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sHB5347 / File No. 195 1
General Assembly File No. 195
February Session, 2026 Substitute House Bill No. 5347
House of Representatives, March 26, 2026
The Committee on Government Administration and Elections
reported through REP. BLUMENTHAL of the 147th Dist.,
Chairperson of the Committee on the part of the House, that the
substitute bill ought to pass.
AN ACT REQUIRING A PLAN FOR THE TRANSLATION AND REVIEW
OF FORMS AND APPLICATIONS REQUIRED TO ACCESS STATE
AGENCY SERVICES OR BENEFITS BY LIMITED-ENGLISH
PROFICIENT INDIVIDUALS.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General
Assembly convened:
Section 1. (NEW) (Effective from passage) (a) As used in this section, (1) 1
"individual with limited -English proficiency" means an individual 2
whose primary and preferred language is not English, and who has a 3
limited ability to read, speak, write or understand English, (2) "vital 4
records" has the same meaning as provided in section 7-36 of the general 5
statutes, and (3) "identification document" means a document that can 6
be used to verify the holder's identity, including, but not limited to, a 7
driver's license. 8
(b) Not later than January 1, 2027, the Commissioner of 9
Administrative Services shall develop a plan for the review and 10
translation of all printed or electronic forms or applications required to 11
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access services or benefits provided by executive branch state agencies, 12
including, but not limited to, forms or applications necessary to access 13
vital records or to obtain identification documents, into the twelve most 14
common non -English languages spoken by individuals with limited -15
English proficiency in the state based on the data in the most recent 16
American Community Survey published by the United States Census 17
Bureau. Thereafter, the commissioner shall update such plan as 18
necessary, but not less than every two years. 19
(c) Not later than February 1, 2027, each state agency in the executive 20
branch shall (1) adopt and implement the plan developed under 21
subsection (b) of this section and update such plan every two years 22
thereafter, and (2) designate a language access coordinator to work with 23
the Department of Administrative Services to ensure compliance with 24
such plan. 25
This act shall take effect as follows and shall amend the following
sections:
Section 1 from passage New section
Statement of Legislative Commissioners:
In Section 1(a)(2), "vital record" was changed to "vital records", for
consistency.
GAE Joint Favorable Subst. -LCO
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The following Fiscal Impact Statement and Bill Analysis are prepared for the benefit of the members of
the General Assembly, solely for purposes of information, summarization and explanation and do not
represent the intent of the General Assembly or either chamber thereof for any purpose. In general,
fiscal impacts are based upon a variety of informational sources, including the analyst’s professional
knowledge. Whenever applicable, agency data is consulted as part of the analysis, however final
products do not necessarily reflect an assessment from any specific department.
OFA Fiscal Note
State Impact:
Agency Affected Fund-Effect FY 27 $ FY 28 $
Various State Agencies App Fund - Cost 5,000,000 None
Department of Administrative
Services
GF - Cost 780,000 530,000
State Comptroller - Fringe
Benefits1
GF - Cost 96,186 96,186
Note: GF=General Fund; App Fund=All Appropriated Funds
Municipal Impact: None
Explanation
The bill creates various requirements relating to the development and
adoption of a plan to translate all printed or electronic forms or
applications required to access executive branch state agency services or
benefits into the twelve most common language s spoken in the state
besides English. The requirements include (1) the development of a plan
by the Department of Administrative Services (DAS) by January 1, 2027,
(2) the adoption of the plan by each executive agency by February 1,
2027, and (3) the desi gnation of a language access coordinator to work
with DAS to ensure compliance with the plan.
Developing the plan results in a one -time cost to DAS of $250,000 in
FY 27 to hire a consultant with the necessary expertise to develop the
plan. Requiring each executive branch agency to translate and
reproduce each of the approximately 1,500 applications result in
1The fringe benefit costs for most state employees are budgeted centrally in accounts
administered by the Comptroller. The estimated active employee fringe benefit cost
associated with most personnel changes is 41.82% of payroll in FY 27.
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onetime costs of up to $5 million to various agencies in FY 27. These
costs are primarily attributed to technological updates to administrative
systems and producing the non -web-based versions of these
applications and forms. The requirement to ensure compliance with the
plan requires two new employees within DAS with a total cost of
$326,186 ($230,000 in salary and $96,186 for fringe) and an additional
cost of $300,000 per year in consultant fees.
The Out Years
The annualized ongoing fiscal impact identified above would
continue into the future subject to inflation. In addition, the bill requires
the plan to be updated as necessary which results in potential future
one-time costs to accommodate changes to applications and forms.
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OLR Bill Analysis
HB 5347
AN ACT REQUIRING A PLAN FOR THE TRANSLATION AND
REVIEW OF FORMS AND APPLICATIONS REQUIRED TO ACCESS
STATE AGENCY SERVICES OR BENEFITS BY LIMITED -ENGLISH
PROFICIENT INDIVIDUALS.
SUMMARY
This bill requires the Department of Administrative Service (DAS) to
(1) make a plan by January 1, 2027, to review and translate all printed or
electronic forms or applications required to access executive branch
state agency services or benefits and (2) update this plan at least every
two years. Federal law generally requires states to provide “meaningful
access” to its benefits and services for people with limited English
proficiency (see BACKGROUND).
The bill requires this plan to include translating forms and
applications (1) necessary to access vital records (birth, death, fetal
death, or marriage certificates) or to get identification documents and
(2) into the 12 most common non -English languages spoken by people
with limited English proficiency in the state, as determined based on the
U.S. Census Bureau’s most recent American Community Survey. Under
the bill, people with limited English proficiency are those whose
primary and preferred language is not English and who have a limited
ability to read, speak, write, or understand English.
By February 1, 2027, the bill requires each executive branch state
agency to (1) adopt and implement this plan and update it every two
years and (2) designate a language access coordinator to work with DAS
to ensure compliance with the plan.
EFFECTIVE DATE: Upon passage
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BACKGROUND
Federal Law
Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 generally prohibits
discrimination based on race, color, or national origin in any program
or activity that receives federal funds or other federal financial
assistance, which has been interpreted to include the req uirement to
provide “meaningful access” to people with limited English proficiency.
Other federal laws, such as the Americans with Disabilities Act and
Section 1557 of the federal Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act,
place additional requirements on state and local governments to ensure
those with limited English proficiency can access governmental benefits
and services.
COMMITTEE ACTION
Government Administration and Elections Committee
Joint Favorable
Yea 14 Nay 5 (03/11/2026)