When horse-tripping legislation was debated in California, the sponsor of the original bill was Joe Baca, an Assemblyman of Mexican descent who went on to become a member of the U.S. Congress. When the initial bill was submitted by Baca, it was criticized as discriminatory by other Mexican American Assembly members such as Richard Polanco. The original bill was defeated, but was resubmitted during an emergency session of the legislature. Assemblyman Baca did not sponsor the resubmitted legislation, instead it was sponsored by a non-Hispanic member, John Burton. However, unlike the situation in Arizona, during the debate leading to the ban enacted in 1994, the California Equine Legislative Counsel presented testimony that individuals such as Cesar Chavez and organizations including the Mexican American Political Association opposed horse-tripping as a "cruel cultural anachronism."