California 2023-2024 Regular Session Status: Enacted 1 D cosponsors

AB 1638 — Local government: emergency response services: use of languages other than English.

Last action — Chaptered by Secretary of State - Chapter 587, Statutes of 2023.

  1. ✓
    Introduced
  2. ✓
    In Committee
  3. ✓
    Passed Assembly
  4. ✓
    Passed Senate
  5. ✓
    To Executive
  6. 6
    Enacted

This bill has been enacted into law. Introduced February 17, 2023. Enacted.

Signed by Governor Gavin Newsom (Democratic) on October 08, 2023.

Odds of enactment

High chance

Based on the sponsor, cosponsors, and committee posture, this bill has a high chance of becoming law.

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A statistical estimate from our own model of past outcomes — an insight, not a guarantee. Policymaking is volatile.

Prognosis

Likely to advance 72% · moderate confidence

  • Enacted

    Current position in the legislative process.

  • 1 sponsor

    1 primary, 0 co-sponsors signed on.

  • Single-party support

    Sponsorship is currently within one party (1 D).

  • Cleared a recorded vote

    Passed 1 recorded vote so far.

Based on stage, sponsorship breadth, committee status, recorded votes, and cross-state momentum — a description of the observable signals, not a prediction.

Summary

Existing law requires every local public agency that serves a substantial number of non-English-speaking people to employ a sufficient number of qualified bilingual persons in public contact positions or as interpreters to ensure provision of information and services in the language of the non-English-speaking person. Existing law requires that any materials explaining services available to the public shall be translated into any non-English language spoken by a substantial number of the public served by the agency. This bill would require, commencing January 1, 2025, in the event of an emergency within the jurisdiction of a local agency, as defined, that provides emergency response services and that serves a population within which 5% or more of the people speak English less than "very well" according to American Community Survey data and jointly speak a language other than English, that the local agency provide information related to the emergency in English and in all languages spoken jointly by the 5% or more of the population that speaks English less than "very well." The bill would require local agencies to use data by January 1, 2025, as specified, to determine which languages are spoken jointly by 5% or more of the population in its jurisdiction and to reassess that data every 5 years. The bill would impose various requirements on the manner in which information is provided in languages other than English. The bill would also require the Office of Planning and Research to survey a sample of local agencies every 3 years to determine compliance with these requirements and to report its findings to the Legislature. Because the bill would require local agencies to provide a higher level of service, the bill would impose a state-mandated local program. The California Constitution requires the state to reimburse local agencies and school districts for certain costs mandated by the state. Statutory provisions establish procedures for making that reimbursement. This bill would provide that, if the Commission on State Mandates determines that the bill contains costs mandated by the state, reimbursement for those costs shall be made pursuant to the statutory provisions noted above.

Bill Text

Action History

  1. Chaptered by Secretary of State - Chapter 587, Statutes of 2023.

  2. Approved by the Governor.

  3. Enrolled and presented to the Governor at 3 p.m.

  4. Senate amendments concurred in. To Engrossing and Enrolling. (Ayes 76. Noes 0. Page 3070.).

  5. Assembly Rule 77 suspended. (Page 3011.)

  6. In Assembly. Concurrence in Senate amendments pending. May be considered on or after September 8 pursuant to Assembly Rule 77.

  7. Read third time. Passed. Ordered to the Assembly. (Ayes 40. Noes 0. Page 2413.).

  8. Read second time. Ordered to third reading.

  9. Read second time and amended. Ordered returned to second reading.

  10. From committee: Amend, and do pass as amended. (Ayes 7. Noes 0.) (September 1).

  11. In committee: Referred to APPR suspense file.

  12. Read second time and amended. Re-referred to Com. on APPR.

  13. From committee: Amend, and do pass as amended and re-refer to Com. on APPR. (Ayes 8. Noes 0.) (July 12).

  14. From committee chair, with author's amendments: Amend, and re-refer to committee. Read second time, amended, and re-referred to Com. on GOV. & F.

  15. In committee: Hearing postponed by committee.

  16. Referred to Com. on GOV. & F.

  17. In Senate. Read first time. To Com. on RLS. for assignment.

  18. Read third time. Passed. Ordered to the Senate. (Ayes 80. Noes 0. Page 2038.)

  19. Read second time. Ordered to third reading.

  20. From committee: Do pass. (Ayes 15. Noes 0.) (May 18).

  21. In committee: Set, first hearing. Referred to APPR. suspense file.

  22. From committee: Do pass and re-refer to Com. on APPR. with recommendation: To Consent Calendar. (Ayes 7. Noes 0.) (April 17). Re-referred to Com. on APPR.

  23. Re-referred to Com. on E.M.

  24. From committee chair, with author's amendments: Amend, and re-refer to Com. on E.M. Read second time and amended.

  25. Referred to Com. on E.M.

  26. From printer. May be heard in committee March 20.

  27. Read first time. To print.

Sponsors

Sponsorship breakdown

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1 sponsors · 0 co-sponsors · 121 not signed on

Sponsors (1)

Co-sponsors (0)

None.

Not signed on (121)

121 members have not signed on to this bill.

Show all 121 →

"Not signed on" means a member has not sponsored or co-sponsored this bill — it does not imply opposition. Members flagged Voted No have a recorded No vote on this bill.

Whip count is in markup. Polling the chamber and every recorded vote this session. Only the first open is slow. It’s instant for you after this. Calling the roll · Tallying · Engrossing

Votes

AB 1638 Mike Fong Concurrence in Senate Amendments

Passed 76 Yea · 0 Nay · 4 Other
Party YeaNayPresentNot Voting
Democratic 45002
Republican 13000
Unaffiliated 18002
Total 76004
% of votes cast 95%0%0%5%
How each member voted (80)
Member Party Vote
Holden — Yea
Mathis — Yea
Maienschein — Yea
Rodriguez — Yea
Villapudua — Yea
Ting — Yea
Jones-Sawyer — Yea
McCarty — Yea
Wood — Yea
Friedman — Yea
Low — Yea
Waldron — Yea
Santiago — Yea
Rendon — Not Voting
Essayli — Not Voting
Eduardo Garcia — Yea
Jim Patterson — Yea
Luz Rivas — Yea
Vince Fong — Yea
Wendy Carrillo — Yea
Addis, Dawn Democratic Yea
Aguiar-Curry, Cecilia M. Democratic Yea
Alvarez, David Democratic Not Voting
Arambula, Joaquin Democratic Yea
Bains, Jasmeet Democratic Yea
Bauer-Kahan, Rebecca Democratic Yea
Bennett, Steve Democratic Yea
Berman, Marc Democratic Yea
Boerner, Tasha Democratic Yea
Bonta, Mia Democratic Yea
Bryan, Isaac G. Democratic Yea
Calderon, Lisa Democratic Yea
Carrillo, Juan Democratic Yea
Cervantes, Sabrina Democratic Yea
Connolly, Damon Democratic Yea
Fong, Mike Democratic Yea
Gabriel, Jesse Democratic Yea
Gipson, Mike A. Democratic Yea
Grayson, Timothy S. Democratic Not Voting
Haney, Matt Democratic Yea
Hart, Gregg Democratic Yea
Irwin, Jacqui Democratic Yea
Jackson, Corey A. Democratic Yea
Kalra, Ash Democratic Yea
Lee, Alex Democratic Yea
Lowenthal, Josh Democratic Yea
McKinnor, Tina Democratic Yea
Muratsuchi, Al Democratic Yea
Nguyen, Stephanie Democratic Yea
Ortega, Liz Democratic Yea
Pacheco, Blanca Democratic Yea
Papan, Diane Democratic Yea
Pellerin, Gail Democratic Yea
Petrie-Norris, Cottie Democratic Yea
Quirk-Silva, Sharon Democratic Yea
Ramos, James C. Democratic Yea
Reyes, Eloise Gómez Democratic Yea
Rivas, Robert Democratic Yea
Rubio, Blanca E. Democratic Yea
Schiavo, Pilar Democratic Yea
Soria, Esmeralda Democratic Yea
Valencia, Avelino Democratic Yea
Ward, Christopher M. Democratic Yea
Weber Pierson, M.D., Akilah Democratic Yea
Wicks, Buffy Democratic Yea
Wilson, Lori D. Democratic Yea
Zbur, Rick Chavez Democratic Yea
Alanis, Juan Republican Yea
Chen, Phillip Republican Yea
Dahle, Megan Republican Yea
Davies, Laurie Republican Yea
Dixon, Diane Republican Yea
Flora, Heath Republican Yea
Gallagher, James Republican Yea
Hoover, Josh Republican Yea
Lackey, Tom Republican Yea
Patterson, Joe Republican Yea
Sanchez, Kate Republican Yea
Ta, Tri Republican Yea
Wallis, Greg Republican Yea

Official roll call →

Subjects

public-safety civil-rights
Cross-referencing the record. Reading this bill against every other bill in the corpus by meaning, not keywords. Only the first open is slow. It’s instant for you after this. Matching · Ranking · Engrossing

Frequently asked questions

What does AB 1638 do?
Existing law requires every local public agency that serves a substantial number of non-English-speaking people to employ a sufficient number of qualified bilingual persons in public contact positions or as interpreters to ensure provision of information and services in the language of the non-English-speaking person. Existing law requires that any materials explaining services available to the public shall be translated into any non-English language spoken by a substantial number of the public served by the agency. This bill would require, commencing January 1, 2025, in the event of an emergency within the jurisdiction of a local agency, as defined, that provides emergency response services and that serves a population within which 5% or more of the people speak English less than "very well" according to American Community Survey data and jointly speak a language other than English, that the local agency provide information related to the emergency in English and in all languages spoken jointly by the 5% or more of the population that speaks English less than "very well." The bill would require local agencies to use data by January 1, 2025, as specified, to determine which languages are spoken jointly by 5% or more of the population in its jurisdiction and to reassess that data every 5 years. The bill would impose various requirements on the manner in which information is provided in languages other than English. The bill would also require the Office of Planning and Research to survey a sample of local agencies every 3 years to determine compliance with these requirements and to report its findings to the Legislature. Because the bill would require local agencies to provide a higher level of service, the bill would impose a state-mandated local program. The California Constitution requires the state to reimburse local agencies and school districts for certain costs mandated by the state. Statutory provisions establish procedures for making that reimbursement. This bill would provide that, if the Commission on State Mandates determines that the bill contains costs mandated by the state, reimbursement for those costs shall be made pursuant to the statutory provisions noted above.
Who sponsors AB 1638?
AB 1638 is sponsored by Fong, Mike (Democratic).
What is the current status of AB 1638?
This bill has been enacted into law. Introduced February 17, 2023. Enacted.
Where can I track AB 1638?
Track AB 1638 free on One Click Politics — get push/email alerts when it moves.

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