Texas State Senate – S.B. 851

 

Texas State Senate
S.B. 851

 


         By:  Ellis                                             S.B. No. 851
                                A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
                                       AN ACT
 1-1     relating to including a multiracial classification on all forms
 1-2     requesting information on racial identification and providing for
 1-3     reporting racial information to federal agencies.
 1-4           BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
 1-5           SECTION 1.  Chapter 2051, Government Code, is amended by
 1-6     adding Subchapter D to read as follows:
 1-7          SUBCHAPTER D.  REQUESTING RACIAL OR ETHNIC IDENTIFICATION
 1-8           Sec. 2051.101.  DEFINITIONS.  In this chapter:
 1-9                 (1)  "Multiracial" means having parents of different
1-10     races.
1-11                 (2)  "State agency" means a department, board,
1-12     commission, committee, or other agency in any branch of state
1-13     government.
1-14           Sec. 2051.102.  MULTIRACIAL CLASSIFICATION REQUIRED.  A form,
1-15     application, questionnaire, or other document or material produced
1-16     by or for or used by any state agency or political subdivision that
1-17     requests information on the racial or ethnic identification of a
1-18     person and that contains a list of racial and ethnic
1-19     classifications from which a person must select one must include
1-20     among the choices a multiracial classification.
1-21           Sec. 2051.103.  FEDERAL REQUIREMENTS.  Whenever it is
1-22     required that racial information collected by a state agency or
1-23     political subdivision be reported to a federal agency, the
 2-1     computation of the number of persons classified on forms or other
 2-2     documents as multiracial shall be reported by the agency or
 2-3     political subdivision under the multiracial classification.
 2-4     However, if the federal agency considers the multiracial
 2-5     classification unacceptable, the reporting state agency or
 2-6     political subdivision shall, on resubmission of the information,
 2-7     reclassify the multiracial population by allocating a percentage of
 2-8     the number of persons composing that population to each federally
 2-9     acceptable racial or ethnic classification at the same percentage
2-10     that the classification composes in the general population of the
2-11     collected group.
2-12           SECTION 2.  Chapter 1, Education Code, is amended by adding
2-13     Section 1.004 to read as follows:
2-14           Sec. 1.004.  MULTIRACIAL CLASSIFICATION REQUIRED.  (a)  In
2-15     this section, "multiracial" means having parents of different
2-16     races.
2-17           (b)  A form, application, questionnaire, or other document or
2-18     material produced by or for or used by any public school district
2-19     or state institution of higher education that requests information
2-20     on the racial or ethnic identification of a person and that
2-21     contains a list of racial and ethnic classifications from which a
2-22     person must select one must include among the choices a multiracial
2-23     classification.
2-24           (c)  Whenever it is required that racial information
2-25     collected by a public school district or state institution of
 3-1     higher education be reported to a federal agency, the computation
 3-2     of the number of persons classified on forms or other documents as
 3-3     multiracial shall be reported by the public school district or
 3-4     state institution of higher education under the multiracial
 3-5     classification.  However, if the federal agency considers the
 3-6     multiracial classification unacceptable, the reporting public
 3-7     school district or state institution of higher education shall, on
 3-8     resubmission of the information, reclassify the multiracial
 3-9     population by allocating a percentage of the number of persons
3-10     composing that population to each federally acceptable racial or
3-11     ethnic classification at the same percentage that the
3-12     classification composes in the general population of the collected
3-13     group.
3-14           SECTION 3.  Chapter 52, Labor Code, is amended by adding
3-15     Subchapter G to read as follows:
3-16          SUBCHAPTER G.  REQUESTING RACIAL OR ETHNIC IDENTIFICATION
3-17           Sec. 52.061.  DEFINITION. In this subchapter, "multiracial"
3-18     means having parents of different races.
3-19           Sec. 52.062.  MULTIRACIAL CLASSIFICATION REQUESTED.  A form,
3-20     application, questionnaire, or other document or material produced
3-21     by or for or used by any person employing labor in this state that
3-22     requests information on the racial or ethnic identification of an
3-23     employee and that contains a list of racial and ethnic
3-24     classifications from which the employee must select one should
3-25     include among the choices a multiracial classification.
 4-1           Sec. 52.063.  CAUSE OF ACTION NOT CREATED.  The failure of a
 4-2     person to comply with this subchapter does not create any civil
 4-3     cause of action.
 4-4           Sec. 52.064.  FEDERAL REQUIREMENTS.  Whenever it is required
 4-5     that racial information collected by a person subject to this
 4-6     subchapter be reported to a federal agency and the federal agency
 4-7     considers reporting under the multiracial classification
 4-8     unacceptable, the person subject to this subchapter shall report
 4-9     the information in the manner acceptable to the federal agency.
4-10           SECTION 4.  This Act takes effect September 1, 1997, but the
4-11     requirements of Subchapter D, Chapter 2051, Government Code;
4-12     Section 1.004, Education Code; and Subchapter G, Chapter 52, Labor
4-13     Code, as added by this Act, apply only to forms, applications,
4-14     questionnaires, and other documents or materials used after January
4-15     1, 1998.  In addition, all documents and materials printed and in
4-16     stock on January 1, 1998, that do not include a multiracial
4-17     classification may be used after that date and the stock depleted
4-18     before documents and materials that comply with this Act are
4-19     ordered.
4-20           SECTION 5.  The importance of this legislation and the
4-21     crowded condition of the calendars in both houses create an
4-22     emergency and an imperative public necessity that the
4-23     constitutional rule requiring bills to be read on three several
4-24     days in each house be suspended, and this rule is hereby suspended.

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