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AB-1107 Proclaimed state emergencies: proclamations, materials, and announcements: translation. (2019-2020)



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AB1107:v93#DOCUMENT

Amended  IN  Senate  August 07, 2020
Amended  IN  Senate  July 02, 2020
Amended  IN  Senate  May 26, 2020
Amended  IN  Senate  April 22, 2020
Amended  IN  Assembly  April 22, 2019
Amended  IN  Assembly  March 26, 2019

CALIFORNIA LEGISLATURE— 2019–2020 REGULAR SESSION

Assembly Bill
No. 1107

Introduced by Assembly Member Chu

February 21, 2019

An act to add Sections Section 8626.5 and 8634.5 to the Government Code, relating to emergency services.


LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST


AB 1107, as amended, Chu. Proclaimed state and local emergencies: proclamations, communications, and materials: materials, and announcements: translation.
Existing law, the California Emergency Services Act, authorizes the Governor to proclaim a state of emergency when specified conditions of disaster or extreme peril to the safety of persons and property exist, and to exercise certain powers in response to that emergency. The act also authorizes the governing body of a city, county, city and county, or an official designated by ordinance adopted by that governing body, to proclaim a local emergency, and to exercise certain powers in response to that emergency. Existing law defines the terms term “state of emergency” and “local emergency” to mean the duly proclaimed existence of conditions of disaster or of extreme peril to the safety of persons and property within the state caused by, among other things, fire, storm, riot, epidemic, or cyberterrorism.
Existing law requires the State Department of Health Care Services to require managed care plans providing Medi-Cal services to provide language assistance services to limited-English-proficient (LEP) beneficiaries. Existing law requires the department to determine, at least every 3 years, or more often as specified, when an LEP population meets the requirement for translation services by using a numeric threshold, including a population group of at least 3,000 or 5% of the beneficiary population, whichever is fewer, mandatory managed care Medi-Cal beneficiaries, residing in the service area, who indicate their primary language as other than English.
This bill would require all proclamations, communications, materials, and announcements made by the Governor or issued by a state agency related to a duly proclaimed state of emergency to be made available statewide in all the threshold languages spoken by LEP speakers. The bill would define the term “threshold languages spoken by limited-English-proficient speakers ” speakers” to mean the all Medi-Cal threshold languages spoken by any threshold population group, without limitation to county-specific thresholds, that are determined by the State Department of Health Care Services pursuant to the above-described language assistance services provisions.

This bill would also require each county to translate all emergency-related proclamations, communications, materials, and announcements made by the county related to a duly proclaimed state of emergency or a local emergency duly proclaimed by the county into all languages spoken by 1,000 or more of the county’s residents.

Vote: MAJORITY   Appropriation: NO   Fiscal Committee: YES   Local Program: NO  

The people of the State of California do enact as follows:


SECTION 1.

 Section 8626.5 is added to the Government Code, to read:

8626.5.
 (a) Proclamations, communications, In addition to any other obligation under law, proclamations, materials, and announcements made by the Governor or issued by a state agency related to a duly proclaimed state of emergency shall be made available statewide in all the threshold languages spoken by limited-English-proficient speakers.
(b) For purposes of this section:
(1) “Proclamations, communications, materials, and announcements” includes, but is not limited to, information posted or broadcasted on or through an internet website of the state, newspaper, social media platform, television, or radio.
(2) “Threshold languages spoken by limited-English-proficient speakers” means the all Medi-Cal threshold languages spoken by any threshold population group, without limitation to county-specific thresholds, as determined by the State Department of Health Care Services pursuant to subdivisions (b) and (c) of Section 14029.91 of the Welfare and Institutions Code.
(c) Nothing in this section shall be construed to alter, limit, or negate any other obligations, rights, remedies, or procedures provided by law.

SEC. 2.Section 8634.5 is added to the Government Code, to read:
8634.5.

(a)Each county shall translate all emergency-related proclamations, communications, materials, and announcements made by the county related to a duly proclaimed state of emergency or a local emergency duly proclaimed by the county into all languages spoken by 1,000 or more of the county’s residents.

(b)For purposes of this section, “proclamations, communications, materials, and announcements” includes, but is not limited to, information posted or broadcasted on or through an internet website of the county, newspaper, social media platform, television, or radio.