Section 52:4-7 - [Effective 7/1/2025] Demographic data collection, separate collection categories, tabulationsa. Each State agency that directly or by contract collects demographic data as to the ancestry of residents of the State of New Jersey shall use separate collection categories and tabulations for the following: (1) each major Asian group, including, but not limited to, Chinese, Japanese, Filipino, Korean, Vietnamese, Asian Indian, Laotian, Cambodian, Bangladeshi, Hmong, Indonesian, Malaysian, Pakistani, Sri Lankan, Taiwanese, Nepalese, Burmese, Tibetan, and Thai;(2) each major Pacific Islander group, including, but not limited to, Native Hawaiian, Chamorro or Guamanian, Samoan, Fijian, and Tongan;(3) each major Middle Eastern and North African group, including, but not limited to, Algerian, Bahraini, Egyptian, Jordanian, Kuwaiti, Lebanese, Libyan, Moroccan, Omani, and Tunisian;(4) each major South Asian and Indian Diaspora group, including, but not limited to, Guyanese, Trinidadian and Tobagonian, and Surinamese; and(5) other Asian, Pacific Islander, South Asian and Indian Diaspora, or Middle Eastern and North African groups.b. Each State agency that directly or by contract collects demographic data as to the ancestry of residents of the State of New Jersey shall use separate collection categories and tabulations for the following: (1) the primary language spoken at home and, if such language is a non-English language, whether the respondent is fluent in English; andc. The data collected pursuant to the provisions of subsections a. and b. of this section shall be included in every demographic report on ancestry of residents of the State of New Jersey by the State agency published or released on or after the first day of the sixth month following the effective date of this act, P.L. 2023, c. 264 (C.52:4-6 et seq.). The data shall be made available to the public in accordance with State and federal law, except for personal identifying information, which shall be deemed confidential, by posting the data on the internet website of the State agency.
d. State agencies may continue to collect and report demographic data in the form that the data was submitted if the data was collected under either of the following circumstances:(1) Pursuant to federal laws, regulations, programs, or surveys, whereby the requirements or guidelines for demographic data collection categories are defined by the federal law, regulation, program, or survey.(2) Demographic data collected by other entities, including third-party, entity-administered surveys not solely funded by the State agency.e. Each State agency may update its data collection and reporting practices as needed in response to changes made to the American Community Survey published by the United States Census Bureau.f. As used in this section: "Ancestry" means the respondent's self-identification of the respondent's origin or descent, "roots," heritage, or place where the respondent or the respondent's parents or ancestors were born.
"Primary language spoken at home" means the language currently used by respondents at home, either "English only" or a non-English language which is used in addition to English or in place of English.
"State agency" means any agency in the executive branch of the State government, including, but not limited to, any department, board, bureau, commission, division, office, council, or instrumentality thereof, or independent agency, public authority or public benefit corporation, and any State college or public institution of higher education.
Added by L. 2023, c. 264, s. 2, eff. 7/1/2025.