BILL ANALYSIS
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Date of Hearing: April 30, 2009
ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON GOVERNMENTAL ORGANIZATION
Curren D. Price, Chairman
ACR 13 (Fuentes) - As Introduced: January 22, 2009
SUBJECT : Decennial census
SUMMARY : This measure would recognize April 10, 2010 as the
United States Census Day and strongly urge the Governor to act
immediately to commence planning for outreach efforts for the
2010 decennial census so as to achieve a complete count of all
Californians.
1) The Resolution finds:
a) The United States Constitution requires an
enumeration of the population every 10 years, which is
known as the United States decennial census; and
b) The United States decennial census is important
because it determines congressional representation,
state redistricting, federal formula grant allocations,
state funding to local governments, and local programs
and planning activities for the next 10 years; and
c) California, with the eighth largest economy in the
world, a population of more than 37 million, a territory
of 163,696 square miles, and significant geographic,
racial, and ethnic diversity, has
experienced a historical undercount in prior censuses;
and
d) A complete and accurate count of all residents in
the 2010 decennial census is vital to ensure fair
political representation and distribution of funding in
California; and
e) Now, more than ever, in the face of a record state
budget deficit, a complete count of all Californians in
the decennial census is critical; and
f) The next decennial census of the population will
be conducted on April 1, 2010, and the United States
Census Bureau and the Demographics Unit of the
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California Department of Finance already
have begun planning to ensure its success; and
g) The California Complete Count Committee, created
in 1999, directed an extensive outreach campaign with a
budget of $24.7 million to encourage full participation
in the 2000 decennial census by all Californians,
especially historically undercounted populations; and
h) Despite limited time for outreach, the campaign
still was successful in reaching various segments of the
population and contributed to a mail-back response rate
of 70 percent for California, which exceeded the
national response rate of 67 percent; and
i) Despite these outreach efforts in connection with
the 2000 census, 522,796 Californians were not counted,
which resulted in a loss of $1.5 billion in federal
funding for the state; and
j) Residents are more likely to respond to the census
questionnaire if they are informed about the census and
better understand the census process; and
aa) Future outreach efforts depend on strong
partnerships with state, local, and tribal governments,
community-based organizations, faith-based groups,
schools, businesses, the media, and others; and
bb) A sufficient amount of time is necessary to
develop and implement education and outreach planning
efforts; and
cc) The Select Committee on the Census held its first
hearing on April 4, 2008, and through testimony,
determined that California must now begin to develop a
work plan and determine if resources need to be budgeted
in 2009 and 2010 to promote the census.
2) Resolves that the Legislature strongly urges the
Governor to act immediately to commence planning for
outreach efforts for the 2010 decennial census so as to
achieve a complete count of all Californians.
EXISTING LAW
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1) Requires that a Census of everyone living in the United
States shall occur every ten (10) years. The next federal
Census will occur in 2010.
2) United States Constitution. Article I., Section 2:
"Representatives and direct taxes shall be apportioned
among the
several states which may be included within this union,
according to their respective numbers, which shall be
determined
by adding to the whole number of free persons, including
those
bound to service for a term of years, and excluding Indians
not
taxed, three fifths of all other Persons. The actual
Enumeration
shall be made within three years after the first meeting of
the
Congress of the United States, and within every subsequent
term
of ten years, in such manner as they shall by law direct."
The
14th Amendment nullified the "three-fifths" clause:
"Representatives shall be apportioned among the several
states
according to their respective numbers, counting the whole
number
of persons in each state, excluding Indians not taxed."
3) Requires, under federal law (92 Stat. 915, Public Law
95-416, enacted on October 5, 1978), census records are
sealed for 72 years. This figure has remained unchanged
since prior to the updates of the 1978 law, reflecting an
era when life expectancy was under 60 years,[and thus
attempts to protect individual's privacy by prohibiting the
release of such information during their expected
lifetimes. Thus, the most recent Census released to the
public was the 1930 Census, released in 2002.
FISCAL EFFECT : Unknown
COMMENTS : Purpose of this Resolution . According to the
author, given the limited resources available for Census
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outreach activities in 2010, California must also work to
achieve effective coordination between the Bureau and
the state's localities in implementing the Census 2010
communications and outreach plans. The state should help ensure
that local governments are aware of and have access to outreach
materials and strategies utilized by the Bureau, to avoid
unnecessary duplication of efforts. The state must also help
promote the use of consistent messages in the outreach materials
of its localities - messages that emphasize the importance of
being counted in the Census and the confidentiality of
information provided to the Bureau.
The author urges the Governor and the legislature to immediately
initiate any feasible activities (planning/funding) to obtain
resources for California 2010 Census partnership and outreach
activities. The author states, "We understand that the
budgetary challenges facing the state may make it difficult to
secure public funding for this purpose, and that the state may
pursue private monies for Census efforts. Should these
resources become available; the state must ensure that they are
allocated as soon as possible."
What is the Census ? The census is a count of everyone living in
the United States, which is completed every 10 years. The
census is mandated by the U.S. Constitution. The next census
will occur in 2010 and individuals are required by law
to participate. Federal law protects the personal information
shared within the census. Census data are used to distribute
Congressional seats to states, to make decisions at every level
of government, and to distribute $300 billion in federal funds
to communities each year.
The census can be contrasted with sampling in which information
is only obtained from a subset of a population. As such, it is a
method used for accumulating statistical data, and also plays a
part in democracy (voting). Census data is also
commonly used for research, business marketing, planning
purposes and not at least as a base for sampling surveys.
In addition to a simple count of residents, the Census Bureau
collects a variety of statistics, on topics ranging from
ethnicity to the presence of indoor plumbing. While some
critics claim that census questions are an invasion of privacy,
the data collected by every question is either required to
enforce some federal law (such as the Voting Rights Act) or is
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required to administer some federal program. The United States
Congress gives approval to every question asked on the Census.
California Complete Count Committee . On November 4, 1999,
Governor Davis issued an executive order, pursuant to SB 711
(Burton), Chapter 86, Statutes of 1999, establishing the
California Complete Count Committee (Committee). In the
order, the governor directed the Committee to, "as expeditiously
as possible, develop, recommend and assist in the administration
of an outreach strategy to encourage full participation in the
2000 federal decennial census of population." The order
required the outreach strategy to include, but not be limited
to, State agency initiatives to encourage
participation in the 2000 Census, the establishment and support
of county complete count committees and school-based outreach
programs, the creation and operation of nonprofit
Questionnaire Assistance Centers, and a media campaign designed
to ensure an accurate and complete count of California's
population." The Legislature appropriated approximately $25
million, making California the only state in the nation to
approve a census outreach program of this magnitude.
Like the U.S. Census Bureau's paid advertisements, the
campaign's main focus was to encourage people to send in their
form by mail. However, the campaign targeted undercounted
groups in specific local areas in California. For people
who needed help filling out the form, the campaign funded
questionnaire assistance centers and publicized their locations.
These state-funded centers were resources available to people
in addition to the questionnaire assistance centers operated by
the U.S. Census Bureau. During the period of non-response
follow-up, the campaign message was to encourage people to
cooperate and "open your door" to U.S. Census Bureau
enumerators.
In California, the mail response rate rose from 65 percent in
the 1990 Census to 70 percent in Census 2000. California's 70
percent response was also significantly higher than the rates
obtained in other large states: Texas's Census 2000
response rate was 64 percent; Florida and New York's rates were
both 63 percent.
Prior Legislation . ACR 123 (Fuentes) of 2008 Legislative
Session. Held in Senate Appropriations Committee. Would urge
the Governor to act immediately to begin planning for outreach
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efforts for the 2010 Decennial Census in order to achieve a
complete count of all Californians.
AB 2314 (Fuentes) of 2008 Legislative Session. Held in Assembly
Governmental Organization Committee. Would have required the
Governor to appoint a task force to make recommendations on how
to maximize the number of Californians in the 2010 Census and to
implement a census outreach program.
SB 711 (Burton), Chapter 86, 1999 Statutes. Requests the
Governor to appoint a task force to make recommendations on how
to maximize the number of California's counted in the 2000
census and to implement a census outreach program. Also,
deletes section of AB 1660 (Shelley) establishing the
"California Complete Count Committee."
AB 1660 (Shelley), Chapter 85, 1999 Statutes. Establishes the
"California Complete Count Committee" (Subsequently deleted by
SB 711 (Burton).
REGISTERED SUPPORT / OPPOSITION :
Support
None on file
Opposition
None on file
Analysis Prepared by : Rod Brewer / G. O. / (916) 319-2531