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AB-1358 Demographics: ancestry and ethnic origin.(2021-2022)

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Date Published: 07/08/2021 09:00 PM
AB1358:v95#DOCUMENT

Amended  IN  Senate  July 08, 2021
Amended  IN  Assembly  May 24, 2021
Amended  IN  Assembly  April 15, 2021
Amended  IN  Assembly  March 25, 2021

CALIFORNIA LEGISLATURE— 2021–2022 REGULAR SESSION

Assembly Bill
No. 1358

Introduced by Assembly Member Muratsuchi
(Coauthor: Senator Umberg)

February 19, 2021

An act to amend Section 8310.7 of the Government Code, and to add Section 131091 to the Health and Safety Code, relating to data collection.


LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST


AB 1358, as amended, Muratsuchi. Demographics: ancestry and ethnic origin.
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 collection categories and tabulations for specified Asian groups and Pacific Islander groups, and requires a state agency, board, or commission to include data on specified collection categories and tabulations in every demographic report on ancestry or ethnic origins of California residents that it publishes or releases. Existing law requires specified agencies to use additional separate collection categories and other tabulations for major Asian groups and Native Hawaiian and other Pacific Islander groups.
This bill would require those specified agencies to also use additional separate collection categories and other tabulations for specified Hispanic, Latino, or Spanish groups, Caribbean groups, and Black or African American groups. groups, Native American groups, and Middle Eastern or North African Groups.
Existing law establishes the State Department of Public Health, headed by the State Public Health Officer, and sets forth its powers and duties, including the administration of provisions relating to the prevention and control of communicable disease.
This bill would require the department to establish standards, as specified, for the collection and tabulation of demographic information by local health officers and health care providers. The bill would require that the standardized data be used in any state supported efforts to evaluate and address health disparities. Because the bill would require local health officers to provide a higher level of service, it would impose a state-mandated local program. The bill would also require that only aggregate data be made public, and that individual identifying information would remain confidential.
Existing constitutional provisions require that a statute that limits the right of access to the meetings of public bodies or the writings of public officials and agencies be adopted with findings demonstrating the interest protected by the limitation and the need for protecting that interest.
This bill would make legislative findings to that effect.
The California Constitution requires the state to reimburse local agencies and school districts for certain costs mandated by the state. Statutory provisions establish procedures for making that reimbursement.
This bill would provide that, if the Commission on State Mandates determines that the bill contains costs mandated by the state, reimbursement for those costs shall be made pursuant to the statutory provisions noted above.
Vote: MAJORITY   Appropriation: NO   Fiscal Committee: YES   Local Program: YES  

The people of the State of California do enact as follows:


SECTION 1.

 Section 8310.7 of the Government Code is amended to read:

8310.7.
 (a) This section shall only apply to the following state agencies:
(1) The Department of Industrial Relations.
(2) The Department of Fair Employment and Housing.
(3) To the extent funding is specifically appropriated for this purpose, the State Department of Public Health, on or after July 1, 2022, whenever collecting demographic data as to the ancestry or ethnic origin of persons for a report that includes rates for major diseases, leading causes of death per demographic, subcategories for leading causes of death in California overall, pregnancy rates, or housing numbers.
(b) In addition to the duties imposed under Section 8310.5, the state agencies described in subdivision (a), in the course of collecting demographic data directly or by contract as to the ancestry or ethnic origin of California residents, shall collect and tabulate data for all of the following:
(1) Additional major Asian groups, including, but not limited to, Bangladeshi, Hmong, Indonesian, Malaysian, Pakistani, Sri Lankan, Taiwanese, and Thai.
(2) Additional major Native Hawaiian and other Pacific Islander groups, including, but not limited to, Fijian and Tongan.
(3) Additional major Hispanic, Latino, or Spanish groups, including, but not limited to, Mexican, Mexican American, Chicano, Salvadoran, and Guatemalan.
(4) Additional major Caribbean groups, including, but not limited to, Cuban, Dominican, Jamaican, Haitian, and Trinidadian and Tobagonian.
(5) Additional major Black or African American groups, including, but not limited to, African, African American, and Afro-Caribbean.
(6) Native American groups, including Alaska Natives.
(7) Middle Eastern or North African groups.
(c) (1) The state agencies identified in subdivision (a) shall make any data collected pursuant to subdivision (b) publicly available, except as described in paragraph (2) for the department identified in paragraph (3) of subdivision (a), and except for personal identifying information, which shall be deemed confidential, by posting the data on the internet website of the agency on or before July 1, 2012, and annually thereafter. This subdivision shall not be construed to prevent any other state agency from posting data collected pursuant to subdivision (b) on the agency’s internet website, in the manner prescribed by this section.
(2) The state department identified in paragraph (3) of subdivision (a) shall not report demographic data that would permit identification of individuals. The department may, to prevent identification of individuals, aggregate data categories at a state, county, city, census tract, or ZIP Code level to facilitate comparisons and identify disparities.
(d) The state agencies identified in subdivision (a) shall, within 18 months after a decennial United States Census is released to the public, update their data collection to reflect the additional Asian groups and additional Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander groups as they are reported by the United States Census Bureau.
(e) The state department identified in paragraph (3) of subdivision (a) shall not report demographic data that would result in statistical unreliability.
(f) The state department identified in paragraph (3) of subdivision (a) may continue to collect and report demographic data in the form that the data was submitted if the data was collected under either of the following circumstances:
(1) Pursuant to federal programs or surveys, whereby the guidelines for demographic data collection categories are defined by the federal program or survey.
(2) Demographic data collected by other entities, including either of the following:
(A) State offices, departments, and agencies not included in subdivision (a).
(B) Third-party entity administered surveys not solely funded by the state department.

SEC. 2.

 Section 131091 is added to the Health and Safety Code, to read:

131091.
 (a) The department shall establish standards for the collection of demographic information of California residents by local health officers and health care providers, including vaccination sites.
(b) The standards established pursuant to this section shall at a minimum require the collection and tabulation of data for all of the following:
(1) The major Asian and Pacific Islander groups identified in subdivision (a) of Section 8310.5 of the Government Code.
(2) The additional groups identified in subdivision (b) of Section 8310.7 of the Government Code.
(3) Employment status.
(4) Languages spoken.
(5) Occupation.
(c) The department shall ensure that any data collected in accordance with this section shall not include personally identifiable information, and only aggregate, anonymized data be made public.
(d) Any state supported or assisted efforts to evaluate and address health disparities shall use the expanded disaggregated data collected and tabulated in accordance with subdivision (b), with an emphasis on language and ethnicity.

SEC. 3.

 The Legislature finds and declares that Section 2 of this act, which adds Section 131091 to the Health and Safety Code, imposes a limitation on the public’s right of access to the meetings of public bodies or the writings of public officials and agencies within the meaning of Section 3 of Article I of the California Constitution. Pursuant to that constitutional provision, the Legislature makes the following findings to demonstrate the interest protected by this limitation and the need for protecting that interest:
In order to protect privacy and health care rights of individuals, it is necessary that this act limit the public’s right of access to that information.

SEC. 4.

 If the Commission on State Mandates determines that this act contains costs mandated by the state, reimbursement to local agencies and school districts for those costs shall be made pursuant to Part 7 (commencing with Section 17500) of Division 4 of Title 2 of the Government Code.