Existing law regulates the collection of certain personal information by the State and local governments. (See, e.g., chapter 239B of NRS) For example, existing law authorizes certain criminal justice agencies, and requires other state and local governmental agencies, that collect information from persons related to their race or ethnicity to include a separate category for persons of Middle Eastern or North African descent. (NRS 239B.028) Section 2 of this bill, with certain exceptions, prescribes requirements for the collection and tabulation by a state or local governmental agency, directly or by contract, of information concerning the race or ethnicity of persons in this State who self-identify as Asian, Native Hawaiian or Pacific Islander. Specifically, section 2 requires such a governmental agency to request any information concerning the race or ethnicity of such a person in not more than one question. Section 2 also mandates that such a governmental agency use separate categories for the collection and tabulation of the information, including: (1) for the category of persons who self-identify as Asian, an option to self-identify as Chinese, Vietnamese, Asian Indian, Korean, Filipino or Japanese or to specify another subcategory; and (2) for the category of persons who self-identify as Native Hawaiian or Pacific Islander, an option to self-identify as Native Hawaiian, Samoan, Chamorro, Tongan, Fijian or Marshallese or to specify another subcategory. Additionally, section 2 requires that a governmental agency ensure that any personally identifiable information in the information collected by the governmental agency concerning the race or ethnicity of persons in this State who self-identify as Asian, Native Hawaiian or Pacific Islander be kept confidential. With certain exceptions, section 2 also requires that the governmental agency: (1) make such information collected by the governmental agency available to the public by publishing the information on its Internet website; and (2) include such information in any demographic report concerning the race or ethnicity of persons in this State that is published by the governmental agency. Finally, section 2 prohibits the governmental agency from denying services or assistance to a person who fails or refuses to provide such information. Section 1 of this bill makes a conforming change to reflect that certain information collected by such a governmental agency in accordance with section 2 is not a public record.

Statutes affected:
As Introduced: 239.010
BDR: 239.010