Bill Text: NY A00677 | 2019-2020 | General Assembly | Introduced
Bill Title: Requires the collection of certain demographic information by certain state agencies, boards and commissions.
Spectrum: Moderate Partisan Bill (Democrat 15-2)
Status: (Vetoed) 2019-12-06 - tabled [A00677 Detail]
Download: New_York-2019-A00677-Introduced.html
STATE OF NEW YORK ________________________________________________________________________ 677 2019-2020 Regular Sessions IN ASSEMBLY (Prefiled) January 9, 2019 ___________ Introduced by M. of A. NIOU, KIM, BLAKE, MORINELLO, DE LA ROSA, ROZIC, L. ROSENTHAL -- read once and referred to the Committee on Govern- mental Operations AN ACT to amend the executive law, in relation to requiring the collection of certain demographic information by certain state agen- cies, boards and commissions The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem- bly, do enact as follows: 1 Section 1. Legislative intent. The legislature hereby finds and 2 declares the following: 3 (a) Asian Americans as well as Native Hawaiians and other Pacific 4 Islanders are an incredibly diverse group. Due to this diversity, the 5 United States Office of Management and Budget's Statistical Policy 6 Directive No. 15, entitled Race and Ethnic Standards for Federal Statis- 7 tics and Administrative Reporting, separated the "Asian and Pacific 8 Islander" category into two distinct and separate categories, now called 9 "Asians" and "Native Hawaiians and Other Pacific Islanders," and these 10 two distinct categories were used in the 2000 United States Census. The 11 United States Census Bureau currently reports data for more than 20 12 different ethnicities within these two categories. 13 (b) While Asian Americans as well as Native Hawaiians and other Pacif- 14 ic Islanders are often misrepresented as a homogeneous group, they are 15 an extremely diverse group, with ethnicities from over 30 different 16 countries. Although Asian American as well as Native Hawaiian and other 17 Pacific Islander communities in this state share geographical and 18 cultural commonalities, they also experience diverse social, educa- 19 tional, health, and economic differences that are unique to their 20 respective communities. 21 (c) Existing state law requires state demographic data to be collected 22 for Asian and some Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander ethnic groups. EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets [] is old law to be omitted. LBD02242-01-9A. 677 2 1 However, additional ethnic groups reported by the United States Census 2 Bureau are not included that reflect changing demographics and intra- 3 state migration patterns. Most state agencies are currently not in 4 compliance with existing state law or have not made the collected data 5 accessible. Data should be updated on a regular basis and made accessi- 6 ble to the public so that regional and local governments, elected offi- 7 cials, decision makers, and other stakeholders can use the information 8 to strategically target programs for those most in need. 9 (d) Given the diversity of languages and cultures, separating data for 10 additional Asian and additional Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander 11 ethnic groups and making the data publicly accessible are critical for 12 enhancing our state's understanding of the needs and experiences of 13 these different communities. 14 § 2. The executive law is amended by adding a new section 170-c to 15 read as follows: 16 § 170-c. Collection of demographic information. 1. Every state agen- 17 cy, board, or commission that directly or by contract collects demo- 18 graphic data as to the ancestry or ethnic origin of residents of the 19 state of New York shall use separate collection categories and tabu- 20 lations for the following: 21 (a) each major Asian group, including, but not limited to, Chinese, 22 Japanese, Filipino, Korean, Vietnamese, Asian Indian, Laotian, Cambodi- 23 an, Bangladeshi, Hmong, Indonesian, Malaysian, Pakistani, Sri Lankan, 24 Taiwanese, Nepalese, Burmese, Tibetan, and Thai; and 25 (b) each major Pacific Islander group, including, but not limited to, 26 Hawaiian, Guamanian, Samoan, Fijian and Tongan; or 27 (c) other Asian or Pacific Island group. 28 2. Every state agency, board, or commission that directly or by 29 contract collects demographic data as to the ancestry or ethnic origin 30 of residents of the state of New York shall use separate collection 31 categories and tabulations for the following: 32 (a) the primary language; and 33 (b) the place of birth or country of origin. 34 3. The data collected pursuant to the different collection categories 35 and tabulations described in subdivision (a) shall be included in every 36 demographic report on ancestry or ethnic origins of residents of the 37 state of New York by the state agency, board, or commission published or 38 released on or after July first, two thousand twenty. The data shall be 39 made available to the public in accordance with state and federal law, 40 except for personal identifying information, which shall be deemed 41 confidential, by posting the data on the internet web site of the agency 42 on or before July first, two thousand twenty, and annually thereafter. 43 This subdivision shall not be construed to prevent any other state agen- 44 cy from posting data collected pursuant to subdivision (a) on the agen- 45 cy's internet web site, in the manner prescribed by this section. 46 § 3. This act shall take effect on the one hundred twentieth day after 47 it shall have become a law.
