BILL ANALYSIS �
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|SENATE RULES COMMITTEE | AB 1088|
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THIRD READING
Bill No: AB 1088
Author: Eng (D)
Amended: 8/30/11 in Senate
Vote: 21
SENATE GOVERNMENTAL ORG. COMMITTEE : 11-2, 6/28/11
AYES: Wright, Calderon, Cannella, Corbett, De Le�n, Evans,
Hernandez, Padilla, Strickland, Wyland, Yee
NOES: Anderson, Berryhill
SENATE APPROPRIATIONS COMMITTEE : 6-3, 8/25/11
AYES: Kehoe, Alquist, Lieu, Pavley, Price, Steinberg
NOES: Walters, Emmerson, Runner
ASSEMBLY FLOOR : 55-23, 6/2/11 - See last page for vote
SUBJECT : State agencies: collection of demographic data
SOURCE : Asian Americans for Civil Rights and Equality
Asian and Pacific Islanders California Action
Network
Asian Pacific American Legal Center
DIGEST : This bill requires certain state agencies to
collect and tabulate data for additional major Asian
groups, as listed, in order to better reflect the diversity
of Asian American, Hawaiian and Pacific Islander
communities in California.
ANALYSIS : Existing law requires state agencies, boards,
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and commissions which directly or by contract collect
demographic data as to the ancestry or ethnic origin of
Californians to use separate collection categories and
tabulations for each major Asian and Pacific Islander
group, including, but not limited to, Chinese, Japanese,
Filipino, Korean, Vietnamese, Asian Indian, Hawaiian,
Guamanian, Samoan, Laotian, and Cambodian.
This bill requires certain state agencies to collect and
tabulate data for additional major Asian groups, as listed,
in order to better reflect the diversity of Asian American,
Hawaiian and Pacific Islander communities in California.
Specifically, this bill:
1. Makes various legislative findings and declarations
relative to the fact that Asians and Pacific Islanders,
an extremely diverse group, represent approximately 15.5
percent of the state's population and that demographic
data should be revised on a regular basis and made
accessible to the public so that local governments,
elected officials, decision makers and other
stakeholders can use the information to strategically
target programs for those in need.
2. Requires the Department of Health Care Services (DHCS),
the Department of Public Health (DPH), the Department of
Industrial Relations (DIR), and the Department of Fair
Employment and Housing (DFEH), in the course of
collecting demographic data directly or by contract as
to the ancestry or ethnic origin of California
residents, to collect and tabulate data for additional
major Asian groups, including, but not limited to,
Bangladeshi, Hmong, Indonesian, Malaysian, Pakistani,
Sri Lankan, Taiwanese, and Thai, and additional major
Native Hawaiian and other Pacific Islander groups,
including, but not limited to Fijian and Tongan.
3. Requires DHCS, DPH, DIR, and DFEH to make any data
collected pursuant to this bill, publicly available,
except for personal identifying information, which shall
be deemed confidential, by posting the data on the
Internet Web site of the agency by July 1, 2012, and
annually thereafter.
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4. Requires DHCS, DPH, DIR, and DFEH to update their data
collection to reflect the additional Asian, Native
Hawaiian, and Pacific Islander groups as they are
reported by the United States Census Bureau within 18
months after the decennial U.S. Census for the year 2020
is released to the public.
5. Revises and recasts existing major Asian group
categories for purposes of collecting demographic data
and adds a new provision that stipulates the data
collected by state agencies, boards, and commissions
pursuant to the different collection categories must be
included in every demographic report on ancestry or
ethnic origins of Californians published or released on
or after July 1, 2012.
Background
Purpose of this bill . The author's office notes that
currently the law requires state agencies that collect
demographic data on the ethnic origin of Californians to
disaggregate that information for each Asian Pacific
Islander (API) group, including, but not limited to,
Chinese, Japanese, Filipino, Korean, Vietnamese, Asian
Indian, Hawaiian, Guamanian, Samoan, Laotian, and
Cambodian. The author's office points out that this bill
requires state agencies to collect demographic data for
additional API ethnic groups, including, but not limited
to, Bangladeshi, Fijian, Hmong, Indonesian, Malaysian,
Pakistani, Sri Lankan, Taiwanese, Thai, and Tongan.
Prior Legislation
AB 1737 (Eng), 2009-10 Session, would have required certain
state agencies to use additional separate collection
categories and tabulations for major Asian, Native
Hawaiian, and Pacific Islander groups. (Held on Suspense
in Assembly Appropriations)
SB 26 (Simitian), 2007-08 Session, would have enacted the
"Ethnic Heritage Respect and Recognition Act of 2007"
modeled after the Clinton Administration's "Standards for
Maintaining, Collecting, and Presenting Federal Data on
Race and Ethnicity." It required any state entity that
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collects demographic data on the ancestry, ethnic origin,
ethnicity, or race of Californians to provide forms that
offer respondents the option of selecting one or more
ethnic or racial designations. (Held in Assembly
Appropriations)
AB 295 (Lieu), 2007-08 Session, would have 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. (Vetoed by the Governor
Schwarzenegger on the basis that existing law gives state
agencies the flexibility to expand upon current demographic
categories if necessary. The Governor encouraged the
proponents 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.).
SB 1615 (Simitian), 2005-06 Session, would have required
state entities that collect demographic data on the
ancestry, ethnic origin, ethnicity, or race of Californians
to provide forms that offer respondents the option of
selecting one or more ethnic or racial designations. (Held
on Suspense in Senate Appropriations)
AB 2420 (Lieu), 2005-06 Session, would have expanded from
11 to 23 the ancestry or ethnic origin collection
categories required to be collected by any state agency,
board, commission, California Community Colleges, or the
California State University. Also, would have required the
above entities to collect, tabulate, report, and make
available to the public data collected on the groups.
(Held in Senate Appropriations)
SB 301 (Alarcon), 2003-04 Session, would have created the
Commission on Latino/Latina Affairs consisting of 15
members. Also, provided that the duties of the commission
include advising the Governor, the Legislature, and state
agencies, departments, and commissions on issues relating
to the social and economic development, and the rights and
interests of Latino/Latina communities. (Vetoed by the
Governor Schwarzenegger on the basis that the Legislature
and the Administration can create commissions to advise
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them without the need for legislation.)
AB 116 (Nakano), Chapter 716, Statutes of 2002, creates the
Commission on Asian and Pacific Islander American Affairs
consisting of 13 members appointed, as specified. The
duties of the commission include advising the Governor, the
Legislature, and state agencies, departments and
commissions on issues relating to the social and economic
development, and the rights and interests of Asian Pacific
Islander American communities.
FISCAL EFFECT : Appropriation: No Fiscal Com.: Yes
Local: No
SUPPORT : (Verified 8/30/11)
Asian Americans for Civil Rights and Equality (co-source)
Asian Pacific American Legal Center (co-source)
Asian and Pacific Islanders California Action Network
(co-source)
Advancement Project
American Cancer Society
American Lung Association
Asian Alliance Law
Asian Americans for Community Involvement
Asian and Pacific Islander Health Forum
Asian Business Association
Asian Law Caucus
Asian Pacific American Medical Student Association
Asian Pacific Environment Network
Asian Pacific Islander Caucus for Public Health
Asian Pacific Islander School Board Members Association
Asian Pacific Liver Center
California Immigrant Policy Center
California Pan-Ethnic Health Network
California State University, Long Beach, Pacific Islanders
Association
California State University, Sacramento Polynesian Club
Californians Together
Coalition for Economic Survival
Communities for Clean Ports
Empowering Pacific Islander Communities
Filipino American Service Group Inc.
First 5 Los Angeles
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Guam Communities Network
Housing and Economic Rights Advocates
Institute for Social Research, University of Michigan
International Children Assistance Network
Japanese American Citizens League
Kaleponi Advocates for Hawaiian Affairs
Korea Town Immigrant Workers Alliance
Korean Resource Center
Kutturan Chamoru Foundation
Mainland Council: Association of Hawaiian Civic Clubs
Maintenance Cooperation Trust Fund
Montebello Unified School District
National Asian Pacific American Families Against Substance
Abuse
National Association of Social Workers - California Chapter
One East Palo Alto Neighborhood Improvement Initiative
PAC BIZ
Pacific Asian Counseling Services
Pacific Clinics
Pacific Health
Pacific Islander Health Partnership
Pacific Links Foundation
PELE, the Sorority of Oceania
Samoan Community Development Center
Samoan Solutions
Search to Involve Pilipino Americans
SF Samoa and Samoa Parents in Action
Sikh American Legal Defense and Education Fund
Strategic Actions for a Just Economy
Tafesilafa'i Inc.
Taiwanese American Citizens League
Tau Omega Alpha - First Asian American Fraternity
Thai Community Development Center
The Asian American Education Institute
The Samoan Community Development Center
The Second Samoan Congregation Church
The Sorority of Oceania
The Wage Justice Center
To'utupu'o e 'Otu Felenite Association Inc
TOA Institute
Tongan American Youth Foundation
Tongan Community Service Center
University of California, Asian American and Pacific
Islander Policy Multicampus Research Program
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Urban Islanders
Vietnamese Research for Health Coalition
VuetDreams
Youth of Samoa California (Tupulaga A Samoa Kalifonia)
ARGUMENTS IN SUPPORT : Proponents of this bill state that
the API community is extremely diverse and its different
ethnicities face their own unique challenges in areas such
as education, language, employment, health, and
incarceration. Proponents believe that disaggregation of
demographics data for these diverse API ethnicities would
enable state agencies and social service providers to
analyze who is and is not benefitting from the vast array
of services provided by the state. Utilizing this
disaggregated data to develop targeted programs for
underserved populations would reduce future costs to the
state by providing these populations with assistance and
access to government programs before conditions arise to
impact whole regions across the state.
Proponents cite the fact that Asian American, Native
Hawaiian, and Pacific Islander (AANHPI) communities 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
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of insured Californians who are without mental health
coverage.
Proponents claim that AANHPI make up 15.5 percent of the
state's population and continue to grow. From 1990 to
2000, the combined AANHPI population grew by as much as 52
percent. 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.
ASSEMBLY FLOOR : 55-23, 6/2/11
AYES: Alejo, Allen, Ammiano, Atkins, Beall, Bill
Berryhill, Block, Blumenfield, Bonilla, Bradford,
Brownley, Buchanan, Butler, Charles Calderon, Campos,
Carter, Cedillo, Chesbro, Davis, Dickinson, Eng, Feuer,
Fletcher, Fong, Fuentes, Furutani, Galgiani, Gatto,
Gordon, Hagman, Hayashi, Roger Hern�ndez, Hill, Huber,
Hueso, Huffman, Lara, Bonnie Lowenthal, Ma, Mendoza,
Mitchell, Monning, Nielsen, Pan, Perea, V. Manuel P�rez,
Portantino, Skinner, Solorio, Swanson, Torres,
Wieckowski, Williams, Yamada, John A. P�rez
NOES: Achadjian, Conway, Cook, Donnelly, Beth Gaines,
Garrick, Grove, Halderman, Harkey, Jeffries, Jones,
Knight, Logue, Mansoor, Miller, Morrell, Nestande, Norby,
Olsen, Silva, Smyth, Valadao, Wagner
NO VOTE RECORDED: Gorell, Hall
PQ:kc 8/30/11 Senate Floor Analyses
SUPPORT/OPPOSITION: SEE ABOVE
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