ABOUT
Latine and Indigenous Disparities Reduction Act
Latines are the largest racial and ethnic group in California making up nearly 40% of the state's population. This year, the U.S. Census Bureau reported that over 1 in 4 Americans are likely to be Latino by 2060. Latines are diverse and vary widely in terms of ethnicity, culture, and language. Historically, the term Latine is not all encompassing and does not represent Indigenous communities or languages. In fact, Indigenous Mesoamericans speak over 560 Indigenous languages. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, almost 20,000 Indigenous language speakers from Meso and Latin America reside in the United States and California has one of the largest Indigenous Mesoamerican populations in the country. Additionally, Latine subgroups experience disparate health and life outcomes and that is even more so for Indigenous Mesoamericans - yet our state systems and programs currently do not collect specific data on these subgroups.
Latine subgroups and Indigenous Mesoamericans have specific needs - such as Indigenous language access - to obtain quality and reliable information and services from our state agencies and programs. During the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, Indigenous language speakers could not access timely and reliable information in their language to access vaccines in California and suffered higher deaths as a result. Without disaggregated data, policymakers and researchers must rely on less detailed data released by state agencies or local data that may be collected inconsistently in different jurisdictions that can lead to health and related inequities.
On the eve of Indigenous People's Day, Governor Newsom vetoed SB 435. The Governor cited monitoring the United States Office of Management and Budget’s (OMB) updating federal standards for collecting and reporting race and ethnicity as the reason for the veto.
The Latine and Indigenous Disparities Act entered its second year in California as SB 1016 on February 16, 2024. California is currently facing financial difficulties. Similar to last year, the bill had a wide range of support from over 80 state organizations, both Senate and Assembly, and was a Latino Caucus priority. The bill is currently heading to the Governor's desk.
Our Mission
SB 1016 takes the critical and necessary first step to address underlying health inequities for Latines and Indigenous Mesoamericans by requiring state departments to collect and disaggregate data for additional Latine groups and Mesoamerican nations.
Our Vision
To ensure the visibility of all Latine subgroups and Indigenous Mesoamerican Nations, California needs to start collecting demographic data and Indigenous languages. By disaggregating this high-quality, anonymous, and detailed demographic data, California has an opportunity to address underlying health inequalities for Latine subgroups and Indigenous Mesoamericans. The data will provide the public and decision-makers with more accurate data to make informed decisions on allocating resources that will meet the health needs of all Californians.