1.1                          A bill for an act 
  1.2             relating to bilingual communication services; 
  1.3             requiring state agencies to appoint persons to serve 
  1.4             as liaisons with non-English-speaking people served by 
  1.5             the agencies; directing agencies to prepare 
  1.6             communication services plans; requiring the attorney 
  1.7             general and the commissioner of administration to 
  1.8             review and comment on the plans. 
  1.9   BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MINNESOTA: 
  1.10     Section 1.  [COMMUNICATION SERVICES.] 
  1.11     Subdivision 1.  [STATE AGENCIES; NON-ENGLISH-SPEAKING 
  1.12  PEOPLE.] Every state agency that is directly involved in 
  1.13  furnishing information to the public, in rendering services to 
  1.14  the public, or in the enforcement of state laws shall identify 
  1.15  the languages of the non-English-speaking people most frequently 
  1.16  served by the agency.  Each state agency shall appoint a person 
  1.17  within the agency to serve as a liaison between the agency and 
  1.18  the non-English-speaking communities in the state.  The 
  1.19  appointed liaison shall work in cooperation with the 
  1.20  Spanish-speaking affairs council, the council on Asian-Pacific 
  1.21  Minnesotans, the council on Black Minnesotans, the Indian 
  1.22  affairs council, and other organizations that represent 
  1.23  non-English-speaking people in the state, to identify the 
  1.24  languages of non-English-speaking people most frequently served 
  1.25  by the agency. 
  1.26     Subd. 2.  [COMMUNICATION SERVICES PLAN.] Each state agency 
  1.27  that is directly involved in furnishing information to the 
  2.1   public, in rendering services to the public, or in the 
  2.2   enforcement of state laws shall prepare a communication services 
  2.3   plan to ensure provision of information and services in the 
  2.4   languages spoken by a substantial number of non-English-speaking 
  2.5   people in Minnesota as defined in Minnesota Statutes, section 
  2.6   15.441.  The plan must indicate the current status of the 
  2.7   agency's compliance with Minnesota Statutes, section 15.441, the 
  2.8   means to improve that status, the current costs for providing 
  2.9   those communication services, and an estimated cost of 
  2.10  implementing each improvement. 
  2.11     Each agency shall submit its plan to the commissioner of 
  2.12  administration by September 1, 1996. 
  2.13     Subd. 3.  [REPORT.] The commissioner of administration in 
  2.14  consultation with the attorney general shall review the reports 
  2.15  submitted to them under subdivision 2 and shall comment on the 
  2.16  agency communication services plans to the legislature by 
  2.17  January 15, 1997.