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1    AN ACT concerning State government.
 
2    Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois,
3represented in the General Assembly:
 
4    Section 1. Short title. This Act may be cited as the
5Language Access to Government Services Task Force Act.
 
6    Section 5. Findings. The General Assembly finds the
7following:
8        (1) Nearly 10% of Illinois' population is limited
9    English proficient, giving Illinois the 5th largest
10    limited English proficient population in the United States
11    at over 1.1 million residents.
12        (2) Language barriers continue to exist for many
13    Illinois residents who are limited English proficient, and
14    these barriers limit their ability to fully participate in
15    civic life and maximize their economic productivity.
16        (3) Language barriers for limited English proficient
17    residents create very real challenges when trying to access
18    information about available government services or an
19    individual's legal rights or obligations under State and
20    local laws.
21        (4) Title VI of the Civil Rights Act requires program
22    recipients of federal funds, such as certain State
23    agencies, to take reasonable steps to ensure that limited

 

 

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1    English proficient persons have meaningful access to their
2    programs and activities.
3        (5) The public safety, health, economic prosperity,
4    and general welfare of all Illinois residents is furthered
5    by increasing language access to State programs and
6    services.
 
7    Section 10. The Language Access to Government Services Task
8Force.
9    (a) There is hereby created the Language Access to
10Government Services Task Force to study and reduce the language
11barriers existing among Illinois residents who are limited
12English proficient, and to maximize their ability to access
13government services and participate in civic discourse.
14    (b) The Task Force shall consist of the following members:
15        (1) one member of the Senate appointed by the President
16    of the Senate;
17        (2) one member of the Senate appointed by the Minority
18    Leader of the Senate;
19        (3) one member of the House of Representatives
20    appointed by the Speaker of the House of Representatives;
21        (4) one member of the House of Representatives
22    appointed by the Minority Leader of the House of
23    Representatives;
24        (5) one member appointed by the Governor as a
25    representative of the Governor's Office;

 

 

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1        (6) one member appointed by the Attorney General as a
2    representative of the Attorney General's Office;
3        (7) one member appointed by the Secretary of State as a
4    representative of the Secretary of State's Office;
5        (8) one member appointed by the Secretary of the
6    Illinois Department of Human Services as a representative
7    of the Department of Human Services;
8        (9) five members appointed by the Governor, upon
9    recommendation of a non-profit organization that promotes
10    civic engagement and advocates on behalf of immigrant
11    communities through a coalition of member organizations
12    that serve Latino, Asian, African, Arab, and European
13    immigrants; and
14        (10) five members appointed by the Governor, upon
15    recommendation of a non-profit organization that promotes
16    civic engagement among Asian American communities and
17    advocates on behalf of Asian American communities through
18    its Pan-Asian coalition.
19    (c) Members of the Task Force shall receive no compensation
20for serving as members, and shall be appointed within 30 days
21after the effective date of this Act and begin meeting no later
22than 30 days after the appointments are finalized, but shall
23hold its first meeting no later than September 1, 2017. In the
24event that any appointment required to be made by the Governor
25under paragraphs (9) and (10) of subsection (b) is not made
26within 30 days after the effective date of this Act, the

 

 

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1Secretary of Human Services shall make such appointments within
215 days after the appointment deadline.
3    (d) The Task Force shall elect a chairperson from among its
4membership, and the Department of Human Services shall provide
5technical support and assistance to the Task Force and shall be
6responsible for administering its operations and ensuring that
7the requirements of this Act are met. The Task Force may
8otherwise consult with any persons or entities it deems
9necessary to carry out its purposes.
 
10    Section 15. Duties of the Language Access to Government
11Services Task Force. The duties of the Task Force shall consist
12of the following:
13        (1) review existing language access laws or ordinances
14    in other parts of the country, including existing reports
15    or academic publications on such laws or ordinances;
16        (2) evaluate their effectiveness in eliminating
17    language barriers for limited English proficient
18    communities;
19        (3) consider any other available and relevant
20    information on language access issues in Illinois,
21    including census data, community feedback, or surveys;
22        (4) identify and recommend specific best-practices and
23    provisions for a State language access law; and
24        (5) produce a final report summarizing the Task Force's
25    findings and detailing its specific recommendations for a

 

 

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1    State language access law and highlight any areas of major
2    disagreement within the Task Force.
 
3    Section 20. Report. The Task Force shall submit its final
4report with findings and recommendations to the General
5Assembly, the Governor, and the Attorney General on or before
6July 1, 2018.
 
7    Section 25. Repeal. This Act is repealed on December 31,
82018.
 
9    Section 100. The Legislative Information System Act is
10amended by changing Section 5.09 as follows:
 
11    (25 ILCS 145/5.09)
12    Sec. 5.09. Public computer access; legislative
13information. To make available to the public all of the
14following information in electronic form:
15        (1) On or before July 1, 1999, the weekly schedule of
16    legislative floor sessions for each of the 2 houses of the
17    General Assembly together with a list of matters pending
18    before them and the weekly schedule of legislative
19    committee hearings together with matters scheduled for
20    their consideration.
21        (2) On or before July 1, 1999, a list of the committees
22    of the General Assembly and their members.

 

 

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1        (3) On or before July 1, 1999, the text of each bill
2    and resolution introduced and of each engrossed, enrolled,
3    and re-enrolled bill and resolution and the text of each
4    adopted amendment and conference committee report.
5        (4) On or before July 1, 1999, a synopsis of items
6    specified in paragraph (3) of this Section, together with a
7    summary of legislative and gubernatorial actions regarding
8    each bill and resolution introduced.
9        (5) On or before July 1, 1999, the Rules of the House
10    and the Senate of the General Assembly.
11        (6) Before the conclusion of the Ninety-second General
12    Assembly, the text of Public Acts.
13        (7) Before the conclusion of the Ninety-second General
14    Assembly, the Illinois Compiled Statutes.
15        (8) Before the conclusion of the Ninety-second General
16    Assembly, the Constitution of the United States and the
17    Constitution of the State of Illinois.
18        (9) Before the conclusion of the Ninety-second General
19    Assembly, the text of the Illinois Administrative Code.
20        (10) Before the conclusion of the Ninety-second
21    General Assembly, the most current issue of the Illinois
22    Register published on or after the effective date of this
23    amendatory Act of 1998.
24        (11) Any other information that the Joint Committee on
25    Legislative Support Services elects to make available.
26    The information shall be made available to the public

 

 

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1through a website maintained by the System the World Wide Web.
2The information may also be made available by any other means
3of access that would facilitate public access to the
4information.
5    Any documentation that describes the electronic digital
6formats of the information shall be made available through a
7website maintained by the System the World Wide Web.
8    Personal information concerning a person who accesses this
9public information may be maintained only for the purpose of
10providing service to the person.
11    No fee or other charge may be imposed by the Legislative
12Information System as a condition of accessing the information,
13except that a reasonable fee may be charged for any customized
14services and shall be deposited into the General Assembly
15Computer Equipment Revolving Fund.
16    The electronic public access provided through the System's
17website World Wide Web shall be in addition to any other
18electronic or print distribution of the information.
19    Within one-year after the effective date of this amendatory
20Act of the 100th General Assembly, to the extent practicable,
21the System shall use a free translation tool to enable
22translation into multiple languages of the information made
23available to the public through the website maintained by the
24System. The translation tool shall, at a minimum, translate the
25following content on the website maintained by the System: the
26home page; information regarding the members of the House of

 

 

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1Representatives and the Senate, including, but not limited to,
2each member's biography, committee assignments, and sponsored
3bills; information regarding the membership of, bills assigned
4to, and meeting schedules of each standing and special
5committee of the House of Representatives and the Senate;
6information on the procedural status of each bill and
7resolution, together with any amendments thereto, and
8appointment message filed in the House of Representatives or
9the Senate, including both general information and
10user-selected information (through the "My Legislation"
11function or otherwise), but not including the synopsis or text
12of any bill or resolution, or any amendment thereto, or any
13appointment message, Public Act, or Executive Order;
14information regarding previous General Assemblies, not
15including the synopsis or text of any bill or resolution, or
16any amendment thereto, or any appointment message, Public Act,
17or Executive Order; contact information for the General
18Assembly, legislative support service agencies, and other
19related offices in the Capitol Complex; and information
20regarding access for persons with disabilities. The System may,
21in its discretion, provide for additional content to be
22translated. The languages available for translation shall be
23those provided by the translation tool. Before a user accesses
24translated information, the System shall ensure that a
25disclaimer is first displayed, stating that: the translated
26information is offered as a convenience and should not be

 

 

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1considered accurate as to the translation of the text in
2question; and the English language version is the official and
3authoritative version of the text in question.
4    No action taken under this Section shall be deemed to alter
5or relinquish any copyright or other proprietary interest or
6entitlement of the State of Illinois relating to any of the
7information made available under this Section.
8    The information shall be made available as provided in this
9Section in the shortest practicable time after it is publicly
10available in any other form; provided that the System may make
11information available under this Section only if the
12availability in no way reduces the quality and timeliness of
13service available to and required under this Act for
14legislative users and does not unduly burden the General
15Assembly or its support services agencies. Failure to provide
16information under this Section does not affect the validity of
17any action of the General Assembly. The General Assembly and
18the State of Illinois are not liable for the accuracy,
19availability, or use of the information provided under this
20Section.
21(Source: P.A. 90-666, eff. 7-30-98.)
 
22    Section 999. Effective date. This Act takes effect upon
23becoming law.