North Carolina SB 606: Language Access and State Holidays Act.

Bill Text

GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF NORTH CAROLINA
SESSION 2025
S 1
SENATE BILL 606

Short Title: Language Access & State Holidays Act. (Public)
Sponsors: Senators Batch, Chaudhuri, and Mohammed (Primary Sponsors).
Referred to: Rules and Operations of the Senate
March 26, 2025
*S606-v-1*
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED 1
AN ACT TO ENSURE NORTH CAROLINIANS CAN ACCESS ESSENTIAL STATE 2
SERVICES IN THEIR PRIMARY LANGUAGE AND TO FORMALLY RECOGNIZE 3
KEY CULTURAL AND RELIGIOUS HOLIDAYS THAT REFLECT THE 4
COMMUNITIES THAT CALL NORTH CAROLINA HOME. 5
Whereas, North Carolina is one of the fastest-growing states in the country, with many 6
residents speaking languages other than English at home; and 7
Whereas, making state services, education, and healthcare more accessible benefits 8
public safety, economic growth, and community engagement; and 9
Whereas, recognizing widely observed cultural and religious holidays ensures that 10
North Carolina respects the traditions of the people who live and work here; Now, therefore, 11
The General Assembly of North Carolina enacts: 12
13
PART I. REQUIRE THE DIVISION OF MOTOR VEHICLES TO PROVIDE 14
MATERIALS REQUIRED FOR LICENSURE IN ADDITIONAL LANGUAGES AND 15
TO REQUIRE THE DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION TO ENSURE THAT 16
TRAFFIC SIGNS ARE CLEAR TO NON-ENGLISH SPEAKERS. 17
SECTION 1.1. G.S. 20-7 is amended by adding a new subsection to read: 18
"(c2) Provision of Materials in Additional Languages. – The Division shall provide an 19
option for applicants to: (i) receive all materials prepared pursuant to G.S. 20-88.1 and (ii) take 20
the written test required for licensure under this section in all of the following languages, in 21
addition to English: 22
(1) Arabic. 23
(2) Hindi. 24
(3) Korean. 25
(4) Mandarin Chinese. 26
(5) Spanish. 27
(6) Telugu. 28
(7) French. 29
(8) Vietnamese. 30
(9) German. 31
(10) Cherokee. 32
(11) Tagalog. 33
(12) Russian. 34
(13) Portuguese. 35
(14) Tamil. 36

General Assembly Of North Carolina Session 2025
Page 2 Senate Bill 606-First Edition
(15) Hmong. 1
(16) Khmer. 2
(17) Burmese. 3
(18) Karen. 4
(19) Karenni. 5
(20) Chin. 6
(21) Bunong. 7
(22) Rhede. 8
(23) Kho. 9
(24) Jari. 10
(25) Minhar." 11
SECTION 1.2. G.S. 20-88.1 reads as rewritten: 12
"§ 20-88.1. Driver education. 13
... 14
(f) The Division shall, upon request: (i) make copies of the driver license handbook 15
available and (ii) provide access to any training course developed pursuant to this section in all 16
of the following languages, in addition to English: 17
(1) Arabic. 18
(2) Hindi. 19
(3) Korean. 20
(4) Mandarin Chinese. 21
(5) Spanish. 22
(6) Telugu. 23
(7) French. 24
(8) Vietnamese. 25
(9) German. 26
(10) Cherokee. 27
(11) Tagalog. 28
(12) Russian. 29
(13) Portuguese. 30
(14) Tamil. 31
(15) Hmong. 32
(16) Khmer. 33
(17) Burmese. 34
(18) Karen. 35
(19) Karenni. 36
(20) Chin. 37
(21) Bunong. 38
(22) Rhede. 39
(23) Kho. 40
(24) Jari. 41
(25) Minhar." 42
SECTION 1.3. G.S. 136-30 reads as rewritten: 43
"§ 136-30. Uniform signs and other traffic control devices on highways, streets, and public 44
vehicular areas. 45
... 46
(d1) Multilingual Service. – To the extent permitted by federal law and regulations, the 47
appearance criteria of the Department of Transportation's supplement to the Uniform Manual 48
shall require that all traffic signs, including signs directing persons to roads and places of 49
importance erected pursuant to subsection (a) of this section, be clear to non-English speakers 50
through either translations or universally recognized symbols. 51

General Assembly Of North Carolina Session 2025
Senate Bill 606-First Edition Page 3
...." 1
SECTION 1.4. Notwithstanding G.S. 143C-5-2, there is appropriated from the 2
Highway Fund: 3
(1) To the Division of Motor Vehicles, the sum of ten thousand dollars ($10,000) 4
in nonrecurring funds for the 2025-2026 fiscal year to be used to produce the 5
materials required by Sections 4.1 and 4.2 of this section. 6
(2) To the Department of Transportation, the sum of ten thousand dollars 7
($10,000) in nonrecurring funds for the 2025-2026 fiscal year to be used to 8
implement the requirements of Section 4.3 of this section. 9
SECTION 1.5. Section 1.4 of this Part becomes effective July 1, 2025. The 10
remainder of this Part becomes effective January 1, 2026. 11
12
PART II. REQUIRE SCHOOL DOCUMENTS TO BE TRANSLATED INTO SEVERAL 13
LANGUAGES AND TO ENCOURAGE EXCUSED ABSENCES FOR CERTAIN 14
RELIGIOUS HOLIDAYS 15
SECTION 2.1.(a) Part 3 of Article 7B of Chapter 115C is amended by adding a new 16
section to read: 17
"§ 115C-76.41. Parent rights to receive information. 18
(a) The Department of Public Instruction and the governing body of all public school 19
units shall make available a copy of any document for parents translated into Mandarin Chinese, 20
Hindi, Telugu, Korean, Spanish, Arabic, French, Vietnamese, German, Cherokee, Tagalog, 21
Russian, Portuguese, Tamil, Hmong, Khmer, Burmese, Karen, Karenni, Chin, Bunong, Rhede, 22
Kho, Jari, and Minhar. 23
(b) As