Texas 2009 - 81st Regular

Texas House Bill HJR32 Compare Versions

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

Old	New	Differences
1	1	81R2949 YDB-F
2	2	By: Berman H.J.R. No. 32
3	3
4	4
5	5	A JOINT RESOLUTION
6	6	proposing a constitutional amendment to establish English as the
7	7	official language of Texas and require that official acts of
8	8	government be taken in English.
9	9	BE IT RESOLVED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
10	10	SECTION 1. The Legislature finds and declares:
11	11	(1) the people of the United States have brought to
12	12	this nation the cultural heritage of many nations;
13	13	(2) the people of the United States, despite their
14	14	many differences, have lived together harmoniously and
15	15	productively as citizens of one nation;
16	16	(3) the traditional and common language of the United
17	17	States and of this state is English;
18	18	(4) a knowledge of the common language is essential to
19	19	full exercise of constitutional freedoms, informed and
20	20	knowledgeable empowerment as voters, citizen checks against
21	21	government abuses, individual prosperity, and independence;
22	22	(5) the English language has been our strongest bond
23	23	to one another as fellow citizens and has contributed substantially
24	24	to national unity and societal cohesiveness;
25	25	(6) English has been this nation's language by custom
26	26	only and warrants special legal protection;
27	27	(7) government has a fiduciary responsibility to the
28	28	citizenry to ensure that it operates as efficiently as possible,
29	29	and the growth of multiple language bureaucracies and printing
30	30	represents an abrogation of this fiduciary responsibility; and
31	31	(8) this state, its political subdivisions, and the
32	32	federal government have a responsibility to ensure that citizens
33	33	have opportunities to learn English.
34	34	SECTION 2. Article XVI, Texas Constitution, is amended by
35	35	adding Section 73 to read as follows:
36	36	Sec. 73. (a) In this section, "official act of government"
37	37	means:
38	38	(1) an action of this state or a political subdivision
39	39	of this state that carries the full weight and authority of law; or
40	40	(2) an official document recorded or first maintained
41	41	on or after December 1, 2009, by this state or a political
42	42	subdivision of this state for the public domain, including a tax
43	43	record, professional license, deed, real estate record, publicly
44	44	probated will or other document of a court system, or a public
45	45	proceeding of a governing body of this state or a political
46	46	subdivision of this state.
47	47	(b) It is the purpose of this section to preserve, protect,
48	48	and strengthen the unifying role of English as the official
49	49	language of this state.
50	50	(c) English is the official language of this state and is
51	51	the language of official acts of government.
52	52	(d) This state or a political subdivision of this state may
53	53	not make any policy expressing a preference for any language other
54	54	than English or diminishing or ignoring the unifying role of
55	55	English as designated by this section, except as provided by
56	56	Subsection (f).
57	57	(e) An elected or appointed officer of this state or a
58	58	political subdivision of this state shall take all reasonable steps
59	59	to ensure that the role of English as the official language of this
60	60	state is preserved and enhanced.
61	61	(f) This section does not:
62	62	(1) supersede contrary provisions imposed under
63	63	federal law;
64	64	(2) prohibit the use of another language for the
65	65	public safety, health, or justice;
66	66	(3) prohibit instruction in foreign language courses;
67	67	(4) prohibit instruction designed to aid students with
68	68	limited English proficiency in their transition and integration
69	69	into the education system;
70	70	(5) prohibit the promotion of international commerce
71	71	or tourism; or
72	72	(6) prohibit a court or an administrative agency from
73	73	admitting into evidence or relying on a record that is from another
74	74	jurisdiction and originally written in another language, if the
75	75	court or agency determines the record is necessary for a proceeding
76	76	or hearing.
77	77	(g) The Legislature or a governing body of a political
78	78	subdivision of this state may not appropriate any money to promote
79	79	the use of or demonstrate a preference for any language other than
80	80	the official language, except as provided by Subsection (f).
81	81	(h) This section may not be:
82	82	(1) construed in any way to infringe on the rights of
83	83	citizens, who have every right to choose their own primary
84	84	language, in the use of language for private conduct; or
85	85	(2) used to dictate language policies for the
86	86	operation and administration of organizations or businesses in the
87	87	private sector.
88	88	SECTION 3. This proposed constitutional amendment shall be
89	89	submitted to the voters at an election to be held November 3, 2009.
90	90	The ballot shall be printed to permit voting for or against the
91	91	proposition: "The constitutional amendment to establish English as
92	92	the official language of Texas and to require that official acts of
93	93	government be taken in English."