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General Assembly Committee Bill No. 955
January Session, 2025
LCO No. 6254
Referred to Committee on GOVERNMENT ADMINISTRATION
AND ELECTIONS
Introduced by:
(GAE)
AN ACT REQUIRING STATE AND LOCAL GOVERNMENT AND STATE
CONTRACTORS TO ENSURE INDIVIDUALS WITH LIMITED ENGLISH
PROFICIENCY ARE ABLE TO ACCESS PUBLIC SERVICES.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General
Assembly convened:
Section 1. (NEW) (Effective October 1, 2025) (a) As used in this section 1
and sections 2 to 5, inclusive, of this act: 2
(1) "Limited English proficiency individuals" means individuals 3
whose primary and preferred language is not English and who have a 4
limited ability to read, speak, write or understand English. 5
(2) "Language access" means the provision of services, information 6
and resources in languages other than English to ensure equitable 7
access. 8
(3) "Interpretation services" means the provision of spoken language 9
and sign language assistance, including in-person interpreters, 10
telephonic interpretation services and video remote interpretation 11
services by a qualified interpreter. 12
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(4) "Translation services" means the provision of written materials, 13
including forms, brochures, web sites and other informational materials, 14
in languages other than English. 15
(5) "Qualified interpreter" means an individual who is fluent in both 16
English and a target language and has received formal training. 17
(6) "Covered entity" means any agency, department or organization 18
within the state that receives state or federal funding or otherwise 19
provides public services. 20
(7) "State contractor" means an entity that has entered into a state 21
contract with a state or quasi-public agency. 22
(8) "State contract" means a contract (A) between an entity and a state 23
or quasi-public agency, or (B) for the receipt of financial assistance by 24
an entity from the state, including federal funding. 25
(9) "Subcontractor" means a person who performs work for a state 26
contractor pursuant to a contract for work for the state or a municipality. 27
(b) Each covered entity as well as each state contractor and 28
subcontractor receiving state or federal funds shall: 29
(1) Implement policies that ensure meaningful access to their 30
programs and services for limited English proficiency individuals; 31
(2) Conduct an assessment of the language needs of the communities 32
they serve, including the collection and analysis of demographic data 33
such as the 2020 Census and the American Community Survey 34
estimates, or successive survey, to identify languages spoken by limited 35
English proficiency individuals; 36
(3) Ensure the availability of translation and interpretation services in 37
languages that reflect the limited English proficiency individuals in the 38
state, including, but not limited to, Spanish, Portuguese, Chinese, 39
Arabic, Italian, Haitian, Hindi, French, Russian and others, based on the 40
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dialects and needs identified based upon the assessment conducted 41
under subdivision (2) of this subsection; 42
(4) Provide sign language interpretation and other accommodations 43
for individuals with hearing impairments in all public services and 44
programs in their preferred language; and 45
(5) Ensure that all public-facing materials and communications are 46
written in plain language, making them understandable to a broad 47
audience, including individuals with limited literacy or limited English 48
proficiency individuals. 49
(c) Each state agency shall develop and implement a language access 50
plan that includes policies for providing meaningful access to limited 51
English proficiency individuals in accordance with the provisions of 52
Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. Any such plan shall (1) provide 53
for staff training to ensure staff members can effectively work with 54
limited English proficiency individuals, including understanding when 55
to use professional interpreters or translation services, (2) establish 56
procedures for identifying limited English proficiency individuals who 57
require language assistance and ensure that all service delivery points 58
are equipped to assist such individuals, including telephone and web-59
based services, and (3) ensure that limited English proficiency 60
individuals with disabilities have equal access to language and 61
disability-related services, including assistance with interpretation and 62
translation of materials in accessible formats such as braille, audio and 63
assistive technology. 64
(d) Each state agency shall designate an existing employee as a 65
language access coordinator who will be responsible for implementing 66
language access policies and coordinating services in accordance with 67
the adopted plan of such agency. Such coordinator shall collect and 68
report data on the language needs of the populations they serve, using 69
data from the 2020 Census and American Community Survey estimates, 70
or successive survey, and report such data to the Office of Language 71
Access not later than May first of each year. 72
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(e) Each state agency shall provide publicly available language access 73
plans on the Internet web site of such agency, detailing available 74
language assistance services and the process for requesting such 75
services. 76
(f) Each state agency shall evaluate and periodically revise written 77
materials and web sites to ensure that they are accessible to people of 78
varying literacy levels, including those with limited English proficiency. 79
Sec. 2. (NEW) (Effective October 1, 2025) (a) As used in this section: 80
(1) "Health care provider" means any person employed by or acting 81
on behalf of a health care facility or institution; and 82
(2) "Health care facility or institution" means a hospital, nursing 83
home, rest home, home health care agency, home health aide agency, 84
emergency medical services organization, assisted living services 85
agency, outpatient surgical facility and an infirmary operated by an 86
educational institution for the care of students enrolled in, and faculty 87
and employees of, such institution. 88
(b) Each health care facility or institution that receives state or federal 89
funding shall ensure that limited English proficiency individuals 90
seeking health care services from a health care provider in the state 91
receive language assistance to ensure equal access to programs, services 92
and activities, including, but not limited to, providing timely, competent 93
and culturally appropriate language assistance services, including 94
translation of health-related materials and interpretation services prior 95
to, during and after medical appointments. 96
Sec. 3. (NEW) (Effective October 1, 2025) Each local and regional board 97
of education shall ensure that limited English proficiency individuals 98
who are students in the district of such board and the families of such 99
students receive information and services in their preferred language at 100
all levels of education, from preschool through high school, including, 101
but not limited to, providing interpretation services for limited English 102
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proficiency students and parents during parent-teacher conferences, 103
disciplinary proceedings and other educational activities. 104
Sec. 4. (NEW) (Effective October 1, 2025) Each constituent unit, as 105
defined in section 10a-1 of the general statutes, shall ensure that limited 106
English proficiency individuals who are students in the institutions of 107
higher education of such constituent unit and the families of such 108
students receive information and services in their preferred language. 109
Sec. 5. (NEW) (Effective October 1, 2025) (a) There is established an 110
Office of Language Access within the Department of Consumer 111
Protection. The Commissioner of Consumer Protection shall designate 112
an existing employee to serve as the executive director of the Office of 113
Language Access. 114
(b) The office shall: 115
(1) Oversee the enforcement of language access policies within state 116
agencies; 117
(2) Investigate complaints of noncompliance with the provisions of 118
sections 1 to 4, inclusive, of this act, including failure to provide 119
appropriate interpretation or translation services; 120
(3) Establish a formal process for individuals to request language 121
assistance services; and 122
(4) Analyze the data collected and submitted by language access 123
coordinators under section 1 of this act to evaluate the need for 124
expanded language assistance services in different regions of the state 125
and adjust language access plans to meet the evolving needs of limited 126
English proficiency communities. 127
(c) Not later than February 1, 2026, and annually thereafter, the 128
executive director shall submit a report, in accordance with the 129
provisions of section 11-4a of the general statutes, to the joint standing 130
committees of the General Assembly having cognizance of matters 131
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relating to government administration, human services, public health, 132
higher education and education. Such report shall include a summary 133
of the analysis conducted under subdivision (4) of subsection (b) of this 134
section, the services provided by the office during the preceding year, 135
the results of any investigations conducted under this section during the 136
preceding year and any recommendations for necessary legislation. 137
This act shall take effect as follows and shall amend the following
sections:
Section 1 October 1, 2025 New section
Sec. 2 October 1, 2025 New section
Sec. 3 October 1, 2025 New section
Sec. 4 October 1, 2025 New section
Sec. 5 October 1, 2025 New section
Statement of Purpose:
To require the adoption of various policies concerning the offering of
translation and interpretation services to ensure that individuals with
limited English proficiency have meaningful access to programs and
services offered by state and local government agencies, contractors and
other entities that receive state funding.
[Proposed deletions are enclosed in brackets. Proposed additions are indicated by underline, except
that when the entire text of a bill or resolution or a section of a bill or resolution is new, it is not
underlined.]
Co-Sponsors: SEN. RAHMAN, 4th Dist.; REP. REYES, 75th Dist.
REP. TURCO, 27th Dist.
S.B. 955