Full Text of HB3222 103rd General Assembly
HB3222eng 103RD GENERAL ASSEMBLY |
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| 1 | | AN ACT concerning State government.
| 2 | | Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois,
| 3 | | represented in the General Assembly:
| 4 | | Section 1. Short title. This Act may be cited as the | 5 | | Language Equity and Access Act. | 6 | | Section 5. Legislative purpose.
The purpose of this Act is | 7 | | to ensure that all residents of the State have equal access to | 8 | | State services and, in particular, to remove language as a | 9 | | barrier for persons who have limited English proficiency and | 10 | | who may, therefore, be excluded from equitable access to State | 11 | | information, programs, services, and activities. It is the | 12 | | intent of the General Assembly
that the State adopt a language | 13 | | equity and access policy that incorporates federal guidance | 14 | | for ensuring meaningful access for persons with limited | 15 | | English proficiency as provided by Title VI of the Civil | 16 | | Rights Act of 1964, U.S. Presidential Executive Order No. | 17 | | 13166 (Improving Access to Services for Persons with Limited | 18 | | English Proficiency), U.S. Presidential Executive Order 13985 | 19 | | (Strengthen Racial Equity and Support for Underserved | 20 | | Communities Through the Federal Government), U.S. Presidential | 21 | | Executive Order 14091 (Further Advancing Racial Equity and | 22 | | Support for Underserved Communities Through the Federal | 23 | | Government), other non-discrimination provisions in federal |
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| 1 | | statute, and any succeeding provisions of federal or state | 2 | | law, regulation, or guidance. | 3 | | Section 10. Definitions. | 4 | | In this Act: | 5 | | "Covered entity" means any office, commission, board, | 6 | | authority, or other body that is directly responsible to an | 7 | | executive branch constitutional officer. | 8 | | "Division of Language Equity and Access" or "DLEA" means | 9 | | the Division of Language Equity and Access within the | 10 | | Governor's Office of New Americans. | 11 | | "Interpretation services" means listening to a | 12 | | communication in one language and orally converting it to | 13 | | another language in a manner that preserves the intent and | 14 | | meaning of the original message. | 15 | | "Limited English proficient person" means a person, or the | 16 | | family member, caregiver, or decision maker of a person, who | 17 | | does not speak English as their primary language and who may | 18 | | have a limited ability to read, write, speak, or understand | 19 | | English. | 20 | | "Meaningful access" means the provision of services in a | 21 | | manner that is equally accessible, without delay, denial or | 22 | | difference, and is meaningful to all individuals seeking | 23 | | services, regardless of their ability to speak or understand | 24 | | English. | 25 | | "State Agency" means executive agencies, departments, |
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| 1 | | boards, commissions, and authorities directly responsible to | 2 | | the Governor. | 3 | | "Translation services" means the conversion of text from | 4 | | one language to another in a written form to convey the intent | 5 | | and essential meaning of the original text. | 6 | | "Vital documents" means documents that affect a person's | 7 | | access to, retention in, termination of, or exclusion from | 8 | | program services or benefits. | 9 | | Section 15. Statewide Language Equity and Access. | 10 | | This Act is created to ensure meaningful access to | 11 | | State programs and resources for persons with limited English | 12 | | proficiency. This Act requires the State to, at a minimum: | 13 | | (1) compile a Language Needs Assessment Report based | 14 | | on available U.S. Census data that identifies the | 15 | | languages spoken throughout the State as described in | 16 | | Section 30 of this Act; | 17 | | (2) prepare a language access plan as detailed in | 18 | | Section 35 of this Act; | 19 | | (3) develop a rating and compliance framework to | 20 | | assess progress by State agencies and covered entities, | 21 | | including key performance indicators; | 22 | | (4) prepare a compliance and progress report to be | 23 | | submitted on an annual basis to the Governor and the | 24 | | General Assembly by January 1 of every year; | 25 | | (5) establish requirements for the availability of |
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| 1 | | interpretation and translation services; | 2 | | (6) set standards for adequate staffing of bilingual | 3 | | employees at State agencies and other covered entities, | 4 | | including a methodology for monitoring implementation and | 5 | | updating the State Services Assurance Act and the | 6 | | Bilingual Employment Plan, based on current Language Needs | 7 | | Use Assessment Report conducted under Section 30 of this | 8 | | Act; | 9 | | (7) incorporate language equity compliance provisions | 10 | | in State contracts with vendors, grantees and purchase of | 11 | | care entities; | 12 | | (8) ensure that whenever an emergency, weather, health | 13 | | or other crisis situation has been declared, the State's | 14 | | Limited English Person population is adequately notified | 15 | | of the emergency, information and any actions required, | 16 | | and has equitable access to emergency resources; and | 17 | | (9) create the Division of Language Equity and Access | 18 | | within the Governor's Office of New Americans to monitor | 19 | | and provide expertise to ensure the implementation of this | 20 | | Act. | 21 | | Section 20. Division of Language Equity and Access. | 22 | | The Division of Language Equity and Access is hereby | 23 | | created within the Governor's Office of New Americans to lead | 24 | | statewide efforts in the implementation of the State's | 25 | | language equity and access policy for Limited English |
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| 1 | | Proficient persons and to ensure meaningful access to | 2 | | information, services, programs, and activities offered by | 3 | | State agencies and other covered entities, including | 4 | | departments, offices, commissions, boards, or other agencies, | 5 | | for Limited English Proficient persons. DLEA shall have a | 6 | | full-time Director who is bilingual and has experience in | 7 | | serving immigrant populations. The role of DLEA is to advance | 8 | | and monitor implementation of and compliance with this Act by: | 9 | | (1) providing oversight, central coordination, and | 10 | | technical assistance to State agencies and covered | 11 | | entities in the implementation of language access | 12 | | requirements under this Act or under any other law, | 13 | | regulation, or guidance related to language access; | 14 | | (2) reviewing and monitoring each State agency's | 15 | | language access plan for compliance with this Act; | 16 | | (3) consulting with language access coordinators, the | 17 | | Language Equity and Access Advisory Council, and State | 18 | | agency directors or their equivalent; | 19 | | (4) creating, distributing, and making available to | 20 | | State agencies multilingual signage in the more frequently | 21 | | encountered languages in the State, and other languages as | 22 | | needed, informing individuals of the individual's right to | 23 | | free interpretation services and how to request language | 24 | | services; | 25 | | (5) creating the complaint and investigation process | 26 | | for Limited English Proficient persons to report Language |
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| 1 | | Equity and Access violations; | 2 | | (6) developing recommendations for a statewide policy | 3 | | and draft a corresponding plan for the utilization of | 4 | | interpreters and translators, including standards for | 5 | | certification and qualifications; | 6 | | (7) developing multilingual websites with information | 7 | | about DLEA and information about relevant policies, | 8 | | standards, plans, and complaint processes; | 9 | | (8) preparing an annual compliance report to be | 10 | | submitted to the Governor and the General Assembly; | 11 | | (9) working with the Language Equity and Access | 12 | | Advisory Council to engage external stakeholders in policy | 13 | | and implementation discussions; and | 14 | | (10) addressing other issues as necessary to ensure | 15 | | equity and meaningful participation for persons with | 16 | | limited English proficiency. | 17 | | The DLEA shall adopt administrative rules as necessary to | 18 | | implement and administer this Act. | 19 | | Section 25. Language Equity and Access Advisory Council. | 20 | | (a) The Language Equity and Access Advisory Council is | 21 | | hereby established for the purposes of advising the Office of | 22 | | Language Equity and Access on: | 23 | | (1) the development and implementation of language | 24 | | equity and access policies and procedures; | 25 | | (2) the quality of language services provided by State |
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| 1 | | agencies and covered entities; and | 2 | | (3) the overall State competency in working with | 3 | | persons with limited English proficiency. | 4 | | (b) The Language Equity and Access Advisory Council shall | 5 | | consist of the following 18 members: | 6 | | (1) one member of the Senate, appointed by the | 7 | | President of the Senate; | 8 | | (2) one member of the Senate, appointed by the | 9 | | Minority Leader of the Senate; | 10 | | (3) one member of the House of Representatives, | 11 | | appointed by the Speaker of the House of Representatives; | 12 | | (4) one member of the House of Representatives, | 13 | | appointed by the Minority Leader of the House of | 14 | | Representatives; | 15 | | (5) three members representing the non-profit sector, | 16 | | appointed by the President of the Senate, upon the | 17 | | recommendation of the Asian American, Black, and Latino | 18 | | Legislative Caucuses; | 19 | | (6) three members representing the non-profit sector, | 20 | | appointed by the Speaker of the House, upon the | 21 | | recommendation of the Asian American, Black, and Latino | 22 | | Legislative Caucuses; | 23 | | (7) six members, appointed by the Governor upon the | 24 | | recommendation of non-profit organizations that serve or | 25 | | advocate on behalf of immigrant and refugee communities; | 26 | | and |
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| 1 | | (8) two members who are consumers of State services, | 2 | | appointed by the Governor upon the recommendation of | 3 | | non-profit organizations that serve or advocate on behalf | 4 | | of immigrant and refugee communities. | 5 | | (c) Appointments to the Language Equity and Access | 6 | | Advisory Council shall maximize representation of individuals | 7 | | from diverse language groups, diverse geographic areas of the | 8 | | State, and diverse professional backgrounds, and at least | 9 | | one-third of the persons appointed to the Language Equity and | 10 | | Access Advisory Council shall be individuals who reside in | 11 | | areas of the State outside of Cook County. | 12 | | (d) Appointments to the Language Equity and Access | 13 | | Advisory Council are for 2-year terms, and the Language Equity | 14 | | and Access Advisory Council shall meet at least 4 times per | 15 | | year. Members of the Language Equity and Access Advisory | 16 | | Council shall appoint co-chairs at the Advisory Council's | 17 | | first meeting. | 18 | | Section 30. Statewide Language Use Needs Assessment. | 19 | | The DLEA shall work with State agencies and covered | 20 | | entities and shall use other available State resources, such | 21 | | as the Office of New Americans, the Office of Equity, and the | 22 | | Department of Human Services Bureau of Refugee and Immigrant | 23 | | Services, to ensure the State compiles available U.S. Census | 24 | | data on languages used across the State, including the | 25 | | identification of geographic patterns and trend data. The |
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| 1 | | report shall be compiled at least every 10 years in | 2 | | conjunction with the decennial federal Census but may be | 3 | | updated periodically using other Census data reports. | 4 | | The Language Use and Needs Assessment report will be made | 5 | | available to State agencies and covered entities for the | 6 | | development of their Language Access Plans and overall | 7 | | improvement in service provision to Limited English | 8 | | Proficient. | 9 | | Section 35. Language Access Plans. | 10 | | (a) Each State agency and all covered entities shall take | 11 | | reasonable steps to ensure meaningful access to services, | 12 | | programs, and activities by persons with limited English | 13 | | proficiency. Therefore, each State agency and covered entity | 14 | | shall prepare a language access plan, which will describe its | 15 | | Limited English Proficient service population, the policy and | 16 | | programmatic actions they will implement, and the metrics that | 17 | | will be used to measure compliance. | 18 | | (b) State agencies and covered entities shall designate a | 19 | | Language Access Coordinator that is responsible for the plan | 20 | | and language access plan activities. | 21 | | (c) The adequacy of State agency and covered entities | 22 | | plans are determined by the totality of the circumstances, | 23 | | including the following 4 factors listed by federal guidance. | 24 | | Therefore, each language plan must begin with a language needs | 25 | | assessment that includes the following information: |
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| 1 | | (1) the number or proportion of persons with limited | 2 | | English proficiency served or encountered in the eligible | 3 | | service population; | 4 | | (2) the frequency with which persons with limited | 5 | | English proficiency come in contact with the services, | 6 | | programs, or activities; | 7 | | (3) the nature and importance of the services, | 8 | | programs, or activities; and | 9 | | (4) the resources available to the State or covered | 10 | | entity and the costs. | 11 | | (d) Furthermore, each State agency and covered entity | 12 | | should describe in its plans how it will accomplish all of the | 13 | | following: | 14 | | (1) Subject to subsection (a), each State agency and | 15 | | covered entity shall provide competent, timely translation | 16 | | services to persons with limited English proficiency who | 17 | | seek to access information, services programs, or | 18 | | activities. | 19 | | (2) Subject to subsection (a), each State agency and | 20 | | covered entity shall provide translation services of vital | 21 | | documents to limited English proficient persons who seek | 22 | | to access information, services, programs, or activities, | 23 | | as follows: | 24 | | (A) translation services of vital documents for | 25 | | each eligible limited English proficient group that | 26 | | constitutes 5% or 1,000 members, whichever is less, of |
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| 1 | | the population of persons eligible to be served or | 2 | | likely to be affected or encountered; or | 3 | | (B) if there are fewer than 50 persons in a limited | 4 | | English proficient group that reaches the 5% threshold | 5 | | in paragraph (1), written notice in the primary | 6 | | language to the limited English proficient language | 7 | | group of the right to receive competent oral | 8 | | interpretation of those written materials free of | 9 | | cost. | 10 | | (e) The DLEA shall develop a template and mechanism for | 11 | | collecting, storing, and analyzing Language Access Plans. | 12 | | (f) Following the first submitted plan, language access | 13 | | plans shall include an assessment of performance metrics for | 14 | | the previous year. | 15 | | (g) Upon review, the DLEA shall provide guidance and | 16 | | feedback to each State agency and covered entity, including | 17 | | any corrective action recommendations to ensure compliance | 18 | | with the language access plans. | 19 | | (h) Language access plans and evaluations shall be made | 20 | | public and accessible. | 21 | | (i) The DLEA shall develop a rating framework for | 22 | | evaluation of language access plans and implementation. | 23 | | Section 40. Compliance and Accountability. | 24 | | (a) By January 1, 2024, and every January 1 thereafter, | 25 | | the DLEA shall submit a Language Equity and Access Compliance |
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| 1 | | Report to the General Assembly. The Compliance Report shall be | 2 | | based on information collected during the preceding fiscal | 3 | | year and shall, at minimum, include: | 4 | | (1) key performance metrics for the previous year; | 5 | | (2) the following information for each State agency | 6 | | and covered entity: | 7 | | (A) the language access plan, including language | 8 | | access services offered; | 9 | | (B) the number and percentage of people who are | 10 | | Limited English Proficient Persons who use the | 11 | | services of the State agency or covered entity, listed | 12 | | by language other than English; | 13 | | (C) a roster of bilingual employees, their titles, | 14 | | office locations, the languages other than English | 15 | | that the persons speak, and whether or not the | 16 | | employees are certified as bilingual in that language; | 17 | | (D) the name and contact information of the | 18 | | language access coordinator; | 19 | | (E) a description of any use of telephone-based | 20 | | interpretation services, including the number of times | 21 | | telephone-based interpretation services were used, the | 22 | | languages for which they were used, and the number of | 23 | | times bilingual employees provided in-person | 24 | | interpretation services; | 25 | | (F) a description of the: | 26 | | (i) telephone requests for translation or |
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| 1 | | interpretation services; | 2 | | (ii) in-person requests for translation or | 3 | | interpretation services; and | 4 | | (iii) electronic requests for translation or | 5 | | interpretations services; | 6 | | (G) public notices of the availability of | 7 | | translation or interpretation services upon request; | 8 | | (H) an ongoing employee development and training | 9 | | strategy to maintain well trained bilingual employees | 10 | | and general staff; | 11 | | (I) a list and description of all written | 12 | | translated materials provided, including the total | 13 | | number, languages, and services requested; and | 14 | | (J) a list and description of all complaints | 15 | | received, including information on the number of | 16 | | complaints, the method received, the breakdown of | 17 | | affected languages, the written response to each | 18 | | complaint, and the time frame within which each | 19 | | complaint was handled. | 20 | | (b) State agencies shall respond to language access | 21 | | complaints, in writing, within 30 days after their receipt. | 22 | | All complaints and responses shall be recorded in each | 23 | | agency's respective annual report. | 24 | | (c) The DLEA may investigate potential violations of this | 25 | | Act if not resolved by the State agency or covered entity. The | 26 | | DLEA may attempt to resolve non-compliance with this Act by |
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| 1 | | any State agency or covered party through informal processes, | 2 | | including mediation and conference and conciliation. | 3 | | (d) If, after an investigation and attempt to resolve an | 4 | | incidence of Department non-compliance, the DLEA is unable to | 5 | | resolve the matter, the DLEA may transmit a written finding of | 6 | | non-compliance, specifying the nature of the non-compliance | 7 | | and the recommended corrective measures, to the Governor, the | 8 | | Language Equity and Access Advisory Council, and it may | 9 | | transmit the same information in the annual compliance report | 10 | | to the General Assembly. | 11 | | Section 45. Administrative support. The Governor's | 12 | | Office shall provide administrative and other support to the | 13 | | Division of Language Equity and Access.
| 14 | | Section 99. Effective date. This Act takes effect on July | 15 | | 1, 2023. |
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