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1    AN ACT concerning 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 Equity and Access Act.
 
6    Section 5. Legislative purpose. The purpose of this Act is
7to ensure that all residents of the State have equal access to
8State services and, in particular, to remove language as a
9barrier for persons who have limited English proficiency and
10who may, therefore, be excluded from equitable access to State
11information, programs, services, and activities. It is the
12intent of the General Assembly that the State adopt a language
13equity and access policy that incorporates federal guidance
14for ensuring meaningful access for persons with limited
15English proficiency as provided by the Illinois Human Rights
16Act, the Illinois Civil Rights Act of 2003, Title VI of the
17Civil Rights Act of 1964, U.S. Presidential Executive Order
18No. 13166 (Improving Access to Services for Persons with
19Limited English Proficiency), U.S. Presidential Executive
20Order 13985 (Advancing Racial Equity and Support for
21Underserved Communities Through the Federal Government), U.S.
22Presidential Executive Order 14091 (Further Advancing Racial
23Equity and Support for Underserved Communities Through the

 

 

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1Federal Government), other non-discrimination provisions in
2federal or State statutes, and any succeeding provisions of
3federal or State law, regulation, or guidance.
 
4    Section 10. Definitions. In this Act:
5    "Interpretation" means listening to a communication in one
6language and orally converting it to another language in a
7manner that preserves the intent and meaning of the original
8message.
9    "Language assistance services" means oral and written
10language services needed to assist LEP individuals to
11communicate effectively with staff, and to provide LEP
12individuals with meaningful access to, and equal opportunity
13to participate fully in, the services, activities, or other
14programs administered by the State.
15    "Limited English proficient (LEP) person" means an
16individual who does not speak English as his or her primary
17language and who has a limited ability to read, speak, write,
18or understand English.
19    "Meaningful access" means language assistance that results
20in accurate, timely, and effective communication at no cost to
21limited English proficient persons. For LEP persons,
22meaningful access denotes access that is not unreasonably
23restricted, delayed, or inferior as compared to access to
24programs or activities provided to English proficient
25individuals.

 

 

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1    "State agency" means an executive agency, department,
2board, commission, or authority directly responsible to the
3Governor.
4    "Translation" means the conversion of text from one
5language to another in a written form to convey the intent and
6essential meaning of the original text.
7    "Vital documents" means paper or electronic written
8material that contains information that affects a person's
9access to, retention of, termination of, or exclusion from
10program services or benefits or is required by law.
 
11    Section 15. Statewide Language Equity and Access.
12    (a) This Act is created to ensure meaningful access to
13State programs and resources for limited proficient (LEP)
14persons. This Act requires the Governor's Office of New
15Americans, with the support of the Department of Human
16Services and any other relevant agencies to, at a minimum:
17        (1) prepare, based on available U.S. Census data, a
18    Language Needs Assessment Report that identifies the
19    languages spoken throughout the State as described in
20    Section 25 of this Act;
21        (2) assist State agencies in the creation of language
22    access plans as detailed in Section 30 of this Act;
23        (3) develop standards and a compliance framework to
24    assess progress by State agencies, including both key
25    performance indicators and mechanisms to track them;

 

 

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1        (4) provide annual reporting on State agency
2    compliance and progress to the Governor and the General
3    Assembly by December 31 of every year starting in 2026;
4        (5) establish requirements for the availability of
5    interpretation and translation services;
6        (6) set standards for adequate staffing of bilingual
7    employees at State agencies, including a methodology for
8    monitoring implementation and updating the State Services
9    Assurance Act and the Bilingual Employment Plan, based on
10    the Language Needs Assessment Report;
11        (7) incorporate language equity compliance provisions
12    in State contracts with vendors, grantees and purchase of
13    care entities; and
14        (8) ensure that whenever an emergency, weather,
15    health, or other crisis situation has been declared, the
16    State's limited English person population is adequately
17    notified of the emergency, information, any actions
18    required, and has equitable access to emergency resources.
19    (b) The Governor's Office of New Americans, with the
20support of the Department of Human Services and any other
21relevant agencies, shall lead statewide efforts in the
22implementation of the State's language equity and access
23policy for LEP persons and to ensure meaningful access to
24information, services, programs, and activities offered by
25State agencies for LEP persons. The role of the Governor's
26Office of New Americans in this work is to advance and monitor

 

 

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1implementation of and compliance with this Act by:
2        (1) providing oversight, central coordination, and
3    technical assistance to State agencies in the
4    implementation of language access requirements under this
5    Act or under any other law, rule, or guidance related to
6    language access;
7        (2) reviewing and monitoring each State agency's
8    language access plan for compliance with this Act;
9        (3) consulting with Language Access Coordinators and
10    State agency directors or their equivalent;
11        (4) creating, distributing, and making available to
12    State agencies multilingual signage in the more frequently
13    encountered languages in the State and other languages as
14    needed, informing individuals of the individual's right to
15    free interpretation services and how to request language
16    services;
17        (5) ensuring that each State agency develops an
18    internal complaint and review process specific to the
19    provision of language assistance services and supporting
20    agencies in addressing complaints in a timely manner;
21        (6) developing recommendations for the use of
22    interpreters and translators, including standards for
23    certification and qualifications;
24        (7) assisting State agencies in developing
25    multilingual websites with information about relevant
26    policies, standards, plans, and complaint processes;

 

 

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1        (8) assisting State agencies in preparing public
2    notices of the availability of translation or
3    interpretation services upon request;
4        (9) preparing an annual compliance report to be
5    submitted to the Governor and the General Assembly; and
6        (10) addressing other issues as necessary to ensure
7    equity and meaningful participation for persons with
8    limited English proficiency.
 
9    Section 20. Statewide Language Needs Assessment. The
10Governor's Office of New Americans, with the support of the
11Department of Human Services and any other relevant State
12agencies, shall compile available United States Census data on
13languages used across the State, including the identification
14of geographic patterns and trend data, to inform the Language
15Needs Assessment Report. The report shall be updated at least
16every 10 years in conjunction with the decennial federal
17Census but may be updated more frequently using other Census
18data reports.
19    The Language Needs Assessment report shall be made
20available to State agencies for the development of their
21language access plans and overall improvement in service
22provision to LEP persons.
 
23    Section 25. Language access plans.
24    (a) Each State agency shall take reasonable steps to

 

 

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1ensure meaningful access to services, programs, and activities
2by LEP persons. Therefore, each State agency shall prepare and
3submit a language access plan to the Governor's Office of New
4Americans. Each language access plan should describe the
5population of LEP persons the agency serves, the policy and
6programmatic actions the agency will implement to ensure
7meaningful access, and the metrics the agency will use to
8measure compliance with this Act.
9    (b) Each State agency shall designate a Language Access
10Coordinator who is responsible for overseeing the development
11and implementation of the agency's language access plan.
12    (c) The adequacy of a State agency's language access plan
13shall be determined by the totality of the circumstances,
14including an individualized assessment that balances the
15following factors:
16        (1) the number or proportion of LEP persons who are
17    served or encountered in the eligible service population
18    of the State agency;
19        (2) the frequency with which LEP persons come in
20    contact with the services, programs, or activities
21    provided by the State agency;
22        (3) the nature and importance of the services,
23    programs, or activities provided by the State agency; and
24        (4) the resources available to the State agency and
25    the costs.
26    (d) Each State agency shall describe in its plans how it

 

 

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1will provide all of the following:
2        (1) competent, timely translation and interpretation
3    services to LEP persons who are seeking access to
4    information, services, programs, or activities provided by
5    the State agency; and
6        (2) vital document translation services for LEP
7    persons who are seeking access to information, services,
8    programs, or activities provided by the State agency, as
9    follows:
10            (A) if there are more than 1,000 LEP persons in the
11        population of persons served by the State agency or if
12        LEP persons comprise more than 5% of the population of
13        persons served by the State agency; or
14            (B) if there are fewer than 50 persons served by
15        the State agency that reach the 5% threshold in
16        subparagraph (A), the State agency shall provide
17        written notice in the primary language to the LEP
18        persons of the right to receive competent oral
19        interpretation of those written materials free of
20        cost.
21        (3) Following the first submitted plan, language
22    access plans shall include an assessment of performance
23    metrics for the previous State fiscal year.
24    (e) The Governor's Office of New Americans, with the
25support of the Department of Human Services and any other
26relevant State agencies, shall develop a template and

 

 

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1mechanism for collecting and analyzing State agency language
2access plans.
3    (f) Following completion of the assessment, the Governor's
4Office of New Americans, with the support of the Department of
5Human Services and any other relevant State agencies, shall
6provide guidance and feedback to each State agency, including
7any recommendations to ensure compliance with this Act.
8    (g) Language access plans shall be made publicly
9accessible by each State agency.
 
10    Section 30. Compliance and accountability.
11    (a) No later than July 1, 2025, the Governor's Office of
12New Americans shall prepare and submit to the General Assembly
13a Language Equity and Access Status Report detailing the
14progress made by State agencies in the implementation of this
15Act, including the development of Language Access Plans.
16    (b) By December 31, 2026, and every December 31
17thereafter, the Governor's Office of New Americans shall
18submit a Language Equity and Access Compliance Report to the
19General Assembly. The Compliance Report shall be based on
20information collected during the preceding fiscal year and
21shall, at a minimum, include:
22        (1) key performance metrics for the previous year;
23        (2) the following information for each State agency:
24            (A) a high-level summary of the language access
25        plan, including language access services offered;

 

 

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1            (B) as applicable, the number and percentage of
2        LEP persons who use the services of the State agency,
3        listed by language other than English;
4            (C) aggregate data on the number of bilingual
5        employees, by title, who are in roles designated as
6        requiring a person employed in that position to speak
7        or write in a language other than English, including
8        the languages that the persons are required to speak
9        in that role, and whether the employees are certified
10        as bilingual in those languages;
11            (D) the name and contact information of the
12        Language Access Coordinator for each State agency;
13            (E) an ongoing employee development and training
14        strategy to maintain well-trained bilingual employees
15        and general staff;
16            (F) data on the use of any interpretation or
17        translation vendor services such as number and type of
18        language services requested, languages requested, and
19        any other relevant data; and
20            (G) aggregate data on the number of complaints
21        filed and the status or resolution of the complaints.
22    (c) The Governor's Office of New Americans shall attempt
23to resolve a language access complaint received by a State
24agency if the agency does not resolve the complaint in a timely
25manner or the resolution is inadequate. Upon referral of a
26complaint, the Governor's Office of New Americans may engage

 

 

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1in informal processes, including mediation, conference, and
2conciliation, to resolve the complaint.
 
3    Section 35. Implementation. The Governor's Office of New
4Americans may work in collaboration with the Department of
5Human Services and any other relevant State agency to
6implement this Act.
 
7    Section 99. Effective date. This Act takes effect upon
8becoming law.