Bill Text: CA SB1016 | 2023-2024 | Regular Session | Introduced

NOTE: There are more recent revisions of this legislation. Read Latest Draft

---

Bill Title: Latino and Indigenous Disparities Reduction Act.

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 10-0)

Status: (Passed) 2024-09-28 - Chaptered by Secretary of State. Chapter 873, Statutes of 2024. [SB1016 Detail]

Download: California-2023-SB1016-Introduced.html

---

CALIFORNIA LEGISLATURE— 2023–2024 REGULAR SESSION

Senate Bill

No. 1016

---

Introduced by Senator Gonzalez

February 05, 2024

---

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, and to add Section 18928.6 to the Welfare and Institutions Code, relating to data collection.

LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST

SB 1016, as introduced, 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 federal law provides for the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, known in California as CalFresh, under which supplemental nutrition assistance benefits allocated to the state by the federal government are distributed to eligible individuals by each county. Under existing law, the State Department of Social Services (department) administers the CalFresh program. Existing law requires the department to publicly report specified information, including certain data specific to students enrolled in an institution of higher learning who receive CalFresh benefits, as specified.

This bill would require the department, in the course of collecting demographic data directly or by contract as to the ancestry or ethnic origin of California residents for any report on the CalFresh program, 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, Mesoamerican Indigenous nation, and Mesoamerican Indigenous language group, if that group or nation is not included in the standardized federal race and ethnicity categories, as specified.

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 or ethnic origins of California residents that the department publishes or releases on or after July 1, 2028. 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, 2028, 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. The bill would require the department to comply with the bill’s requirements as early as possible, but no later than July 1, 2028.

(2) 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.

On or after January 1, 2027, the bill would require the State Department of Public Health to comply with the bill’s requirements whenever collecting demographic data as to the ancestry or ethnic origin of California residents for a report that includes rates for major diseases, as specified.

(3) 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.

Digest Key

Vote: MAJORITY   Appropriation: NO   Fiscal Committee: YES   Local Program: NO  

---

Bill Text

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.

 On or after January 1, 2027, the State Department of Public Health shall comply with the requirements specified in Section 18928.6 of the Welfare and Institutions Code 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.

SEC. 2.

 Section 18928.6 is added to the Welfare and Institutions Code, to read:

18928.6.

 (a) This section shall be known, and may be cited, as the Latino and Indigenous Disparities Reduction Act.

(b) The State Department of Social Services whenever collecting demographic data as to the ancestry or ethnic origin of California residents for any report on the CalFresh program shall comply with all of the following:

(1) In the course of collecting demographic data directly or by contract as to the ancestry or ethnic origin of California residents, 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 or languages 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.”

(2) To the extent the 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” does not include the group or nation, the department, in the course of collecting demographic data directly or by contract as to the ancestry or ethnic origin of California residents, shall use separate collection categories in the provided forms that offer respondents the option of selecting one or more ethnic or racial designations or languages and tabulations for all of the following:

(A) Each major Latino group, including, but not limited to, Mexican, Guatemalan, Salvadoran, Honduran, Nicaraguan, Costa Rican, Panamanian, Belizean, Puerto Rican, Dominican, Cuban, Argentinean, Bolivian, Brazilian, Chilean, Colombian, Ecuadorian, Guyanese, Paraguayan, Peruvian, Surinamese, Uruguayan, and Venezuelan.

(B) Each major Mesoamerican Indigenous nation, including, but not limited to, Maya, Aztec, Mixteco, Zapoteco, and Triqui.

(C) Each major Mesoamerican Indigenous language group, including, but not limited to, Zapoteco, Chinanteco, K’iche, Nahuatl, Mixteco, Purépecha, Tzotzil, Mayan, Amuzgo, Ayuujk (Mixe), Mam, Popti’, Q’anjob’al, Triqui, and Chatino.

(3) The department shall include the data collected pursuant to paragraphs (1) and (2) in every demographic report on ancestry or ethnic origins of Californians by the department published or released on or after July 1, 2028.

(4) (A) The department shall make the data collected pursuant to paragraph (1) and (2) 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.

(5) On or before July 1, 2028, 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) and (2).

(B) The methods used to collect that data.

(6) 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.

(c) The department shall comply with this section as early as possible following the effective date of this section, but no later than July 1, 2028.

SEC. 3.

 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, and Section 2 of this act, which adds Section 18928.6 to the Welfare and Institution Code, impose 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.