BILL ANALYSIS
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|SENATE RULES COMMITTEE | AB 781|
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THIRD READING
Bill No: AB 781
Author: Jeffries (R)
Amended: 6/29/10 in Senate
Vote: 21
SENATE JUDICIARY COMMITTEE : 4-0, 6/22/10
AYES: Corbett, Harman, Hancock, Leno
NO VOTE RECORDED: Walters
ASSEMBLY FLOOR : 68-0, 1/27/10 (Consent) - See last page
for vote
SUBJECT : Bilingual services
SOURCE : California NAACP
DIGEST : This bill provides that no state or local agency
shall impose or implement an action or decision pursuant to
the Dymally-Alatorre Bilingual Services Act, including any
requirement that an employee be bilingual, as a pretext for
discrimination on the basis of race, national origin, or
other unlawful discrimination in employment, including
specifically any requirement that an employee be bilingual.
This bill further provides that all information and
reports required by the Dymally-Alatorre Bilingual Services
Act shall be public information unless otherwise restricted
by law.
ANALYSIS : Existing law, the Dymally-Alatorre Bilingual
Services Act, requires every state agency, except as
CONTINUED
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specified, that is directly involved in the furnishing of
information or the rendering of services to the public
whereby contact is made with a substantial number of
non-English-speaking people to employ a sufficient number
of qualified bilingual persons in public contact positions.
(Section 7292 of the Government Code [GOV])
Existing law requires every local public agency serving a
substantial number of non-English-speaking people to employ
a sufficient number of qualified bilingual persons in
public contact positions or as interpreters to assist those
in such positions, to ensure provision of information and
services in the language of the non-English-speaking
person. (GOV Section 7293)
Existing law requires that any materials explaining
services available to the public be translated into any
non-English language spoken by a substantial number of the
public served by the agency. (GOV Section 7295)
Existing law requires each state agency to conduct an
assessment and develop an implementation plan that complies
with the requirements of the Act. (GOV Section 7299.4)
Existing law provides that it shall be an unlawful
employment practice, unless based upon a bona fide
occupational qualification for an employer, because of the
race, color, national origin (including language) or
ancestry, of any person, to refuse to hire or employ the
person or to refuse to select the person for a training
program leading to employment, or to bar or to discharge
the person from employment or from a training program
leading to employment, or to discriminate against the
person in compensation or in terms, conditions, or
privileges of employment. (GOV Section 12940)
This bill provides that no state or local agency shall
impose or implement an action or decision pursuant to this
chapter, including any requirement that an employee be
bilingual, as a pretext for discrimination on the basis of
race, national origin, or other unlawful discrimination in
employment.
This bill specifies that all information and reports
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required by the Act shall be public information unless
otherwise restricted by law.
Background
The Dymally-Alatorre Bilingual Services Act was enacted in
1973 (AB 86 [Alatorre], Chapter 1182, Statutes of 1973) to
provide for effective communication between the state's
residents and state, county, and municipal governments. It
was amended in 1977, by AB 1258 (Alatorre), Chapter 1035,
Statutes of 1977. The Act is intended to ensure that
individuals who do not speak or write English are not
prevented from using public services because of language
barriers. In passing the Act, the Legislature was
responding to concerns that a substantial portion of
California's population could not effectively communicate
with government at the state and local level because they
spoke a different language. Because public agencies were
frequently unable to communicate with individuals requiring
these services, non-English-speaking individuals were
effectively being denied rights and benefits to which they
were entitled. Accordingly, the Act required state and
local agencies to ensure that they provide information and
services in the various languages of their constituents.
FISCAL EFFECT : Appropriation: No Fiscal Com.: No
Local: No
SUPPORT : (Verified 6/29/10)
California NAACP (source)
OPPOSITION : (Verified 6/29/10)
City of Oakland
ARGUMENTS IN SUPPORT : According to the author's office,
while the Dymally-Alatorre Bilingual Services Act
appropriately provides for access to government services to
limited-English proficiency residents, it fails to ensure
that local and state government hiring practices do not
have a disparate impact on equal employment opportunities,
or subject job applicants to discrimination based on race,
color, religion, sex, or national origin. The author's
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office points to an ordinance adopted by the City of
Oakland which required the City to hire "a sufficient
number of bilingual employees in public contact positions
so as to adequately serve members of the substantial number
of limited-English-speaking persons group(s) in the City."
(Equal Access Ordinance, O.M.C. 2.30.) The author and
sponsor have expressed concerns that this ordinance, as
well as state law, does not sufficiently emphasize the
obligation to abide by longstanding equal employment
opportunity laws.
ARGUMENTS IN OPPOSITION : The City of Oakland writes:
"The City of Oakland has made it a priority to establish
a form of government that is truly inclusive of all its
residents and is committed to the delivery of effective,
courteous and responsive services. A substantial number
of persons who live and work in Oakland are unable to
communicate effectively in English because their primary
language is not English; in fact, there are over 125
languages and dialects spoken in Oakland. It is of
paramount importance that all residents regardless of
their ability or proficiencies in English have access to
City programs, support, and services.
"On May 8, 2001, the City of Oakland became the first
city in the nation to pass an Equal Access to Service
ordinance with the purpose of removing language barriers
for limited English speakers attempting to access City
services. City of Oakland departments are required to
provide language access for residents who are limited
English speaking through availability of bilingual staff
and translated written outreach materials. ?
"While we agree that local agencies should not engage in
any form of discrimination in employment, our concern is
that your bill, if passed, could potentially deter local
governments from requiring bilingual skills and would
negatively impact our residents by preventing them from
accessing essential city services."
ASSEMBLY FLOOR :
AYES: Adams, Ammiano, Anderson, Arambula, Beall, Bill
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Berryhill, Tom Berryhill, Blakeslee, Block, Blumenfield,
Bradford, Brownley, Buchanan, Caballero, Charles
Calderon, Chesbro, Cook, Coto, De La Torre, Emmerson,
Eng, Evans, Feuer, Fletcher, Fong, Fuentes, Fuller,
Furutani, Gaines, Galgiani, Garrick, Gilmore, Hagman,
Harkey, Hayashi, Hernandez, Hill, Huber, Huffman,
Jeffries, Jones, Knight, Lieu, Logue, Bonnie Lowenthal,
Ma, Mendoza, Miller, Monning, Nava, Nestande, Niello,
Nielsen, John A. Perez, Portantino, Ruskin, Saldana,
Silva, Skinner, Smyth, Solorio, Audra Strickland,
Swanson, Torres, Torrico, Tran, Villines, Yamada
NO VOTE RECORDED: Carter, Conway, Davis, De Leon, DeVore,
Hall, V. Manuel Perez, Salas, Torlakson, Bass
RJG:mw 6/29/10 Senate Floor Analyses
SUPPORT/OPPOSITION: SEE ABOVE
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