Texas 2009 - 81st Regular

Texas House Bill HB370 Compare Versions

Only one version of the bill is available at this time.

Old	New	Differences
1	1	81R2950 YDB-F
2	2	By: Berman H.B. No. 370
3	3
4	4
5	5	A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
6	6	AN ACT
7	7	relating to the establishment of English as the official language
8	8	of Texas and the requirement that official acts of government be
9	9	taken in English.
10	10	BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
11	11	SECTION 1. The legislature finds and declares:
12	12	(1) the people of the United States have brought to
13	13	this nation the cultural heritage of many nations;
14	14	(2) the people of the United States, despite their
15	15	many differences, have lived together harmoniously and
16	16	productively as citizens of one nation;
17	17	(3) the traditional and common language of the United
18	18	States and of this state is English;
19	19	(4) a knowledge of the common language is essential to
20	20	full exercise of constitutional freedoms, informed and
21	21	knowledgeable empowerment as voters, citizen checks against
22	22	government abuses, individual prosperity, and independence;
23	23	(5) the English language has been our strongest bond
24	24	to one another as fellow citizens and has contributed substantially
25	25	to national unity and societal cohesiveness;
26	26	(6) English has been this nation's language by custom
27	27	only and warrants special legal protection;
28	28	(7) government has a fiduciary responsibility to the
29	29	citizenry to ensure that it operates as efficiently as possible,
30	30	and the growth of multiple language bureaucracies and printing
31	31	represents an abrogation of this fiduciary responsibility; and
32	32	(8) this state, its political subdivisions, and the
33	33	federal government have a responsibility to ensure that citizens
34	34	have opportunities to learn English.
35	35	SECTION 2. Title 1, Government Code, is amended by adding
36	36	Subtitle H to read as follows:
37	37	SUBTITLE H. OFFICIAL LANGUAGE FOR ACTS OF GOVERNMENT
38	38	CHAPTER 2351. ENGLISH AS OFFICIAL LANGUAGE OF GOVERNMENT AND FOR
39	39	ACTS OF GOVERNMENT
40	40	Sec. 2351.001. DEFINITION. In this chapter, "official act
41	41	of government" means:
42	42	(1) an action of this state or a political subdivision
43	43	of this state that carries the full weight and authority of law; or
44	44	(2) an official document recorded or first maintained
45	45	on or after September 1, 2009, by this state or a political
46	46	subdivision of this state for the public domain, including a tax
47	47	record, professional license, deed, real estate record, publicly
48	48	probated will or other document of a court system, or a public
49	49	proceeding of a governing body of this state or a political
50	50	subdivision of this state.
51	51	Sec. 2351.002. PURPOSE. It is the purpose of this chapter
52	52	to preserve, protect, and strengthen the unifying role of English
53	53	as the official language of this state.
54	54	Sec. 2351.003. ENGLISH AS OFFICIAL LANGUAGE. (a) English
55	55	is the official language of this state and is the language of
56	56	official acts of government.
57	57	(b) This state or a political subdivision of this state may
58	58	not make any policy expressing a preference for any language other
59	59	than English or diminishing or ignoring the unifying role of
60	60	English as designated by this chapter, except as provided by
61	61	Section 2351.004.
62	62	(c) An elected or appointed officer of this state or a
63	63	political subdivision of this state shall take all reasonable steps
64	64	to ensure that the role of English as the official language of this
65	65	state is preserved and enhanced.
66	66	Sec. 2351.004. APPLICABILITY OF CHAPTER. This chapter does
67	67	not:
68	68	(1) supersede contrary provisions imposed under
69	69	federal law;
70	70	(2) prohibit the use of another language for the
71	71	public safety, health, or justice;
72	72	(3) prohibit instruction in foreign language courses;
73	73	(4) prohibit instruction designed to aid students with
74	74	limited English proficiency in their transition and integration
75	75	into the education system;
76	76	(5) prohibit the promotion of international commerce
77	77	or tourism; or
78	78	(6) prohibit a court or an administrative agency from
79	79	admitting into evidence or relying on a record that is from another
80	80	jurisdiction and originally written in another language, if the
81	81	court or agency determines the record is necessary for a proceeding
82	82	or hearing.
83	83	Sec. 2351.005. PROHIBITED APPROPRIATION. The legislature
84	84	or a governing body of a political subdivision of this state may not
85	85	appropriate any money to promote the use of or demonstrate a
86	86	preference for any language other than the official language,
87	87	except as provided by Section 2351.004.
88	88	Sec. 2351.006. CONSTRUCTION OF CHAPTER. This chapter may
89	89	not be:
90	90	(1) construed in any way to infringe on the rights of
91	91	citizens, who have every right to choose their own primary
92	92	language, in the use of language for private conduct; or
93	93	(2) used to dictate language policies for the
94	94	operation and administration of organizations or businesses in the
95	95	private sector.
96	96	SECTION 3. This Act takes effect September 1, 2009.