|
Dear John,
New York State stands as one of the most linguistically diverse regions in the country, with over 5.7 million residents speaking a language other than English at home. Yet, despite this rich diversity of languages, immigrant communities often encounter significant hurdles in accessing essential government information and services.
The New York State Legislature and Governor Hochul can make New York a national leader on language access by passing the Language Access Expansion Act!
What is the Language Access Expansion Act?
The Language Access Expansion Act would expand the existing Language Access Policy to improve access and delivery of language services outside NYC. The bill would mandate county and state government agencies to provide free interpretation and translation services to Limited English Proficient (LEP) communities in each region of the state.
By expanding and enforcing the current Language Access Policy, agencies will be required to translate important information into multiple languages, allowing more New Yorkers to access the information they need to maintain the health and security of their families.
|
