Bill Text: HI SB2174 | 2012 | Regular Session | Introduced
Bill Title: Demographic Data; State Agencies; Publication; Ethnicities; Office of Hawaiian Affairs Package
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 1-0)
Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2012-02-13 - (S) Report adopted; Passed Second Reading and referred to WAM. [SB2174 Detail]
Download: Hawaii-2012-SB2174-Introduced.html
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THE SENATE |
S.B. NO. |
2174 |
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TWENTY-SIXTH LEGISLATURE, 2012 |
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STATE OF HAWAII |
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A BILL FOR AN ACT
RELATING TO THE COLLECTION OF DEMOGRAPHIC DATA BY STATE AGENCIES, BOARDS, AND COMMISSIONS.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF HAWAII:
SECTION 1. The legislature finds that Asian Americans, Native Hawaiians, and other Pacific Islanders represent 48.6 per cent of the State's population. While Asian Americans, Native Hawaiians, and other Pacific Islanders are often misrepresented as a homogeneous group, they are an extremely diverse group, with ethnicities from over thirty different countries. Asian American, Native Hawaiian, and other Pacific Islander communities in this State experience diverse social, educational, health, and economic differences that are unique to their respective communities.
The legislature also finds that, due to this diversity, the United States Office of Management and Budget's Statistical Policy Directive No. 15, entitled "Race and Ethnic Standards for Federal Statistics and Administrative Reporting," separated the "Asian and Pacific Islander" category into two distinct and separate categories, now called "Asians" and "Native Hawaiians and Other Pacific Islanders," and these two distinct categories were used in the 2000 United States Census. The United States Census Bureau currently reports data for more than twenty different ethnicities within these two categories.
Despite the United States Census Bureau's current policy and practice of disaggregating data related to Asian Americans, Native Hawaiians, and other Pacific Islanders, Hawaii's state agencies do not keep demographic data in a standard or uniform manner that comports with these prevailing federal standards. Moreover, most state agencies do not make collected demographic data accessible to the public so that regional and local governments, elected officials, decision makers, and other stakeholders can use the information to strategically target programs for those most in need.
Given the diversity of languages and cultures, separating data for Asian American, Native Hawaiian, and other Pacific Islander ethnic groups and making the data publicly accessible are critical for enhancing understanding of the needs and experiences of these different communities.
In particular, the State has unique trust responsibilities with respect to Native Hawaiians, which are administered by a variety of state agencies, including, but not limited to, the office of Hawaiian affairs. The uniform collection and sharing of data specific to Native Hawaiians is critical to the proper administration of the State's trust responsibilities and the betterment of the conditions of Native Hawaiians through other similar initiatives.
The purpose of this Act is to facilitate the proper collection and reporting of demographic data by requiring data disaggregation consistent with federal standards and requiring publication of such data.
SECTION 2. Chapter 27, Hawaii Revised Statutes, is amended by adding a new section to be appropriately designated and to read as follows:
"§27- Asian American, Native Hawaiian, and other Pacific Islander groups; collection of demographic data. (a) Any state agency, board, or commission that directly or by contract collects demographic data as to ancestry or ethnic origin shall use separate collection categories and tabulations for the following:
(1) Native Hawaiians;
(2) Each major Asian group, including, but not limited to, Chinese, Japanese, Filipino, Korean, Vietnamese, Asian Indian, Laotian, Cambodian, Bangladeshi, Hmong, Indonesian, Malaysian, Pakistani, Sri Lankan, Taiwanese, and Thai; and
(3) Each other major Pacific Islander group, including, but not limited to Samoan, Fijian, Tongan, and Guamanian.
(b) The data collected pursuant to the different collection categories and tabulations described in subsection (a) shall be included in every demographic report on ancestry or ethnic origins by the state agency, board, or commission published or released on or after July 1, 2013. The data shall be made available to the public in accordance with state and federal law, except for personal identifying information, which shall be deemed confidential.
(c) State agencies, boards, and commissions shall make any demographic data collected pursuant to this section publicly available, subject to all applicable state and federal laws regarding personal identifying information, by posting the data on the internet web site of the agency on or before July 1, 2013, and annually thereafter.
(d) State agencies, within eighteen months after the decennial United States Census for the year 2020 is released to the public, shall 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."
SECTION 3. New statutory material is underscored.
SECTION 4. This Act shall take effect upon its approval.
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INTRODUCED BY: |
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Report Title:
Demographic Data; State Agencies; Publication; Ethnicities; Office of Hawaiian Affairs Package
Description:
Requires state agencies to disaggregate data consistent with federal standards and requires publication of the data.
The summary description of legislation appearing on this page is for informational purposes only and is not legislation or evidence of legislative intent.
