community," Wu said.

The Legislature hit new diversity milestones this year with the election of Lalani and Bhojani, the first Muslim state representatives in Texas.

With six representatives now, elected officials and AAPI Legislative Day organizers noted that there are more Asian lawmakers serving in the Legislature this session than ever before. According to a recent Texas Tribune analysis, if the Legislature accurately reflected the state's population, it would have nine Asian lawmakers.

"It is no secret that the AAPI population is on the rise. And we are excelling in a lot of fields, except government," Lalani said, addressing AAPI community organizers at the Capitol. "So I hope this is not your first visit, but the first of many to come."

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The legislators have identified public education and access to health care as top priorities for the caucus.

"My education has made all the difference in my life, and every Texan deserves that opportunity," Bhojani said. "AAPIs have a rich history in this nation: one of resilience, one of ingenuity, and one of triumph. This history deserves to be taught in our schools, and by educators who have a deep understanding of our lived experiences."

Officials in attendance, including Reps. Penny Morales Shaw, D-Houston, and Jon Rosenthal, D-Houston, and Fort Bend County Judge KP George, also decried Senate Bill 147, a bill by Sen. Lois Kolkhorst, R-Brenham, that proposes to bar citizens of China, Iran, North Korea and Russia from buying land in Texas.

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Highlighting a Fort Bend protest against SB 147, George said: "I got a long email from our senator, because she represents Fort Bend County also. She said, 'This is only an add-on to Senate Bill 2116. I don't know how many of you know that.' I said, 'That scares me, because I don't know what you're going to add next year.' And so, no, we don't stand by that."

Kolkhorst's office sent a Jan. 20 statement to the Statesman, in which she said, "In the committee substitute, the bill will make crystal clear that the prohibitions do not apply to United States citizens and lawful permanent residents."

Button, the Republican who will co-chair the caucus, did not reply to a Statesman request for comment.

Rep. Jacey Jetton, R-Katy, told the American-Statesman building a good business environment for entrepreneurs was another legislative priority, alongside education and health care — especially mental health care. Jetton, one of two Republicans in the caucus, said it opens up an avenue to discuss solutions beneficial to everyone.

"This does provide an opportunity for us to sit down at the table and discuss more in-depth, and see if we can find more middle ground," Jetton said.

This article originally appeared on Austin American-Statesman: Texas Legislature: Rise AAPI, lawmakers plan to create AAPI caucus