PRINTER'S NO. 414
No. 402 Session of 2001
INTRODUCED BY WOZNIAK, M. WHITE, STOUT, MADIGAN, MUSTO, CORMAN,
THOMPSON, BOSCOLA, LOGAN AND RHOADES, FEBRUARY 12, 2001
REFERRED TO STATE GOVERNMENT, FEBRUARY 12, 2001
AN ACT
1 Recognizing the current and historical common language of the
2 citizens of the United States; designating the use of the
3 common language for official acts of this Commonwealth and
4 its municipalities; and providing for enforcement.
5 The General Assembly of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania
6 hereby enacts as follows:
7 Section 1. Short title.
8 This act shall be known and may be cited as The Pennsylvania
9 Language of Governments Act.
10 Section 2. Legislative findings.
11 The General Assembly finds and declares as follows:
12 (1) The people of the United States have brought to this
13 nation the cultural heritage of many nations.
14 (2) Our communities have been greatly enriched by this
15 cultural diversity, and the government has always taken steps
16 to promote the dignity of all the heritages that form this
17 nation's pluralistic society.
18 (3) The people of the United States, despite their many
19 differences, have lived together harmoniously and
1 productively as citizens of one nation.
2 (4) The traditional and common language of the United
3 States and of this Commonwealth has always been English.
4 (5) A knowledge of the common language is essential to
5 full exercise of constitutional freedoms, informed and
6 knowledgeable empowerment as voters, citizen checks against
7 government abuses and individual prosperity and independence.
8 (6) The English language has been our strongest bond to
9 one another as fellow citizens and has contributed
10 substantially to national unity and societal cohesiveness.
11 (7) English has been this nation's language by custom
12 only and warrants special legal protection.
13 (8) Government has a fiduciary responsibility to the
14 citizenry to ensure that it operates as efficiently as
15 possible, and the growth of multiple language bureaucracies
16 and printing represents an abrogation of this fiduciary
17 responsibility.
18 (9) Government has a responsibility to protect the civil
19 rights of the citizenry, and the development of separate-but-
20 equal bureaucracies operating in multiple languages
21 represents an abrogation of the government's responsibility
22 to provide uniform, consistent services to all citizens.
23 (10) As government has a responsibility to limit the
24 growth of multiple language bureaucracies to prevent the
25 isolation of cultural groups, the Commonwealth and its
26 municipalities and the Federal Government also have a
27 responsibility to ensure that citizens have opportunities to
28 learn English.
29 Section 3. Purpose.
30 (a) Unifying role.--It is the purpose of this act to
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1 preserve, protect and strengthen the unifying role of the common
2 language of the United States and of this Commonwealth.
3 (b) Rights preserved.--This act shall not be construed in
4 any way to infringe the rights of citizens, who have every right
5 to choose their own primary language, in the use of language for
6 private conduct, nor shall this act be used to dictate language
7 policies for the operation and administration of organizations
8 or businesses in the unregulated private sector.
9 Section 4. Definitions.
10 The following words and phrases when used in this act shall
11 have the meanings given to them in this section unless the
12 context clearly indicates otherwise:
13 "Official acts of government." Actions of the Commonwealth
14 and of its municipalities that carry the full weight and
15 authority of law, official documents recorded and maintained by
16 the Commonwealth and its municipalities for the public domain,
17 including, but not limited to, tax records, professional
18 licenses, deeds, real estate records, publicly probated wills
19 and other documents of the courts system and public proceedings
20 of the governing bodies of the Commonwealth and its
21 municipalities.
22 Section 5. Designation of language of official acts.
23 English is hereby recognized as the common language of the
24 United States and this Commonwealth and shall also be designated
25 as the language of official acts of government of the
26 Commonwealth and its municipalities.
27 Section 6. Policies.
28 The Commonwealth and its municipalities shall make no
29 policies expressing a preference for any language other than the
30 official language or diminishing or ignoring the unifying role
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1 of the official language, as designated in this act, subject to
2 the limitations in section 8.
3 Section 7. Enforcement.
4 Elected and appointed officers of this Commonwealth and its
5 municipalities shall take all reasonable steps to ensure that
6 the role of the common language is preserved and enhanced.
7 Section 8. Limitations.
8 The provisions of this act shall not apply to the following:
9 (1) When Federal law imposes contrary provisions.
10 (2) When the public safety, health or justice requires
11 the use of other languages.
12 (3) Instruction in foreign language courses.
13 (4) Instruction designed to aid students with limited
14 English proficiency in their transition and integration into
15 the education system.
16 (5) The promotion of international commerce or tourism.
17 Section 9. Appropriations.
18 The General Assembly and the governing bodies of
19 municipalities shall make no appropriations to promote the use
20 of or demonstrate a preference for any language other than the
21 official language, as designated in this act, subject to the
22 limitations in section 8.
23 Section 10. Effective date.
24 This act shall take effect July 4, 2001.
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