Thread: Council debates amended English-only ordinance

http://www.nashvillecitypaper.com/index ... s_id=52243

Council debates amended English-only ordinance
By Bill Harless, bharless@nashvillecitypaper.com
September 20, 2006

The Metro Council passed a significantly neutralized version of a an ordinance declaring English the official language of the city and mandating official city communication, at least some of it, be done in English.

The passage was only preliminary, however — the legislative body must still vote on the measure two more times before it can become official — and proponents and opponents of Bellevue-area Metro Councilman Eric Crafton’s legislation disagree about what, exactly, the new version does.

Meanwhile on Tuesday, bumping the council’s discussion of the English-only bill to about 10 p.m., the council approved sending five proposed amendments to the Metro Charter to the Nov. 7 ballot for a referendum vote. The key amendment would expressly limit the mayor to two terms.

The substitute English-language legislation Crafton introduced would exempt Metro from having to communicate in English “when necessary to protect or promote public health, safety or welfare” or “except when required by federal law,” according to the language of the bill.

The change was, in part, a reaction to a memorandum by the Metro Legal Department saying the bill could violate the U.S. Constitution and the federal Civil Rights Act of 1964. Opponents of Crafton’s original bill had said the measure would have put in jeopardy any federal monies Metro receives.

Crafton, for his part, opened his speech in favor of the bill last night with a minute-long recitation in Japanese, doing so “to illustrate a point,” he said. “If I decided to do this every week … then we would be in violation of open meetings laws; we would be required to provide translators and interpreters …”

Crafton attacked the ACLU, which wrote a letter to council members advocating against the measure. He said the substitute legislation takes away any grounds the ACLU might have for suing Metro over it and from, therefore, “fee hunting” via lawsuits.

He said the legislation would actually benefit immigrants. “Not learning English forces immigrants into a segregated, low-achieving strata of society dooming them to economic failure.”

Metro Councilman Mike Jameson, rebutting Crafton, couched his opposition with this first sentence: “If we’re doing this for the good of the immigrant and refugee community, what members of the immigrant and refugee community have asked you for that legislation? What community groups?”

The downtown courthouse, where the Metro Council met Tuesday, was crowded with legislation opponents, dressed in yellow shirts, several of them from local immigration advocacy groups.

Jameson also asked Crafton for studies proving that immigrants are not learning English sufficiently, saying, to his knowledge, local English language schools have lengthy waiting lists.

Local attorney Gregg Ramos, who helped organize last night’s opposition to Crafton’s bill, said the protesters wore yellow because it was a neutral color.

About the measure, though, he said, “I clearly think it’s divisive, I clearly think it’s mean spirited, I clearly think it’s wrong, but even if you disagree with me on all those things, let’s just look at practicalities — we’re going to be sued, and we’re going to lose,” he said earlier in the day, before the Crafton introduced his substitute.

But after the substituted was introduced, Ramos said he felt the new bill was “a drastic improvement” but added that he did not see the point of even passing it now, since he believed most of the bill’s purpose had been erased. He said the new bill, as technically written, only requires Metro to produce its communications in English but does not prohibit the city from producing the same communications in other languages.

Crafton, for his part, disagreed, saying the new version definitely demands English, and only English, be used in any city communications the bill does not specifically exclude from its providence.

Regarding the proposed charter amendments that will appear on the Metro ballot, they would limit the mayor to two terms in office, require the Mayor make an annual State of Metro address to the council, create an independent Metro audit department, require the mayor submit his budget to the council no later than March 25 each year and require all members of Metro boards and commissions to live in Davidson County.

http://www.ashlandcitytimes.com/apps/pb ... 291/MTCN01

Wednesday, 09/20/06

Diluted English proposal advances
New version allows various exceptions

By MICHAEL CASS
Staff Writer


A controversial proposal to make English the official language of Metro government moved forward in the Metro Council on Tuesday, but only after the sponsor watered it down from "English-only" to "English-first."

The council also voted to put five proposed amendments to the government's founding document, the Metro Charter, on the Nov. 7 ballot for voters to decide.

The council approved the English-language legislation on the first of three potential votes, setting it up for a vigorous policy debate that was previewed Tuesday night. The bill remained a lightning rod even after the sponsor, Councilman Eric Crafton of west Davidson County, removed the original requirement that all Metro communications be in English only.

The amended measure keeps the ceremonial component of declaring English as Metro's "official language." It also contains an exemption for multilingual communications required by federal rules and situations "necessary to protect or promote public health, safety or welfare."

"We want to be good citizens and help people when they need help," Crafton said, specifically pointing to health emergencies and police investigations.

But Councilman Mike Jameson of Lockeland Springs-east Nashville asked to see any evidence that immigrants aren't learning English quickly enough and that "refusing to engage" them would force them to learn the language more quickly.

Jameson also said Crafton should say which immigrant and refugee representatives were asking him for the legislation because Crafton has said it would be for the good of those populations.

Residents opposed to the bill turned out by the dozens for the meeting, though many had to leave before debate on the bill started after 10 p.m. Ahmed Dahir, a Somali refugee who has been living in Nashville for two years, said he and other immigrants and refugees "are good citizens here."

"We need more ESL (English as a Second Language) classes, more education and more tolerance," he said.

The council's debate will continue with the bill's second reading during the second meeting in October, after Crafton proposed deferring discussion by one meeting. Council committees will take it up before then.

Meanwhile, nearly two hours of debate yielded a handful of potential charter amendments for voters to consider in seven weeks. The proposals would:

• Clarify that the mayor is limited to two consecutive four-year terms, not three.

• Create a Metro audit division that would be independent of the mayor's administration and the council. Metro auditors are now part of the city's finance department.

• Require the mayor to submit his or her operating budget proposal to the council by March 25, two months earlier than the current requirement.

• Require the mayor to deliver the State of Metro address in a public facility at a called meeting of the council.

• Require members of Metro boards and commissions to live in Davidson County.

Councilman Randy Foster of south Davidson, who was chairman of the council committee that reviewed proposed amendments, said he didn't think five would be too many for one ballot. •

http://www.knoxnews.com/kns/state/artic ... 60,00.html

Nashville's "English-first" law moves ahead
By ASSOCIATED PRESS
September 20, 2006


NASHVILLE — A proposal that would require the city of Nashville to conduct it business in English and would prohibit it from offering services in any other language has moved forward in the city council — but only after the law’s sponsor changed the wording from "English-only" to "English-first."

The council approved the English-language legislation on the first of three required votes Tuesday. Councilman Eric Crafton said he introduced the bill because current multi-lingual efforts discourage immigrants from learning English.

The amended measure declares English as Metro’s "official language" but also contains an exemption for multilingual communications required by federal rules and situations "necessary to protect or promote public health, safety or welfare."

"We want to be good citizens and help people when they need help," Crafton said.

Councilman Mike Jameson said at Tuesday’s meeting he wanted to see evidence that immigrants aren’t learning English quickly enough and that "refusing to engage" them would force them to learn the language more quickly.

Ahmed Dahir, a Somali refugee who has been living in Nashville for two years, said he and other immigrants and refugees "are good citizens here.

"We need more ESL (English as a second language) classes, more education and more tolerance," he said.

The city provides a variety of services in languages other than English, sometimes under federal mandate. The city’s health department has about 100 documents, including information on immunizations and tuberculosis, in English, Spanish, Kurdish and Somali. Nashville has one of the largest Kurdish populations in the U.S.

The 911 center and police department use translators, the public defender’s office has a Spanish translation of its defendant’s handbook and the school system issues a newsletter in Spanish and is translating the student code of conduct into Spanish.


http://www.newschannel5.com/content/news/22131.asp
Metro's English Language Ordinance Passes First Hurdle
Posted: 9/20/2006 7:58:00 AM
Updated: 9/20/2006 8:06:11 AM


The Metro Council is one step closer to making English Nashville's official language.

Tuesday night, the council approved the ordinance on its first reading, but only after it was re-written.

The measure's sponsor dropped the original requirement that all Metro government business be done in English only.

Instead, it was changed to English first - and if a situation deals with health or public safety, another language can be spoken.

Supporters of the ordinance said it would actually help immigrants, by helping them reap the benefits of learning English, but opponents said the measure is discriminatory.

"Nashville has been getting all these accolades, you know, friendliest city in America, number one city for relocation, but this sends a very negative message," said Jose Gonzalez, who opposes the ordinance.

The Public Health Department said if the ordinance passed, it would cut their budget by a third and prevent them from communicating with people who need treatment or pose a health risk to the community.

"From our standpoint, we need to make sure we are protecting the public's health of Davidson County for everyone who lives here or comes here to visit," said Brian Todd of the Metro Health Department.

The proposed ordinance passed on its first reading. It still has to pass two more readings before it becomes law.