Phil Ting was elected to the State Assembly in 2012, representing the 19th Assembly District, which spans the Westside of San Francisco, as well as the communities of Broadmoor, Colma, Daly City, and South San Francisco.
As California navigates new challenges brought on by the COVID-19 pandemic, Ting is focused on economic recovery, while also continuing with progressive policies that protect and expand opportunity for all, equal rights, and environmental preservation. Because of his experience in the financial sector and as the San Francisco Assessor-Recorder, Ting has become a leading voice on California’s finances. He now serves as Chair of the Assembly Budget Committee after having served as Chair of the Assembly Committee on Revenue and Taxation.
Ting has authored legislation that:
- Directs emergency aid to California cities and counties to address the state’s homeless crisis;
- Adds affordable housing by making it easier to add backyard cottages & other accessory dwelling units (ADUs) on existing properties;
- Creates green jobs by upgrading old HVAC systems in public schools and accelerating electric vehicle charging station installations;
- Implements the world’s strongest standards, requiring plastic bottle manufacturers to include recycled materials in CRV beverage containers;
- Funds more services and resources to stop hate against the Asian American community;
- Strengthens the state’s red flag gun law by expanding the list of people who can file a gun violence restraining order (GVRO) with the court, temporarily taking away someone’s firearms if they pose a danger to themselves or others;
- Empowers the Attorney General and Californians to sue manufacturers and sellers of firearms for the harm caused by their products;
- Simplifies the Cal Grants applications process so that thousands more students can attend college;
- Bolsters healthy eating by helping corner stores purchase refrigeration units and maximizing food stamp redemption at farmers’ markets;
- Ensures safe and equal restroom access and tax fairness for the LGBT community;
- Reforms the criminal justice system through new resentencing guidelines for those serving unjustly long prison terms; a lower age for elderly parole considerations; and automatic expungement for low level offenses
- Rebuilds trust between police officers and the communities they serve by requiring disclosure of body camera footage and banning use of unreliable facial recognition software in those cameras;
- Promotes safe walking and limits unjust enforcement by prohibiting law enforcement from citing individuals for jaywalking unless there is an immediate danger of a collision with a moving vehicle;
- Creates the first statewide drug and medical needles take-back program funded by the pharmaceutical industry.
Ting is a graduate of U.C. Berkeley and Harvard University’s John F. Kennedy School of Government. He began his career in public service as the Executive Director of the Asian Law Caucus, an organization founded in 1972 to advance and promote the legal and civil rights of the Asian Pacific Islander community, and once served as Community Relations Director at San Francisco State University. In 2005, Ting was appointed Assessor-Recorder of San Francisco by then-Mayor Gavin Newsom, where he closed a five-year assessment backlog and brought in $290 million in unpaid property taxes to the city, created a program to increase rooftop solar installations, and spearheaded efforts to assist homeowners and tenants facing foreclosure.
Ting lives in San Francisco’s Sunset District with his family.