He is the vice chair of the Independent Citizens Oversight Committee, the governing board of the California Institute for Regenerative Medicine (CIRM).

He earned a Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of California, Santa Cruz and a Juris Doctor from UC Davis School of Law.

Torres co-authored legislation that created the Museum of Tolerance in Los Angeles, and the California Clean Water Act.

The first "Restroom Equity" Act in the United States was passed in California in 1989, introduced by Torres after several long waits for his wife to return from the bathroom.

"[7] Torres served as a German Marshall Fund Fellow and delivered a paper on Western European immigration issues.

Former San Francisco Mayor Willie Lewis Brown Jr. and first vice-chair Alexandra Gallardo-Rooker substituted for Torres as convention chair.

[11] Torres came out as a gay man in 2009, thanking his longtime partner Gonzalo Escudero at a farewell speech to the California Democratic Party.