H.R. 3238

[Congressional Bills 119th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 3238 Introduced in House (IH)]

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119th CONGRESS
1st Session
H. R. 3238

To codify Executive Order 13166.

_______________________________________________________________________

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

May 7, 2025

Mr. Hernandez (for himself, Mr. Torres of New York, Ms. Velazquez, Ms. 
Ocasio-Cortez, Mr. Case, Ms. Leger Fernandez, and Mr. Tran) introduced 
the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Oversight 
and Government Reform

_______________________________________________________________________

A BILL

To codify Executive Order 13166.

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

This Act may be cited as the ``Helping All Beneficiaries with 
Language Access Act of 2025'' or as the ``HABLA Act of 2025''.

SEC. 2. FEDERALLY CONDUCTED PROGRAMS AND ACTIVITIES.

Each Federal agency shall prepare a plan to improve access to its 
federally conducted programs and activities by eligible LEP persons. 
Each plan shall be consistent with the standards set forth in the LEP 
Guidance, and shall include the steps the agency will take to ensure 
that eligible LEP persons can meaningfully access the agency's programs 
and activities. Agencies shall develop and begin to implement these 
plans within 120 days of the effective date of this Act, and shall send 
copies of their plans to the Department of Justice, which shall serve 
as the central repository of the agencies' plans. Each agency shall 
publish its final plans on their respective web pages in a matter that 
is accessible to LEP individuals.

SEC. 3. FEDERALLY ASSISTED PROGRAMS AND ACTIVITIES.

Each agency providing Federal financial assistance shall draft 
guidance for purposes of compliance with title VI of the Civil Rights 
Act of 1964 specifically tailored to its recipients that is consistent 
with the guidance relating to such matters issued by the Department of 
Justice entitled ``Guidance to Federal Financial Assistance Recipients 
Regarding Title VI Prohibition Against National Origin Discrimination 
Affecting Limited English Proficient Persons'' (67 Fed. Reg. 41455) 
(hereinafter referred to as the ``LEP Guidance''). This agency-specific 
guidance shall detail how the general standards established in the LEP 
Guidance will be applied to the agency's recipients. The agency-
specific guidance shall take into account the types of services 
provided by the recipients, the individuals served by the recipients, 
and other factors set out in the LEP Guidance. Agencies that already 
have developed such guidance that the Department of Justice determines 
is consistent with the LEP Guidance shall examine their existing 
guidance, as well as their programs and activities, to determine if 
additional guidance is necessary to comply with this order. The 
Department of Justice shall consult with the agencies in creating their 
guidance and, within 120 days of the effective date of this Act, each 
agency shall submit its specific guidance to the Department of Justice 
for review and approval. Following approval by the Department of 
Justice, each agency shall publish its guidance document in the Federal 
Register for public comment.

SEC. 4. CONSULTATIONS.

In carrying out this Act, agencies shall ensure that stakeholders, 
including LEP persons and their representative organizations, 
recipients, and other appropriate individuals or entities, have an 
opportunity to provide input for a period of not less than 60 days. 
Agencies shall evaluate the particular needs of the LEP persons they 
and their recipients serve and the burdens of compliance on the agency 
and its recipients. This input from stakeholders shall assist the 
agencies in developing an approach to ensuring meaningful access by LEP 
persons that is practical and effective, fiscally responsible, 
responsive to the particular circumstances of each agency, and can be 
readily implemented.

SEC. 5. DEFINITIONS.

In this Act:
(1) The term ``LEP person'' means a person whose first 
language is not English and chooses to receive assistance in a 
language other than English.
(2) The term ``eligible LEP person'' means an LEP person 
legally entitled to a particular government service provided by 
an agency.
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