Racial Classifications on Government Forms

2025 Regular Session Introduced by Judy Amabile and 59 co-sponsors

State forms collecting race/ethnicity must add an explicit option for Middle Eastern, North African, or South Asian (MENA/SA).

Signed by the President of the Senate

Main purpose

Require state and local government forms that collect population‑level (de‑identified) race or ethnicity information to provide an explicit option for individuals to indicate that their race or ethnicity is “Middle Eastern, North African, or South Asian,” in addition to any racial/ethnic categories required by the federal Office of Management and Budget (OMB).

Key provisions

Definitions:

“Form” means a document that collects population‑level demographic data that is not individually identifiable.
“State” and “local government” are broadly defined to include departments, agencies, school districts, special districts, authorities, and authorized agents.

Required form content:

Any state or local government form requesting race/ethnicity must include a space to indicate Middle Eastern, North African, or South Asian (MENA/South Asian), in addition to OMB‑required categories.

Exemptions for federal reporting:

If the demographic data are reported to the federal government and the federal government rejects (or will reject) the data because it uses MENA/South Asian as a primary category, the state or local government may omit the primary MENA/South Asian option.
When exercising that exemption, the form must include MENA/South Asian as a subcategory under a non‑specific racial category.

Applicability:

Applies to forms provided to individuals on or after the effective date (Sept 1, 2026).

Who is affected

State agencies, local governments (counties, municipalities, school districts, special districts, etc.), statutory public entities, and authorized agents that collect population‑level race/ethnicity information.

Departments identified in fiscal analyses as requiring updates include the Department of Education (CDE) and Department of Public Safety (CDPS); many other agencies may need smaller updates.

Individuals completing government forms will have an additional explicit option to identify as MENA/South Asian.

Fiscal and implementation impacts

Final fiscal estimate (enacted bill): approximately $90,615 General Fund in FY 2026‑27 (one‑time programming costs), with conditional future costs of the same magnitude if and when OMB SPD‑15 is revised further.

Department of Education (CDE): ~$72,875
Department of Public Safety (CDPS): ~$17,740
Small portion may be reappropriated to the Office of Information Technology for programming services.

Earlier (initial) fiscal estimates projected larger, one‑time costs (up to ~$1.88 million) across many departments; those estimates were subsequently revised downward.

Local governments, school districts, and special districts will incur variable one‑time costs to update forms and databases; no statewide appropriation was required for FY 2025‑26.

Timeline / procedural notes

Bill introduced Jan 13, 2025; passed both chambers in April–May 2025; signed by the Governor May 12, 2025.

Applies to qualifying forms made available on or after Sept 1, 2026 (or later if a successful referendum delays enactment).

The law references future conformity with OMB standards (SPD‑15). Agencies that report to federal programs must avoid conflicts that would cause federal rejection; otherwise they must follow the new state requirement.

Bill