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SB-1016 Latino and Indigenous Disparities Reduction Act.(2023-2024)

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Date Published: 09/30/2024 09:00 PM
SB1016:v94#DOCUMENT

Senate Bill No. 1016
CHAPTER 873

An act to add Article 4 (commencing with Section 131250) to Chapter 2 of Part 1 of Division 112 of the Health and Safety Code, relating to data collection.

[ Approved by Governor  September 28, 2024. Filed with Secretary of State  September 28, 2024. ]

LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST


SB 1016, Gonzalez. Latino and Indigenous Disparities Reduction Act.
(1) Existing law requires state agencies, boards, and commissions, in the course of collecting demographic data as to the ancestry or ethnic origin of Californians, to use separate collection categories and tabulations for certain groups, as specified. Existing federal law imposes various requirements on the collection of demographic data, as provided.
Existing law establishes the State Department of Public Health, which is responsible for various programs relating to the health and safety of people in the state. Existing law requires the State Department of Public Health to collect and report specified information, including data on violent deaths.
This bill would require the department, on or after January 1, 2028, in the course of collecting demographic data as to the ancestry or ethnic origin of California residents for any report that includes rates for major diseases and leading causes of death, as specified, to use separate collection categories and tabulations for Hispanic or Latino groups using standardized federal race and ethnicity categories from the federal Office of Management and Budget’s “Standards for Maintaining, Collecting, and Presenting Federal Data on Race and Ethnicity,” as specified. The bill would require the department to use separate collection categories and tabulations for each major Latino group and Mesoamerican Indigenous nation, if that group or nation is not included in the standardized federal race and ethnicity categories, as specified. The bill would require the department, when collecting the preferred language of program participants, to include specified languages.
Existing law requires state agencies, boards, and commissions to report, as specified, data on collection categories and tabulations for certain groups. Existing law requires the collected data to be made available to the public, except as specified, including, among other things, personal identifying information, which existing law deems confidential. Existing law requires state agencies to update their data collection to reflect additional certain groups as they are reported by the United States Census Bureau, as specified.
This bill would require the department to include the collected data in every demographic report on ancestry, ethnic origins, or language of California residents that the department publishes or releases on or after July 1, 2029. The bill would require the department to make available to the public the collected data, except as specified, including, among other things, personal identifying information, which the bill would deem confidential. On or before July 1, 2029, and annually thereafter, the bill would require the department to report to the Legislature on the collected data and the methods used to collect that data. The bill would require the department to update its data collection to reflect additional Latino groups, Mesoamerican Indigenous nations, and Mesoamerican Indigenous language groups as they are reported by the United States Census Bureau, as specified.
This bill would authorize the State Department of Public Health to continue to collect and report demographic data in the form that the data was submitted if the data was collected pursuant to federal programs or surveys, by other state entities, or by third-party entities, as specified.
(2) 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.
Vote: MAJORITY   Appropriation: NO   Fiscal Committee: YES   Local Program: NO  

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


SECTION 1.

 Article 4 (commencing with Section 131250) is added to Chapter 2 of Part 1 of Division 112 of the Health and Safety Code, to read:
Article  4. Latino and Indigenous Disparities Reduction Act.

131250.
 (a) On or after January 1, 2028, the State Department of Public Health, whenever collecting demographic data as to the ancestry or ethnic origin of California residents 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, housing, and mental health rates shall comply with all of the following:
(1) The department shall use separate collection categories in the provided forms that offer respondents the option of selecting one or more ethnic or racial designations and tabulations for Hispanic or Latino groups using standardized federal race and ethnicity categories from the federal Office of Management and Budget’s most recent revision to “Standards for Maintaining, Collecting, and Presenting Federal Data on Race and Ethnicity.”
(2) To the extent the standardized federal race and ethnicity categories from the federal Office of Management and Budget’s most recent revision to “Standards for Maintaining, Collecting, and Presenting Federal Data on Race and Ethnicity” does not include the group or nation, the department shall use separate collection categories in the provided forms that offer respondents the option of selecting one or more ethnic or racial designations and tabulations for both of the following:
(A) Each major Latino group, including, but not limited to, Mexican, Guatemalan, Salvadoran, Honduran, Nicaraguan, Puerto Rican, Dominican, Cuban, Colombian, and Peruvian, followed by a blank space to fill in additional groups.
(B) Each major Mesoamerican Indigenous nation, including, but not limited to, Maya, Aztec, Mixteco, Zapoteco, and Triqui, followed by a blank space to fill in additional nations.
(3) When collecting the preferred language of program participants, the department shall include Mixteco, Triqui, Zapoteco, K’iche, Mam, and Kanjobal, followed by a blank space to fill in additional languages.
(4) The department shall include the data collected pursuant to paragraphs (1) and (2), and when available, paragraph (3), in every demographic report on ancestry, ethnic origins, or language of Californians by the department published or released on or after July 1, 2029, including the other groups, nations, or languages that are filled in by the respondents.
(5) (A) The department shall make the data collected pursuant to paragraphs (1), (2), and (3) available to the public in accordance with state and federal law, including by posting the data on the internet website of the department, except for personal identifying information, which shall be deemed confidential and shall not be disclosed.
(B) The department shall not make public 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.
(C) The department shall not make public demographic data that would result in statistical unreliability.
(6) On or before July 1, 2029, and annually thereafter, the department shall report to the Legislature, in compliance with Section 9795 of the Government Code, both of the following:
(A) The data collected pursuant to paragraphs (1), (2), and (3).
(B) The methods used to collect that data.
(7) Within 18 months after a decennial United States Census is released to the public, the department shall update its data collection to reflect the additional Latino groups, major Mesoamerican Indigenous nations, and major Mesoamerican Indigenous language groups as they are reported by the United States Census Bureau.
(b) The department 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 and the data could not be aggregated to comply with those requirements.
(2) When demographic data is collected by other entities, including either of the following:
(A) State offices, departments, and agencies that are not subject to this section.
(B) Third-party entities when administering surveys that are not solely funded by the department.

SEC. 2.

 The Legislature finds and declares that Section 1 of this act, which adds Article 4 (commencing with Section 131250) to Chapter 2 of Part 1 of Division 112 of 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 the privacy of California residents, while also gathering and publicizing useful demographic data, it is necessary that personal identifying information remain confidential.