Public Act 103-0723
 
SB3762 EnrolledLRB103 38804 JRC 68941 b

    AN ACT concerning government.
 
    Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois, 
represented in the General Assembly:
 
    Section 1. Short title. This Act may be cited as the 
Language Equity and Access Act.
 
    Section 5. Legislative purpose. The purpose of this Act is 
to ensure that all residents of the State have equal access to 
State services and, in particular, to remove language as a 
barrier for persons who have limited English proficiency and 
who may, therefore, be excluded from equitable access to State 
information, programs, services, and activities. It is the 
intent of the General Assembly that the State adopt a language 
equity and access policy that incorporates federal guidance 
for ensuring meaningful access for persons with limited 
English proficiency as provided by the Illinois Human Rights 
Act, the Illinois Civil Rights Act of 2003, Title VI of the 
Civil Rights Act of 1964, U.S. Presidential Executive Order 
No. 13166 (Improving Access to Services for Persons with 
Limited English Proficiency), U.S. Presidential Executive 
Order 13985 (Advancing Racial Equity and Support for 
Underserved Communities Through the Federal Government), U.S. 
Presidential Executive Order 14091 (Further Advancing Racial 
Equity and Support for Underserved Communities Through the 
Federal Government), other non-discrimination provisions in 
federal or State statutes, and any succeeding provisions of 
federal or State law, regulation, or guidance. 
 
    Section 10. Definitions. In this Act:
    "Interpretation" means listening to a communication in one 
language and orally converting it to another language in a 
manner that preserves the intent and meaning of the original 
message.
    "Language assistance services" means oral and written 
language services needed to assist LEP individuals to 
communicate effectively with staff, and to provide LEP 
individuals with meaningful access to, and equal opportunity 
to participate fully in, the services, activities, or other 
programs administered by the State.
    "Limited English proficient (LEP) person" means an 
individual who does not speak English as his or her primary 
language and who has a limited ability to read, speak, write, 
or understand English. 
    "Meaningful access" means language assistance that results 
in accurate, timely, and effective communication at no cost to 
limited English proficient persons. For LEP persons, 
meaningful access denotes access that is not unreasonably 
restricted, delayed, or inferior as compared to access to 
programs or activities provided to English proficient 
individuals. 
    "State agency" means an executive agency, department, 
board, commission, or authority directly responsible to the 
Governor.
    "Translation" means the conversion of text from one 
language to another in a written form to convey the intent and 
essential meaning of the original text.
    "Vital documents" means paper or electronic written 
material that contains information that affects a person's 
access to, retention of, termination of, or exclusion from 
program services or benefits or is required by law.
 
    Section 15. Statewide Language Equity and Access. 
    (a) This Act is created to ensure meaningful access to 
State programs and resources for limited proficient (LEP) 
persons. This Act requires the Governor's Office of New 
Americans, with the support of the Department of Human 
Services and any other relevant agencies to, at a minimum: 
        (1) prepare, based on available U.S. Census data, a 
    Language Needs Assessment Report that identifies the 
    languages spoken throughout the State as described in 
    Section 25 of this Act; 
        (2) assist State agencies in the creation of language 
    access plans as detailed in Section 30 of this Act; 
        (3) develop standards and a compliance framework to 
    assess progress by State agencies, including both key 
    performance indicators and mechanisms to track them;
        (4) provide annual reporting on State agency 
    compliance and progress to the Governor and the General 
    Assembly by December 31 of every year starting in 2026;
        (5) establish requirements for the availability of 
    interpretation and translation services; 
        (6) set standards for adequate staffing of bilingual 
    employees at State agencies, including a methodology for 
    monitoring implementation and updating the State Services 
    Assurance Act and the Bilingual Employment Plan, based on 
    the Language Needs Assessment Report; 
        (7) incorporate language equity compliance provisions 
    in State contracts with vendors, grantees and purchase of 
    care entities; and
        (8) ensure that whenever an emergency, weather, 
    health, or other crisis situation has been declared, the 
    State's limited English person population is adequately 
    notified of the emergency, information, any actions 
    required, and has equitable access to emergency resources.
    (b) The Governor's Office of New Americans, with the 
support of the Department of Human Services and any other 
relevant agencies, shall lead statewide efforts in the 
implementation of the State's language equity and access 
policy for LEP persons and to ensure meaningful access to 
information, services, programs, and activities offered by 
State agencies for LEP persons. The role of the Governor's 
Office of New Americans in this work is to advance and monitor 
implementation of and compliance with this Act by: 
        (1) providing oversight, central coordination, and 
    technical assistance to State agencies in the 
    implementation of language access requirements under this 
    Act or under any other law, rule, or guidance related to 
    language access; 
        (2) reviewing and monitoring each State agency's 
    language access plan for compliance with this Act; 
        (3) consulting with Language Access Coordinators and 
    State agency directors or their equivalent; 
        (4) creating, distributing, and making available to 
    State agencies multilingual signage in the more frequently 
    encountered languages in the State and other languages as 
    needed, informing individuals of the individual's right to 
    free interpretation services and how to request language 
    services; 
        (5) ensuring that each State agency develops an 
    internal complaint and review process specific to the 
    provision of language assistance services and supporting 
    agencies in addressing complaints in a timely manner; 
        (6) developing recommendations for the use of 
    interpreters and translators, including standards for 
    certification and qualifications; 
        (7) assisting State agencies in developing 
    multilingual websites with information about relevant 
    policies, standards, plans, and complaint processes; 
        (8) assisting State agencies in preparing public 
    notices of the availability of translation or 
    interpretation services upon request; 
        (9) preparing an annual compliance report to be 
    submitted to the Governor and the General Assembly; and 
        (10) addressing other issues as necessary to ensure 
    equity and meaningful participation for persons with 
    limited English proficiency.
 
    Section 20. Statewide Language Needs Assessment. The 
Governor's Office of New Americans, with the support of the 
Department of Human Services and any other relevant State 
agencies, shall compile available United States Census data on 
languages used across the State, including the identification 
of geographic patterns and trend data, to inform the Language 
Needs Assessment Report. The report shall be updated at least 
every 10 years in conjunction with the decennial federal 
Census but may be updated more frequently using other Census 
data reports.
    The Language Needs Assessment report shall be made 
available to State agencies for the development of their 
language access plans and overall improvement in service 
provision to LEP persons.
 
    Section 25. Language access plans. 
    (a) Each State agency shall take reasonable steps to 
ensure meaningful access to services, programs, and activities 
by LEP persons. Therefore, each State agency shall prepare and 
submit a language access plan to the Governor's Office of New 
Americans. Each language access plan should describe the 
population of LEP persons the agency serves, the policy and 
programmatic actions the agency will implement to ensure 
meaningful access, and the metrics the agency will use to 
measure compliance with this Act. 
    (b) Each State agency shall designate a Language Access 
Coordinator who is responsible for overseeing the development 
and implementation of the agency's language access plan. 
    (c) The adequacy of a State agency's language access plan 
shall be determined by the totality of the circumstances, 
including an individualized assessment that balances the 
following factors: 
        (1) the number or proportion of LEP persons who are 
    served or encountered in the eligible service population 
    of the State agency; 
        (2) the frequency with which LEP persons come in 
    contact with the services, programs, or activities 
    provided by the State agency; 
        (3) the nature and importance of the services, 
    programs, or activities provided by the State agency; and 
        (4) the resources available to the State agency and 
    the costs. 
    (d) Each State agency shall describe in its plans how it 
will provide all of the following: 
        (1) competent, timely translation and interpretation 
    services to LEP persons who are seeking access to 
    information, services, programs, or activities provided by 
    the State agency; and 
        (2) vital document translation services for LEP 
    persons who are seeking access to information, services, 
    programs, or activities provided by the State agency, as 
    follows: 
            (A) if there are more than 1,000 LEP persons in the 
        population of persons served by the State agency or if 
        LEP persons comprise more than 5% of the population of 
        persons served by the State agency; or 
            (B) if there are fewer than 50 persons served by 
        the State agency that reach the 5% threshold in 
        subparagraph (A), the State agency shall provide 
        written notice in the primary language to the LEP 
        persons of the right to receive competent oral 
        interpretation of those written materials free of 
        cost. 
        (3) Following the first submitted plan, language 
    access plans shall include an assessment of performance 
    metrics for the previous State fiscal year. 
    (e) The Governor's Office of New Americans, with the 
support of the Department of Human Services and any other 
relevant State agencies, shall develop a template and 
mechanism for collecting and analyzing State agency language 
access plans. 
    (f) Following completion of the assessment, the Governor's 
Office of New Americans, with the support of the Department of 
Human Services and any other relevant State agencies, shall 
provide guidance and feedback to each State agency, including 
any recommendations to ensure compliance with this Act. 
    (g) Language access plans shall be made publicly 
accessible by each State agency.
 
    Section 30. Compliance and accountability. 
    (a) No later than July 1, 2025, the Governor's Office of 
New Americans shall prepare and submit to the General Assembly 
a Language Equity and Access Status Report detailing the 
progress made by State agencies in the implementation of this 
Act, including the development of Language Access Plans.
    (b) By December 31, 2026, and every December 31 
thereafter, the Governor's Office of New Americans shall 
submit a Language Equity and Access Compliance Report to the 
General Assembly. The Compliance Report shall be based on 
information collected during the preceding fiscal year and 
shall, at a minimum, include:
        (1) key performance metrics for the previous year;
        (2) the following information for each State agency:
            (A) a high-level summary of the language access 
        plan, including language access services offered;
            (B) as applicable, the number and percentage of 
        LEP persons who use the services of the State agency, 
        listed by language other than English;
            (C) aggregate data on the number of bilingual 
        employees, by title, who are in roles designated as 
        requiring a person employed in that position to speak 
        or write in a language other than English, including 
        the languages that the persons are required to speak 
        in that role, and whether the employees are certified 
        as bilingual in those languages;
            (D) the name and contact information of the 
        Language Access Coordinator for each State agency;
            (E) an ongoing employee development and training 
        strategy to maintain well-trained bilingual employees 
        and general staff;
            (F) data on the use of any interpretation or 
        translation vendor services such as number and type of 
        language services requested, languages requested, and 
        any other relevant data; and
            (G) aggregate data on the number of complaints 
        filed and the status or resolution of the complaints.
    (c) The Governor's Office of New Americans shall attempt 
to resolve a language access complaint received by a State 
agency if the agency does not resolve the complaint in a timely 
manner or the resolution is inadequate. Upon referral of a 
complaint, the Governor's Office of New Americans may engage 
in informal processes, including mediation, conference, and 
conciliation, to resolve the complaint.
 
    Section 35. Implementation. The Governor's Office of New 
Americans may work in collaboration with the Department of 
Human Services and any other relevant State agency to 
implement this Act.
 
    Section 99. Effective date. This Act takes effect upon 
becoming law.