Biography
Dr. Judy Chu was elected to the California State Board of Equalization in November 2006. In January 2007, she was unanimously selected as Vice Chair by her colleagues and named Chair of the Legislative Committee. In January 2008, Judy Chu was unanimously elected Chair on the Board of Equalization. As Chair of the BOE, Dr. Chu will also serve as a voting Member of the California Franchise Tax Board.
Before joining the State Board of Equalization, Dr. Chu served three terms as a State Assembly Member for the 49th District in the West San Gabriel Valley from 2001 to 2006. She was Chair of the Assembly Appropriations Committee, which oversees all legislation that has a fiscal impact on the state.
In addition, Dr. Chu served as Chair of the California Asian and Pacific Islander Legislative Caucus, Assembly Select Committee on Hate Crimes, and Assembly Subcommittee on Health and Human Services. She was also a member of the Assembly Revenue and Taxation Committee, Labor and Employment Committee, and Environmental Safety and Toxic Materials Committee.
In 2004, Dr. Chu authored a landmark tax amnesty bill which was estimated to bring in $300 million but actually brought in $4.8 billion in revenue for the state budget without raising taxes. Several states offered tax amnesty that year, and California’s was the most successful tax amnesty program in the nation.
Prior to the State Assembly, Dr. Chu served on the Monterey Park City Council for thirteen years from 1988 to 2001, and served as Mayor three times. She began her career in public service as a Board Member of the Garvey School District from 1985 to 1988. Dr. Chu has been dedicated to education for decades, and was a community college professor of psychology for 20 years. She holds a Ph.D. in psychology and a B.A. in mathematics.