Bill Text: CA AB2253 | 2013-2014 | Regular Session | Introduced

NOTE: There are more recent revisions of this legislation. Read Latest Draft

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Bill Title: Bilingual services: implementation plans.

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 1-0)

Status: (Passed) 2014-09-19 - Chaptered by Secretary of State - Chapter 469, Statutes of 2014. [AB2253 Detail]

Download: California-2013-AB2253-Introduced.html

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BILL NUMBER: AB 2253	INTRODUCED
	BILL TEXT


INTRODUCED BY   Assembly Member Ting

                        FEBRUARY 21, 2014

   An act to amend Section 7299.4 of the Government Code, relating to
bilingual services.


	LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST


   AB 2253, as introduced, Ting. Bilingual services: implementation
plans.
   The Dymally-Alatorre Bilingual Services Act 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 the Department of Human Resources. The act 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. The
act authorizes the department, 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.
   This bill would instead require the department, 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.
   Vote: majority. Appropriation: no. Fiscal committee: yes.
State-mandated local program: no.


THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:

  SECTION 1.  Section 7299.4 of the Government Code is amended to
read:
   7299.4.  (a) Notwithstanding any other provision in this chapter,
each state agency shall conduct a language survey and develop and
update an implementation plan that complies with the requirements of
this chapter.
   (b) Each agency shall conduct a language survey of each of its
local offices every two years to determine and provide all of the
following:
   (1) The name, position, and contact information of the employee
designated by the agency responsible for complying with this chapter.

   (2) The number of public contact positions in each local office.
   (3) The number of qualified bilingual employees in public contact
positions in each local office, and the languages they speak, other
than English.
   (4) The number and percentage of non-English-speaking people
served by each local office, broken down by native language.
   (5) The number of anticipated vacancies in public contact
positions.
   (6) Whether the use of other available options, including
contracted telephone-based interpretation services, in addition to
qualified bilingual persons in public contact positions, is serving
the language needs of the people served by the agency.
   (7) A list of all written materials that are required to be
translated or otherwise made accessible to non- or
limited-English-speaking individuals by Sections 7295.2 and 7295.4.
   (8) A list of materials identified in paragraph (7) that have been
translated and languages into which they have been translated.
   (9) The number of additional qualified bilingual public contact
staff, if any, needed at each local office to comply with this
chapter.
   (10) A detailed description of the agency's procedures for
identifying written materials that are required to be translated.
   (11) Each agency shall calculate the percentage of
non-English-speaking people served by each local office by rounding
the percentage arrived at to the nearest whole percentage point.
   (12) A detailed description of the agency's procedures for
identifying language needs at local offices and assigning qualified
bilingual staff to those offices.
   (13) A detailed description of how the agency recruits qualified
bilingual staff in local offices.
   (14) A detailed description of any training the agency provides to
its staff on the provision of services to non- or
limited-English-speaking individuals, frequency of training, and date
of most recent training.
   (15) A detailed description of the agency's procedures for
accepting and resolving complaints of an alleged violation due to
failure to make available translated documents or provide interpreter
service through bilingual staff or contract services.
   (16) A detailed description of how the agency complies with any
federal or other state laws that require the provision of
linguistically accessible services to the public.
   (17) Any other relevant information requested by the Department of
Human Resources.
   (c) The language survey results and any additional information
requested shall be reported in the form and at the time required by
the Department of Human Resources, and delivered to the department
not later than October 1 of every even-numbered year.
   (d) Every odd-numbered year, each agency that served a substantial
number of non-English-speaking people who comprise 5 percent or more
of the people served shall develop an implementation plan that
provides a detailed description of how the agency plans to address
any deficiencies in meeting the requirements of this chapter,
including, but not limited to, the failure to translate written
materials or employ sufficient numbers of qualified bilingual
employees in public contact positions at local offices, the proposed
actions to be taken to address the deficiencies, and the proposed
dates by when the deficiencies will be remedied.
   (e) In developing its implementation plan, each state agency may
rely upon data gathered from its most recent language survey.
   (f) Each state agency shall submit its implementation plan to the
Department of Human Resources no later than October 1 of each
applicable year. The Department of Human Resources shall review each
implementation plan, and, if it determines that the implementation
plan fails to address the identified deficiencies, shall order the
agency to supplement or make changes to its plan. A state agency that
has been determined to be deficient shall report to the Department
of Human Resources every six months on its progress in addressing the
identified deficiencies.
   (g) If the Department of Human Resources determines that a state
agency has not made reasonable progress toward complying with this
chapter, the department  may   shall  issue
orders that it deems appropriate to effectuate the purposes of this
chapter.