U.S. English State Legislative Update

In the past two weeks, new legislation to make English the official language has been introduced in five states, bringing the total to 14 in the 2009 legislative session. 

Minnesota: Three new official English bills have been introduced in the Minnesota legislature: S.F. 544 by Sen. Paul Koering, S.F. 577 by Sen. Bill Ingebrigtsen, and H.F. 585 by Rep. Steve Drazkowski. 

New York: Rep. Brian Kolb introduced A.B. 5350, legislation to make English the official language of New York. A.B. 5350 marks the first official English bill to be pending in the New York legislature since 2004. 

Texas: Rep. Jim Jackson introduced H.B. 1033, a measure to make English the official language of Texas. H.B. 1033 is one of five bills currently pending in the Texas legislature that would make English the official language of the state. 

West Virginia: Three West Virginia legislators have introduced H.B. 2106 to make English the official language of West Virginia. The West Virginia legislature voted to make English the official language in 2005, but it was vetoed by the governor in a procedural move. 

Wisconsin: Assemblyman Marlin Schneider has introduced A.B. 46, a bill to make English the official language of Wisconsin. Last year, the Wisconsin Assembly passed a measure that would have made English the official language of the state, but the bill was not considered in the Senate before the end of the session. 

Earlier, official English legislation was introduced in Indiana, Mississippi, Nevada, New Jersey, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee and Washington. 

To send e-mails or letters to your state legislators regarding these bills or other official English measures, click here and click on “Action Center.”