| |
| |
|
|
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
|
|
|
AN ACT
|
|
|
relating to the categorization, collection, and publication of |
|
|
demographic and other information pertaining to certain public |
|
|
benefits programs. |
|
|
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS: |
|
|
SECTION 1. Subchapter A, Chapter 526, Government Code, as |
|
|
effective April 1, 2025, is amended by adding Sections 526.0011 and |
|
|
526.0012 to read as follows: |
|
|
Sec. 526.0011. COLLECTION OF DEMOGRAPHIC DATA. (a) |
|
|
Subject to Subsection (e) and 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 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: |
|
|
(1) American Indian or Alaska Native, with a write-in |
|
|
box to state the specific group with which the person identifies, |
|
|
such as Navajo Nation, Blackfeet Tribe of the Blackfeet Indian |
|
|
Reservation of Montana, Native Village of Barrow Inupiat |
|
|
Traditional Government, Nome Eskimo Community, Aztec, Maya, or any |
|
|
other subcategory with which the person identifies; |
|
|
(2) Asian, including the following subcategories: |
|
|
(A) Asian Indian; |
|
|
(B) Chinese; |
|
|
(C) Filipino; |
|
|
(D) Korean; |
|
|
(E) Pakistani; |
|
|
(F) Vietnamese; and |
|
|
(G) other, with a write-in box to state any other |
|
|
Asian subcategory with which the person identifies, such as Hmong, |
|
|
Afghan, or Japanese; |
|
|
(3) Black or African American, including the following |
|
|
subcategories: |
|
|
(A) African American; |
|
|
(B) Ethiopian; |
|
|
(C) Haitian; |
|
|
(D) Jamaican; |
|
|
(E) Nigerian; |
|
|
(F) Somali; and |
|
|
(G) other, with a write-in box to state any other |
|
|
Black or African American subcategory with which the person |
|
|
identifies, such as Trinidadian, Tobagonian, Ghanian, or |
|
|
Congolese; |
|
|
(4) Hispanic or Latino, including the following |
|
|
subcategories: |
|
|
(A) Cuban; |
|
|
(B) Dominican; |
|
|
(C) Guatemalan; |
|
|
(D) Mexican; |
|
|
(E) Puerto Rican; |
|
|
(F) Salvadoran; and |
|
|
(G) other, with a write-in box to state any other |
|
|
Hispanic or Latino subcategory with which the person identifies, |
|
|
such as Colombian, Honduran, or Spaniard; |
|
|
(5) Middle Eastern or North African, including the |
|
|
following subcategories: |
|
|
(A) Egyptian; |
|
|
(B) Iranian; |
|
|
(C) Iraqi; |
|
|
(D) Israeli; |
|
|
(E) Lebanese; |
|
|
(F) Syrian; and |
|
|
(G) other, with a write-in box to state any other |
|
|
Middle Eastern or North African subcategory with which the person |
|
|
identifies, such as Moroccan, Yemeni, or Kurdish; |
|
|
(6) Native Hawaiian or Pacific Islander, including the |
|
|
following subcategories: |
|
|
(A) Chamorro; |
|
|
(B) Fijian; |
|
|
(C) Marshallese; |
|
|
(D) Native Hawaiian; |
|
|
(E) Samoan; |
|
|
(F) Tongan; and |
|
|
(G) other, with a write-in box to state any other |
|
|
Native Hawaiian or Pacific Islander subcategory with which the |
|
|
person identifies, such as Chuukese, Palauan, or Tahitian; and |
|
|
(7) White, including the following subcategories: |
|
|
(A) English; |
|
|
(B) German; |
|
|
(C) Irish; |
|
|
(D) Italian; |
|
|
(E) Polish; |
|
|
(F) Scottish; and |
|
|
(G) other, with a write-in box to state any other |
|
|
White subcategory with which the person identifies, such as French, |
|
|
Swedish, or Norwegian. |
|
|
(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: |
|
|
(1) select more than one category for race or ethnic |
|
|
origin; |
|
|
(2) select more than one subcategory for race or |
|
|
ethnic origin; and |
|
|
(3) write in a race or ethnic origin not listed. |
|
|
(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. 526.0012. 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 526.0011. The analysis |
|
|
conducted under this subsection must consider subcategories, |
|
|
including those provided by individuals as a write-in option. |
|
|
(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 526.0011. The metric data published under |
|
|
this section must be organized by category and then by subcategory, |
|
|
including those provided by individuals as a write-in option, 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 January 1, 2028: |
|
|
(1) the Health and Human Services Commission and each |
|
|
health and human services agency to which Sections 526.0011 and |
|
|
526.0012, Government Code, as added by this Act, apply shall revise |
|
|
the commission's or agency's data collection and reporting |
|
|
standards and forms as necessary to comply with those sections; and |
|
|
(2) the Health and Human Services Commission shall |
|
|
publish on its Internet website the metric data required under |
|
|
Section 526.0012(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, 2025. |