Latina State Legislative Caucus

The Latina State Legislative Caucus (LSLC) is a sub-council of the BHCC that serves as a unique group tailored toward female state legislative leadership and the issues particular to this constituency. In 2010 following the 5th Annual BHCC Conference, a group of prominent Latina BHCC members serving in large leadership roles in their respective state legislatures got together to discuss all the unique issues facing Latina state legislators and future Latina leaders. These members highlighted the great strides Hispanic politicians have made in growing their numbers and expanding their legislative influence at the local, state, and national level.

However, despite this immense growth in political representation over the last couple of decades, the representation of Latina legislators has not grown at the same rate as their male counterparts. This telling fact in conjunction with the specific challenges facing Latinas serving in public office and those seeking public office inspired these pioneering Latina state legislators to advance the idea of a group solely committed to this element of the BHCC membership. In the wake of this meeting, the Latina State Legislative Caucus (LSLC) was created as a part of the BHCC.

The LSLC held its inaugural summit at the 2011 BHCC Conference with great reception from the participants. The summit serves as an opportunity for the BHCC’s powerful network of influential Latina state leaders to address these unique issues, as well as a myriad of other Latina-related topics. Advancing Latina legislators and collaborating on Latina legislative challenges are the main pillars of the BHCC LSLC and the main objectives of for the summit. The LSLC plans to hold annual summits at future BHCC conferences. The group looks forward in continuing to make history as the first deliberative body of Hispanic public officials addressing the challenges and issues surrounding Latina legislators.