Committees

Assembly Member Juan Arambula (D-Fresno) represents the 31st District in the California State Assembly, which includes the central San Joaquin Valley communities of Cutler-Orosi, Dinuba, Firebaugh, Fowler, Fresno, Kerman, Mendota, Parlier, Reedley, Sanger, San Joaquin, and Selma.

Since his election in 2004, Arambula has chaired the Assembly Jobs, Economic Development and the Economy Committee. Arambula also chairs Assembly Budget Subcommittee 4, which oversees state administration. In addition, he serves as a member of committees that oversee the state budget, higher education, revenue and taxation, the 10th University of California campus at Merced, and state procurement. He is also honored to serve as the Assembly Speaker's appointee to the state Economic Strategy Panel.

Assemblymember Arambula’s top legislative priorities are to improve California’s business climate, encourage job creation and retention, and improve student academic achievement. He is also working to tackle air and water quality problems in the Central Valley, the shortage of health-care professionals, and California’s infrastructure needs.

In the current legislative session, Arambula is pursuing these goals through bills to reform the management of troubled schools, improve water management and drinking water quality, and secure state bond funds to improve air quality and meet the needs of small communities. He has also introduced several bills to encourage job growth in the clean technology industry. The California Partnership for the San Joaquin Valley supports several Arambula bills that would further the Partnership's recommendations to improve the Valley's economy and quality of life.

Arambula has been honored with a number of awards since joining the Legislature. He has been named “Legislator of the Year” by both the California Small Business Association and the California Association for Local Economic Development.

Prior to his election to the Assembly, Arambula served on the Fresno County Board of Supervisors from 1997 to 2004, where he distinguished himself as a consensus builder, a seasoned decision-maker, and an effective public servant, earning him the prestigious Rose Ann Vuich Award for Ethics in Leadership in 2002 for his public service.

Realizing the devastating impact of the Central Valley’s chronic double-digit unemployment, he has sought to diversify its economy. He also co-chaired the Fresno Regional Jobs Initiative, a collaborative effort to develop and attract new jobs.

From 1987 to 1996, he served on the Fresno Unified School Board, where he worked to meet the needs of a diverse student population while maintaining financial stability during lean budget years. Arambula also served on the Board of Directors for the California School Boards Association and the California State Association of Counties.

During his 20 years of public service, Arambula has been a stabilizing influence, whose calm leadership helped guide Fresno County and Fresno schools through difficult times.

Arambula graduated from three of the most respected schools in the nation. He graduated with high honors from Harvard University, and went on to earn a Master's Degree in Educational Administration and Policy Analysis from Stanford University and a law degree from the University of California, Berkeley.

Arambula is the son of immigrant farm workers. In his youth, he harvested crops with his family throughout California — from which arose his commitment to improve the living conditions of those around him. Assemblymember Arambula lives in Fresno with Amy, his wife of 30 years. He has four adult children — Joaquin, Carmen, Diego and Miguel — and one grandson, Izel.