“MULTIRACIAL” IDENTIFICATION H.B. 4439: FLOOR ANALYSIS
House Bill 4439 (as reported without amendment) Sponsor: Representative Harold Voorhees House Committee: Judiciary and Civil Rights Senate Committee: Government Operations
The bill would amend the Elliot-Larson Civil Rights Act to require that the category “other” be eliminated and the category “multiracial” be included on certain documents that request individuals to designate race or ethnicity. The bill would apply to an employer or an educational institution that listed racial or ethnic classifications in a document requesting that an individual select a classification to designate his or her race or ethnicity. In including the term “multiracial”, the employer or educational institution would have to include a definition of “multiracial” that substantially provided that the term meant having parents of different races. The bill would apply to documents that were printed or developed 90 days or more after its effective date.
Further, the bill provides that if a Federal agency required an employer or educational institution to transmit information obtained from an individual, but rejected the classification “multiracial”, the employer or educational institution would have to redesignate the individuals identified as multiracial by allocating them to racial or ethnic classifications approved by the Federal agency in the same ratio that those classifications occur within the general population of the group from which the information was solicited.
Proposed MCL 37.2202a & 37.2402a Legislative Analyst: G. Towne
The bill would result in minimal costs to the State and local units associated with changing forms. Date Completed: 5-26-95 Fiscal Analyst: L. Nacionales-Tafoya
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This analysis was prepared by nonpartisan Senate staff for use by the Senate in its deliberations and does not constitute an official statement of legislative intent.