BILL ANALYSIS                                                                                                                                                                                                    Ó






                                                       Bill No:  AB  
          2253
          
                 SENATE COMMITTEE ON GOVERNMENTAL ORGANIZATION
                           Senator Lou Correa, Chair
                           2013-2014 Regular Session
                                 Staff Analysis



          AB 2253  Author:  Ting
          As Amended:  April 10, 2014
          Hearing Date:  June 24, 2014
          Consultant:  Art Terzakis


                                     SUBJECT  
                    Bilingual Services: implementation plans

                                   DESCRIPTION
           
          AB 2253 makes the following substantive and clarifying  
          changes to the Dymally-Alatorre Bilingual Services Act: 

          1)Stipulates that, by July 1, 2015, a state agency subject  
            to the Act must translate and make accessible on the  
            homepage of its Internet Web site, forms and processes  
            for submitting complaints of alleged violations of the  
            Act.  Also, requires that the forms and processes be  
            translated into all languages spoken by a substantial  
            number of non-English speaking people served by the state  
            agency.  In addition, requires that translated copies of  
            the forms must be printed and made available in the  
            statewide office and any local office of the state  
            agency.

          2)Requires, rather than authorizes, the California  
            Department of Human Resources (CalHR) to issue orders  
            that it deems appropriate to effectuate the purposes of  
            the Act if a state agency has not made reasonable  
            progress toward reaching compliance.

          3)Clarifies that provisions of the Act also apply to an  
            agency's "statewide" offices (current law only specifies  
            local offices) which render services to the public.





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          4)Requires that an agency's biennial language survey also  
            contain a detailed description of "complaints regarding  
            language access received by the agency."

                                    EXISTING LAW

           Existing law, the Dymally-Alatorre Bilingual Services Act  
          (Government Code Section 7290 et seq.), requires each state  
          agency to conduct a survey, related to its bilingual  
          services, of each of its local offices every two years to  
          determine specified information, and to report results and  
          any additional information requested to CalHR.  The Act  
          also requires each agency that serves a substantial number  
          of non-English-speaking people who comprise 5% or more of  
          the people served to develop an implementation plan, as  
          specified, in every odd-numbered year, and to submit the  
          implementation plan to the department for its review.  
          Additionally, the Act authorizes CalHR, if it determines  
          that a state agency has not made reasonable progress toward  
          complying with the Act, to issue orders that it deems  
          appropriate to effectuate the purposes of the Act.

                                    BACKGROUND
           
          The Dymally-Alatorre Bilingual Services Act ensures that  
          all residents, including those who are  
          limited-English-proficient (LEP), have equal access to  
          public services. The Act requires every state and local  
          agency to have a sufficient number of qualified bilingual  
          staff and translated written materials so that the LEP  
          population they serve are able to effectively access and  
          communicate with government.

           Purpose of AB 2253:   The author's office notes that as  
          California grows increasingly diverse, the language access  
          rights guaranteed by the Dymally-Alatorre Bilingual  
          Services Act are more critical than ever.  The author's  
          office references audits conducted by the California State  
          Auditor in 1999 and 2010 that revealed state agencies are  
          not fulfilling their responsibilities under the Act.   
          Specifically, the Auditor's report found that only 43  
          language access complaints were filed over a period of four  
          years.  These numbers suggest that language barriers in  
          state government are so pervasive that LEP individuals  
          cannot even articulate to state agencies that a problem  
          exists.  Additionally, the author's office cites the most  




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          recent CalHR report which found that 77% of surveyed  
          agencies serve a "substantial number of  
          non-English-speaking people," and of those agencies, 80%  
          reported having a bilingual staffing deficiency.  

          The author's office states that although the Act implies  
          that state agencies should have a procedure to address  
          language barrier complaints, it does not set minimum  
          standards to ensure that the complaints process is  
          effective and actually accessible to the LEP populations it  
          is intended to serve.  The author's office claims that the  
          complaints process utilized by most state agencies relies  
          on translated posters developed by CalHR that inform LEP  
          individuals of their right to request services in their  
          native language by calling a toll-free telephone number.   
          However, this particular complaints process is only  
          accessible to LEP individuals who "walk into" a state  
          agency office and not those individuals who are  
          increasingly interacting with government agencies via the  
          Internet.  Additionally, this process requires LEP  
          individuals to register their complaint with a different  
          entity than the one from which they are currently trying to  
          seek services, creating an inefficient two-step  
          bureaucratic process.  

          The author's office points out that AB 2253 would require  
          state agencies to make translated forms available to LEP  
          individuals so they can report any language barriers  
          experienced while accessing state services, both in-person  
          and online, creating a clear process for remedying such  
          complaints.  The author's office emphasizes that AB 2253  
          would help state agencies better identify and resolve  
          language barriers in state government that prevent LEP  
          individuals from gaining equal access to public services.

           Arguments in Support:   Proponents note that California is a  
          state of great language diversity with over 15 million  
          speaking a language other than English at home. According  
          to the U.S. Census Bureau, over 10 million Californians  
          speak Spanish - a little under half of those speak English  
          less than very well or are LEP. Over 1 million people in  
          California speak Chinese at home, with over half of those  
          speaking English less than very well. Tagalog is spoken by  
          about 800,000 Californians - one-third of those individuals  
          are LEP.  Over a half million people in California speak  
          Vietnamese at home - over half of those are LEP.  In  




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          certain areas of California (e.g., the San  
          Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara region), Spanish speakers are  
          outnumbered by those who speak Asian and Pacific Island  
          languages.  Proponents also estimate that up to 80% of nail  
          salon licensees are Vietnamese.

          Proponents believe that AB 2253 represents a small but  
          important step in improving language access for hundreds of  
          thousands of Californians who contribute to California's  
          economy and over all well-being.

           SUPPORT:   As of June 20, 2014:

          California Healthy Nail Salon (sponsor)
          American Civil Liberties Union of California
          Asian Americans Advancing Justice - Asian Law Caucus
          Asian Americans Advancing Justice - Los Angeles
          Asian and Pacific Islander American Health Forum
          Asian Health Services
          Breast Cancer Action
          California Labor Federation
          California Pan-Ethnic Health Network
          Chinese for Affirmative Action
          Clean Water Action
          Marin Asian Advocacy Project 
          Worksafe
          And, several private individuals

           OPPOSE:   None on file as of June 20, 2014.

           FISCAL COMMITTEE:   Senate Appropriations Committee

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