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.