Policy Briefs

HOUSE BILL 477 (127th GA)

Synopsis
English Only is a comprehensive term to describe legislative initiatives designed to establish the English language as the official language within a given jurisdiction or state boundary, especially when said designation includes the reduction or elimination of documents, services, or access to information in other languages.

Current Status in Ohio
There is no English Only law in Ohio.  However, the legislation has been repeatedly proposed by the state legislature, dating back to1985.  House Bill 477, sponsored by Representative Mecklenborg is the most recent version of an English Only bill, introduced in 2008. The bill died in committee the same year at the end of the General Assembly.  English Only legislation has not yet been introduced in 2009.

Current Status in Neighboring States
INDIANA:  IC 1-2-10-1, Official Language of State.  “The English language is adopted as the official language of the state of Indiana.” (1984)

KENTUCKY:  2.013 State language. “English is designated as the official state language of Kentucky.” (1984).

MICHIGAN:  There is no English Only law in Michigan.

PENNSYLVANIA:  There is no English Only law in Pennsylvania.

WEST VIRGINIA:  There is no English Only law in West Virginia.

Current Status across United States
Thirty states have some form of an English Only law.  Nine states, not including Ohio, were considering English Only legislation in 2008, including, Delaware, Michigan, New Jersey, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Washington, West Virginia and Wisconsin.

History

Traces of the English Only movement can be linked to the Immigration Reform movement of the early Twentieth Century, when Americans became increasingly concerned that South-eastern European immigrants were not properly assimilating.  However, the first push for English Only legislation did not come until 1981, when it was introduced in the form of Senate Joint Resolution (SJR) 72, which called for a federal constitutional amendment.  SJR 72 was sponsored by Republican Senator Samuel Ichiye Hayawaka.  After the resolution proved unsuccessful, Senator Hayawaka in 1983 founded U.S. English, an organization “dedicated to the passage of English as the official language.”  Following the lack of support for a constitutional amendment, the English Only movement shifted focus to the passage of state legislation, and during the 1980s there was a flood of political activity, resulting in the passage of some form of English only legislation in over a dozen states.  In Ohio, the push for English Only legislation began in 1985, but so far has been unsuccessful.  A second smaller wave of passage occurred in the mid-1990s, which coincided with federal legislation, the “Bill Emerson English Language Empowerment Act”, (H.R. 123), which passed through the House of Representatives, but died in the Senate.  Since then, the English Only movement has continued, accounting for the more recent introduction of numerous state bills and passage of several others. Sources.

Additional Information

Links to Interested Parties' Websites