BILL ANALYSIS Ó
AB 532
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Date of Hearing: May 13, 2015
ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON APPROPRIATIONS
Jimmy Gomez, Chair
AB
532 (McCarty) - As Amended April 20, 2015
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Urgency: No State Mandated Local Program: NoReimbursable: No
SUMMARY:
This bill requires any state agency, board, or commission that
collects demographic data to provide forms that offer the option
of "multiracial" identification, and selecting one or more
ethnic or racial designations. Specifically, this bill:
AB 532
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1)Requires state agencies, boards, or commissions when reporting
respondents data to any other state agency, board, or
commission to tabulate and report all of the following:
a) The number or percentage of respondents who identify
with each ethnic or racial designation alone.
b) The number or percentage of respondents who identify
with each ethnic or racial designation in combination with
other ethnic or racial designations.
c) The number or percentage of respondents who identify
with multiple ethnic or racial designations.
d) Federally mandated actions related to civil rights
monitoring and enforcement.
2)Requires state agencies, boards, or commissions to comply as
soon as reasonably feasible, but no later than January 1,
2022.
3)Allows any state agency, board, or commission that collects
demographic data from a local agency to continue to collect
and report that data in the form the local agency submits.
FISCAL EFFECT:
Minor costs to state agencies, boards and commissions that
collect demographic data to update forms and information
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collection procedures over a six-year period ending January 1,
2022.
COMMENTS:
Background and Purpose. Data collection by state agencies,
boards, or commissions that collect demographic data is not
uniform across entities. Existing law sets minimum requirements
but does not limit the amount of information an entity may
collect. Current collection forms seek to provide multiple
racial designations from which an individual may select more
than one designation to express their racial identity.
Difficulty arises, however, when an individual finds that their
racial identity cannot be accurately expressed through the
limited number of racial designations listed on the forms. Race
organizations have identified the need for individuals who
consider themselves multiracial to have the option of
self-identifying as simply "multiracial" as opposed to
attempting to express their racial identity through an ever
expanding list of racial designations. By adding a racial
designation of "multiracial" in combination with allowing more
than one ethnic or racial designation, this bill allows
individuals to choose the method that best suits them.
Analysis Prepared by:Jennifer Swenson / APPR. / (916)
319-2081
AB 532
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