52:14-40 Findings, declarations. 1. The Legislature finds and declares: a. Census figures show that one in four New Jersey households speak a language other than English at home. b. Nearly a third of New Jerseyans age five and older speak a language other than English, according to the 2020 U.S. Census American Community Survey, and of those 2.6 million people, more than 38 percent speak English "less than very well." c. Hawaii, California, and New York all require state documents to be translated into the states' 10 most frequently spoken languages. Under federal law, if an individual is seeking services from a government agency or an organization funded by the U.S. government, they must be provided with assistance in their language. While agencies impacted by the federal requirement are not required to submit language access plans, the U.S. Department of Justice strongly suggests doing so. d. The State's FY 2024 budget includes $500,000 in language access funding for State agencies to implement this bill. L.2023, c.263, s.1.
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