AB 2155: Bilingual-Oriented Social Equity Services Grant Program.

Existing law, the Dymally-Alatorre Bilingual Services Act, requires a state agency that serves a substantial number of non-English-speaking people, as defined, and that finds other specific factors to exist to distribute specified written materials in the appropriate non-English language through its statewide and local offices or facilities to those non-English-speaking persons. As an alternative, the act requires the state agency to furnish translation aids or guides or to provide assistance, through use of a qualified bilingual person, in completing English forms or questionnaires and in understanding English forms, letters, or notices.

This bill would require the State Department of Social Services, commencing with the 202526 fiscal year, to establish and administer the Bilingual-Oriented Social Equity Services Grant Program to distribute funding to community-based nonprofit organizations that provide equitable language access to individuals seeking social services. Under the bill, grants awarded pursuant to the program would be used to provide a pay differential to direct service professionals whose primary job responsibilities include communicating in a language or medium other than English, as defined. The bill would require the department to prioritize funding to organizations who are current state program grantees or subgrantees, but would not limit the department from awarding funds to organizations that are not current grantees or subgrantees, as long as they are eligible to receive a grant under these provisions. The bill would require 40% of funds appropriated for its purposes to be awarded as Multilingual Success Grants to community-based organizations serving those limited-English-proficient Californians whose language communities represent 2% or more of Californias total population. The bill would require 60% of the appropriated funds to be awarded as Multilingual Access Grants to community-based organizations serving those limited-English-proficient populations that do not meet that threshold. The bill would establish the Bilingual-Oriented Social Equity Services Grant Program Fund, which would consist of moneys appropriated by the Legislature for purposes of providing the grants described in the bill. The bill would require, beginning July 1, 2026, and annually thereafter, grantees and subgrantees to report specified information to the department. The bill would require, beginning January 1, 2027, and annually thereafter, the department to report specified information to the Legislature.