Existing law requires state agencies, boards, and commissions that collect demographic data on the ancestry or ethnic origin of Californians to use separate data categories and tabulations for each major Asian and Pacific Islander group and to include that information in every demographic report published on or after July 1, 2012.
Effective January 1, 2028, AB 91, known as the Middle Eastern and North African Inclusion Act (MENA Inclusion Act), requires state and local agencies that collect demographic data to use separate collection categories and tabulations for major Middle Eastern and North African (MENA) groups. Middle Eastern groups include, but are not limited to, the following: (1) Afghan; (2) Bahraini; (3) Emirati; (4) Iranian; (5) Iraqi; (6) Israeli; (7) Jordanian: (8) Kuwaiti; (9) Lebanese; (10) Omani; (11) Palestinian; (12) Qatari; (13) Saudi Arabian; (14) Syrian; (15) Turkish; and (16) Yemeni. North African groups include, but are not limited to, the following: (1) Algerian; (2) Djiboutian;(3) Egyptian; (4) Libyan; (5) Mauritanian; (6) Moroccan;(7) Somali; (8) Sudanese; and (9) Tunisian. Transnational groups include, but are not limited to, the following: (1) Amazigh or Berber; (2) Armenian; (3) Assyrian; (4) Chaldean; (5) Circassian; and (6) Kurdish.
Effective January 1, 2028, agencies must include MENA data in all demographic reports on ancestry or ethnic origins that are published after January 1, 2029. AB 91 further requires that agencies make aggregated data publicly available, including, but not limited to, publishing the data online.
AB 91 requires that agencies protect individuals’ personal identifying information. Agencies may aggregate data by geographic area to prevent the identification of individuals. Agencies must avoid publishing data that would be statistically unreliable.
(AB 91 adds Section 8310.4 to the Government Code.)