Amended in Assembly April 20, 2015

California Legislature—2015–16 Regular Session

Assembly Bill No. 532

Introduced by Assembly Member McCarty

February 23, 2015

An act to add Section 8310.6 to the Government Code, relating to state agencies.

LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL’S DIGEST

AB 532, as amended, McCarty. State agencies: collection of data: begin delete ancestry end delete begin insert race end insert or ethnic origin.

Existing law requires state agencies, boards, or commissions that directly or by contract collect demographic data as to the ancestry or ethnic origin of Californians, and state agencies conducting surveys as to the ancestry or ethnic origin of state civil service employees, to use separate collection categories for each major Asian and Pacific Islander group.

This bill would begin delete enact the Ethnic Heritage Respect and Recognition Act to end delete require any state agency, board, or commission that directly or by contract collects demographic data, as soon as reasonably feasible and in no event later than January 1, begin delete ____, end delete begin insert 2022, end insert to provide forms that offer respondents the option of begin insert identifying as multiracial and end insert selecting one more ethnic or racial begin delete designation according to specified federal standards. end delete begin insert designations. end insert

Vote: majority. Appropriation: no. Fiscal committee: yes. State-mandated local program: no.

The people of the State of California do enact as follows:

SECTION 1.  

Section 8310.6 is added to the Government Code,
to read:

begin delete

8310.6.  

(a) This section shall be known and may be cited as
the Ethnic Heritage Respect and Recognition Act.

(b)

end delete

begin insert

begin insert 8310.6. end insert   

end insert

begin insert (a) end insert  The Legislature hereby finds and declares all of
the following:

(1) The State of California currently has the largest population
of people in the United States who identify with more than one
begin delete ancestry, ethnicity, end delete begin insert ethnicity end insert or race. This population of
Californians who identify as multiracial is rapidly growing.

(2) Many state forms that currently require respondents to
choose only a single begin delete ancestry, ethnicity, end delete begin insert ethnicity end insert or race force
multiracial Californians to deny a significant part of their heritage.
Information collected in this manner often deprives the state of
accurate data with which to meet the needs of its diverse
communities.

(3) It is in the best interest of the State of California to respect,
embrace, and understand the full diversity of its citizens.

begin delete

(4) Respect for individual dignity should guide the processes
and methods for collecting and encoding data on ancestry,
ethnicity, and race.

end delete begin delete

(5)

end delete

begin insert (4) end insert  Since 1997, the federal Office of Management and Budget’s
“Standards for Maintaining, Collecting, and Presenting Federal
Data on Race and Ethnicity” have required federal agencies to
ensure that individuals have the option of selecting one or more
ethnic or racial designations on federal government forms
requesting this information.

begin delete

(c)

end delete

begin insert (b) end insert  Any state agency, board, or commission that directly or by
contract collects demographic data on the begin delete ancestry, end delete ethnic origin,
ethnicity, or race of Californians shall do all of the following:

(1) Provide forms that offer respondents the option of begin insert identifying
as multiracial and end insert selecting one or more ethnic or racial
begin delete designations pursuant to the federal Office of Management and
Budget’s “Standards for Maintaining, Collecting, and Presenting
Federal Data on Race and Ethnicity.” end delete begin insert designations. end insert Recommended
forms for the instruction accompanying a multiple response
question are “mark one or more” begin delete and end delete begin insert or end insert “select one or more.” begin delete A
single designation for multiracial respondents does not satisfy this
requirement. end delete

(2) Ensure in cases when data on respondents’ begin delete ancestry, end delete ethnic
origin, ethnicity, or race is reported to any other state agency,
board, or commission that it is neither tabulated nor reported
without all of the following:

(A) The number or percentage of respondents who identify with
each ethnic or racial designation alone and not in combination with
any other ethnic or racial designation.

(B) The number or percentage of respondents who identify with
each ethnic or racial designation, whether alone or in combination
with other ethnic or racial designations.

(C) The number or percentage of respondents who identify with
multiple ethnic or racial designations.

(D) For civil rights monitoring and enforcement, complying
with the rules for multiple race response allocation issued by the
federal Office of Management and Budget Bulletin No. 00-02 in
cases of state or federally mandated actions related to an ethnic or
a racial community, or to assessing disparate impact or
discriminatory patterns. In these cases, the requirement of
subparagraph (C) shall not be considered satisfied without also
complying with the requirements of subparagraphs (A), (B), and
(D).

begin delete

(d)

end delete

begin insert (c) end insert  Each state agency, board, or commission required to comply
with subdivision (c) shall comply as early as reasonably feasible
when updating forms, software, hardware, or information collection
procedures, and in no event later than January 1, begin delete ____. end delete begin insert 2022. end insert

begin delete

(e)

end delete

begin insert (d) end insert  Notwithstanding any other provision of this section, any
state agency, board, or commission that collects demographic data
from a local agency may continue to collect and report that data
to any other state agency, board, or commission in the form that
the local agency submits it.