Section 8.03 - Demographic Collection(1) Every Government Agency that collects demographic data as to the race or ethnicity of residents of the commonwealth shall use separate collection and tabulations for such groups as are identified in guidance issued by the Secretary, which shall include but not be limited to: (a) each major Asian group, as reported by the United States Census Bureau, 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;(b) each major Pacific Islander group, as reported by the United States Census Bureau, including, but not limited to, Native Hawaiian, Guamanian, Samoan, Fijian and Tongan;(c) each other Asian or Pacific Islander group not listed in clause (i) or (ii);(d) each major Black or African American group, as reported by the United States Census Bureau, including, but not limited to, African American, Jamaican, Haitian, Nigerian, Ethiopian, Cape Verdean and Somali;(e) each major Latino group, as reported by the United States Census Bureau, including, but not limited to, Mexican, Puerto Rican, Cuban, Salvadoran, Dominican and Colombian;(f) each major white or Caucasian group, as reported by the United States Census Bureau, including, but not limited to, German, Irish, English, Italian, Polish, Portuguese and French;(g) each group with origins in any of the original peoples of North, Central, and South America, including, but not limited to, Navajo Nation, Blackfeet Tribe of the Blackfeet Indian Reservation of Montana, Native Village of Barrow Inupiat Traditional Government, Nome Eskimo Community, Aztec, and Maya; and(h) each Middle Eastern and North African group, including but not limited to, Lebanese, Iranian, Egyptian, Syrian, Iraqi, and Israeli.(2) Each Government Agency shall allow an individual to choose more than 1 group, write in their own group or choose the aggregate category.(3) No Government Agency shall fill out racial or ethnic information unless directed by the individual or required by state or federal law to fill out such information on the individual's behalf.(4) The Secretary may provide additional information on demographic data collected through guidance. The Secretary shall consider updating any such guidance at least every two years, or any time there is a change to U.S. Census Bureau standards, whichever is sooner.Adopted by Mass Register Issue 1538, eff. 1/3/2025.