HOUSE . . . . . . . . No. 4872
The Commonwealth of Massachusetts
________________________________________
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES, June 15, 2022.
The committee on State Administration and Regulatory Oversight to
whom was referred the petition (accompanied by bill, House, No. 3199) of
Adrian C. Madaro, Carlos González and others relative to state agency
language access and inclusion, reports recommending that the
accompanying bill (House, No. 4872) ought to pass.
For the committee,
ANTONIO F. D. CABRAL.
 FILED ON: 6/6/2022
HOUSE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . No. 4872
The Commonwealth of Massachusetts
_______________
In the One Hundred and Ninety-Second General Court
(2021-2022)
_______________
An Act relative to language access and inclusion.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General Court assembled, and by the authority
of the same, as follows:
1 SECTION 1. Title II of the General Laws, as appearing in the 2018 Official Edition, is
2 hereby amended by inserting after Chapter 6D the following chapter:-
3 CHAPTER 6E. LANGUAGE ACCESS AND INCLUSION.
4 Section 1. Definitions. For the purposes of this Act, the following terms shall have the
5 following meanings—
6 “Auxiliary aids and services” mean items, equipment or services that assist effective
7 communication between a deaf or hard of hearing individual and an individual who is not deaf or
8 hard of hearing.
9 “Culturally competent” means having a set of congruent behaviors, attitudes and policies
10 that enables effective work in cross-cultural situations, in a manner which respects the beliefs,
11 interpersonal styles, attitudes, language and behaviors of service recipients.
1 of 18
12 “Equal access” means to be informed of, participate in, and benefit from public services
13 offered by a state agency, at a level equal to English proficient individuals.
14 “Language access plan” means an administrative blueprint by which an agency complies
15 with language access requirements. The plan shall outline the tasks to be undertaken, establish
16 deadlines by which actions will be taken, identify responsible personnel assigned to implement
17 the plan, and establish priorities relative to the implementation of these plans.
18 “Language access services” means oral interpretation services, oral language services,
19 and written translation services, including auxiliary aids and services.
20 “Limited English proficient” or “LEP” individuals means individuals who do not speak
21 English as their primary language and have a limited ability to speak, read, write, or understand
22 English.
23 “Machine translation” means automated translation by computer software which
24 translates a text from the source language into the target language without human intervention.
25 “Oral interpretation” means the act of listening to something in one language (source
26 language) and orally translating it into another (target language).
27 “Oral language services” means various methods of providing verbal information and
28 interpretation through staff interpreters, bilingual or multilingual staff, telephone interpreter
29 services, and private interpreter services.
30 “Outside service providers” include, but are not limited to, an organization that formally
31 or informally contracts with, routinely provides, or administers services the relevant state agency
32 requires, recommends, or to which it refers its clients.
2 of 18
33 “Primary language” means preferred language of the LEP individual.
34 “Public contact position” means a position determined by the state agency to be one that
35 includes meeting, contacting and dealing with the public in the performance of the agency's
36 functions.
37 “Qualified bilingual employee” means a staff person who is proficient in both the English
38 language and the non-English language to be used. Qualified bilingual employees may be
39 categorized as Tier 1 Bilingual Employees, or Tier 2 Bilingual Employees.
40 “Qualified interpreter” is a person who is fluent in both the English language and the
41 non-English language to be used, and who, either by certification, training or experience, is
42 skilled in simultaneous interpretation.
43 “Qualified multilingual employee” means a staff person who is proficient in the English
44 language and more than one non-English language to be used. Qualified multilingual employees
45 may be categorized as Tier 1 Multilingual Employees, or Tier 2 Multilingual Employees.
46 “Qualified translator” means a person who has a thorough knowledge of writing, reading
47 and proofreading in both the English language and the non-English language to be used, either
48 by certification, training or experience, and thereby is able to render a text from one language
49 into another, maintaining its tone, style and complex meaning, observing the cultural nuances,
50 and remaining impartial to the content.
51 “State agency” means an agency or executive department of state government.
52 “Vital document” means a document containing information which, if not provided
53 accurately or in a timely manner, would have adverse consequences for the intended recipient,
3 of 18
54 including, but not limited to, documents that affect or relate to legal rights, privileges, or duties,
55 as well as applications, informational materials, notices, and complaint forms.
56 “Written translation” means the replacement of a written text from one language (source
57 language) into an equivalent written text into another language (the target language).
58 Section 2. Communications with the Public.
59 A State agency shall provide equal access to services, programs, and activities serving
60 limited English proficient individuals in a reasonable timeframe, including:
61 (a) Oral interpretation
62 1. A state agency shall provide timely, culturally competent oral language services to
63 all LEP individuals who seek to access services, programs, or activities. State agencies may,
64 utilizing existing funds, contract with telephone-based interpretation services or community-
65 based organizations that provide interpretation to LEP individuals, in addition to utilizing
66 qualified Tier 1 bilingual or multilingual employees.
67 2. A state agency shall notify every person inquiring about services, every applicant,
68 and every recipient of services of their right to timely oral interpretation in their primary
69 language.
70 3. A state agency that significantly relies on outside service providers to fulfill the
71 agency’s responsibilities to the public shall ensure the implementation of the requirements of
72 Section 2(a)(1) and Section 2(a)(2) within those outside organizations’ policies and practices.
73 (b) Written translation
4 of 18
74 1. A state agency shall issue vital documents in the following languages: Arabic,
75 Cape Verdean Creole, Chinese (Simplified and Traditional), French, Haitian Creole, Khmer,
76 Korean, Portuguese, Russian, Spanish, Vietnamese and any languages deemed necessary by the
77 agency’s language access survey.
78 2. A state agency shall translate all notices and materials that explain its services in
79 the languages stated above.
80 3. A state agency shall utilize qualified translators or Tier 1 bilingual or multilingual
81 employees, to translate notices, materials, and vital documents. Agencies shall not rely solely on
82 machine translation of notices, materials, and vital documents. A state agency that significantly
83 relies on outside service providers to fulfill the agency’s responsibilities to the public shall
84 ensure the implementation of the requirements of Section 2(b)(1) and Section 2(b)(2) by the
85 outside service provider.
86 4. LEP individuals whose primary language is not covered under Section 2(b)(1) or
87 Section 2(b)(2) are entitled to the oral interpretation of vital documents into their primary
88 language.
89 (c) Websites
90 1. If a state agency maintains one or more websites for use by the public, the agency
91 shall provide the website in the following languages: Arabic, Cape Verdean Creole, Chinese
92 (Simplified and Traditional), French, Haitian Creole, Khmer, Korean, Portuguese, Russian,
93 Spanish, Vietnamese and any languages deemed necessary by the agency’s language access
94 survey. The state agency shall ensure that its websites are mobile compatible in said languages.
5 of 18
 95 2. Agencies shall not rely solely on machine translation for the translation of its
96 websites. A state agency shall utilize qualified translators or Tier 1 bilingual or multilingual
97 employees to translate its websites.
98 3. A state agency that maintains one or more websites for use by the public shall
99 provide forms and processes for submitting complaints of alleged violations of this Act on the
100 homepage of the website. The forms and processes shall be translated into the languages stated
101 above.
102 Section 3. Language Access Plans.
103 (a) Requirements of language access plans
104 1. A state agency shall develop a language access plan to implement protocols for
105 providing services to LEP individuals and deaf or hard of hearing individuals in accordance with
106 this Act. After the language access plan is implemented, the agency shall update its language
107 access plan every two years based upon the most recent language access survey. The language
108 access plan shall include:
109 i. The state agency shall conduct a needs assessment that includes data on the
110 language composition of the population served by the agency, including American Sign
111 Language. The agency shall determine the percentage of the eligible service population who are
112 non-English speakers, LEP, or deaf or hard of hearing; the frequency with which the agency
113 provides services to non-English speakers and LEP and deaf or hard of hearing individuals; and
114 the primary languages used by non-English or LEP individuals in the agency’s service area. The
115 needs assessment shall also identify all points of contact between the agency and the public, and
6 of 18
116 all potential language or language-related barriers to services and programs, including the
117 location of offices.
118 ii. The state agency shall identify available language resources and staff to deliver
119 services, programs, and activities to LEP individuals and deaf or hard of hearing individuals who
120 require auxiliary aids and services, including existing staff who can provide linguistically,
121 culturally, and technically proficient interpretation services. The language resources assessment
122 shall detail the language services available under existing state contracts for in-person
123 interpretation, telephone interpretation, and translation, and determine the steps needed to make
124 these services available for staff use, including equipment and training.
125 iii. Language service protocols shall provide staff with procedures and instructions
126 for securing or procuring language services, and designed for ease of use, with minimal approval
127 or documentation required.
128 2. To complete its needs assessment and language resources assessment, a state
129 agency shall conduct a language survey of each of its statewide and local offices every three
130 years to provide the following:
131 i. A calculation of the percentage of LEP individuals served by the agency’s central
132 and local offices, categorized by primary language.
133 ii. A determination of whether the use of oral language services and written
134 translation is reliably serving the language needs of the individuals served by the agency.
135 iii. A determination of whether the use of auxiliary aids and services is reliably
136 serving the language needs of the individuals served by the agency.
7 of 18
137 iv. An evaluation of whether contracted interpreter services are working effectively.
138 v. An evaluation of the effectiveness of annual language access training.
139 vi. A description of the agency’s procedures for identifying language needs at central
140 and local offices and assigning qualified bilingual or multilingual employees to those offices.
141 vii. A description of agency procedures for recruiting and retaining qualified bilingual
142 or multilingual employees in central and local offices.
143 viii. The number of qualified bilingual or multilingual employees, in public contact
144 positions in each central and local office, and the languages they speak other than English.
145 ix. A description of any training the agency provides to its staff on the provision of
146 services to LEP and deaf or hard of hearing individuals, frequency of training, and date of most
147 recent training.
148 x. A description of complaints regarding language access received by the agency
149 since submitting its most recent report under Section 6, and the agency’s procedures for
150 accepting and resolving these complaints.
151 xi. A description of the agency’s procedures for identifying vital documents for
152 translation.
153 Section 4. Personnel.
154 (a) Coordinators
155 1. A state agency shall designate a language access coordinator whose sole
156 responsibility is to focus upon language access needs and the agency’s compliance with this Act,
8 of 18
157 in consultation with the language access advisory board. State agencies with multiple offices or
158 divisions shall designate regional language access coordinators who shall address the language
159 access needs of the relevant region and train the regions’ staff on compliance with this Act.
160 Regional language access coordinators shall report to the language access coordinator.
161 2. Language access coordinators shall maintain a centralized, electronic, searchable
162 language access database containing the following data, which shall be submitted to the office of
163 access and opportunity, and to the language access advisory board, including:
164 i. all formal and informal requests for language access services and the status of
165 those requests;
166 ii. all language access-related complaints, including complaints of language
167 discrimination and/or disability discrimination in cases of the deaf or hard of hearing;
168 iii. the status and progress of all such requests and complaints;
169 iv. the resolution of all such requests and complaints, including decisions by the
170 regional and central offices;
171 v. the reasons for full and partial denials of requests for language services;
172 vi. the office(s) handling the relevant case/service.
173 (b) Staffing
174 1. A state agency shall employ a sufficient number of qualified bilingual or
175 multilingual employees in public contact positions or as interpreters to assist employees in public
9 of 18
176 contact positions, to ensure provision of information and services in a person’s preferred
177 languages.
178 2. A bilingual or multilingual staff member shall not provide interpretation in
179 adversarial proceedings when the state agency that employs the bilingual staff member is a party
180 to the proceedings.
181 3. A bilingual or multilingual staff member may provide language services to LEP
182 individuals and those who are deaf or hard of hearing, in accordance with their skill level as
183 determined by the applicable regional language access coordinator. A bilingual employee shall
184 be classified into one of the following two tiers, and shall provide interpretation in accordance
185 with that tier.
186 i. Tier 1 bilingual or multilingual employee: Tier 1 employees must have formal
187 certification, training in interpretation, or sufficient experience with interpreting in the specific
188 subject matter. If the employer does not regularly employ a person that may be classified as a
189 Tier 1 employee, the employer must hire a third-party contractor or service to fulfill these
190 interpreting needs.
191 ii. Tier 2 bilingual or multilingual employee: Tier 2 employees have the skill and
192 capacity to communicate directly with clients regarding routine or common business matters.
193 Tier 2 employees need not have formal certification, but shall be proficient in the non-English
194 language.
195 iii. Tier 1 and Tier 2 employees must be capable of communicating both receptively
196 and expressively in English and the non-English language, and be without interest in the matter
197 or outcome. Qualified bilingual or multilingual employees shall agree in writing to