BP BHEAD INT S [atlas:bill]

AN ACT Relating to a common language; adding a new section to chapter 1.20 RCW; creating a new section; and providing for submission of this act to a vote of the people.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF WASHINGTON:

NEW SECTION. Sec. 1. (1) The legislature hereby finds that:

(a) By sharing a common language, America's immigrants built a new nation and contributed their diverse cultures;

(b) This state has been enriched by its diversity, and the government should always take steps to promote the dignity of all heritages that form our society;

(c) Many languages are represented in this state, and language has the power to unite the people of differing backgrounds and heritages;

(d) English is the nation's single shared language, the one language that crosses all ethnic, racial, cultural, nationality, and religious lines and allows diverse Americans to share their various backgrounds;

(e) Full political, economic, and social empowerment depends to a large extent upon proficiency in the common language, and a lack of proficiency in the common language condemns people to a permanent second-class status behind a language barrier;

(f) Knowledge of a common language is essential to the democratic processes of government and the full exercise of constitutional freedoms, informed and knowledgeable empowerment as voters, citizen checks against government abuses, and individual prosperity and independence;

(g) The use of a common language as the language of public record in no way infringes upon the rights of citizens to exercise the use of a primary language of their choice for private conduct;

(h) The absence of a recognized common language among diverse people results in segregation along language lines and places at great disadvantage individuals who are of limited proficiency in English.

(2) It is a purpose of this act to recognize the government's affirmative responsibility to encourage and ensure greater opportunities for individuals to learn the common language, as recognized by this act.

(3) It is a purpose of this act to establish a uniform policy for a means of access to public documents and communications in the state and thereby to ensure fair, consistent, and equal practices throughout the state when it comes to providing services.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 2. A new section is added to chapter 1.20 RCW to read as follows:

(1) The common language is recognized to be English, and the common language is designated as the language of official public documents and records and official public meetings.

(2) Official documents and records are all documents officially compiled, published, or recorded by the state including deeds, publicly probated wills, records of births, deaths and marriages, and all other documents and records considered a public record as defined by RCW 42.17.020; and meetings are those meetings and proceedings as defined by RCW 42.30.020.

(3) The provisions of this section shall not apply:

(a) To instruction in foreign language courses;

(b) To instruction designed to aid students with limited English proficiency in a timely transition and integration into the general education system;

(d) To interfere with needs of the justice system;

(e) When the public safety, health, or emergency services may require the use of other languages. However, authorization for the use of languages other than the common language in printing informational materials or publications for general distribution must be approved in a meeting as defined in RCW 42.30.020 by the governing board or authority of the relevant state or municipal entity, and the decision must be recorded in publicly available minutes;

(f) When expert testimony, witnesses, or speakers may require a language other than the common language. However, for purposes of deliberation, decision making or recordkeeping, the official version of testimony or commentary shall be the officially translated English language version.

(4) Pursuant to the exemptions outlined in subsection (3)(a) through (f) of this section, all costs relating to the preparation, translation, printing, and recording of documents, records, brochures, pamphlets, flyers, or other informational materials in languages other than the common language must be delineated as a separate budget line item in the agency, departmental, or office budget.

(5) No person shall be denied employment with the state or any constituent entities or municipalities based solely upon that person's lack of facility in a foreign language, except where related to a bona fide job need reflected in the exemptions in subsection (3)(a) through (f) of this section.

(6) This section shall not be construed in any way to infringe upon the rights of citizens under the state Constitution or the Constitution of the United States in the use of language in private activities. No agency or officer of the state nor any constituent entities or municipalities may place any restrictions or requirements regarding language usage in businesses operating in the private sector other than official documents, forms, submissions, or other communications directed to government agencies and officers, and those communications must be in the common language as recognized in this section.

(7) Any citizen of the state shall have standing to bring an action against the state to enforce this section. The state courts shall have jurisdiction to hear and decide any such action brought under this subsection.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 3. If any provision of this act or its application to any person or circumstance is held invalid, the remainder of the act or the application of the provision to other persons or circumstances is not affected.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 4. The secretary of state shall submit this act to the people for their adoption and ratification, or rejection, at the next general election to be held in this state, in accordance with Article II, section 1 of the state Constitution and the laws adopted to facilitate its operation.