(a) Notwithstanding any other provision of this chapter, and commencing January 1, 2025, in the event of an emergency within the jurisdiction of a local agency that provides emergency response services and that serves a population within which 5 percent or more of the people speak English less than “very well” according to data from the American Community Survey and jointly speak a language other than English, the local agency shall provide information related to the emergency in English and in all languages spoken jointly by the 5 percent or more of the population that speaks English less than “very well.”

(b) (1) By January 1, 2025, each local agency shall use data from the American Community Survey or data from an equally reliable source to determine which languages meet the requirements of subdivision (a) in the local agency’s jurisdiction.

Terms Used In California Government Code 7299.7

  • City: includes "city and county" and "incorporated town" but does not include "unincorporated town" or "village. See California Government Code 20
  • County: includes city and county. See California Government Code 19
  • Jurisdiction: (1) The legal authority of a court to hear and decide a case. Concurrent jurisdiction exists when two courts have simultaneous responsibility for the same case. (2) The geographic area over which the court has authority to decide cases.
  • Subdivision: means a subdivision of the section in which the term occurs unless some other section is expressly mentioned. See California Government Code 10

(2) Each local agency shall reassess the data every five years to ensure that the language or languages in which the local agency provides information are consistent with the requirements of subdivision (a).

(c) A local agency providing information pursuant to this section shall do both of the following:

(1) Ensure that the quality of information translated and provided to individuals that speak English less than “very well” is as comprehensive, actionable, and timely as the information provided to English-speaking persons.

(2) Endeavor to utilize community members with the cultural competencies and language skills necessary to effectively communicate with those that speak English less than “very well” using, whenever feasible, native speakers of the relevant languages who also speak English fluently.

(d) Commencing January 1, 2027, the Office of Planning and Research shall survey a sample of local agencies every three years to determine the extent to which local agencies are complying with the requirements of this section and shall report the findings to the Legislature pursuant to Section 9795.

(e) For purposes of this section, the following definitions apply:

(1) “Emergency” means a situation that calls for immediate action to respond to the threat of serious harm or mass casualties, including conditions of natural disaster or conditions posing extreme peril to the safety of persons and property in the territorial limits of the local agency.

(2) “Emergency response services” means police, fire, or emergency medical services.

(3) “Local agency” means a city, county, city and county, or a department of a city or county.

(f) This section does not relieve a local agency of its responsibilities under the California Emergency Services Act (Chapter 7 (commencing with Section 8550) of Division 1 of Title 2).

(Added by Stats. 2023, Ch. 587, Sec. 1. (AB 1638) Effective January 1, 2024.)

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