BILL ANALYSIS
AB 1737
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Date of Hearing: March 23, 2010
ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON BUSINESS AND PROFESSIONS
Mary Hayashi, Chair
AB 1737 (Eng) - As Amended: March 15, 2010
SUBJECT : State agencies: collection of demographic data.
SUMMARY : Requires specified state agencies to use additional
separate collection categories and tabulations for major Asian,
Native Hawaiian, and Pacific Islander groups, as specified.
Specifically, this bill :
1)Distinguishes "Native Hawaiian" from "Hawaiian" in the list of
ancestral or ethnic origin categories of demographic data
collected by any state agency, board or commission.
2)Requires the following agencies to collect and tabulate data
for additional major Asian groups, including, but not limited
to Bangladeshi, Hmong, Indonesian, Malaysian, Pakistani, Sri
Lankan, Taiwanese, Thai, and additional major Native Hawaiian
and Pacific Islander groups, including, but not limited to,
Fijian and Tongan:
a) State Department of Health Care Services;
b) State Department of Public Health;
c) State Department of Social Services;
d) Employment Development Department;
e) Department of Industrial Relations;
f) State Personnel Board;
g) Department of Fair Employment and Housing; and,
h) State Department of Education.
3)Requires these agencies to report the collected data according
to each Asian, Native Hawaiian, and Pacific Islander group
specified and make that data available to the public in
accordance with state and federal law, except for personal
identifying information, which shall be deemed confidential.
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4)Commences these requirements no later than July 1, 2011.
5)Requires these agencies, within 18 months after the United
States (U.S.) Census is released to the public, to update
their data collection to reflect the additional Asian, Native
Hawaiian, and Pacific Islander groups as they are reported by
the U.S. Census Bureau.
6)States legislative intent.
EXISTING LAW requires any state agency, board or commission that
directly or by contract collects demographic data as to the
ancestry or ethnic origin of Californians to use separate
collect categories and tabulations for each major Asian and
Pacific Islander (API) group, including, but not limited to,
Chinese, Japanese, Filipino, Korean, Vietnamese, Asian Indian,
Hawaiian, Guamanian, Samoan, Laotian, and Cambodian.
FISCAL EFFECT : Unknown
COMMENTS :
Purpose of this bill . According to the author's office, "Given
the diversity of Asian American, Native Hawaiian and Pacific
Islander (AANHPI) communities, it is critical that data is
collected for separate ethnic groups. AB 1737 would ensure that
state-collected health, social services, labor, and civil rights
data is disaggregated into additional AANHPI ethnic groups, as
currently reported by the U.S. Census."
This bill is a reintroduction of AB 295 (Lieu) of 2007. AB 295
was vetoed by the Governor, with the following message.
"This bill would mandate state agencies that collect demographic
data regarding ethnicity to make separate classifications for
specified Asian groups. I believe this bill is unnecessary and
imposes additional costs on state agencies at a time the state
cannot afford them.
"Even as we work to move beyond divisions based on race, I
recognize there are times when it is appropriate for government
to sort data based on ethnicity. That is why existing law gives
state agencies the flexibility to expand upon current
demographic categories if necessary. Given this flexibility,
AB 1737
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this bill is unnecessary. I encourage the proponents of this
measure to work with individual agencies if they believe a
circumstance exists where expanding the number of ethnic
categories for the purposes of data collection is warranted."
Background . AANHPI are not a homogenous group, but instead
encompass a great variety of social and economic conditions.
While overall data may show that AANHPI are doing better than
average on certain social indicators, data that is separated out
by ethnic group clearly shows that certain communities,
especially among Pacific Islander and Southeast Asian ethnic
groups, have some of the greatest needs, including some of the
highest poverty rates and lowest educational attainment rates in
California. Laotians, Cambodians, and Hmong, for example, have
some of the highest poverty rates of all ethnic groups.
Similarly, AANHPI overall have a low mortality rate from
homicides, but particular ethnic groups, including Cambodians
and Vietnamese, have rates that are two to four times greater
than average. In the health care arena, specific AANHPI ethnic
groups are more likely to face certain conditions, a fact that
is masked when looking only at overall data for all AANHPI. For
example, Vietnamese, Native Hawaiians, and Pacific Islanders,
experience frequent mental distress at higher rates than other
AANHPI groups, yet the Vietnamese represent the highest
proportion of insured Californians who are without mental health
coverage.
AANHPI make up 14% of the state's population and continue to
grow. From 1990 to 2000, the combined AANHPI population grew by
as much as 52%. AANHPIs are now the second largest major racial
or ethnic group in four counties and the majority of the
population in eight cities across California.
Previous legislation . AB 295 (Lieu) of 2007 required various
state entities to report collected demographic data according to
each major API group and make that data available to the public
to the extent that disclosure did not violate confidentiality.
AB 295 was vetoed by the Governor.
SB 549 (Correa) of 2009 authorizes the Board of Barbering and
Cosmetology to collect gender, language and ethnicity data from
new licensure applicants and renewal licenses and requires that
the information be posted on the board's Internet Web site. SB
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549 was vetoed by the Governor.
REGISTERED SUPPORT / OPPOSITION :
Support
Advancement Project
American Cancer Society
American Civil Liberties Union
Asian American Drug Abuse Program
Asian Americans for Civil Rights & Equality
Asian and Pacific Islanders with Disabilities of California
Asian & Pacific Islander American Health Forum
Asian & Pacific Islanders California Action Network
Asian Health Services
Asian Healthcare Institute, Inc.
Asian Law Alliance
Asian Pacific AIDS Intervention Team
Asian Pacific American Legal Center
Asian Pacific Health Care Venture, Inc.
Asian Pacific Islander Caucus for Public Health
Asian Pacific Policy & Planning Council
Asian Rehabilitation Service, Inc.
Asian Resources
California Communities United Institute
California Pan-Ethnic Health Network
Californians Together
Cambodian Community Development Inc.
Chinatown Service Center
Guam Communications Network
Japanese American Citizens League, Pacific Southwest District
Korean American Family Service Center
Koreatown Youth & Community Center
National Asian Pacific American Families Against Substance Abuse
Native Hawaiian & Pacific Islander Alliance
NICOS Chinese Health Coalition
Pacific Clinics
Public Counsel Law Center
Racial & Ethnic Mental Health Disparities Coalition
Southeast Asian Assistance Center
Stanford Geriatric Education Center, Stanford School of Medicine
Pacific Asian Counseling Services
TOFA (Youth of the Friendly Islands Association)
United Cambodian Community, Inc.
University of California, Berkeley, Asian American and Pacific
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Islander Health Research Group
Numerous individuals
Opposition
None on file.
Analysis Prepared by : Rebecca May / B. & P. / (916) 319-3301