Affirmative action proposal not going before voters

SAN FRANCISCO, CA - FEBRUARY 13: Students hoping for a repeal of California's Proposition 209 hold signs as they protest outside of the Ninth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals on February 13, 2012 in San Francisco, California. A Federal appeals court will hear arguments in a lawsuit that wants to overturn Proposition 209, a voter approved measure that prohibits affirmative action at state universities. (Photo by Justin Sullivan/Getty Images)

Senate Constitutional Amendment 5 passed the Senate with a supermajority in late January and needed the Assembly to pass it with a supermajority get on the ballot. This could be a turning point for the political prowess of Asian-Americans in California.

A controversial proposal that aimed to bring back affirmative action to California's public universities is not going before voters this year as supporters had hoped. But it doesn't mean the issue is completely dead.

Josie Huang has been reporting on this for story for KPCC's Immigration and Emerging Communities desk. She joins us now.

What happened to this bill could actually be a turning point for the political prowess of Asian-Americans in California.

To talk about their growing power, we're joined by Karthick Ramakrishnan, professor of political science at UC Riverside, and director of the National Asian American Survey.