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Dec 16, 2024

January is Cervical Cancer Awareness Month: Here’s What You Should Know

Since 1980, cervical cancer rates and related deaths have decreased significantly. However, this stride in our country’s public health has not been experienced equally across all communities. Latinas are still 36% more likely to be diagnosed with cervical cancer and 30% more likely to die from it compared to non-Hispanic white women.

Dec 16, 2024

A Bipartisan Solution to Save Lives in Our Communities

In states with laws requiring secure storage, there has been a measurable decline in gun-related suicides and injuries.

Dec 16, 2024

State Legislatures: A Pathway to Hispanic Representation in Congress

As the U.S. Hispanic population continues to grow and diversify, so too does the need for more representation at all levels of government.

Dec 16, 2024

Letter from the President: Winter Edition 2024

No matter what proactive or reactive bills you choose to back during the next legislative session, keep in mind that you have us, NHCSL, to support you throughout the process, be a sounding board, share what has worked or not in other states, and have your back in all aspects of the legislative process.

Oct 15, 2024

Why is Nap to Snap important for Puerto Rico?

Last month, in a pivotal moment for immigration policy, President Biden announced executive action that extends work permits and expands protections for DACA recipients and undocumented spouses of U.S. citizens.

Oct 15, 2024

Protecting Our Elections and Our Voters

For the past six years, NHCSL has urged state legislatures to implement legislation that ensures minimum due process and robust safeguards for voter roll management.

Oct 15, 2024

Letter from the President: Fall Edition 2024

In 1989, state Senator Larry Trujillo (CO) recognized the crucial need to create a space where Hispanic state legislators could come together. Now, 35 years later, there are more than 450 of us in over thirty-seven states and Puerto Rico.

Jul 15, 2024

Partnering to Shrink the Time Between Disaster and Recovery

While we can’t prevent natural disasters, we can prevent the suffering they cause. SBP shrinks the time between disaster and recovery through five interventions: BUILD efficiently; SHARE our model with other organizations; PREPARE home and business owners through resilience training; ADVISE municipal and state officials; and ADVOCATE for policy changes and improvements to the disaster recovery industry.

Jul 15, 2024

A Win for Our Familias Through Executive Action

Last month, in a pivotal moment for immigration policy, President Biden announced executive action that extends work permits and expands protections for DACA recipients and undocumented spouses of U.S. citizens.

Jul 15, 2024

Letter from the President: Summer Edition 2024

I’m excited to greet you all in the 2024 Summer Edition of NHCSL’s newsletter! I hope you can find time to enjoy the season, rest and recharge, and get ready to face the challenges that this unprecedented election year will bring.

Apr 15, 2024

The State of Latino Mental Health

Latinos face a multitude of challenges that can significantly impact their mental health. From navigating cultural identity and language barriers to confronting systemic inequalities and discrimination, the pressures on our communities can weigh heavily. Moreover, factors such as socioeconomic status, immigration status, and access to healthcare further create barriers to mental wellness.

Apr 15, 2024

Letter from the President: Spring Edition 2024

I’m excited to greet you all in this edition of NHCSL’s newsletter, the first since I had the honor of being sworn in last December as your President to lead our Caucus for the next two years. My main commitment for my tenure is to help all of you become more effective legislators. To that end, please make sure to maximize the resources our organization has to offer. Our staff is eager to assist you.

Apr 15, 2024

Mobilizing the Hispanic Vote in the 2024 Election

These past months, the confirmation of two presidential appointments made history for Latinos in our country: Dr. Adriana Kugler, who now serves in the Federal Reserve Board of Governors, and Anna Gómez, Commissioner for the Federal Communications Commission.

Nov 15, 2023

Our Country’s Housing Crisis Needs Urgent Action: What to Know and Where to Start

The COVID-19 pandemic laid bare many issues that were disproportionally impacting Latino communities across the country and had, in some cases, fallen under the radar. Although access to health care and disparities in working conditions may come to mind first, access to affordable housing is surely a very close second.

Nov 15, 2023

It’s Time for Congress to stop toying with our Nation’s Budget

In 2019, our Caucus approved Resolution 2019-02, Supporting safeguarded automatic carry-overs to prevent Federal government shutdowns. Since then, in the last few months, we’ve had the threat of yet another government shutdown twice.

Nov 15, 2023

Equidad in the Clean Energy Transition

Frontline communities, overwhelmingly low-income, Native, and communities of color, are the first to experience the worst consequences of climate change. According to the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), Hispanic or Latino individuals are 10% more likely to currently live in areas with the highest projected increases in childhood asthma diagnoses with 2° Celsius of global warming. And yet, our country’s clean energy transition to date has not been equitable, particularly for Hispanic communities. The Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund (GGRF) could allow for a more inclusive energy transition with more equitable outcomes and economic, health, and resilience opportunities.

Nov 15, 2023

The Hope for Better Policies Through Latina Representation

These past months, the confirmation of two presidential appointments made history for Latinos in our country: Dr. Adriana Kugler, who now serves in the Federal Reserve Board of Governors, and Anna Gómez, Commissioner for the Federal Communications Commission.

Nov 15, 2023

Letter from the President: Winter Edition 2023

I’m very excited to welcome you all to the relaunch of NHCSL’s quarterly newsletter! As I conclude my tenure as NHCSL’s President, I want to take this opportunity to reflect on the work we have done together and my hopes for the future.

Jan 21, 2020

Ensuring The Census Works for All Americans

Just a few weeks after NHCSL kicked off its 15th Annual National Summit of Hispanic State Legislators with a policy session on the 2020 Census, US Secretary of Commerce Wilbur Ross, announced his decision to include a question about respondents’ citizenship in the 2020 Census that is likely to cause an undercount of Hispanics, unless Congress or the courts overturn this decision.

Nov 21, 2018

NHCSL Takes the Lead in Hurricane Response Efforts

As a membership organization, NHCSL prides itself in taking care of its own. This was the case when our former president, Sen. Iris Martínez (IL), was literally in harm’s way after Hurricane Irma devastated the island of Saint Maarten. While on vacation there, I received a call that Senator Martínez literally feared for her life, as the eye of the storm was about to pass through this small Caribbean island. Knowing the danger she was facing, our team immediately coordinated a rescue effort with the office of Senator Dick Durbin (IL), the Governor of Puerto Rico Ricardo Rosselló – and his Washington Representative Carlos Mercader – our Vice President Sen. Carmelo Ríos (PR), our immediate past President Sen. Eduardo Bhatia (PR), Puerto Rico House Speaker Carlos “Johnny” Méndez, the Illinois Senate President John Cullerton; the US State Department; the French Embassy; Dutch officials; and Senator Martínez’s Chief of Staff, Kerry O’Brien. We were fortunate to be able to arrange a successful evacuation mission for Senator Martínez, the parents of Congressman Eric Swalwell (CA), and hundreds of other refugees who arrived safely in Puerto Rico after a horrible ordeal. Little did we know, however, that this incident would only be the calm before the storm.