Leland Yin Yee (Chinese: 余胤良; Jyutping: jyu4 jan6 loeng4; pinyin: Yú Yìnliáng; born November 20, 1948) is an American former politician who served as a member of the California State Senate for District 8, which covered parts of San Francisco and the Peninsula.

In 2004 Yee became the first Asian American to be appointed Speaker pro Tempore, making him the second highest ranking Democrat of the California State Assembly.

In 2015, Yee pleaded guilty to felony racketeering charges for money laundering, political corruption, arms trafficking, and bribery.

Yee was arrested by the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) on March 26, 2014, on charges related to public corruption and gun trafficking—specifically, buying automatic firearms and shoulder-launched missiles from the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF), an Islamist extremist group located in the southern Philippines and attempting to re-sell those weapons to an undercover FBI agent, as well as accepting a $10,000 bribe from an undercover agent in exchange for placing a call to the California Department of Public Health regarding a contract at the organization.

[3] On July 1, 2015, Yee pleaded guilty to a felony racketeering count in relation to money laundering, public corruption and bribery in a joint-prosecution alongside fellow organized crime figures based in San Francisco's Chinatown.

[6] Leland Yee immigrated to San Francisco, California from his birthplace of Taishan,[7] Guangdong, China, when he was three years old and later became a naturalized American citizen.

[8] After obtaining his doctorate, Yee worked as a therapist in the Mental Health Department of San Francisco, the Oakland School District and with Asian American for Community Involvement, a non-profit that serves low-income people.

[9] In 1992, Yee was arrested for allegedly shoplifting a bottle of tanning oil and gum from the KTA Superstore in Kona's Keauhou Shopping Village.

Representing the city's fourth district, Yee was appointed to chair the Finance Committee, where he helped establish the "Rainy Day" budget reserve and introduced General Obligation Bond Accountability Act.

[14] These bills include AB 1371 which strengthens informed consent requirements for mentally handicapped patients that take part in medical research.

),[21] and AJR 14 which states that California officially opposes the weakening of the federal offshore oil drilling moratorium[22] Following news of the "Hot Coffee mod" in Rockstar North's Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas, Yee claimed that the Entertainment Software Rating Board (ESRB) knew about it in advance and criticized them for not rating the game "adults only".

[31] On June 6, 2006, Yee defeated his opponents Mike Nevin and Lou Papan to win the Democratic nomination for the California State Senate.

During sentencing, Federal District Judge Charles Beyer called Yee's actions "vile" and the arms dealings particularly "hypocritical" given the politician's history of gun control.

[35] In 2006 Yee was named to the Gun Violence Prevention Honor Roll by the Brady Campaign for his efforts that included co-authoring a first-in-the-nation bill to require new semiautomatic handguns be equipped with ballistics identification technology known as microstamping.

"[43] On April 12, 2007, Yee criticized the United States Army's plan to spend $2 million in tax dollars to sponsor the Global Gaming League.

[54] Yee introduced SB 242, prohibiting businesses from denying services to customers that don't speak English (a modification of the Unruh Civil Rights Act).

[59] This action has been met with criticism from gamers that the Californian state senator is wasting resources on a law already judged unconstitutional at a time when the state is already facing economic problems[60] In 2010 Yee introduced SB 1451, a bill that ensures California students do not learn from a modified curriculum designed by Texas-based textbook publishers.

[61] He wrote SB 399, a bill that would give a juvenile sentenced to life in prison without parole, the right to ask for a court review after ten years.

[70] On May 28, 2010, the Los Angeles Times reported that two California State sources disclosed that Sarah Palin would receive $75,000 for her speaking engagement.

[74] In what may be a described as a cynical analogy with a long obsolete practice of foot binding is echoed by Hawaii's former first lady Vicky Cayetano who states that: "shark fin soup is about as cultural as bound feet",[75] however, Senator Leland Yee, while voicing his concern about the illegal shark finning trade, argued that the mentality behind AB376 constitutes "the wrong approach and an unfair attack on Asian culture and cuisine... rather than launch just another attack on Asian American culture, the proponents of the (blanket) ban on shark fin soup should work with us to strengthen conservation efforts".

[76] Critics said the bill unfairly targeted the Chinese-American community because it only restricts the sale of shark fins, which are used almost exclusively in Chinese cuisine.

On January 19, 2011, conservative political commentator Rush Limbaugh mocked Chinese president Hu Jintao during his visit to the White House on his radio show.

Yee criticized Limbaugh for his remarks: "His classless act is an insult to over 3,000 years of cultural history, and is a slap in the face to the millions of Chinese Americans who have struggled in this country and to a people who constitute one-quarter of the world's population.

[81] The proposed bill asked California voters to repeal provisions of Proposition 209 and to permit state universities to consider an applicant's race, ethnicity or national origin in making admissions decisions.

"[82] An affidavit was filed on March 14, 2014, and unsealed on March 26, 2014, charging Yee with violating Title 18 United States Code Section 1343 and 1346 for honest services wire fraud by allegedly taking bribes from Well Tech, Ghee Kung Tong, and for medical marijuana legislation from undercover FBI agents in return for promises of official action; and Title 18 US Code Sections 371, 922(a)(1) and 922(1) for conspiracy to deal firearms without a license and to illegally import firearms from the Philippines by setting up an international weapons trafficking deal with undercover FBI agents.

He was also accused of accepting "tens of thousands of dollars in campaign contributions and cash payments to provide introductions, help a client get a contract, and influence legislation."

Leland Yee married his wife Maxine in 1972 and together they raised four children who attended San Francisco public schools.