JC
We just recently reported on the advocacy that was being done via Senator Simitian’s (D-Palo Alto) office and in conjunction with community groups that serve mixed-race people. Here’s the exciting update! The bill has passed the senate panel with a vote of 3-1 in favor of the bill). The bill will require that all California state government forms allow respondents to check more than one race and holds the state accountable for recording and reporting the number of mixed race people.

The federal government began giving people of mixed race that option in 1997 — about one in six Californians identified that way in the 2000 census — but no state has since followed through in its own data collection.

California forms typically give a list of ethnic and racial designations and then ask respondents to “choose one.” Proponents say that forces multiracial Californians to deny significant parts of their identity, provides an inaccurate picture of the state’s diversity and can lead to delayed detection and treatment of medical conditions that are prevalent among some racial or ethnic groups.

The push isn’t over though…

The bill was approved Tuesday by the Senate Judiciary Committee but will need to go through a few more legislative hoops before it lands on the governor’s desk. Because it could cost the state money, it would have to pass both legislative chambers’ appropriations committees.