[Adopted 4-24-2018 by L.L. No. 16-2018]
This Legislature hereby finds and determines that the County
of Suffolk is linguistically diverse, with 20% of its residents, aged
five and older, speaking a language other than English at home and
10% having limited English proficiency. This Legislature also finds
and determines that language can be a substantial barrier for residents,
including English language learners (ELLs), seeking to access government
information, programs and services. This Legislature finds that Title
VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 prohibits agencies receiving federal
funds from discriminating against persons on the basis of race, color
or national origin. This Legislature determines that Presidential
Executive Order 13166 (August 11, 2000) requires federally funded
agencies to take action to ensure that individuals with limited English
proficiency have access to programs and services. This Legislature
further determines that in 2012, the County Executive by executive
order established a language access policy. This policy should be
codified into law to ensure that County residents have language access
to programs and services on a permanent, ongoing basis. This Legislature
concludes that it is in the best interest of all County residents
to ensure and improve language access to County programs and services.
Therefore, the purpose of this article is to establish a permanent
policy on language access for Suffolk County.
[Amended 6-23-2020 by L.L. No. 25-2020]
As used in this article, the following terms shall have the
meanings indicated:
COUNTY AGENCY
Any agency, department, division or office of Suffolk County
government which provides programs and/or services to the public or
programs and/or services made available to individuals in the custody
of Suffolk County at a County correctional facility.
DIRECT PUBLIC SERVICES
Services administered by an agency directly to program beneficiaries
and/or participants, including any services administered by an agency
directly to individuals in the custody of Suffolk County at a County
correctional facility.
VITAL DOCUMENTS
Those documents most commonly distributed to the public and
individuals in County correctional facilities that contain or elicit
important and necessary information regarding the provision of basic
County services.
This article shall apply to actions taken by County agencies
occurring on or after the effective date of this article.
If any clause, sentence, paragraph, subdivision, section, or
part of this article or the application thereof to any person, individual,
corporation, firm, partnership, entity, or circumstance shall be adjudged
by any court of competent jurisdiction to be invalid or unconstitutional,
such order or judgment shall not affect, impair, or invalidate the
remainder thereof, but shall be confined in its operation to the clause,
sentence, paragraph, subdivision, section, or part of this article,
or in its application to the person, individual, corporation, firm,
partnership, entity, or circumstance directly involved in the controversy
in which such order or judgment shall be rendered.
This article shall take effect January 1, 2019.
[Adopted 9-5-2018 by L.L.
No. 22-2018]
This Legislature hereby finds and determines that there are
over 48 million Americans who are deaf or hard of hearing. This Legislature
also finds and determines that individuals who are deaf or hard of
hearing are especially vulnerable when natural disasters and public
emergencies arise. This Legislature further finds and determines that
one of the many difficulties the deaf and hard of hearing face during
times of emergency is the inability to obtain essential, potentially
life-saving information from government agencies responsible for emergency
management. This Legislature finds that municipalities like Suffolk
County are responsible for natural disaster and emergency response,
including providing timely updates and important information to all
County residents to ensure maximum preparedness and safety before,
during and after the emergency event. This Legislature determines
that, in order to ensure that the messages being provided by the County
are available to the largest number of residents possible, American
Sign Language interpreters should be utilized at all press conferences
during natural disasters and emergencies. Therefore, the purpose of
this article is to require that American Sign Language interpreters
be present at all County press conferences held in relation to natural
disasters and other emergency circumstances.
As used in this article, the following terms shall have the
meanings indicated:
COMMISSIONER
The Commissioner of the Department of Fire, Rescue and Emergency
Services.
DISASTER
As defined in New York State Executive Law § 20(2).
EMERGENCY SITUATION
Any disaster, rioting, catastrophe, severe weather, flooding
or similar event, regardless of whether a state of emergency has been
officially declared by the state or any local government.
PRESS CONFERENCE
A meeting organized by a County official, employee or other
representative of the County of Suffolk which has one or more journalists
and other representatives of the media present for the purpose of
officially distributing information to the media and the public and
to answer questions.
This law shall apply to all emergency situation press conferences
occurring on or after the effective date of this article.
If any clause, sentence, paragraph, subdivision, section, or
part of this article or the application thereof to any person, individual,
corporation, firm, partnership, entity, or circumstance shall be adjudged
by any court of competent jurisdiction to be invalid or unconstitutional,
such order or judgment shall not affect, impair, or invalidate the
remainder thereof, but shall be confined in its operation to the clause,
sentence, paragraph, subdivision, section, or part of this article,
or in its application to the person, individual, corporation, firm,
partnership, entity, or circumstance directly involved in the controversy
in which such order or judgment shall be rendered.
This article shall take effect 120 days following its filing
in the Office of the Secretary of State.