A 6341: Requires the collection of certain demographic information by state agencies, boards, departments and commissions.

  
  STATE OF NEW YORK ________________________________________________________________________ 6341 2025-2026 Regular Sessions  IN ASSEMBLY March 4, 2025 ___________ Introduced by M. of A. LUCAS -- 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 state agencies, boards, departments 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) American Freedmen, descendants of persons enslaved in the United 4 States, Black Caribbean, Black African, and the Black Central and South 5 American immigrant populations are the most diverse in the United 6 States. The vast majority of the group consist of American Freedmen, 7 people who were trafficked against their will to the US via the Transat- 8 lantic Slave Trade, a minority group consisting of persons who voluntar- 9 ily immigrated to the United States. 10 (b) While Black/African Americans are often misrepresented as a homo- 11 geneous group, they are an extremely diverse group, with ethnicities 12 from over 87 different countries. Although American Freedmen, Black 13 Caribbean Immigrants, African Immigrants, and those from Central and 14 South America in this state share geographical commonalities, they expe- 15 rience different social, educational, health, and economic outcomes that 16 are unique to their respective communities. 17 (c) Existing state law requires state demographic data to be collected 18 for Black/African American as a singular ethnic group. However, preced- 19 ence has been set by both the recent passing of chapter 745 of the laws 20 of 2021 requiring the collection of certain demographic information by 21 certain state agencies, boards and commissions within the Asian American 22 Pacific Islander communities. Precedence was also set on the 2020 US 23 census which disaggregated both Asian and Latino groups. The United 24 States Census Bureau currently reports data for more than 20 different EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets [ ] is old law to be omitted. LBD08262-01-5 
 A. 6341 2 1 ethnicities within the "Asian" & "Native Hawaiians and Other Pacific 2 Islanders" categories alone. 3 (d) State agencies should collect and update data on a regular basis 4 and make it accessible to the public so that regional and local govern- 5 ments, elected officials, decision makers, and other stakeholders can 6 use the information to strategically target programs for those most in 7 need. 8 (e) Given the diversity of languages, cultures, and specific histor- 9 ical oppression, separating data between Black/African American ethnic 10 groups and making the data publicly accessible are critical for enhanc- 11 ing our state's understanding of the needs and experiences of these 12 different communities. 13 § 2. Section 170-e of the executive law, as amended by chapter 123 of 14 the laws of 2022, is amended to read as follows: 15 § 170-e. Collection of demographic information. 1. (a) Every state 16 agency, board, department, or commission that directly collects demo- 17 graphic data as to the ancestry or ethnic origin of residents of the 18 state of New York shall use separate collection categories and tabu- 19 lations for the following Asian and Pacific Islander groups in New York 20 state: 21 [(a)] (i) each major Asian group shall include Chinese, Japanese, 22 Filipino, Korean, Vietnamese, Asian Indian, Bangladeshi, Pakistani, and 23 all of the ten most populous Asian groups in the most recent five-year 24 American community survey published by the United States Census Bureau; 25 and 26 [(b)] (ii) each major Pacific Islander group shall include Native 27 Hawaiian, Guamanian and Chamorro, and Samoan; or 28 [(c)] (iii) collection categories shall include a category for other 29 Asian or Pacific Island group. 30 [2.] (b) Every state agency, board, department, or commission that 31 directly collects demographic data as to the ancestry or ethnic origin 32 of residents of the state of New York shall use separate collection 33 categories and tabulations for the following: 34 [(a)] (i) the primary language spoken at home; and 35 [(b)] (ii) the ethnic group or ancestry. 36 [3.] (c) Upon the release of a new five-year American community survey 37 published by the United States Census Bureau, every state agency, board, 38 department or commission shall update their data collection and report- 39 ing practices as required by this [section] subdivision and shall 40 continue to collect and report on any demographic group no longer 41 included in the ten most populous groups until the release of the 42 following five-year American community survey, at which time state agen- 43 cies, boards, departments or commissions may cease to collect and report 44 on such demographic groups provided they remain outside the ten most 45 populous groups. 46 [4.] (d) The data collected pursuant to the different collection cate- 47 gories and tabulations described in paragraph (a) of this subdivision 48 [one of this section], to the degree that the data quality is suffi- 49 cient, shall be included in every demographic report on ancestry or 50 ethnic origins of residents of the state of New York by the state agen- 51 cy, board, department, or commission published or released on or after 52 December first, two thousand twenty-three; provided, however, that for 53 the department of labor, division of criminal justice services, office 54 of mental health and office of temporary and disability assistance such 55 requirements shall be effective July first, two thousand twenty-four. 56 The data shall be made available to the public in accordance with state 
 A. 6341 3 1 and federal law, except for personal identifying information, which 2 shall be deemed confidential, by posting the data on the internet web 3 site of the agency, board, department, or commission on or before Decem- 4 ber first, two thousand twenty-three, and annually thereafter; provided, 5 however, that for the department of labor, division of criminal justice 6 services, office of mental health and office of temporary and disability 7 assistance such requirements shall be effective July first, two thousand 8 twenty-four. If the data quality is determined to be insufficient for 9 publication, an explanation of the problem with the data quality shall 10 be included in any report or publication made available to the public. 11 This [subdivision] paragraph shall not be construed to prevent any other 12 state agency from posting data collected pursuant to paragraph (a) of 13 this subdivision [one of this section] on the agency's internet web 14 site, in the manner prescribed by this [section] subdivision. 15 [5.] (e) The requirements of this [section] subdivision shall not 16 apply to the department of labor, the division of criminal justice 17 services, the office of mental health or the office of temporary and 18 disability assistance until two years after this [section] subdivision 19 shall have become a law. 20 2. (a) Every state agency, board, department, or commission that 21 directly or by contract collects demographic data as to the ancestry or 22 ethnic origin of residents of the state of New York shall use separate 23 collection categories and tabulations for the following black groups in 24 New York state: 25 (i) "Black/African Americans" means descendants of persons enslaved in 26 the United States as defined as individuals historically classified as 27 Negros, Colored, Mulatto, Black, with at least one ancestor who was 28 enslaved or subject to chattel slavery in the United States, were eman- 29 cipated via the 1863 Emancipation Proclamation and the Thirteenth Amend- 30 ment of 1865 and given the status of Freedmen by way of the Freedmen 31 Acts of 1865. 32 (ii) "African Blacks" means individuals with ancestry and citizenship 33 from the continent of Africa, including, but not limited to, one or more 34 of the following countries: Algeria, Angola, Benin, Botswana, Burkina 35 Faso, Burundi, Cabo Verde, Cameroon, Central African Republic, Chad, 36 Comoros, Cote d'Ivoire, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Djibouti, 37 Egypt, Equatorial Guinea, Eritrea, Eswatini, Ethiopia, Gabon, Gambia, 38 Ghana, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Kenya, Lesotho, Liberia, Libya, Madagas- 39 car, Malawi, Mali, Mauritania, Mauritius, Morocco, Mozambique, Namibia, 40 Niger, Nigeria, Republic of the Congo, Rwanda, Sao Tome and Principe, 41 Senegal, Seychelles, Sierra Leone, Somalia, South Africa, South Sudan, 42 Sudan, Tanzania, Togo, Tunisia, Uganda, Zambia, or Zimbabwe. 43 (iii) "Caribbean Blacks" means individuals with ancestry and citizen- 44 ship from Caribbean countries, including, but not limited to one or more 45 of the following countries: Belize, Puerto Rico, Cuba, Jamaica, Haiti, 46 Trinidad and Tobago, Guyana, Barbados, Grenada, St. Croix, St. Kitts, 47 the Bahamas, and the Dominican Republic, etc. 48 (iv) "Central and South American Blacks" means individuals with ances- 49 try and citizenship from Central and South American countries, includ- 50 ing, but not limited to one or more of the following countries: Belize, 51 Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Mexico, Nicaragua, Panama, 52 Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Ecuador, French Guiana 53 (departement of France), Guyana, Paraguay, Peru, Suriname, Uruguay, or 54 Venezuela. 55 (b) Every state agency, board, department, or commission that directly 56 or by contract collects demographic data as to the ancestry or ethnic 
 A. 6341 4 1 origin of residents of the state of New York shall use separate 2 collection categories and tabulations for the following: 3 (i) The primary language spoken at home; and 4 (ii) The ethnic group or ancestry. 5 (c) The data collected pursuant to the different collection categories 6 and tabulations described in paragraph (a) of this subdivision shall be 7 included in every demographic report on ancestry or ethnic origins of 8 residents of the state of New York by the state agency, board, depart- 9 ment, or commission published or released on or after July first, two 10 thousand twenty-six. The data shall be made available to the public in 11 accordance with state and federal law, except for personal identifying 12 information, which shall be deemed confidential, by posting the data on 13 the internet web site of the agency, board, department, or commission on 14 or before July first, two thousand twenty-six and annually thereafter. 15 This paragraph shall not be construed to prevent any other state agency 16 from posting data collected pursuant to paragraph (a) of this subdivi- 17 sion on the agency's internet web site, in the manner prescribed by this 18 subdivision. 19 § 3. This act shall take effect on the one hundred twentieth day after 20 it shall have become a law.