On Sunday, Governor Brown signed Assembly Bill 1726, the AHEAD Act, into law. This new policy will provide California’s Department of Public Health with more granular data on the diverse Asian American, Native Hawaiian, and Pacific Islander (AANHPI) populations it serves. Better data on the different needs of our communities translates to more effective public health strategies that save lives.
We applaud the Governor for furthering California’s leadership in AANHPI data disaggregation. In 2011, Assemblymember Mike Eng’s legislation, AB 1088, was signed into law, requiring the Department of Fair Employment and Housing and Department of Industrial Relations to collect data on additional AANHPI subgroups. AB 1726 expands this by including the Department of Public Health, and empowering previously invisible communities, like Hmong and Tongan, with the tools they need to advocate for their own good health. We look forward to working together with the Department of Public Health to implement the law. We also extend our deep appreciation to Assemblymember Rob Bonta for championing this issue as the author of this bill.
We also commend the University of California and the California State University systems, which have agreed to voluntarily implement expanded data disaggregation and reporting that were previously included under AB 1726. We are committed to working with the California Community Colleges and Department of Health Care Services to collect and report disaggregated data for those entities. We also maintain our dedication to comprehensive data disaggregation at all public institutions and agencies. We look forward to working with policymakers to ensure visibility, equity, and justice for our communities.
Finally, we are proud to have co-sponsored AB 1726 with our partners at the Asian & Pacific Islander American Health Forum, Empowering Pacific Islander Communities, and the Southeast Asia Resource Action Center. And most importantly, we would like to thank everyone who supported this effort. Thousands signed the petition, hundreds participated in our photo campaign, and our fierce and hardworking community based partner organizations each made phone calls, visited their legislators, passed local resolutions in support of AB 1726, and even organized buses of elders and students to attend our rally. The energy and enthusiasm across our diverse communities shows how much we all want and need AB 1726.