PRINTER'S NO. 645
No. 614 Session of 1997
INTRODUCED BY WOZNIAK, HELFRICK, STOUT, KITCHEN, BRIGHTBILL,
DELP, MADIGAN, MELLOW AND RHOADES, MARCH 4, 1997
REFERRED TO STATE GOVERNMENT, MARCH 4, 1997
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
1 differences, have lived together harmoniously and
2 productively as citizens of one nation.
3 (4) The traditional and common language of the United
4 States and of this Commonwealth has always been English.
5 (5) A knowledge of the common language is essential to
6 full exercise of constitutional freedoms, informed and
7 knowledgeable empowerment as voters, citizen checks against
8 government abuses and individual prosperity and independence.
9 (6) The English language has been our strongest bond to
10 one another as fellow citizens and has contributed
11 substantially to national unity and societal cohesiveness.
12 (7) English has been this nation's language by custom
13 only and warrants special legal protection.
14 (8) Government has a fiduciary responsibility to the
15 citizenry to ensure that it operates as efficiently as
16 possible, and the growth of multiple language bureaucracies
17 and printing represents an abrogation of this fiduciary
18 responsibility.
19 (9) Government has a responsibility to protect the civil
20 rights of the citizenry, and the development of separate-but-
21 equal bureaucracies operating in multiple languages
22 represents an abrogation of the government's responsibility
23 to provide uniform, consistent services to all citizens.
24 (10) As government has a responsibility to limit the
25 growth of multiple language bureaucracies to prevent the
26 isolation of cultural groups, the Commonwealth and its
27 municipalities and the Federal Government also have a
28 responsibility to ensure that citizens have opportunities to
29 learn English.
30 Section 3. Purpose.
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1 (a) Unifying role.--It is the purpose of this act to
2 preserve, protect and strengthen the unifying role of the common
3 language of the United States and of this Commonwealth.
4 (b) Rights preserved.--This act shall not be construed in
5 any way to infringe the rights of citizens, who have every right
6 to choose their own primary language, in the use of language for
7 private conduct, nor shall this act be used to dictate language
8 policies for the operation and administration of organizations
9 or businesses in the unregulated private sector.
10 Section 4. Definitions.
11 The following words and phrases when used in this act shall
12 have the meanings given to them in this section unless the
13 context clearly indicates otherwise:
14 "Official acts of government." Actions of the Commonwealth
15 and of its municipalities that carry the full weight and
16 authority of law, official documents recorded and maintained by
17 the Commonwealth and its municipalities for the public domain,
18 including, but not limited to, tax records, professional
19 licenses, deeds, real estate records, publicly probated wills
20 and other documents of the courts system and public proceedings
21 of the governing bodies of the Commonwealth and its
22 municipalities.
23 Section 5. Designation of language of official acts.
24 English is hereby recognized as the common language of the
25 United States and this Commonwealth and shall also be designated
26 as the language of official acts of government of the
27 Commonwealth and its municipalities.
28 Section 6. Policies.
29 The Commonwealth and its municipalities shall make no
30 policies expressing a preference for any language other than the
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1 official language or diminishing or ignoring the unifying role
2 of the official language, as designated in this act, subject to
3 the limitations in section 8.
4 Section 7. Enforcement.
5 Elected and appointed officers of this Commonwealth and its
6 municipalities shall take all reasonable steps to ensure that
7 the role of the common language is preserved and enhanced.
8 Section 8. Limitations.
9 The provisions of this act shall not apply to the following:
10 (1) When Federal law imposes contrary provisions.
11 (2) When the public safety, health or justice requires
12 the use of other languages.
13 (3) Instruction in foreign language courses.
14 (4) Instruction designed to aid students with limited
15 English proficiency in their transition and integration into
16 our education system.
17 (5) The promotion of international commerce or tourism.
18 Section 9. Appropriations.
19 The General Assembly and the governing bodies of
20 municipalities shall make no appropriations to promote the use
21 of or demonstrate a preference for any language other than the
22 official language, as designated in this act, subject to the
23 limitations in section 8.
24 Section 10. Effective date.
25 This act shall take effect July 4, 1997.
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