,,ii #aaith ,,congress #b;d ,session ,s4 #dihe ,,in ,,the ,,senate ,,of ,,the ,,united ,,states ,july #ae1 #bjbf,mr4 ,kim 7for himself1 ,ms4 ,hirono1 and ,mrs4 ,gillibrand7 introduced the following bill2 which was read twice and referred to the ,committee on ,homeland ,security and ,governmental ,affairs ,a ,,bill ,to improve access to ,federal services by individuals with limited ,english proficiency1 and for other purposes4 #a4 ,short title ,this ,act may be cited as the ,language ,access for ,all ,act of #bjbf4 #b4 ,improving access to ,federal services by individuals with limited ,english proficiency 7a7 ,ensuring meaningful access 7#a7 ,in general ,not later than #a year after the date of the enactment of this ,act1 the head of each agency shall ensure that individuals with ,,lep can meaningfully access the federally conducted programs and activities of the agency1 including by-- 7,a7 consistent with any applicable ,language ,access ,technical ,standards established by the agency under subsection 7c7-- 7i7 translating each vital document or content created for the public into-- 7,i7 any languages the agency frequently encounters2 and 7,,ii7 the dominant languages spoken in the ,united ,states based on current data of the ,bureau of the ,census2 and 7ii7 adding multilingual functionality to agency digital and information technology systems to identify and track the spoken and written language needs of people who engage with the agency and to provide documents and content in other languages2 7,b7 providing oral interpretation1 sight translation1 and telephonic or remote interpretation services to such individuals2 7,c7 recognizing1 as an alternative to using qualified interpreters or translators1 the use of demonstrably bilingual staff of the agency that have been assessed and are qualified to deliver accurate and effective communication as an appropriate method of providing language assistance2 7,d7 acknowledging that1 when qualified1 such staff may offer service that is faster1 more effective1 and more cost-efficient than the use of qualified interpreters or translators2 7,e7 notifying the public of the availability of language assistance1 including interpreters1 translated documents and digital content1 and bilingual staff1 through the use of multilingual notices1 taglines1 signage or demonstrably equivalent alternatives included on documents and digital content the agency creates for the public and in agency buildings and offices2 and 7,f7 training employees of the agency who interact with the public on any policy or procedure established by the agency to implement the language access plan established by the agency under subsection 7b74 7#b7 ,public complaint and tracking system 7,a7 ,complaints ,the ,attorney ,general shall establish and maintain a publicly accessible system for individuals to submit complaints to the ,attorney ,general regarding barriers to receiving meaningful access1 as described under paragraph 7#a71 from an agency4 7,b7 ,response ,the head of the agency with respect to which the complaint under subparagraph 7,a7 is made shall respond to the complaint not later than #fj days after receipt of the complaint from the ,attorney ,general4 7,c7 ,reports ,the ,attorney ,general shall publish on the website of the ,department of ,justice an annual report summarizing the complaints made under subparagraph 7,a71 disaggregated by the agency that is the subject of the complaint1 the language with respect to which the agency failed to provide access1 and the program or activity to which the person is guaranteed meaningful access under paragraph 7#a74 7b7 ,language access plan 7#a7 ,establishment ,not later than #a year after the date of the enactment of this ,act1 the head of each agency shall establish a language access plan to implement subsection 7a7 that-- 7,a7 is practical and effective1 readily implemented1 and responsive to the particular circumstances and mission of the agency2 7,b7 is consistent with the ,language ,access ,technical ,standards established under subsection 7c77#a72 7,c7 is consistent with the standards set forth-- 7i7 in the most recent guidance of the agency issued pursuant to ,executive ,order #acaff 7#db ,u4,s4,c4 #bjjj;d-#a note2 relating to improving access to services for persons with limited ,english proficiency72 7ii7 in the policy guidance document entitled ,enforcement of ,title ,,vi of the ,civil ,rights ,act of #aifd--,national ,origin ,discrimination ,against ,persons ,with ,limited ,english ,proficiency #fe ,fed4 ,reg4 #ej1 #abc 7,aug4 #af1 #bjjj72 and 7iii7 in the ,attorney ,general's memorandum to the heads of ,department components issued on ,november #ba1 #bjbb1 entitled ,strengthening the ,federal ,government's ,commitment to ,language ,access2 7,d7 identifies which populations containing individuals with ,,lep are likely to seek access to the services and programs of the agency1 including language populations that are emerging1 have been historically isolated1 are of lesser diffusion1 and do not have a commonly used written format2 7,e7 describes how multilingual communications will be meaningfully provided to the populations identified under subparagraph 7,d71 including whether such communications will be provided through oral1 visual1 or community-based modes of communication1 as appropriate2 7,f7 in the case that the agency provides assistance during emergency response situations 7such as disasters1 public health crises1 and other urgent circumstances71 specifies how multilingual communications will be meaningfully provided to such populations during such situations1 regardless of whether an official state of emergency has been declared2 and 7,g7 sets procedures for the agency with respect to monitoring1 evaluating1 and improving the performance of the agency in implementing the plan1 including-- 7i7 regular assessments of the language access needs of the agency and the effectiveness of the language access provided by the agency2 7ii7 measurable performance indicators addressing timeliness1 accuracy1 and quality of language assistance services2 7iii7 mechanisms for collecting and reviewing data on service usage1 complaints1 and identified barriers2 7iv7 periodic internal reviews conducted by the civil rights office of the agency2 and 7v7 processes for corrective action and continuous improvement when deficiencies or gaps in meaningful access are identified4 7#b7 ,notice and comment ,the head of each agency shall publish a proposal for the plan required to be established under paragraph 7#a7 in the ,federal ,register for a #fj-;day public comment period to ensure that stakeholders1 including individuals with ,,lep and organizations representing such individuals1 have an adequate opportunity to provide input on how the head of such agency carries out the provisions of this ,act4 7#c7 ,federal ,register ,after considering any comments received during the period described under paragraph 7#b7 with respect to plan published under such paragraph1 the head of an agency shall-- 7,a7 update such plan on the basis of such comments as the head of the agency determines appropriate2 and 7,b7 publish a finalized version of the plan in the ,federal ,register4 7#d7 ,submission to the ,attorney ,general and to congress ,not later than #cj days after the head of an agency establishes the language access plan required by paragraph 7#a71 the head of such agency shall submit such plan to-- 7,a7 the ,attorney ,general2 and 7,b7 the ,chair and ,ranking ,member of-- 7i7 the ,committee on the ,judiciary of the ,house of ,representatives2 7ii7 the ,committee on the ,judiciary of the ,senate2 7iii7 the ,committee on ,oversight and ,government ,reform of the ,house of ,representatives2 and 7iv7 the ,committee on ,homeland ,security and ,governmental ,affairs of the ,senate4 7#e7 ,central repository ,the ,department of ,justice shall establish and maintain a publicly available website with the domain name ,,lep4gov to serve as the central repository for each plan submitted to the ,attorney ,general under paragraph 7#d77;,a74 7c7 ,language access technical standards 7#a7 ,establishment of standard ,not later than #a year after the date of the enactment of this ,act1 the head of each agency1 in consultation with the ,attorney ,general1 the ,national ,institute of ,standards and ,technology1 and stakeholders and advocates from non-,english-speaking communities1 shall establish standards to be known as ,language ,access ,technical ,standards to-- 7,a7 ensure meaningful access to federally conducted programs and activities1 as described in subsection 7a72 and 7,b7 be used as a measure of progress to evaluate the effectiveness and accuracy of language access for federally conducted programs and activities carried out by each agency4 7#b7 ,general accessibility requirements ,the ,language ,access ,technical ,standards shall1 at a minimum1 with respect to the systems and services of the agency-- 7,a7 allow individuals with ,,lep to access any written content provided by the agency in the language of their choice among the agency's supported languages2 7,b7 ensure the functionality1 quality1 and timeliness of the system and services for all languages2 7,c7 implement user-friendly interfaces that account for varying literacy and digital skills2 and 7,d7 be culturally determined4 7#c7 ,undue burden exception 7,a7 ,written request ,in the case that the head of an agency determines that compliance with a specific requirement included in the ,language ,access ,technical ,standards would impose an undue burden on the agency1 the head of the agency shall submit to the ,attorney ,general a written request to waive such requirement for the agency that identifies-- 7i7 the specific requirement that would impose such undue burden2 7ii7 the nature of the burden2 and 7iii7 any alternative to fulfilling the requirement and why each such alternative is not feasible4 7,b7 ,attorney ,general review 7i7 ,in general ,not later than #cj days after receiving a request under subparagraph 7,a71 the ,attorney ,general shall grant or deny the request4 7ii7 ,determination criteria ,in determining whether to grant or deny the request of an agency under subparagraph 7,a71 the ,attorney ,general shall consider whether-- 7,i7 individuals with limited ,english proficiency are likely to interact with the agency2 and 7,,ii7 a failure to provide meaningful language access is likely to result in significant harm1 denial of benefits1 or diminished civil rights protections4 7,c7 ,expiration ,a grant of a waiver under this subsection shall expire two years after such grant4 7,d7 ,record ,the ,attorney ,general shall maintain a publicly accessible record of all written requests received under subparagraph 7,a7 in the central repository established under subsection 7b77#e74 7#d7 ,public participation and comment ,before establishing ,language ,access ,technical ,standards1 or updating any such standards1 the head of an agency shall provide opportunity for public comment and engage communities representing individuals with ,,lep1 including community and cultural organizations that work with individuals with ,,lep1 and providers of professional language services4 7#e7 ,updates ,the ,language ,access ,technical ,standards shall be reviewed at least once every #c years1 and updated as necessary following such review4 7#f7 ,adoption ,the head of each agency shall certify compliance with the ,language ,access ,technical ,standards annually to the ,attorney ,general4 7#g7 ,scope ,the ,language ,access ,technical ,standards shall apply to all agency programs1 activities1 and communications1 including-- 7,a7 in-person1 telephonic1 and virtual interactions2 7,b7 paper and digital content and documents2 7,c7 websites1 portals1 and mobile applications2 and 7,d7 artificial intelligence-assisted and machine translation language assistance services1 including automated translation1 transcription1 and interpretation technologies4 7d7 ,,ai and automated language assistance services 7#a7 ,limitation ,the head of an agency-- 7,a7 may not fully replace any qualified language assistance services of the agency with artificial intelligence or machine translation services2 and 7,b7 shall require a qualified human translator or interpreter to verify any use of such service or machine translation by the agency4 7#b7 ,requirements ,the head of each agency shall ensure that any artificial intelligence-assisted language assistance services used by the agency-- 7,a7 do not replace any qualified translators and interpreters2 7,b7 publicly disclose on an annual basis on www4,,lep4gov data sources1 limitations1 confidence levels1 and error rates of the service2 7,c7 comply with section #eeb;a of title #e1 ,united ,states ,code 7commonly referred to as the ,privacy ,act of #aigd71 subchapter ,,ii of chapter #ce of title #dd1 ,united ,states ,code1 and the ,e-,government ,act of #bjjb 7#dd ,u4,s4,c4 #ceja note2 ,public ,law #ajg-cdg7 and protect personal and sensitive information from disclosure2 7,d7 are tested to prevent discrimination based on language1 culture1 ethnicity1 or other protected characteristics1 with mitigation strategies documented2 7,e7 are reviewed and validated by qualified translators and interpreters to ensure proper cultural context1 idiomatic accuracy1 and clarity of the translation or interpretation2 and 7,f7 are continuously monitored by the agency for performance1 with errors reported and corrective actions for user-reported inaccuracies in translation and interpretation implemented4 7#c7 ,best practices ,not later than #a year after the date of the enactment of this ,act1 the ,attorney ,general shall issue guidance on best practices for the use of artificial intelligence in language assistance services1 including validation1 monitoring1 and accountability measures for such artificial intelligence4 7#d7 ,audit requirement 7,a7 ,in general ,the ,inspector ,general of each agency shall conduct1 at least once every two years after the date of the enactment of this ,act1 an audit of all artificial intelligence-assisted language systems to assess accuracy1 fairness1 cultural relevance1 and compliance with the ,language ,access ,technical ,standards4 7,b7 ,report ,an ,inspector ,general shall submit to the ,attorney ,general a report on an audit conducted under subparagraph 7,a7 not later than #ij days after such audit is completed4 7,c7 ,public transparency ,the ,attorney ,general shall make publicly available a summary of the report submitted under subparagraph 7,b74 7#e7 ,,nist ,the ,director of the ,national ,institute of ,standards and ,technology shall provide technical expertise1 validation protocols1 and standardization tools for artificial intelligence-assisted language assistance services of agencies4 7e7 ,interagency coordination 7#a7 ,interagency ,language ,access ,standard ,council ,the ,administrator of ,general ,services shall convene an ,interagency ,language ,access ,standards ,council to coordinate updates1 best practices1 and research on emerging technologies4 7#b7 ,language ,access ,working ,group 7,a7 ,in general ,there is established an ,language ,access ,working ,group to-- 7i7 serve as a central resource for providing support and technical assistance to agencies in implementing the language access plan of the agency2 and 7ii7 directly engage with community groups1 individuals with ,,lep1 and other stakeholders to ensure adherence with this ,act4 7,b7 ,membership ,the members of the ,language ,access ,working ,group shall be comprised of one ,language ,access ,coordinator from each agency and the ,attorney ,general4 7,c7 ,head of group ,the ,attorney ,general shall serve as the head of the ,language ,access ,working ,group4 7f7 ,establishment of ,language ,access ,coordinator position 7#a7 ,position ,there is established in each agency a position to be known as the ,language ,access ,coordinator4 7#b7 ,designation ,the head of each agency shall designate an officer or employee of the agency to serve as the ,language ,access ,coordinator for the agency4 7#c7 ,duties ,the ,language ,access ,coordinator shall-- 7,a7 serve as point of contact for each language access effort of the agency2 7,b7 ensure that each agency component that frequently interacts with individuals with ,,lep provides1 if feasible1 mandatory annual training to managers1 personnel who frequently communicate with individuals with ,,lep1 and personnel who arrange for language support1 on this ,act1 the language access plan of the agency1 and agency procedures for identifying language access needs1 providing language assistance services1 working with interpreters and translators1 requesting document translations1 and tracking the use of language access services2 7,c7 determine annually whether additional federally conducted programs and activities should be made accessible for individuals with ,,lep and notify agency components of their responsibility to provide such access2 and 7,d7 beginning on the date that is #c years after the date of the enactment of this ,act1 evaluate the language access plan of the agency established under subsection 7b77#a71 including a review of the costs of language assistance services1 and propose changes to agency components1 as appropriate1 to refine such plan4 7g7 ,noncompliance ,noncompliance with the requirements of this ,act-- 7#a7 shall be treated as discrimination under title ,,vi of the ,civil ,rights ,act of #aifd 7#db ,u4,s4,c4 #bjjj;d et seq472 7#b7 may be addressed by the ,department of ,justice1 which shall have enforcement authority1 including the authority to conduct an investigation1 commence an administrative action1 and bring an action for civil or injunctive remedies2 and 7#c7 may be addressed by an aggrieved party by bringing an administrative action with the ,department of ,justice1 or bringing an action for civil or injunctive remedies4 7h7 ,definitions ,in this ,act3 7#a7 ,agency ,the term agency has the meaning given that term in section #eea of title #e1 ,united ,states ,code4 7#b7 ,individual with ,,lep ,the term individual with ,,lep means an individual for whom ,english is not a primary language and who has a limited ability to read1 speak1 write1 or understand the ,english language 7including an individual who is able to speak or understand the ,english language1 but has a limited ability to read or write the ,english language74 7#c7 ,language ,access ,coordinator ,the term ,language ,access ,coordinator means the position of an agency established under subsection 7f77#a74 7#d7 ,language ,access ,technical ,standards ,the term ,language ,access ,technical ,standards means the standards of an agency established under subsection 7c77#a74 7#e7 ,language assistance services ,the term language assistance services means oral and written language assistance services used to provide individuals with ,,lep meaningful access to1 and an equal opportunity to participate fully in1 the services1 activities1 and other programs administered by the ,federal ,government4 7#f7 ,meaningful access ,the term meaningful access means access that-- 7,a7 results in accurate1 timely1 and effective communication at no cost to the individual with ,,lep2 and 7,b7 is comparable to the access provided to individuals who are proficient in ,english4 7#g7 ,primary language ,the term primary language means the language in which an individual most effectively communicates4 7#h7 ,program or activity ,the term program or activity means all the operations of an agency that involve contact with the public1 the administration of ,federal benefits1 or communication with members of the public or program participants4 7#i7 ,qualified interpreter or translator ,the term qualified interpreter or translator means-- 7,a7 an individual who-- 7i7 is capable of effective1 accurate1 and impartial rendition of spoken or signed communication from one language to another between people who speak1 sign1 read1 or write in a different language1 both receptively and expressively1 using any necessary specialized vocabulary and with appropriate cultural relevance1 either simultaneously or consecutively2 7ii7 demonstrates to the ,language ,access ,coordinator of the agency proficiency in and ability to listen to a spoken language1 seeing or feeling a signed or manual language1 or reading something written in one language and expressing what is being conveyed by that language accurately and with appropriate cultural relevance into another language1 either simultaneously or consecutively1 including with respect to any specialized term1 concept1 or any particularized vocabulary or phraseology particular to the program or service concerned that is being conveyed2 and 7iii7 understands and adheres to the roles of interpreters or translators1 including any confidentiality1 ethics1 and impartiality rules4 7#aj7 ,vital document ,the term vital document means any written material containing information critical for-- 7,a7 accessing or understanding a ,federal program or activity or required by law2 or 7,b7 obtaining any aid1 benefit1 service1 or training1 such as-- 7i7 an application for a benefit or service2 7ii7 a consent or complaint form2 7iii7 a notice of rights and responsibilities2 or 7iv7 a letter or notice that requires a response from a beneficiary1 applicant1 participant1 or employee4