Assemblymember Dr. Jasmeet Bains was elected to the California State Assembly in November 2022 to represent the 35th Assembly District. She is the first Sikh American elected to California State office and the first South Asian woman elected to the California legislature.
As a dedicated representative of Kern County, Dr. Jasmeet Bains has made a significant impact in her first year as a legislator. Her efforts have resulted in more than $20 million being allocated to enhance public safety and combat fentanyl. She has also championed legislation that provides a $100 million tax cut for nursing mothers, protects good Samaritans, tackles catalytic converter theft, and fights against unfair taxes.
Dr. Bains is not just a legislator but also a working physician in her community. Her work as a physician includes family medicine and addiction care, providing primary to families throughout the Valley. Dr. Bains also serves as the Chief Medical Officer for the Central Valley with the California Medical Assistance Team (CAL-MAT) to help respond to disasters and regional emergencies, standing up COVID-19 surge hospitals and providing medical care at firebases for firefighters and evacuees during significant wildfire events.
Dr. Bains' commitment to public service goes beyond her medical practice. She actively volunteers with Global Family, an organization that she passionately supports in its mission to combat human trafficking and child abuse.
The daughter of immigrant parents from India, she grew up in the Valley. After graduating from medical school, she returned home to complete her residency at Clinica Sierra Vista in Kern County. Her desire to increase access to healthcare drove her choice to work in underserved healthcare settings.
In 2024, Crime Victims United honored Dr. Bains as Legislator of the Year for her work on getting resources to improve public safety and combat illicit drugs.
Other awards and honors she has earned include 2024 Legislator of the Year from the Alzheimer’s Association, the 2023 Medical Education Service Award from the University of California-Irvine School of Medicine, she was the 2023 Physician of the Year from the Kern County Black Chamber of Commerce, a 2023 recognition of a “trailblazing achievement” from the American Sikh Council as the first Sikh American Assemblywoman, the Greater Bakersfield Chamber of Commerce chose Dr. Bains as the 2021 Beautiful Bakersfield Award winner, in 2019 she was named ‘Hero of Family Medicine by the California Academy of Family Physicians, and in 2017 Gov. Jerry Brown appointed Dr. Bains to Chair the California Healthcare Workforce Policy Commission.
Dr. Bains now chairs the California Assembly Aging and Long-Term Care Committee and sits on Business and Professions, Government Organization, and Revenue and Taxation Committees.