STATE OF NEW YORK
________________________________________________________________________
7352
2017-2018 Regular Sessions
IN ASSEMBLY
April 24, 2017
___________
Introduced by M. of A. NIOU -- read once and referred to the Committee
on Governmental 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.
23 However, additional ethnic groups reported by the United States Census
24 Bureau are not included that reflect changing demographics and intra-
EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
[] is old law to be omitted.
LBD05204-01-7
A. 7352 2
1 state migration patterns. Most state agencies are currently not in
2 compliance with existing state law or have not made the collected data
3 accessible. Data should be updated on a regular basis and made accessi-
4 ble to the public so that regional and local governments, elected offi-
5 cials, decision makers, and other stakeholders can use the information
6 to strategically target programs for those most in need.
7 (d) Given the diversity of languages and cultures, separating data for
8 additional Asian and additional Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander
9 ethnic groups and making the data publicly accessible are critical for
10 enhancing our state's understanding of the needs and experiences of
11 these different communities.
12 § 2. The executive law is amended by adding a new section 170-c to
13 read as follows:
14 § 170-c. Collection of demographic information. 1. Every state agen-
15 cy, board, or commission that directly or by contract collects demo-
16 graphic data as to the ancestry or ethnic origin of residents of the
17 state of New York shall use separate collection categories and tabu-
18 lations for the following:
19 (a) each major Asian group, including, but not limited to, Chinese,
20 Japanese, Filipino, Korean, Vietnamese, Asian Indian, Laotian, Cambodi-
21 an, Bangladeshi, Hmong, Indonesian, Malaysian, Pakistani, Sri Lankan,
22 Taiwanese, Nepalese, Burmese, Tibetan, and Thai; and
23 (b) each major Pacific Islander group, including, but not limited to,
24 Hawaiian, Guamanian, Samoan, Fijian and Tongan; or
25 (c) other Asian or Pacific Island group.
26 2. Every state agency, board, or commission that directly or by
27 contract collects demographic data as to the ancestry or ethnic origin
28 of residents of the state of New York shall use separate collection
29 categories and tabulations for the following:
30 (a) the primary language; and
31 (b) the place of birth or country of origin.
32 3. The data collected pursuant to the different collection categories
33 and tabulations described in subdivision (a) shall be included in every
34 demographic report on ancestry or ethnic origins of residents of the
35 state of New York by the state agency, board, or commission published or
36 released on or after July first, two thousand eighteen. The data shall
37 be made available to the public in accordance with state and federal
38 law, except for personal identifying information, which shall be deemed
39 confidential, by posting the data on the internet web site of the agency
40 on or before July first, two thousand eighteen, and annually thereafter.
41 This subdivision shall not be construed to prevent any other state agen-
42 cy from posting data collected pursuant to subdivision (a) on the agen-
43 cy's internet web site, in the manner prescribed by this section.
44 § 3. This act shall take effect on the one hundred twentieth day after
45 it shall have become a law.
