STAND. COM. REP. NO. 369

Honolulu, Hawaii

RE: S.B. No. 811

S.D. 1

Honorable Ronald D. Kouchi

President of the Senate

Thirty-Second State Legislature

Regular Session of 2023

State of Hawaii

Sir:

Your Committee on Government Operations, to which was referred S.B. No. 811 entitled:

"A BILL FOR AN ACT RELATING TO DEMOGRAPHIC DATA,"

begs leave to report as follows:

The purpose and intent of this measure is to require state agencies to disaggregate data consistent with federal standards and require publication of the data.

Your Committee received testimony in support of this measure from the Department of Labor and Industrial Relations, University of Hawai‘i System, Hawai‘i Coalition for Immigrant Rights, Hawai‘i Workers Center, Hawai‘i Friends of Civil Rights, and five individuals. Your Committee received comments on this measure from the Department of Human Services, Department of Education, and one individual.

Your Committee finds that Asian Americans, Native Hawaiians, and other Pacific Islanders represent 46.5 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.

Further, your Committee finds that Hawaii's state agencies do not all keep or make accessible to the public demographic data in a standard or uniform manner that comports with the prevailing federal standards. Disaggregating race data for collection, analysis, and evaluation, access and dissemination can aid in shaping programs and policies to advance more equitable outcomes for all communities in the State. Your Committee also finds that 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. Therefore, Your Committee finds that the uniform collection and sharing of data specific to Native Hawaiians is critical to the proper administration of the State's trust responsibilities and improving the conditions of Native Hawaiians through other similar initiatives.

Your Committee has amended this measure to reflect the testimony of stakeholders by:

(1) Updating language to reflect a more accurate and inclusive representation of major Asian groups and Pacific Islanders;

(2) Identifying the agencies required to improve processes relative to the collection and dissemination of disaggregated data;

(3) Establishing a task force on twenty-first Century Data Governance that is required to report to the Legislature prior to the Regular Session of 2024;

(4) Amending section 1 to reflect its amended purpose;

(5) Inserting an effective date of July 1, 2112, to encourage further discussion; and

(6) Making technical, nonsubstantive amendments for the purposes of clarity and consistency.

As affirmed by the record of votes of the members of your Committee on Government Operations that is attached to this report, your Committee is in accord with the intent and purpose of S.B. No. 811, as amended herein, and recommends that it pass Second Reading in the form attached hereto as S.B. No. 811, S.D. 1, and be referred to your Committee on Ways and Means.

Respectfully submitted on behalf of the members of the Committee on Government Operations,

________________________________

ANGUS L.K. MCKELVEY, Chair