87R6456 MM-F
 
  By: Rosenthal H.B. No. 1608
 
 
 
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
 
AN ACT
  relating to the categorization, collection, and publication of
  certain demographic and other information pertaining to certain
  public benefits programs.
         BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
         SECTION 1.  Subchapter B, Chapter 531, Government Code, is
  amended by adding Sections 531.0316 and 531.03161 to read as
  follows:
         Sec. 531.0316.  COLLECTION OF DEMOGRAPHIC DATA. (a)
  Notwithstanding any other law, if the commission or a health and
  human services agency collects the demographic data of individuals
  who receive benefits under a health benefits program administered
  by the commission or agency, as applicable, the commission or
  agency, as applicable, shall, when collecting data relating to:
               (1)  the race or ethnic origin of an individual,
  provide the individual the option to select or identify appropriate
  categories and subcategories of race and ethnic origin, including:
                     (A)  the category of Hispanic or Latino with the
  option to select or identify the following subcategories:
                           (i)  Argentinian;
                           (ii)  Colombian;
                           (iii)  Cuban;
                           (iv)  Dominican (Dominican Republic);
                           (v)  Ecuadoran;
                           (vi)  Guatemalan;
                           (vii)  Honduran;
                           (viii)  Mexican;
                           (ix)  Nicaraguan;
                           (x)  Panamanian;
                           (xi)  Peruvian;
                           (xii)  Puerto Rican;
                           (xiii)  Salvadoran;
                           (xiv)  Spaniard;
                           (xv)  Venezuelan; and
                           (xvi)  another subcategory written in by the
  individual;
                     (B)  the category of African American with the
  option to select or identify the following subcategories:
                           (i)  Black American (born in the United
  States with African ancestry);
                           (ii)  African diaspora (born outside the
  United States with African origins); and
                           (iii)  another subcategory written in by the
  individual;
                     (C)  the category of Native American with the
  option to select or identify the following subcategories:
                           (i)  Apache;
                           (ii)  Cherokee;
                           (iii)  Chickasaw;
                           (iv)  Choctaw;
                           (v)  Mexican American Indian;
                           (vi)  Navajo; and
                           (vii)  another subcategory written in by the
  individual;
                     (D)  the category of Pacific Islander with the
  option to select or identify the following subcategories:
                           (i)  Chamorro;
                           (ii)  Guamanian;
                           (iii)  Marshallese;
                           (iv)  Native Hawaiian;
                           (v)  Samoan;
                           (vi)  Tongan; and
                           (vii)  another subcategory written in by the
  individual;
                     (E)  the category of Asian with the option to
  select or identify the following subcategories:
                           (i)  Indian;
                           (ii)  Bangladeshi;
                           (iii)  Burmese;
                           (iv)  Cambodian;
                           (v)  Chinese (except Taiwanese);
                           (vi)  Filipino;
                           (vii)  Iranian;
                           (viii)  Japanese;
                           (ix)  Korean;
                           (x)  Laotian;
                           (xi)  Nepalese;
                           (xii)  Pakistani;
                           (xiii)  Taiwanese;
                           (xiv)  Thai;
                           (xv)  Vietnamese; and
                           (xvi)  another subcategory written in by the
  individual; and
                     (F)  the category of Middle Eastern and North
  African with the option to select or identify the following
  subcategories:
                           (i)  Egyptian;
                           (ii)  Iraqi;
                           (iii)  Jordanian;
                           (iv)  Lebanese;
                           (v)  Palestinian;
                           (vi)  Syrian; and
                           (vii)  another subcategory written in by the
  individual;
               (2)  the sex or gender of an individual, ask the
  following questions:
                     (A)  "What is your current gender identity?" and,
  in response to the question, provide the individual the option to
  select or identify as:
                           (i)  female;
                           (ii)  intersex;
                           (iii)  male;
                           (iv)  nonbinary;
                           (v)  transgender female;
                           (vi)  transgender male; and
                           (vii)  another sex or gender written in by
  the individual; and
                     (B)  "What sex were you assigned on your original
  birth certificate or other legal document confirming birth?" and,
  in response to the question, provide the individual the option to
  select:
                           (i)  female;
                           (ii)  male;
                           (iii)  "I was not assigned a sex at birth";
  or
                           (iv)  "I was not issued a birth certificate
  or other legal document confirming my birth"; and
               (3)  more than one demographic category, include the
  sexual orientation of an individual as a category and provide the
  individual with the option to select or identify as:
                     (A)  asexual;
                     (B)  bisexual;
                     (C)  gay;
                     (D)  heterosexual;
                     (E)  lesbian;
                     (F)  pansexual; and
                     (G)  another sexual orientation written in by the
  individual.
         (b)  The commission shall ensure that each local entity,
  including a local governmental entity, responsible for providing
  demographic data to the commission or a health and human services
  agency in connection with a public benefits program administered by
  the commission or agency, as applicable, provides the data in the
  manner prescribed by this section.
         (c)  In collecting demographic data, the commission and each
  health and human services agency shall provide individuals from
  whom the data is sought the option to select more than one category
  for race or ethnic origin and more than one subcategory for race or
  ethnic origin.
         (d)  The provision of demographic data under this section by
  an individual is voluntary.
         (e)  Not later than the first anniversary of the date the
  federal decennial census is published, the commission shall update
  the subcategories of race or ethnic origin to include only the
  subcategories with populations larger than 7,500 as published by
  the United States Census Bureau, except that each category must
  include at least the six largest subcategories.
         (f)  The executive commissioner shall adopt rules necessary
  to implement this section.
         Sec. 531.03161.  COLLECTION AND CROSS-TABULATION ANALYSIS
  OF CERTAIN DATA; PUBLICATION.  (a)  The commission and each health
  and human services agency that administers a public benefits
  program shall collect the following data regarding individuals who
  receive, or were receiving at the time of the individual's death,
  benefits under a program:
               (1)  the individual's level of English proficiency; and
               (2)  whether the individual:
                     (A)  has a disability;
                     (B)  has health benefits coverage;
                     (C)  has been diagnosed with a chronic condition,
  including cancer, obesity, diabetes, or asthma;
                     (D)  has access to health care, including
  preventive care services;
                     (E)  has a diagnosed mental health disorder;
                     (F)  is or has been pregnant;
                     (G)  died as a result of a pregnancy-related
  cause; and
                     (H)  had a child who died as an infant.
         (b)  To the extent permitted by federal law and if requested
  by the commission, a local entity, including a local governmental
  entity, responsible for providing demographic data to the
  commission or a health and human services agency in connection with
  a public benefits program administered by the commission or agency,
  as applicable, shall report to the commission the data described by
  Subsection (a) to the extent that data is known or obtainable by the
  entity.
         (c)  The commission shall prepare a cross-tabulation
  analysis of the data described by Subsection (a) and the
  demographic data collected under Section 531.0316, including data
  related to the race or ethnic origin, sex or gender, and sexual
  orientation of individuals.  The analysis conducted under this
  subsection must consider subcategories and suboptions.
         (d)  Subject to Subsection (f) and to the extent permitted by
  federal law, the commission shall make available to the public on
  its Internet website in an easy-to-read format metric data obtained
  as the result of the cross-tabulation analysis conducted under this
  section and organized by the demographic data collected in
  accordance with Section 531.0316. The metric data published under
  this section must be organized by category and then by subcategory
  or suboption, as applicable.
         (e)  The commission shall annually update the metric data
  published under Subsection (d).
         (f)  The storage and communication of data under this section
  must comply with existing federal and state privacy laws governing
  individually identifiable information. Data made available to the
  public under this section may not identify or allow for the
  identification of individuals.
         (g)  This section does not prevent a state agency from
  posting demographic data collected by the agency on the agency's
  Internet website.
         (h)  The executive commissioner shall adopt rules necessary
  to implement this section.
         SECTION 2.  Not later than December 1, 2022, the Health and
  Human Services Commission shall publish on its Internet website the
  metric data required under Section 531.03161(d), Government Code,
  as added by this Act.
         SECTION 3.  If before implementing any provision of this Act
  a state agency determines that a waiver or authorization from a
  federal agency is necessary for implementation of that provision,
  the agency affected by the provision shall request the waiver or
  authorization and may delay implementing that provision until the
  waiver or authorization is granted.
         SECTION 4.  This Act takes effect September 1, 2021.