BILL NUMBER: AB 532	AMENDED
	BILL TEXT

	AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY  APRIL 20, 2015

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:
 ancestry  race  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  enact the Ethnic Heritage Respect and
Recognition Act to 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,
 ____,   2022,  to provide forms that offer
respondents the option of  identifying as multiracial and 
selecting one more ethnic or racial  designation according to
specified federal standards.   designations. 
   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: 
   8310.6.  (a) This section shall be known and may be cited as the
Ethnic Heritage Respect and Recognition Act.
   (b) 
    8310.6.    (a)  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
 ancestry, ethnicity,   ethnicity  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  ancestry, ethnicity,   ethnicity
 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.

   (4) Respect for individual dignity should guide the processes and
methods for collecting and encoding data on ancestry, ethnicity, and
race.  
   (5) 
    (4)  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. 
   (c) 
    (b)  Any state agency, board, or commission that
directly or by contract collects demographic data on the 
ancestry,  ethnic origin, ethnicity, or race of Californians
shall do all of the following:
   (1) Provide forms that offer respondents the option of 
identifying as multiracial and  selecting one or more ethnic or
racial  designations pursuant to the federal Office of
Management and Budget's "Standards for Maintaining, Collecting, and
Presenting Federal Data on Race and Ethnicity."  
designations.  Recommended forms for the instruction
accompanying a multiple response question are "mark one or more"
 and   or  "select one or more."  A
single designation for multiracial respondents does not satisfy this
requirement. 
   (2) Ensure in cases when data on respondents'  ancestry,
 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). 
   (d) 
    (c)  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, 
____.   2022.  
   (e) 
    (d)  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.