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Text (H.F. No. 241/S.F. 1059)
1.1A bill for an act relating to state government;
designating English as the official language;
proposing coding for new law in Minnesota Statutes, chapter 1.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MINNESOTA:
Section 1. [1.55] OFFICIAL STATE LANGUAGE.
Subdivision 1. Designation.
English is the official language of the state of Minnesota. English is
designated as the language for use by the state and local governments,
for government officers and employees acting in the scope of their employment,
and for government documents and records.
Subd. 2. Exceptions.
This section does not apply:
(1) to instruction in foreign
language courses;
(2) to instruction designed
to aid students with limited English in a timely transition and integration
into the general educational system;
(3) to the promotion of international
commerce, tourism, and sporting events;
(4) when determined to interfere
with needs of the justice system;
(5) when the public safety,
health, or emergency services require the use of other languages; provided
that any authorization for the use of languages other than English in
printing informational materials or publications for general distribution
must be approved in a public proceeding by the governing board or authority
of the relevant state or local government entity and the decision recorded
in publicly available minutes; and
(6) when expert testimony or
witnesses may require a language other than English; provided that for
purposes of deliberation, decision making, or record keeping, the official
version of the testimony or commentary must be the officially translated
English-language version.
Subd. 3. Costs.
All costs related to the preparation, translation, printing, and recording
of documents, records, brochures, pamphlets, flyers, or other informational
materials in languages other than English resulting from an exception
in subdivision 2 must be delineated as a separate budget line item in
the agency, departmental, or office budget.
Subd. 4. Employment.
No person may be denied employment with the state or with any political
subdivision of the state based solely upon that person's lack of facility
in a foreign language, except when related to bona fide job needs reflected
in the exceptions in subdivision 2.
Subd. 5. Construction.
This section must not be construed in any way to infringe on the rights
of citizens under the Minnesota Constitution or the United States Constitution
in the use of language in activities or functions conducted solely in
the private sector. No agency or officer of the state or of any political
subdivision of the state may place any restrictions or requirements regarding
language usage for businesses operating in the private sector other than
in official documents, forms, submissions, or other communications directed
to government agencies and officers, which must be in English as required
by this section.
Subd. 6. Right of action.
Any citizen of the state has standing to bring an action against the state
to enforce this section. The district court has jurisdiction to hear and
decide actions brought under this section.
Status
Introduced as H.F. 241 on Jan. 22, 2007 by Rep. Erickson in the House.
Referred to Committee on Government Operations, Reform, Technology and
Elections. Pending committee approval.
Companion Bill, S.F. 1059 introduced on Feb. 21, 2007 by Sens. Ingibridsen,
Limmer, Pariseau and Gerlach. Pending committee approval.
For more up-to-date information about this bill, click
here
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