BILL ANALYSIS                                                                                                                                                                                                    Ó



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          GOVERNOR'S VETO


          AB  
          176 (Bonta)


          As Enrolled  September 10, 2015


          2/3 vote


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          |ASSEMBLY:  |77-1  |(June 2, 2015) |SENATE: |40-0  |(September 2,    |
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          |ASSEMBLY:  |77-1  |(September 8,  |        |      |                 |
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          Original Committee Reference:  HIGHER ED.


          SUMMARY:  Requires the California Community Colleges (CCC), the  
          California State University (CSU), the University of California  
          (UC), and the California Department of Managed Health Care  








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          (CDMHC) to disaggregate demographic information for Native  
          Hawaiian, Asian, and Pacific Islander (API) groups.


          The Senate amendments:


          1)Delete the requirement for the California Department of Health  
            Care Services.


          2)Make technical and clarifying changes.


          EXISTING LAW:  Requires state agencies, boards, and commissions  
          that directly or by contract collect demographic data as to the  
          ancestry or ethnic origin of Californians to use separate  
          collection categories and tabulations for each major API group,  
          including, but not limited to, Chinese, Japanese, Filipino,  
          Korean, Vietnamese, Asian Indian, Laotian, Cambodian, Hawaiian,  
          Guamanian, and Samoan (Government Code Section 8310.5).


          FISCAL EFFECT:  According to the Senate Appropriations  
          Committee:


          1)One-time costs of about $10,000 and ongoing cost of about  
            $10,000 per year for the California State University System to  
            upgrade computer systems and ensure proper reporting of  
            student data (General Fund).


          2)No significant costs are anticipated by the Department of  
            Managed Health Care, as another provision of existing law  
            already requires the Department to collect data in a manner  
            that complies with the requirements of this bill (Managed Care  
            Fund).









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          3)No significant costs are anticipated by the California  
            Community College System, as the Chancellor's Office  
            anticipates that the delayed implementation in the bill will  
            allow community college districts to incorporate the required  
            data system changes as part of their ongoing system  
            maintenance (General Fund).


          4)No significant costs are anticipated by the University of  
            California (General Fund).


          COMMENTS:  Background.  According to the California Commission  
          on Asian and Pacific Islander American Affairs' Issue Paper on  
          September 5, 2014, data disaggregation is imperative for  
          uncovering economic, educational, and social disparities  
          inherent not only in API American communities, but in all ethnic  
          populations.  The commission finds that the need to disaggregate  
          data is often exemplified by the needs of Southeast Asian  
          American students; often categorized as "Asian," their "lower  
          academic achievement rates are overshadowed by the stereotype  
          that all Asian students excel in academics." 


          Purpose of this bill.  According to the author's office, "By  
          relying heavily on aggregate data of the API community, the  
          State of California fails to recognize that different API ethnic  
          subpopulations have diverse social and economic conditions."   
          The author contends that if the needs of each of the API  
          "subgroups" are not addressed properly, California will run the  
          risk of lower educational outcomes and greater healthcare costs  
          for our future generations.  Data disaggregation is imperative  
          for uncovering social, economic and educational disparities  
          within the greater Asian population.


          GOVERNOR'S VETO MESSAGE:









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          Assembly Bill 176 would require the Regents of the University of  
          California, the Trustees of the California State University, the  
          Board of Governors of the California Community Colleges and the  
          Department of Managed Health Care to collect and report  
          demographic information for Asians, Native Hawaiians and Pacific  
          Islanders by specified ethnic categories after the next census.


          To be sure, there is value in understanding data on race,  
          ethnicity, gender and other aspects of identity. On a broad  
          level, these demographic data can signal important changes in  
          society. On a practical level, they can help elucidate how our  
          laws and programs can be shaped to reflect a changing  
          population.


          Despite this utility, I am wary of the ever growing desire to  
          stratify. Dividing people into ethnic or other subcategories may  
          yield more information, but not necessarily greater wisdom about  
          what actions should follow. To focus just on ethnic identity may  
          not be enough.


          CSU, community colleges, and UC already provide many ways in  
          which to self-identify, including choosing among several ethnic  
          identities. In the case of CSU, there are 50 choices for API  
          applicants alone. Codifying the collection and reporting of at  
          least 12 API groups several years into the future appears  
          unnecessary, or at least premature.




          Analysis Prepared by:                                             
                          Jeanice Warden / HIGHER ED. / (916) 319-3960   
          FN: 0002474










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