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Public Act 103-0723


 

Public Act 0723 103RD GENERAL ASSEMBLY

 


 
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.

Effective Date: 08/02/2024