SR150

WHEREAS, Asian Americans, Native Hawaiians, and other Pacific Islanders represent 46.5 percent of the State's population; and

WHEREAS, while Asian Americans, Native Hawaiians, and other Pacific Islanders are often misrepresented as a homogenous group, they are an extremely diverse group, comprising ethnicities from over thirty different countries, who experience diverse social, educational, health, and economic differences that are unique to their respective communities; and

WHEREAS, the United States Office of Management and Budget's Statistical Policy Directive No. 15, entitled "Race and Ethnic Standards for Federal Statistics 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", which were used in the 2020 United States Census; and

WHEREAS, despite the federal government's current policy and practice of disaggregating data related to Asian Americans, Native Hawaiians, and other Pacific Islanders, not all of the State's agencies keep demographic data in a standard or uniform manner that comports with prevailing federal standards; and

WHEREAS, most state agencies do not make collected demographic data accessible to the public so that regional and local governments, elected officials, decision makers, and other stakeholders can use the information to strategically target programs for those most in need; and

WHEREAS, given the diversity of languages and cultures, separating data for Asian American, Native Hawaiian, and other Pacific Islander ethnic groups is imperative and making data publicly accessible is critical for enhancing understanding of the needs and experiences of different communities across the State; and

WHEREAS, the State has unique trust responsibilities with respect to Native Hawaiians, which are administered by a variety of state agencies; and

WHEREAS, 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; now, therefore,

BE IT RESOLVED by the Senate of the Thirty-second Legislature of the State of Hawaii, Regular Session of 2024, that this body is requested to convene a task force to develop a twenty-first century data governance task force to assess current demographic data collection, processing, retention, and sharing procedures utilized by all state agencies; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the task force is requested to include the following members or their designees:

(1) The Director of the Office of Planning and Sustainable Development;

(2) The Chief Information Officer of the Office of Enterprise Technology Services;

(3) The Chief Executive Officer of the Office of Hawaiian Affairs;

(4) The Director of the Department of Health's Office of Health Equity; and

(5) Other relevant members to be identified and invited by the task force; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the task force is requested to submit a report of its findings and recommendations, including any proposed legislation, to the Legislature no later than twenty days prior to the convening of the Regular Session of 2025; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the task force is requested to dissolve on June 30, 2025; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that certified copies of this Resolution be transmitted to the Director of the Office of Planning and Sustainable Development, Chief Information Officer of the Office of Enterprise Technology Services, Chief Executive Officer of the Office of Hawaiian Affairs, and Director of the Department of Health's Office of Health Equity.

	OFFERED BY:	_____________________________

Report Title:

Demographic Data; Data Collection; Task Force

THE SENATE	S.R. NO.	150
THIRTY-SECOND LEGISLATURE, 2024
STATE OF HAWAII