HB 263 -- LANGUAGE OF OFFICIAL PROCEEDINGS

SPONSOR:  Nieves

COMMITTEE ACTION:  Voted "do pass" by the Special Committee on
Immigration by a vote of 4 to 2 with 1 present.

Upon voter approval, this bill makes English the language for all
official proceedings in Missouri.

FISCAL NOTE:  No impact on state funds in FY 2008, FY 2009, and
FY 2010.

PROPONENTS:  Supporters say that Missouri already recognizes
English as the common language of the state and that fluency in
English is necessary for full integration into our culture, so
this is a common-sense step.

Testifying for the bill was Representative Onder.

OPPONENTS:  Those who oppose the bill say that they are concerned
that it will cause political leaders to think they cannot
generally communicate with non-English speaking populations in
their own language, for example, in times of natural disasters or
emergencies.  The term "official proceedings" is confusing and
ambiguous and should be clarified.

Testifying against the bill were Missouri Catholic Conference;
and Missouri National Education Association.

OTHERS:  Others testifying on the bill say that "official
proceedings" should be clarified, public meetings defined under
the Sunshine Law should be considered official proceedings, but
all official proceedings will not be public meetings.  The
committee should keep in mind that the federal government
administers the oath of citizenship in foreign languages.

Testifying on the bill were Jewish Federation of St. Louis; and
Office of the Attorney General.

Missouri House of Representatives
94th General Assembly, 1st Regular Session
Last Updated July 25, 2007 at 11:18 am