TRENTON, NJ – Trenton lawmakers have introduced a bill that would require state agencies providing vital documents to create documents in 15 other languages aside from English.
The bill (S2459) requires State government entities to provide vital documents and translation services in the 15 most common non-English languages spoken by individuals with limited-English proficiency in this State, based on United States Census Bureau data, and relevant to the services offered by the State government entity.
The cost of the transcribing of documents will be covered under funds available through the American Rescue Plan.
Under the bill, there is appropriated from the funds received by the State from the federal government under the “American Rescue Plan Act of 2021,” to each State government entity the sums necessary to implement its provisions and such additional sums from the General Fund as the State Treasurer and the Director of the Division of Budget and Accounting in the Department of the Treasury deem necessary.
The lawmakers did not identify the 15 languages by name.