Texas State Senate
S.B. 1069
(In the Senate – Filed March 9, 1995; March 14, 1995, read first time and referred to Committee on State Affairs; April 11, 1995, reported favorably by the following vote: Yeas 13, Nays 0; April 11, 1995, sent to printer.)
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
relating to including a multiracial classification on all forms requesting information on racial identification and providing for reporting racial information to federal agencies.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. Chapter 2051, Government Code, is amended by adding Subchapter D to read as follows:
SUBCHAPTER D. REQUESTING RACIAL OR ETHNIC IDENTIFICATION
Sec. 2051.101. DEFINITIONS. In this chapter:
(1) “Multiracial” means having parents of different races.
(2) “State agency” means a department, board, commission, committee, or other agency in any branch of state government.
Sec. 2051.102. MULTIRACIAL CLASSIFICATION REQUIRED. A form, application, questionnaire, or other document or material produced by or for or used by any state agency or political subdivision that requests information on the racial or ethnic identification of a person and that contains a list of racial and ethnic classifications from which a person must select one must include among the choices a multiracial classification.
Sec. 2051.103. FEDERAL REQUIREMENTS. Whenever it is required that racial information collected by a state agency or political subdivision be reported to a federal agency, the computation of the number of persons classified on forms or other documents as multiracial shall be reported by the agency or political subdivision under the multiracial classification. However, if the federal agency considers the multiracial classification unacceptable, the reporting state agency or political subdivision shall, on resubmission of the information, reclassify the multiracial population by allocating a percentage of the number of persons composing that population to each federally acceptable racial or ethnic classification at the same percentage that the classification comprises in the general population of the collected group.
SECTION 2. Chapter 2, Education Code, is amended by adding Section 2.13 to read as follows:
Sec. 2.13. MULTIRACIAL CLASSIFICATION REQUIRED. (a) In this section, “multiracial” means having parents of different races.
(b) A form, application, questionnaire, or other document or material produced by or for or used by any public school district or state institution of higher education that requests information on the racial or ethnic identification of a person and that contains a list of racial and ethnic classifications from which a person must select one must include among the choices a multiracial classification.
(c) Whenever it is required that racial information collected by a public school district or state institution of higher education be reported to a federal agency, the computation of the number of persons classified on forms or other documents as multiracial shall be reported by the public school district or state institution of higher education under the multiracial classification.
However, if the federal agency considers the multiracial classification unacceptable, the reporting public school district or state institution of higher education shall, on resubmission of the information, reclassify the multiracial population by allocating a percentage of the number of persons composing that population to each federally acceptable racial or ethnic classification at the same percentage that the classification comprises in the general population of the collected group.
SECTION 3. Chapter 52, Labor Code, is amended by adding Subchapter G to read as follows:
SUBCHAPTER G. REQUESTING RACIAL OR ETHNIC IDENTIFICATION
Sec. 52.061. DEFINITION. In this subchapter, “multiracial” means having parents of different races.
Sec. 52.062. MULTIRACIAL CLASSIFICATION REQUESTED. A form, application, questionnaire, or other document or material produced by or for or used by any person employing labor in this state that requests information on the racial or ethnic identification of an employee and that contains a list of racial and ethnic classifications from which the employee must select one should include among the choices a multiracial classification.
Sec. 52.063. CAUSE OF ACTION NOT CREATED. The failure of a person to comply with this subchapter does not create any civil cause of action.
Sec. 52.064. FEDERAL REQUIREMENTS. Whenever it is required that racial information collected by a person subject to this subchapter be reported to a federal agency and the federal agency considers reporting under the multiracial classification unacceptable, the person subject to this subchapter shall report the information in the manner acceptable to the federal agency.
SECTION 4. This Act takes effect September 1, 1995, but the requirements of Subchapter D, Chapter 2051, Government Code; Section 2.13, Education Code; and Subchapter G, Chapter 52, Labor Code, as added by this Act, apply only to forms, applications, questionnaires, and other documents or materials used after January 1, 1996. In addition, all documents and materials printed and in stock on January 1, 1996, that include the racial classification “other” may be used after that date and the stock depleted before reordering documents and materials that comply with this Act.
SECTION 5. The importance of this legislation and the crowded condition of the calendars in both houses create an emergency and an imperative public necessity that the constitutional rule requiring bills to be read on three several days in each house be suspended, and this rule is hereby suspended.
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