AB 532, as amended, McCarty. State agencies: collection of data: 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 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 selecting one more ethnic or racial 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 8310.9 is added to the Government Code,
2to read:
(a) The Legislature hereby finds and declares all of
4the following:
5(1) The State of California currently has the largest population
6of people in the United States who identify with more than one
7ethnicity or race. This population of Californians who identify as
8multiracial is rapidly growing.
9(2) Many state forms that currently require respondents to
10choose only a single ethnicity or race force multiracial Californians
11to deny a significant part of their heritage. Information collected
12in this manner often deprives the state of accurate data with which
13to
meet the needs of its diverse communities.
14(3) It is in the best interest of the State of California to respect,
15embrace, and understand the full diversity of its citizens.
16(4) Since 1997, the federal Office of Management and Budget’s
17“Standards for Maintaining, Collecting, and Presenting Federal
18Data on Race and Ethnicity” have required federal agencies to
19ensure that individuals have the option of selecting one or more
20ethnic or racial designations on federal government forms
21requesting this information.
22(b) Any state agency, board, or commission that directly or by
23contract collects demographic data on the ethnic origin, ethnicity,
24or race of
Californians shall do all of the following:
25(1) Provide forms that offer respondents the option of selecting
26one or more ethnic or racial designations. Recommended forms
27for the instruction accompanying a multiple response question are
28“mark one or more” or “select one or more.”
29(2) Ensure in cases when data on respondents’ ethnic origin,
30ethnicity, or race is reported to any other state agency, board, or
31commission that it is neither tabulated nor reported without all of
32the following:
33(A) The number or percentage of respondents who identify with
34each ethnic or racial designation alone and not in combination with
35any other ethnic or racial designation.
P3 1(B) The number or percentage of respondents who identify with
2each ethnic or racial designation, whether alone or in combination
3with other ethnic or racial designations.
4(C) The number or percentage of respondents who identify with
5multiple ethnic or racial designations.
6(D) For civil rights monitoring and enforcement, complying
7with the rules for multiple race response allocation issued by the
8federal Office of Management and Budget Bulletin No. 00-02 in
9cases of state or federally mandated actions related to an ethnic or
10a racial community, or to assessing disparate impact or
11discriminatory patterns. In these cases, the requirement of
12subparagraph (C) shall not be
considered satisfied without also
13complying with the requirements of subparagraphs (A), (B), and
14(D).
15(c) Each state agency, board, or commission required to comply
16with subdivision (b) shall comply as early as reasonably feasible
17when updating forms, software, hardware, or information collection
18procedures, and in no event later than January 1, 2022.
19(d) Notwithstanding any other provision of this section, any
20state agency, board, or commission that collects demographic data
21from a local agency may continue to collect and report that data
22to any other state agency, board, or commission in the form that
23the local agency submits it.
24(e) Notwithstanding any other provision of this section, any
25state agency, board, or commission that collects ethnic or racial
26data solely to comply with federal requirements may continue to
27collect and report that data to any other state agency, board, or
28commission in the form required by the federal government.
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