Bill Text: NY S06897 | 2019-2020 | General Assembly | Amended

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Bill Title: Provides language translation services to accommodate census self-reporting.

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 3-0)

Status: (Engrossed - Dead) 2020-02-05 - referred to governmental operations [S06897 Detail]

Download: New_York-2019-S06897-Amended.html

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                STATE OF NEW YORK
        ________________________________________________________________________

                                         6897--A
            Cal. No. 255

                               2019-2020 Regular Sessions

                    IN SENATE

                                    December 11, 2019
                                       ___________

        Introduced  by  Sen. SALAZAR -- read twice and ordered printed, and when
          printed to be committed to the Committee on Rules  --  recommitted  to
          the  Committee  on Finance in accordance with Senate Rule 6, sec. 8 --
          reported favorably from  said  committee,  ordered  to  first  report,
          amended  on  first  report,  ordered  to  a  second report and ordered
          reprinted, retaining its place in the order of second report

        AN ACT to amend the executive law, in  relation  to  providing  language
          translation services to accommodate census self-reporting

          The  People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem-
        bly, do enact as follows:

     1    Section 1. The executive law is amended by adding a new section 154 to
     2  read as follows:
     3    § 154. Census-related  translation  services  to  state  agencies  and
     4  localities. 1.  Census-related translation services shall be extended to
     5  those  who  express  a  need  beyond the services provided by the United
     6  States Census Bureau. The department of state, by and through the secre-
     7  tary of state or duly authorized officers or employees, shall  have  the
     8  following  state  agency  and locality oversight functions, in regard to
     9  census-related translation services:
    10    (a) The department shall identify existing translation  services,  and
    11  shall  work with state agencies and other relevant state institutions to
    12  determine if these translation services may be utilized as census-relat-
    13  ed translation services. In addition to existing  translation  services,
    14  the  department  shall  work  to  identify expanded translation services
    15  which shall include as many languages  as  possible,  provided  however,
    16  these expanded translation services, at a minimum, are made available in
    17  all languages used within census self-reporting forms.
    18    (b)  The  department shall connect state agencies, municipalities, and
    19  other relevant state or local institutions with  all  identified  trans-
    20  lation  services  for  the  purposes of providing quality census-related
    21  translation services to communities throughout the state of New York.

         EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                              [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                                   LBD14223-04-0
        S. 6897--A                          2

     1    (c) To ensure the services listed in paragraph (a) of this subdivision
     2  are effectively provided to the public, state  agencies  and  localities
     3  are  required  to  notify  the public of the availability of translation
     4  services identified for self-reporting in  the  decennial  census.  Such
     5  notice  shall include posting information online, working with any rele-
     6  vant organizations to reach limited or non-proficient English  speakers,
     7  and any other means identified as effectively providing notice.
     8    2. On or before April first of each year following a decennial census,
     9  commencing  with  April  first,  two thousand twenty-one, the department
    10  shall submit a report to the governor, the director of the  budget,  the
    11  speaker of the assembly and the temporary president of the senate on the
    12  prior  year's  census-related  translation  services for limited English
    13  proficiency speakers. The report shall identify the translation services
    14  or programs utilized by state agencies, localities, and  other  relevant
    15  state  or  local institutions for census-related translation services in
    16  that year. In addition, the report shall include recommendations for the
    17  improvement of these services for the following decennial census.
    18    § 2. This act shall take effect immediately.