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So far, 43 states and U.S. territories have formed official commissions to showcase each state's pivotal role in shaping the nation after federal officials tasked U.S. lawmakers with forming commissions before Americans everywhere start making plans for July 4, 2026.
As the United States nears its 250th anniversary of the American Revolution just over two years away, California lawmakers have begun the legislative process to recognize the significant milestone — and Republican State Sen. Janet Nguyen of Huntington Beach is leading the charge.
“Californians are patriotic when it comes to our history,” Nguyen said in a news release. “Winning the Revolutionary War against all odds was an incredible feat.”
America’s upcoming semiquincentennial event celebrating the signing of the Declaration of Independence has been taking shape nationwide since 2016.
So far, 43 states and U.S. territories have formed official commissions to showcase each state's pivotal role in shaping the nation after federal officials tasked U.S. lawmakers with forming commissions before Americans everywhere start making plans for July 4, 2026.
Citing California’s vibrant history, Ngyuen and about a dozen other lawmakers drafted the state’s version that’s currently making its way through various committees.
The bill commissions the state archivist to lead ten other members, including four legislators, five citizens, and one historian — a similar version of the American Revolution Bicentennial Commission of California, which led up to the Fourth of July celebrations nearly 50 years ago.
“Our nation had glorious celebrations to commemorate this in 1976 and I’d like to see California recognize this new milestone,” Nguyen added.
Nguyen’s efforts have been thwarted by opponents who argue that establishing such a commission would be too high for the state to bear, with some suggesting that private funds could be used instead.
Similar legislation analyzed by the secretary of state found the fiscal impact would approximate $1.1 million in the first years and ongoing annual costs of $1 million, according to The Orange County Register.
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Nuygen said the bill would Identify and secure private funding and support from the federal government, which provides upward of $10,000 in grants.
The bill now heads to the Appropriations Committee for a hearing scheduled for April 22.
Nguyen's push for California's involvement in commemorating America's founding stems from her family heritage and personal story of coming to the United States as a Vietnamese refugee to become a state senator.
“To me, it’s not just a birthday, it’s not just about hotdogs or barbecue,” she told The Orange County Register. “It’s a reminder of what a great privilege it is to live in a democratic society.”
Nguyen, who was born in South Vietnam in the 1970s, first arrived in California by boat when she was five years old. Her family fled the Southeast Asian country roughly a year after the communist takeover in Saigon on April 30, 1975.
She began cleaning the house for school supplies and clothes at an early age to eventually owning her own business and becoming the first woman and Vietnamese American elected official for several local and state seats.
“There’s no other country where you have a refugee, who’s 5 years old, speaks no English, on government assistant programs, extremely poor when she arrived in America, to 30 years later, being able to walk into the Capitol as a state senator,” Nguyen told The Orange County Register, adding if she may not be alive today had she stated in Vietnam.
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