Measure to be sent back to the state Assembly.
A bill that would expand the definition of ‘Asian American’ for demographic reports on ethnic and racial origins has been passed in the California Senate, on August 23. The measure will be sent back to the state Assembly.
Earlier this year, Filipino-American California Assemblymember Rob Bonta introduced AB 1726, or the Accounting for Health and Education in API Demographics Act (AHEAD) to include more ethnicities in the Asian American label, reported the Asian Journal.
According to the bill, the state would be required to collect data for Bangladeshi, Hmong, Indonesian, Pakistani, Taiwanese, Thai and other ethnicities.
The bill proposes updating demographic categories by including these subgroups into the label. This would address their unique needs, and the state would more easily be able to dole out the necessary resources.
“The bill would require the State Department of Public Health to use the additional separate collection categories and other tabulations for specified Asian groups and Pacific Islander groups, and to take additional actions as specified above, under certain circumstances,” the bill read.
Opponents of the proposal say that it is divisive, especially for Chinese Americans and more represented Asian groups. Policy Director for Empowering Pacific Islander Community (EPIC) Calvin Change doubts how the data will be used, the Journal reported.
An attorney from the Bay Area Kai Zhu told 89.3 KPCC that the bill could potentially reignite affirmative action, which was banned in California in 1996. Moreover, he said that the bill could be a disadvantage to Chinese-Americans applying to college.
The bill is in its early stages of data collection, but the promise of the bill is impactful. There are currently two categories: Asian American and Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander.
Last year Governor Jerry Brown vetoed a similar bill, AB 176, which had proposed creating new guidelines in collecting demographic data.