NJ law requires translation and interpretation services for 7 non-English languages
By the end of 2025, state agencies and departments must have documents translated into the seven most-spoken non-English languages in New Jersey.
That's the mandate of a state law passed by the Legislature this month. The bill takes effect immediately, with translations of hundreds of government documents to begin on a rolling basis this year.
Bill S2459 requires that "state government entities would be required to undertake document translations at a rate of five languages in the first year and two in the second year."
The seven most widely spoken foreign languages in NJ
The seven most prevalent non-English languages in the Garden State, using census data, are Spanish, Filipino/Tagalog, Chinese, Hindi, Korean, Gujarati and Portuguese.
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The legislation was passed by the Senate and Assembly on Jan. 8. Gov. Phil Murphy signed it into law on Jan. 12, along with two other bills focused on immigrant communities, one providing new work protections for domestic employees and another changing the way the state gathers data on the Asian American and Pacific Islander community.
The translation and interpretation measure was primarily sponsored in the Senate by state Sens. Teresa Ruiz, Nellie Pou and Nilsa Cruz-Perez and in the Assembly by outgoing Assembly member Sadaf Jaffer and current Assembly members Ellen Park and Sterley Stanley.
After Murphy signed the bill, Senate Majority Leader Ruiz said, in a statement, "This legislation will remove the language barrier faced by so many of our communities by ensuring all state entities are prepared to assist our residents regardless of what language they speak."
Agencies must provide interpretation services
The new law specifies that translations in required languages be completed no later than 23 months from the time it is signed. It also directs government agencies to develop and implement a language access plan. The plan includes an assessment of the interpretation needs of residents with limited English proficiency and a way to provide interpretation services.
The $500,000 in funding needed to implement the new law is in the state’s Fiscal Year 2024 budget, language in the bill says.
The bill, first introduced in May 2022, was championed by supporters who noted that 42.4% of foreign-born New Jerseyans over 5 years old speak English less than “very well" and that more than 150 languages are spoken in the state.
Ricardo Kaulessar covers race, immigration, and culture for NorthJersey.com. For unlimited access to the most important news from your local community, please subscribe or activate your digital account today.
Email: kaulessar@northjersey.com
Twitter: @ricardokaul
This article originally appeared on NorthJersey.com: NJ law requires translation, interpretation for non-English speakers
