Bill To Reflect The Diversity Of Asian Pacific Islander Community Approved By Committee

Sacramento, CA – Assembly Bill 295, a bill by Assemblymember Ted Lieu that would ensure that state-collected data is separated into additional Asian Pacific Islander (API) ethnic groups, as currently reported in the U.S. Census, passed out of the Assembly Business & Professions Committee today.

“I am very pleased to have the support of this committee,” said Assemblymember Lieu. “In order to fully understand the diversity of Asian Pacific Islander communities, it is critical that data is collected for different API ethnic groups. Comprehensive data collection is one of many steps to accurately identify the community’s needs."

Under current law, California collects data for eleven API ethnic groups. AB 295 would expand the number of API ethnic group categories as well as align these categories with API data reported in the federal U.S. Census. AB 295 would add Hmong, Tongan, Thai, Pakistani, Bangladeshi, Sri Lankan, Malaysian, Indonesian, Taiwanese, and Fijian to the current API ethnic group categories.

As California’s Asian and Pacific Islander population continues to grow, it also becomes more diverse, both ethnically and socio-economically. The aggregated data that the State currently collects tends to “mask” very significant problems faced by smaller API groups here in California.  AB 295 seeks to expose these problems so that adequate resources can be directed to these communities.

“We need to recognize the great importance of collecting in depth API data,” Lieu said. “AB 295 will help ensure that the needs of the individual groups will not be masked by overall averages and services can be appropriately targeted.”

AB 295 is sponsored by Asian Americans for Civil Rights and Equality (AACRE), and has the support of a coalition of more than 40 API organizations, including the Southeast Asian Resource Action Center and the Asian and Pacific Islander Health Forum.

Assemblymembers Torrico (D-Fremont), Ma (D-San Francisco), Hayashi (D-Oakland), Eng (D-Monterey Park), and Senator Yee (D-San Francisco) are co-authors of the bill.