Senate Bill S4574

2023-2024 Legislative Session

Enacts the "language barrier elimination act" to provide translations to the limited English proficient in connection with certain services

download bill text pdf

Sponsored By

Current Bill Status - In Senate Committee Finance Committee


  • Introduced
    • In Committee Assembly
    • In Committee Senate
    • On Floor Calendar Assembly
    • On Floor Calendar Senate
    • Passed Assembly
    • Passed Senate
  • Delivered to Governor
  • Signed By Governor

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2023-S4574 (ACTIVE) - Details

Current Committee:
Senate Finance
Law Section:
Executive Law
Laws Affected:
Add Art 14-A §§275 - 288, Exec L
Versions Introduced in Other Legislative Sessions:
2009-2010: S5185
2011-2012: S1869
2013-2014: S1712
2015-2016: S3715
2017-2018: S2339
2019-2020: S3340
2021-2022: S4874

2023-S4574 (ACTIVE) - Summary

Enacts the "language barrier elimination act" to provide translations to limited English proficient individuals in connection with services provided through the department of labor, department of family assistance or department of health.

2023-S4574 (ACTIVE) - Sponsor Memo

2023-S4574 (ACTIVE) - Bill Text download pdf

                             
                     S T A T E   O F   N E W   Y O R K
 ________________________________________________________________________
 
                                   4574
 
                        2023-2024 Regular Sessions
 
                             I N  S E N A T E
 
                             February 10, 2023
                                ___________
 
 Introduced  by  Sens.  RAMOS, MAY -- read twice and ordered printed, and
   when printed to be committed to the Committee on Finance
 
 AN ACT to amend the executive law, in relation to ensuring equal  access
   to health and human services for limited English speaking individuals
 
   THE  PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK, REPRESENTED IN SENATE AND ASSEM-
 BLY, DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
 
   Section 1. Declaration of legislative findings and intent. Title VI of
 the civil rights act of 1964 provides in pertinent part that "no  person
 in  the  United  States  shall  on the ground of race, color or national
 origin, be excluded from participation in, be denied the benefits of, or
 be subjected to discrimination under any program or  activity  receiving
 federal  assistance."  The  United  States department of justice and the
 department of health and human services  have  stated  that  failure  to
 provide  language  assistance  to  limited  English speaking individuals
 seeking assistance in federally funded, state supervised or administered
 programs amounts to a violation of Title VI  by  discriminating  against
 such individuals based upon their national origin.
   It  is  and has been the policy of the state of New York to oppose all
 forms of discrimination, particularly when it relates to  the  provision
 of state services, or locally provided services under state supervision.
 However,  the  department  of  health and human services office of civil
 rights, the office responsible for enforcing Title VI in  department  of
 health and human services programs, found that the New York state office
 of temporary and disability assistance, the New York state department of
 health,  the  New  York  City  human  resources  administration, and the
 departments of social services in Nassau and Suffolk  counties  were  in
 violation  of  Title  VI  based  upon the state and counties' failure to
 provide interpretation services for limited English proficient  individ-
 uals.  Specifically,  the  office  of  civil  rights  found that limited
 English proficient clients seeking and/or applying for subsistence bene-
 fits such as food stamps and public assistance for children and Medicaid
 
  EXPLANATION--Matter in ITALICS (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                       [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                            LBD06147-01-3
              

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