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Am. H. B. No. 477 As Passed by the House
As Passed by the House
127th General Assembly | Regular Session | 2007-2008 |
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Representative Mecklenborg
Cosponsors:
Representatives Collier, Flowers, Reinhard, Schneider, Adams, Aslanides, Bacon, Blessing, Brinkman, Coley, Combs, Daniels, Domenick, Fessler, Gibbs, Hagan, J., Hottinger, Hughes, Schindel, Setzer, Stebelton, Uecker, Wachtmann, Webster
A BILL
To enact
sections 5.15, 5.151, and 5.152 of the
Revised
Code to require
the use of the English
language by
state and local
government entities
in official
actions and
proceedings, subject to
certain
exceptions.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF OHIO:
Section 1.
That sections 5.15, 5.151, and 5.152 of the
Revised Code be enacted
to
read as follows:
Sec. 5.15. As used in sections 5.151 and 5.152 of the Revised
Code:
(A) "Meeting" and "public body" have the same meanings as in
section 121.22 of the Revised Code.
(B) "Political subdivision" means a municipal corporation,
township, county, school district, or other body corporate and
politic responsible for governmental activities in a geographic
area smaller than that of the state.
(C) "Record" has the same meaning as in section
149.011
of
the Revised Code.
(D) "State agency" means every organized body, office, or
agency, including the general assembly and the courts, established
by the laws of the state for the exercise of any function of state
government.
Sec. 5.151. (A) Except as otherwise provided in division (B)
of this
section or in section 317.113 or another section of the
Revised
Code, the English language shall be used
for each meeting
of a public body and for each official
action of
any state agency
or political subdivision, including
each record prepared, meeting
held,
policy issued, or
other action taken under color of law.
(B) A public body, state agency, or political subdivision
through its officers or employees may use a language other than
the English language, notwithstanding division (A) of this
section, to do any of the following:
(1) Comply with federal law;
(2) Comply with state law;
(3) Protect or promote the public health, safety, or
welfare;
(4) Protect the rights of parties and witnesses in a civil
or
criminal action or proceeding in a court or in an
administrative
proceeding;
(5) Provide instruction in foreign language courses;
(6) Provide instruction designed to aid students with
limited
English language proficiency so they can make a timely
transition
to use of the English language in the public schools;
(7) Promote international commerce, trade, or tourism;
(8) Utilize in documents terms of art or phrases from
languages other than the English language;
(9) Engage in informal and nonbinding translations or
communications.
(C) No public body, state agency, or political subdivision
shall deny any individual employment solely on the basis that the
individual lacks facility in a foreign language, except when that
facility is a bona fide employment requirement to achieve a
purpose for which the public body, state agency, or political
subdivision may use a language other than the English language
under division (B) of this section.
(D) The commission on Hispanic-Latino affairs may respond to
correspondence that the commission receives and that is written in
a language other than English in that other language, but the
commission shall maintain as a record of the commission an English
translation of that correspondence.
(E) All projected expenditures to be made during a budget
period by a public body, state agency, or political subdivision
that are related to the use under division (B) of this section of
interpreters for, or the preparation, translation, printing, or
recording under division (B) of this section of documents,
records, brochures, pamphlets, flyers, or other informational
materials in, languages other than the English language shall, as
appropriate to the public body, state agency, or political
subdivision, be delineated in an individual appropriation item or
categorized in a separate and distinct manner that indicates the
proposed expenditure.
(F) Nothing in this section shall be construed to limit or
otherwise affect the voting or civil rights of any person.
Sec. 5.152. Any resident of the state has standing to
commence a
mandamus action to obtain a judgment that orders a
public body,
state agency, or political subdivision to comply
with section 5.151 of the Revised Code. The mandamus action may be
commenced in the court of
common pleas of the county in which the
resident resides.
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