New York S 4014: Enacts the "Equal Access to Health and Human Services for Limited English Speaking Individuals Act"

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S04014 Summary:

BILL NOS04014 

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SAME ASNo Same As

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SPONSORPARKER

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COSPNSRCOMRIE, RIVERA

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MLTSPNSR

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Add Art 14-A §§275 - 288, Exec L

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Enacts the "Equal Access to Health and Human Services for Limited English Speaking Individuals Act"; directs certain state agencies to provide language assistance services for persons seeking family assistance, health or labor services; requires record keeping; requires free translation for 22 languages.

Go to top S04014 Actions:

BILL NOS04014 

&nbsp

01/31/2025REFERRED TO FINANCE

01/07/2026REFERRED TO FINANCE

Go to topS04014 Committee&nbspVotes:

Go to topS04014 Floor&nbspVotes:

There are no Assembly votes for this bill in this legislative session.

Go to topS04014 Text:

 STATE OF NEW YORK
 ________________________________________________________________________

 4014

 2025-2026 Regular Sessions

 IN SENATE

 January 31, 2025
 ___________

 Introduced by Sens. PARKER, COMRIE, RIVERA -- read twice and ordered
 printed, and when printed to be committed to the Committee on Finance

 AN ACT to amend the executive law, in relation to ensuring equal access
 to health and human services for limited English speaking individuals

 The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem-
 bly, do enact as follows:

 1 Section 1. Declaration of legislative findings and intent. Title VI of
 2 the civil rights act of 1964 provides in pertinent part that "no person
 3 in the United States shall on the ground of race, color or national
 4 origin, be excluded from participation in, be denied the benefits of, or
 5 be subjected to discrimination under any program or activity receiving
 6 federal assistance." The United States department of justice and the
 7 department of health and human services have stated that failure to
 8 provide language assistance to limited English speaking individuals
 9 seeking assistance in federally funded, state supervised or administered
 10 programs amounts to a violation of Title VI by discriminating against
 11 such individuals based upon their national origin.
 12 It is and has been the policy of the state of New York to oppose all
 13 forms of discrimination, particularly when it relates to the provision
 14 of state services, or locally provided services under state supervision.
 15 However, the department of health and human services office of civil
 16 rights, the office responsible for enforcing Title VI in department of
 17 health and human services programs, found that the New York state
 18 departments of temporary and disability assistance, the New York state
 19 department of health, the New York City human resources administration,
 20 and the departments of social services in Nassau and Suffolk counties
 21 were in violation of Title VI based upon the state and counties' failure
 22 to provide interpretation services for limited English proficient indi-
 23 viduals. Specifically, the office of civil rights found that limited
 24 English proficient clients seeking and/or applying for subsistence bene-
 25 fits such as food stamps and public assistance for children and Medicaid
 26 benefits were routinely unable to access such benefits due to their
 27 inability to speak English.

 EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
 [ ] is old law to be omitted.
 LBD07560-01-5

 S. 4014 2

 1 A legislative hearing on immigrant child welfare issues also found
 2 that the lack of interpreters in child welfare cases resulted in chil-
 3 dren in families who were limited English proficient were unnecessarily
 4 removed from their parents. In addition, limited English proficient
 5 residents of New York have been unable to access unemployment and other
 6 services from the department of labor due to the lack of translated
 7 materials and interpreters. The New York equal access to health and
 8 human services for limited English speaking individuals act serves a
 9 twofold purpose: first, the act will ensure that the state is in
 10 compliance with federal law in ensuring access to benefits and opportu-
 11 nities to participate in any program or activity receiving federal
 12 assistance; second, and more importantly, the act will ensure that all
 13 those in need of health and human services receive them, and that no on