SCR67 SD1

WHEREAS, Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, 42 U.S.C. §2000d ("Title VI"), provides that "[n]o person in the United States shall, on the ground of race, color, or national origin, be excluded from participation in, be denied the benefit of, or be subjected to discrimination under any program or activity receiving Federal financial assistance."; and

WHEREAS, according to the 2000 Census, two hundred ninety thousand of Hawaii’s 1,200,000 people, or approximately twenty-four per cent of the population, speak a language other than English at home, including over two hundred fifty thousand persons who speak an Asian or Pacific Island language; and

WHEREAS, for this portion of Hawaii's population for whom English is not their primary language and who have identified themselves as having limited English proficiency ("LEP"), language is a barrier that often prohibits them from fully participating in the community and undermines their efforts to become self-sufficient and productive; and

WHEREAS, in 2006, the Legislature recognized and acknowledged that language is a barrier for LEP individuals living in Hawaii and enacted Hawaii's language access law, Act 290, Session Laws of Hawaii 2006, later codified as sections 371-31 to 371-37, Hawaii Revised Statutes; and

WHEREAS, Hawaii's language access law seeks to breakdown language barriers by requiring every state agency, and any organization that receives state funding and provides services to the public, to "take reasonable steps to ensure meaningful access to services, programs, and activities by limited English proficient persons," free of charge and regardless of what language is spoken; and

WHEREAS, as a result of Hawaii's language access law, the Office of Language Access was established to promote equal access and full participation for persons with limited English proficiency through oversight, coordination, and technical assistance to state and state-funded entities and by reviewing and monitoring language access plans; and

WHEREAS, the Office of Language Access has promoted language access through education and training to state agencies and state-funded entities and through outreach to the general public at community events and conferences, and in public service announcements; and

WHEREAS, many residents in Hawaii are still unaware of the language access law and of the everyday challenges faced by limited English proficient persons, such as when a patient who speaks only Chinese comes in for an appointment with a doctor who speaks only English, when a state social worker who speaks English and Ilokano meets with a client applying for food stamps who speaks only Marshallese, or when a public school nurse who speaks English calls home about a child with a fever and speaks to the child's mother who only speaks Korean; and

WHEREAS, ongoing education and efforts are needed to ensure that language access becomes the "norm" in the provision of government services; and

WHEREAS, having a centralized language access resource center can help ensure that state agencies and covered entities have resources and training to provide language access to such government agencies; and

WHEREAS, declaring a month dedicated to the promotion of language access, will allow the Office of Language Access, in conjunction with community organizations, to showcase the language access law, its requirements, and its benefits; now, therefore,

BE IT RESOLVED by the Senate of the Twenty-fourth Legislature of the State of Hawaii, Regular Session of 2008, the House of Representatives concurring, that September 2008 is designated as Language Access Month to raise awareness of the language access laws and the provision of equal access to state and state-funded government services; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Office of Language Access under the Department of Labor and Industrial Relations is requested to conduct a feasibility study on establishing a statewide centralized language access resource center, to include:

(1) A survey of existing language resources as well as the language service needs and costs of state agencies and covered entities; and

(2) An analysis of the functions of a language resource center, including but not limited to:

(A) Compiling and maintaining a roster of available language interpreters and translators;

(B) Coordinating training programs to increase the availability of qualified language interpreters and translators;

(C) Matching and referring qualified language interpreters and translators to the needs of state agencies and other covered entities seeking assistance;

(D) Training state employees in positions of public contact that are first to respond to limited English proficient customers who seek to access state-funded services, programs, and activities;

(E) Developing the Office of Language Services' capacity and resources to assist state agencies with their language services needs in the future; and

(F) Standardizing the testing and certification of language interpreters and translators to ensure the quality and accuracy of their services; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Office of Language Access submit a report of findings and recommendations, including proposed legislation and a budget, to the Legislature no later than twenty days prior to the convening of the Regular Session of 2009; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that certified copies of this Concurrent Resolution be transmitted to the Executive Director of the Office of Language Access, Director of Labor and Industrial Relations, Governor of the State of Hawaii, and Hawaii's congressional delegation.

Report Title:

Language Access Month; Language Access Study

THE SENATE	S.C.R. NO.	67
TWENTY-FOURTH LEGISLATURE, 2008		S.D. 1
STATE OF HAWAII