S T A T E   O F   N E W   Y O R K
________________________________________________________________________

                                 3185--A

                       2015-2016 Regular Sessions

                            I N  S E N A T E

                            February 3, 2015
                               ___________

Introduced  by  Sens.  STAVISKY,  MARTINS,  MONTGOMERY, PARKER, PERKINS,
  SQUADRON -- read twice and ordered printed, and  when  printed  to  be
  committed  to the Committee on Finance -- recommitted to the Committee
  on Finance in accordance with Senate  Rule  6,  sec.  8  --  committee
  discharged, bill amended, ordered reprinted as amended and recommitted
  to said committee

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:

  Section 1.  Legislative  intent.  The  legislature  hereby  finds  and
declares the following:
  (a)  Asian  Americans  as  well  as Native Hawaiians and other Pacific
Islanders are an incredibly diverse group. 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 Statis-
tics 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  20
different ethnicities within these two categories.
  (b) While Asian Americans as well as Native Hawaiians and other Pacif-
ic  Islanders  are often misrepresented as a homogeneous group, they are
an extremely diverse group, with  ethnicities  from  over  30  different
countries.  Although Asian American as well as Native Hawaiian and other
Pacific Islander  communities  in  this  state  share  geographical  and
cultural  commonalities,  they  also  experience  diverse social, educa-
tional, health, and  economic  differences  that  are  unique  to  their
respective communities.

 EXPLANATION--Matter in ITALICS (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                      [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                           LBD00397-02-6
              

S. 3185--A                          2

  (c) Existing state law requires state demographic data to be collected
for  Asian  and some Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander ethnic groups.
However, additional ethnic groups reported by the United  States  Census
Bureau  are  not  included that reflect changing demographics and intra-
state  migration  patterns.  Most  state  agencies  are currently not in
compliance with existing state law or have not made the  collected  data
accessible.  Data should be updated on a regular basis and made accessi-
ble to the public so that regional and local governments, elected  offi-
cials,  decision  makers, and other stakeholders can use the information
to strategically target programs for those most in need.
  (d) Given the diversity of languages and cultures, separating data for
additional Asian and additional Native  Hawaiian  and  Pacific  Islander
ethnic  groups  and making the data publicly accessible are critical for
enhancing our state's understanding of  the  needs  and  experiences  of
these different communities.
  S  2.  The  executive  law is amended by adding a new section 170-c to
read as follows:
  S 170-C. COLLECTION OF DEMOGRAPHIC INFORMATION.  1. EVERY STATE  AGEN-
CY,  BOARD,  OR  COMMISSION  THAT DIRECTLY OR BY CONTRACT COLLECTS DEMO-
GRAPHIC DATA AS TO THE ANCESTRY OR ETHNIC ORIGIN  OF  RESIDENTS  OF  THE
STATE  OF  NEW  YORK  SHALL USE SEPARATE COLLECTION CATEGORIES AND TABU-
LATIONS FOR THE FOLLOWING:
  (A) EACH MAJOR ASIAN GROUP, INCLUDING, BUT NOT  LIMITED  TO,  CHINESE,
JAPANESE,  FILIPINO, KOREAN, VIETNAMESE, ASIAN INDIAN, LAOTIAN, CAMBODI-
AN, BANGLADESHI, HMONG, INDONESIAN, MALAYSIAN,  PAKISTANI,  SRI  LANKAN,
TAIWANESE, NEPALESE, BURMESE, TIBETAN, AND THAI; AND
  (B)  EACH MAJOR PACIFIC ISLANDER GROUP, INCLUDING, BUT NOT LIMITED TO,
HAWAIIAN, GUAMANIAN, SAMOAN, FIJIAN AND TONGAN; OR
  (C) OTHER ASIAN OR PACIFIC ISLAND GROUP.
  2.   EVERY STATE AGENCY, BOARD, OR  COMMISSION  THAT  DIRECTLY  OR  BY
CONTRACT  COLLECTS  DEMOGRAPHIC DATA AS TO THE ANCESTRY OR ETHNIC ORIGIN
OF RESIDENTS OF THE STATE OF NEW  YORK  SHALL  USE  SEPARATE  COLLECTION
CATEGORIES AND TABULATIONS FOR THE FOLLOWING:
  (A) THE PRIMARY LANGUAGE; AND
  (B) THE PLACE OF BIRTH OR COUNTRY OF ORIGIN.
  3.  THE DATA COLLECTED PURSUANT TO THE DIFFERENT COLLECTION CATEGORIES
AND TABULATIONS DESCRIBED IN SUBDIVISION (A) SHALL BE INCLUDED IN  EVERY
DEMOGRAPHIC  REPORT  ON  ANCESTRY  OR ETHNIC ORIGINS OF RESIDENTS OF THE
STATE OF NEW YORK BY THE STATE AGENCY, BOARD, OR COMMISSION PUBLISHED OR
RELEASED ON OR AFTER JULY FIRST, TWO THOUSAND SEVENTEEN. 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, BY POSTING THE DATA ON THE INTERNET WEB SITE OF THE AGENCY
ON  OR BEFORE JULY FIRST, TWO THOUSAND SEVENTEEN, AND ANNUALLY THEREAFT-
ER. THIS SUBDIVISION SHALL NOT BE CONSTRUED TO PREVENT ANY  OTHER  STATE
AGENCY  FROM  POSTING  DATA COLLECTED PURSUANT TO SUBDIVISION (A) ON THE
AGENCY'S INTERNET WEB SITE, IN THE MANNER PRESCRIBED BY THIS SECTION.
  S 3. This act shall take effect on the one hundred twentieth day after
it shall have become a law.