The legislative session now lurching through its final week (last scheduled day: Monday) is Erica V. Mosca’s first as Democratic assemblywoman representing District 14 (map). In her freshman year she chaired the Asian American, Native Hawaiian, and Pacific Islander Legislative Caucus, and sponsored or co-sponsored a sizable slate of bills.
As the session and AANHPI Heritage Month both wind down, how would you rate this session from an AANHPI perspective?
Successful, so far. We were able to more than double our AANHPI Nevada Legislative Caucus, with seven members representing a diversity of AANHPI communities: Sen. Rochelle Nguyen, myself, and Assembly members Duy Nguyen, Reuben D'Silva, Cecelia González, Brittney Miller, and Selena Torres. So far we have been able to advance legislation focusing on language access, making sure prescription drugs and election ballots are available in the 10 spoken languages in our state.
This is your first session as a lawmaker — what surprised you most about the process?
I've been surprised how much my experience as a nonprofit founder and former executive director has been helpful up here. Whether it's community-building, organizing, or understanding budgets, I can see my grassroots experience is an asset. I hope I can encourage other nonprofit folks to run in the future.
What must the Legislature still accomplish before it wraps up?
We must make sure the budget passes with record investment into education, and I will be personally working on getting my legislation through (bills having to do with World Esports Day, increased transcript access for NSHE students, easier access to internships, and more)! I am also prioritizing following up and ensuring the legislation that I do pass actually has the intended outcomes in the actual community.
