Thread: Pa. House approves making English official state language

http://www.centredaily.com/mld/centreda ... 923898.htm

Posted on Wed, Jun. 28, 2006

Pa. House approves making English official state language

MARTHA RAFFAELE
Associated Press

HARRISBURG, Pa. - As the national debate over immigration rages, the state House of Representatives approved legislation Wednesday that would make English the official language of Pennsylvania.

The measure would require both the state and local governments to conduct business and use official documents written only in English. The House voted 122-70 to attach it to legislation concerning state Insurance Department fees and passed the amended bill 159-34.

"We want to reaffirm that English is our language," said Rep. C. Adam Harris, R-Juniata, who sponsored the amendment. "I think it'll streamline government - we'll be printing only one form, which will save many, many taxpayer dollars in the future."

The measure now goes to the Senate, where its immediate fate was uncertain as lawmakers awaited final agreement on a state budget for the fiscal year that begins Saturday. It provides exceptions in certain situations, such as when public safety, health or justice require the use of another language.

Twenty-seven states have adopted English-language legislation, and Pennsylvania is among 10 states where similar measures have been introduced during the current legislative session, according to U.S. English, a group that advocates making English the national language.

Proponents of the Pennsylvania bill said it would encourage immigrants to adapt more easily to American culture, but opponents argued that it would only discriminate against them.

Rep. Dan Frankel, D-Allegheny, called it "part of a portfolio of tools that the Republican Party is using to polarize our electorate, to mobilize the base."

"It adds to an image for the state of Pennsylvania that will say that we are closing the doors, we're not welcoming to immigrants," Frankel said.

Rep. Mark Cohen, D-Philadelphia, noted that he provides literature in his district office to Spanish and Asian constituents printed in their native languages.

"I understand it is an amendment that is in touch with a significant body of sentiment in Pennsylvania," Cohen said. "But it is an amendment that is not touch with the needs of people who come here from foreign countries and have trouble speaking the English language."

Rep. Samuel Rohrer, R-Berks, said most state residents, including immigrants, already believe English is the state's official language.

"I had grandparents who came and spoke German," Rohrer said. "Why don't we speak German? Because Germany didn't win the war."

How sweet it is

Good job. Hope Alien Specter didn't mind.

LegalUSCitizens says "Hope Alien Specter didn't mind."



Good One!!

http://local.lancasteronline.com/4/23807

Will English soon be Pa. ‘official language’?
Supporters of bill, passed Wednesday by House, say it would save taxpayers money, help non-English-speaking residents.

By Tom Murse
Lancaster New Era

Published: Jun 29, 2006 12:30 PM EST

LANCASTER COUNTY, PA - If you’re preparing to take a driver’s test or apply for college loans and can’t read English, you’d be out of luck under a bill passed Wednesday by the state House.

The measure would make English Pennsylvania’s “official language” and require state and local governments to print official documents in English only. It passed 159-34.

Supporters say the bill would save taxpayers money and, in the long run, help all nonEnglish-speaking residents by essentially forcing them to learn the language.

“It will help nonEnglish-speaking people become more assimilated into society and help them become more prosperous,” said Rep. Scott Boyd, a West Lampeter Township Republican.

Boyd and Lancaster County’s six other Republican House members all voted for the bill. The only local Democrat, Rep. Mike Sturla, voted against the proposal.

He and other opponents said the bill is yet another election-year ploy by Republicans — similar to proposed bans on flag-burning in Congress and gay marriage in the state — to fire up the conservative base.

“Woe is to the gay, flag-burning Latino,” said Sturla, of Lancaster City. “I’ll tell you what, they’re in for a world of hurt. This is just, ‘Hey, let’s fire up the base.’ It’s not going anywhere.”

Gov. Ed Rendell reportedly would veto the bill even if it were to be passed by the Senate, where the proposal is now headed and has an uncertain future.

“It’s already done what they wanted it to do: get you guys to write stories about it. That’s the only intent,” Sturla said.

As the immigration debate rages across the country, Pennsylvania is now among 10 states where similar bills have been introduced during the current legislative session, according to U.S. English, a group that advocates making English the national language.

The proposal here would provide exceptions in certain situations, such as when public safety, health or justice require the use of another language.

Even if the bill were to be signed into law, it would have minimal impact on local government. At the Lancaster County Courthouse and Lancaster City Hall, most, if not all, documents are printed in English only.

“Any document that comes in, in a foreign language needs to be translated before putting them on the public records,” said Recorder of Deeds Steve McDonald.

Many documents printed at the state level, however, are in both English and Spanish. Supporters of the English-only bill say that’s unfair to other immigrants.

“What about Vietnamese?” asked Boyd. “What about Russian? This will put non-English-speaking people all on the same playing field.”

Don't worry about Arlen he hasn't had a cognisant thought since Wm Henry Harrison was President!

One more reason it is good to live in PA

Good for PA!! I hope the state Senate there approves it!

Once again the states are forced to fend for themselves because of our incompetent federal government.

http://www.standardspeaker.com/index.ph ... 6&Itemid=2

Local reps get behind language pact
Saturday, 01 July 2006
By L.A. TARONE
The bill that declares English the official language of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania passed the state House with solid support from regional state representatives Wednesday.

House Bill 1959 passed by a 159-34 vote Wednesday. It designates English as the state’s official language and mandates official documents be available in English only.

The same bill also creates an Office of Consumer Advocate for Insurance within the Attorney General’s office.

The bill was written primarily by suburban Philadelphia Republican Tom Killion, R-168. Co-sponsors included Reading Democrat Tom Caltagirone, D-127; Chester Republican Art Hershey, R-13; suburban Philadelphia Republican Eleanor Z. Taylor, R-156; and Philadelphia’s Rosita Youngblood, D-198.

According to the House Chief Clerk’s office that takes the roll call vote on each bill, regional Reps. Todd Eachus, D-116; Keith McCall, D-122; Bob Belfanti of Mount Carmel, D-107; George Hasay, R-117; John Yudichak, D-119; Kevin Blaum of Wilkes-Barre, D-121; and Phyllis Mundy of the West Side, D-120, all voted “yes.”

David Argall, R-124; Bob Allen, R-125; and Neal Goodman, D-123, were excused from voting.

The bill states, “The People of the United States have brought to this nation the cultural heritage of many nations,” adding, “the traditional and common language of the Unites States and of this commonwealth in English.”

It further states the purpose of the bill is to, “preserve, protect and strengthen the unifying role of English as the official language of the commonwealth,” and to designate it as, “the language of the official acts of government.”

The bill mandates that “official acts of government” be conducted in English only. It defines that term as, “actions of the commonwealth and of its political subdivisions that carry the full weight and authority of law; official documents recorded and maintained by the commonwealth and its political subdivisions for the public domain, including tax records, professional licenses, deeds, real estate records, publicly probated wills and other documents of the court systems and public proceedings of the governing bodies of the commonwealth and its political subdivisions.”

It exempts instances where federal law requires translation into foreign languages, cases when “public safety, health or justice requires the use of other languages,” foreign language instruction and tourism.

It also has a disclaimer clause that reads the bill, “shall not be construed in any way to infringe on the rights of citizens who have every right to choose their own primary language, in the use of private conduct.”

It also states that privately owned businesses may operate in any language they may choose.

The bill largely mirrors one aspect of Hazleton Mayor Lou Barletta’s Illegal Immigration Relief Act” that city council adopted on first reading two weeks ago.

However, Killion, Caltagirone, Hershey, Taylor, Youngblood first introduced the bill last September.

It was referred first to the House Insurance Committee, where it languished until June 21, when it finally gained committee approval.
Both the Rules and Appropriations Committees approved it Monday and sent it to a full floor vote.

The next stop for the bill is the Senate, where it will be assigned a committee. If it passes a Senate floor vote, it would have to be signed by Gov. Ed Rendell.

So far, he has not commented on the bill.