--- title: HR 1240. The Georgia Asian Pacific American Bar Association; commend collection: bills id: 2025-2026/hr1240 cite_as: HR 1240, 2025-2026 Regular Session (Ga.) canonical_url: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/hr1240 md_url: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/hr1240.md text_url: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/hr1240/text source_url: https://www.legis.ga.gov/legislation/72865 date: 2026-02-04 status: passed corpus_version: bills-2026-09-13 license: Public record of the Georgia General Assembly, via LegiScan; see about.md publisher: Georgia Commons, an independent project of Georgia Civic Data. Not the State of Georgia. Not legal advice. up: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026.md previous: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/hr1239.md next: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/hr1241.md index: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/index.md omitted: votes and history omitted_chars: 131 omitted_url: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/hr1240.md?full=1 bill_number: HR 1240 session: 2025-2026 Regular Session session_slug: 2025-2026 chamber: House bill_type: resolution status_date: 2026-02-04 last_action: House Read and Adopted sponsors: - Michelle Au - Long Tran - Soo Hong - Samuel Park text_version: Introduced has_text: true legiscan_url: https://legiscan.com/GA/bill/HR1240/2025 upstream_id: 2108170 summaries_model: claude-sonnet-5 topic_tags: - legislative commendation - Asian Pacific American community - Georgia legal profession - civic recognition --- # HR 1240. The Georgia Asian Pacific American Bar Association; commend ## Text House Resolution 1240 By: Representatives Au of the 50th, Tran of the 80th, Hong of the 103rd, and Park of the 107th A RESOLUTION Recognizing and commending The Georgia Asian Pacific American Bar Association; and for other purposes. WHEREAS, The Georgia Asian Pacific American Bar Association (GAPABA) was founded in 1993 by Prof. Natsu Saito, of the Georgia State University College of Law, and Judge Alvin T. Wong, a judge of the DeKalb County State Court in Georgia, to establish a Georgia support network for Asian American and Pacific Islander (AAPI) attorneys and those interested in AAPI legal issues; and ; and WHEREAS, GAPABA was chartered as an official chapter of the National Asian Pacific American Bar Association on June 11, 1993, by 13 original charter members: Kenneth W. Brosnahan, Socheat Chea, Martin L. Chen, Thomas Y. Choi, Prof. Natsu Saito, Hon. Chung Hun Lee, Dr. Sai Hyun Lee, Hongli Ma, Renee Hom Neary, Christina Pak, Hon. Alvin T. Wong, Raymond M. Wong, and Yongman Zhang; and WHEREAS, GAPABA represents and advocates the interests of AAPI, encourages and promotes the professional growth of AAPI lawyers and other members of the legal profession, broadens professional opportunities for AAPI lawyers and law students, and supports the entrance and advancement of AAPIs within the legal profession; and WHEREAS, The GAPABA Law Foundation (GLF) was organized in 2005 as the non-profit arm of GAPABA, with the mission of providing charitable and educational services for Georgia's AAPI legal community and has awarded over $350,000 to non-profit organizations to support legal internships, programs, and fellowships; and WHEREAS, The Trinh Huynh Fellowship, created with Asian Americans Advancing Justice-Atlanta, is a legal fellowship dedicated to litigation to benefit the AAPI community; and WHEREAS, The Hemanth Digumarthi Public Interest Scholarship provides a source of funding for law students who accept unpaid summer internships with organizations that advance public interest causes. NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES that the members of this body recognize and commend The Georgia Asian Pacific American Bar Association. BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Clerk of the House of Representatives is authorized and directed to make an appropriate copy of this resolution available for distribution to The Georgia Asian Pacific American Bar Association. ## Summaries written by Georgia Commons The following was written by claude-sonnet-5 from the text above and is not part of the resolution. Quote the text, not the summary. A Georgia House resolution commends The Georgia Asian Pacific American Bar Association for over three decades of supporting Asian American and Pacific Islander attorneys and legal students in Georgia. ### Plain-language summary This is a ceremonial resolution from the Georgia House of Representatives, not a change to state law. It recognizes The Georgia Asian Pacific American Bar Association (GAPABA), founded in 1993 to support Asian American and Pacific Islander attorneys and those interested in AAPI legal issues in Georgia. The resolution recounts GAPABA's history, including its founding members, its chartering as an official chapter of the National Asian Pacific American Bar Association, and the work of its nonprofit arm, the GAPABA Law Foundation, which has awarded more than $350,000 to support legal internships, programs, and fellowships. It also references two named fellowships and scholarships the organization supports. The House formally commends the organization and directs the Clerk of the House to send GAPABA a copy of the resolution. ### What it does - Formally commends The Georgia Asian Pacific American Bar Association on behalf of the Georgia House of Representatives. - Recounts the organization's founding history, founders, and charter members without creating any new legal requirement. - Directs the Clerk of the House of Representatives to send a copy of the resolution to the organization. - Does not change any Georgia statute, create funding, or impose any obligation on any person or entity. ### Who it affects The resolution directly names and honors The Georgia Asian Pacific American Bar Association, its founders, and its affiliated GAPABA Law Foundation. It has no legal effect on other Georgians, businesses, or government agencies. ### Why it matters Because this is a ceremonial resolution rather than a law, it does not change anyone's rights, duties, or funding. Its main effect is a formal, public statement from the Georgia House recognizing GAPABA's history and community contributions. ### Key provisions - The whereas clauses describe GAPABA's 1993 founding by Prof. Natsu Saito and Judge Alvin T. Wong and its chartering as a national chapter that same year. - The resolution notes the GAPABA Law Foundation, organized in 2005, has awarded more than $350,000 to support legal internships, programs, and fellowships. - The resolving clause states the House commends GAPABA but creates no legal obligations or funding. - The final clause directs the Clerk of the House to distribute a copy of the resolution to the organization. ## Status - Status: Passed (2026-02-04) - Last action: House Read and Adopted (2026-02-04) - Sponsors: Michelle Au, Long Tran, Soo Hong, Samuel Park - Official page: https://www.legis.ga.gov/legislation/72865 > The history, votes, and amendments (131 characters) are at https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/hr1240.md?full=1