A new law will require New Jersey to translate state documents into the seven most spoken non-English languages in the state, Northjersey.com reports.
The law, Bill S2459, was recently signed by New Jersey Governor Phil Murphy and goes into effect immediately. State agencies and departments will begin translating documents on a rolling basis.
According to Patch, the law specifically requires the translation of documents from agencies or departments that provide direct service to the public. The documents themselves provide vital information to the public, especially about access to services.
All important documents will be translated by 2025. According to Northjersey.com, the law specifically says “state government entities would be required to undertake document translations at a rate of five languages in the first year and two in the second year.”
Leaders and advocates say the B S2459 gives the public true language justice.
“Language barriers can make it very difficult for New Jersey’s immigrant communities to navigate government programs and access important information, services and worker protections as they make our state their home,” New Jersey Human Services’ Office of New Americans Director Johanna Calle said in a statement per Patch.
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What are the 7 written languages for the documents?
NewJersey.com citing census data reports the seven most common languages in New Jersey are Spanish, Filipino/Tagalog, Chinese, Hindi, Korean, Gujarati and Portuguese.