Before Sacramento, Al Muratsuchi served as a trustee for the Torrance Unified School District and the Southern California Regional Occupation Center and as a Deputy Attorney General. He also worked as a prosecutor in the California Department of Justice and served as regional director of the Japanese American Citizens League’s Pacific Southwest District. These roles included work in education, law enforcement and a regional civic organization. Muratsuchi was first elected to the Assembly in 2012 and now represents the 66th Assembly District. His tenure includes a narrow defeat in 2014, followed by a return two years later.
BACKGROUND AND FORMATION
Albert Yasuro Muratsuchi was born on September 4, 1964, and grew up on U.S. military bases in Okinawa, Japan. His father, a second-generation Japanese American, was a civilian employee of the United States Army. His mother was born in Gifu Prefecture on Honshu, Japan.
Muratsuchi attended the University of California, Berkeley, and UCLA School of Law. He became a prosecutor in the California Department of Justice and served as a Deputy Attorney General. He also served as regional director of the Japanese American Citizens League Pacific Southwest District.
His local public record includes two education posts: trustee for Torrance Unified and trustee for the Southern California Regional Occupation Center. In Sacramento, education finance became one of his committee responsibilities.
THE PATH TO OFFICE
Muratsuchi first won the 66th District seat in 2012. He was narrowly defeated during the 2014 Republican wave, then won back the seat in a 2016 rematch. He has held it since.
The elections that followed were less close. Muratsuchi was easily reelected over former Torrance Mayor Frank A. Scotto in 2018. In 2020, he won by a wide margin over Arthur C. Schaper. Former Hermosa Beach Mayor George Barks challenged him in 2022; Muratsuchi prevailed, 59.9% to 40.1%.
Term limits prevented him from seeking legislative reelection in 2026. He also ran unsuccessfully for Superintendent of Public Instruction, receiving 8% of the vote. His career included a local school district, the state Department of Justice and the Assembly seat he lost once and recovered.
THE WORK
Muratsuchi’s committee assignments cover the budget, schools, the environment, the courts, veterans and aerospace. He has served as chairman of the Joint Legislative Committee on Climate Change Policies. He is chairman of the Assembly Budget Subcommittee on Education Finance and the Assembly Select Committee on Aerospace.
He is also a member of the Assembly committees on Natural Resources, Judiciary, Budget and Veterans Affairs. Outside the committee rooms, he was appointed to the California Coastal Conservancy and Governor Brown’s Military Council. He served on the Santa Monica Bay Restoration Commission and the Inter-agency Veterans Council.
His appointments and commission service span coastal conservation and bay restoration, military affairs and veterans. His chairmanships give him defined responsibilities in three areas—climate policy, education finance and aerospace—while his other committee seats extend into natural resources, the judiciary and the state budget.
THE POLICY SIGNATURE
Education is the clearest through line in Muratsuchi’s record. He served as a Torrance Unified trustee, sat on the Southern California Regional Occupation Center board, chairs the Assembly budget subcommittee responsible for education finance and later sought the office of Superintendent of Public Instruction. The documented offices and assignments repeatedly return to schools and their funding.
His environmental record is most concrete in AB-345, which he introduced in 2020. The bill sought a minimum setback of 2,500 feet between oil wells and public areas where children are present. It did not become law: the Senate Natural Resources and Water Committee rejected it on a 5–4 vote. His climate chairmanship, Natural Resources Committee membership, Coastal Conservancy appointment and Santa Monica Bay Restoration Commission service provide the institutional side of that work.
The interests most plainly present in his record are students and education systems, children near oil wells, coastal and climate programs, veterans, military affairs and aerospace. His record includes committee chairmanships, committee memberships and appointments alongside the AB-345 proposal.
- State Assembly · Assembly District 66 · 2016–present
Before Sacramento, Al Muratsuchi served as a trustee for the Torrance Unified School District and the Southern California Regional Occupation Center and as a Deputy Attorney General. He also worked as a prosecutor in the California Department of Justice and served as regional director of the Japanese American Citizens League’s Pacific Southwest District. These roles included work in education, law enforcement and a regional civic organization. Muratsuchi was first elected to the Assembly in 2012 and now represents the 66th Assembly District. His tenure includes a narrow defeat in 2014, followed by a return two years later.
BACKGROUND AND FORMATION
Albert Yasuro Muratsuchi was born on September 4, 1964, and grew up on U.S. military bases in Okinawa, Japan. His father, a second-generation Japanese American, was a civilian employee of the United States Army. His mother was born in Gifu Prefecture on Honshu, Japan.
Muratsuchi attended the University of California, Berkeley, and UCLA School of Law. He became a prosecutor in the California Department of Justice and served as a Deputy Attorney General. He also served as regional director of the Japanese American Citizens League Pacific Southwest District.
His local public record includes two education posts: trustee for Torrance Unified and trustee for the Southern California Regional Occupation Center. In Sacramento, education finance became one of his committee responsibilities.
THE PATH TO OFFICE
Muratsuchi first won the 66th District seat in 2012. He was narrowly defeated during the 2014 Republican wave, then won back the seat in a 2016 rematch. He has held it since.
The elections that followed were less close. Muratsuchi was easily reelected over former Torrance Mayor Frank A. Scotto in 2018. In 2020, he won by a wide margin over Arthur C. Schaper. Former Hermosa Beach Mayor George Barks challenged him in 2022; Muratsuchi prevailed, 59.9% to 40.1%.
Term limits prevented him from seeking legislative reelection in 2026. He also ran unsuccessfully for Superintendent of Public Instruction, receiving 8% of the vote. His career included a local school district, the state Department of Justice and the Assembly seat he lost once and recovered.
THE WORK
Muratsuchi’s committee assignments cover the budget, schools, the environment, the courts, veterans and aerospace. He has served as chairman of the Joint Legislative Committee on Climate Change Policies. He is chairman of the Assembly Budget Subcommittee on Education Finance and the Assembly Select Committee on Aerospace.
He is also a member of the Assembly committees on Natural Resources, Judiciary, Budget and Veterans Affairs. Outside the committee rooms, he was appointed to the California Coastal Conservancy and Governor Brown’s Military Council. He served on the Santa Monica Bay Restoration Commission and the Inter-agency Veterans Council.
His appointments and commission service span coastal conservation and bay restoration, military affairs and veterans. His chairmanships give him defined responsibilities in three areas—climate policy, education finance and aerospace—while his other committee seats extend into natural resources, the judiciary and the state budget.
THE POLICY SIGNATURE
Education is the clearest through line in Muratsuchi’s record. He served as a Torrance Unified trustee, sat on the Southern California Regional Occupation Center board, chairs the Assembly budget subcommittee responsible for education finance and later sought the office of Superintendent of Public Instruction. The documented offices and assignments repeatedly return to schools and their funding.
His environmental record is most concrete in AB-345, which he introduced in 2020. The bill sought a minimum setback of 2,500 feet between oil wells and public areas where children are present. It did not become law: the Senate Natural Resources and Water Committee rejected it on a 5–4 vote. His climate chairmanship, Natural Resources Committee membership, Coastal Conservancy appointment and Santa Monica Bay Restoration Commission service provide the institutional side of that work.
The interests most plainly present in his record are students and education systems, children near oil wells, coastal and climate programs, veterans, military affairs and aerospace. His record includes committee chairmanships, committee memberships and appointments alongside the AB-345 proposal.
The record
4,990 events, each with its sourceAB 2163 Jeff Gonzalez Concurrence in Senate Amendments
AB 2167 Macedo Concurrence in Senate Amendments
AB 2204 Gabriel Concurrence in Senate Amendments
AB 2222 Ward Concurrence in Senate Amendments
AB 2225 Patel Concurrence in Senate Amendments
AB 2234 Papan Concurrence in Senate Amendments
AB 2294 Ta Concurrence in Senate Amendments
AB 2316 Hoover Concurrence in Senate Amendments
AB 2320 Ta Concurrence in Senate Amendments
AB 2321 Ortega Concurrence in Senate Amendments
AB 2344 HANEY Concurrence in Senate Amendments
AB 2372 Hoover Concurrence in Senate Amendments
AB 2383 ZBUR Concurrence in Senate Amendments
AB 2414 NGUYEN Concurrence in Senate Amendments
AB 2437 Chen Concurrence in Senate Amendments
AB 2440 Muratsuchi Concurrence in Senate Amendments
AB 2469 Papan Concurrence in Senate Amendments
AB 2476 Ellis Concurrence in Senate Amendments
AB 2478 Schultz Concurrence in Senate Amendments
AB 2493 Petrie-Norris Concurrence in Senate Amendments
AB 2542 Patterson Concurrence in Senate Amendments
AB 2551 Elhawary Concurrence in Senate Amendments
AB 2575 ORTEGA Concurrence in Senate Amendments
AB 2694 Alvarez Concurrence in Senate Amendments
AB 2700 PATTERSON Concurrence in Senate Amendments By PATTERSON
AB 2717 CALOZA Concurrence in Senate Amendments
AB 2727 Nguyen Concurrence in Senate Amendments
AB 2760 Sharp-Collins Concurrence in Senate Amendments
SB 16 Blakespear Senate Third Reading By Krell
SB 114 Laird Senate Third Reading By GABRIEL
SB 133 Budget and Fiscal Review Senate Third Reading
SB 178 Budget and Fiscal Review Senate Third Reading By GABRIEL
SB 186 Budget and Fiscal Review Senate Third Reading By GABRIEL
SB 195 Budget and Fiscal Review Senate Third Reading By GABRIEL
SB 337 Menjivar Senate Third Reading By Aguiar-Curry
SB 574 Umberg Senate Third Reading By Bauer-Kahan
SB 716 Durazo Senate Third Reading By Mark González
SB 795 Archuleta Senate Third Reading By ALVAREZ
SB 867 Padilla Senate Third Reading By Lowenthal
SB 876 Padilla Senate Third Reading By Calderon
SB 878 Pérez Senate Third Reading By Harabedian
SB 883 Umberg Senate Third Reading By Quirk-Silva
SB 884 Umberg Third Reading Urgency By Valencia
SB 886 Padilla Senate Third Reading By Papan
SB 887 Padilla Senate Third Reading By Connolly
SB 895 Wiener Third Reading Urgency By Solache
SB 951 Reyes Senate Third Reading By Bryan
SB 960 Cabaldon Senate Third Reading By Alvarez
SB 1050 Ashby Senate Third Reading By Elhawary
SB 1057 Becker Senate Third Reading By Bonta