Legislator Introduces Bill to Make English the Official Language of Ohio

Measure by Rep. Combs aims to unify state under one common language

Ohio Representative Courtney Combs introduced legislation today that would make English the official language of Ohio. House Bill 553 would require the Ohio government to conduct official business in English. Specifically, the Ohio English Unity Act would limit routine government operations to English, while giving government agencies common sense flexibility to protect public health and safety, tourism, and to provide for the needs of the commerce and justice systems.

Rep. Combs’ measure is the first official English legislation introduced in the Buckeye state since 2000. Similar measures passed the Ohio House in 1996 and 1998, but were not acted upon by the Ohio Senate. If HB 553 is passed by both the House and the Senate and signed into law, Ohio would become the 28th state to make English its official language.

“This bill will enact a fundamental value of the people of Ohio,” explained Mauro E. Mujica, Chairman of the Board of U.S. English, Inc. “Citizens expect that their tax dollars will be spent on pro-immigrant policies that encourage learning English, rather than on misguided language 'entitlements' that discourage assimilation. Leaders who support this law will be siding with immigrants and the overwhelming majority of Ohio taxpayers.”

According to the 2000 Census, 234,000 Ohioans are limited English proficient. Of these, 95,000 speak English “not well” or “not at all,” representing a 42 percent increase from 1990. In all, Ohioans speak 116 languages at home, including 81 in the Columbus metropolitan area, 81 in the Cleveland metropolitan area and 73 in the Cincinnati metropolitan area. Other Ohio metropolitan area with significant language counts include: Akron (58), Dayton (56), Toledo (51) and Canton-Massillon (37).

“Ohio, like our nation, is made up of a diverse group of people united by one common language – English,” continued Mujica, who immigrated to the United States from Chile in 1965. “The time has come to recognize this unifying factor in our society and enable non-English speakers to fully participate in American society. Ohio must never become an English-only state, but it also should never become an English-optional state.”

U.S. English, Inc. is the nation's oldest and largest non-partisan citizens' action group dedicated to preserving the unifying role of the English language in the United States. Founded in 1983 by the late Sen. S.I. Hayakawa of California, U.S. English, Inc. (www.usenglish.org) now has more than 1.8 million members.