{"data":{"id":"us-ca/gov-7299.7","jurisdiction":"us-ca","citation":"GOV § 7299.7","heading":"","body":"(a) (1) Notwithstanding any other provision of this chapter, a local agency shall translate information related to an emergency within the local agency’s jurisdiction if 5 percent or more of the population within the jurisdiction speak English less than “very well.”\n(2) A determination of whether 5 percent or more of the population within a jurisdiction speak English less than “very well” shall be based on data according to the American Community Survey or data from an equally reliable source.\n(b) (1) A local agency shall, pursuant to subdivision (a), provide information related to the emergency in English and translated in each language spoken by 5 percent or more of the population that speaks English less than “very well.”\n(2) To determine whether a language meets the criteria for translation, a local agency shall determine the total population of those within its jurisdiction that speaks English less than “very well,” and, for each language included in the American Community Survey data, or data from an equally reliable source, determine whether speakers of any language who speak English less than “very well,” comprise at least 5 percent of the total population of that jurisdiction that speaks English less than “very well.”\n(3) Each local agency shall reassess the data every five years to ensure that the language or languages in which the local agency provides information are consistent with the requirements of subdivision (a) and paragraphs (1) and (2) of this subdivision.\n(c) A local agency providing information pursuant to this section shall do both of the following:\n(1) Ensure that the quality of information translated and provided to individuals that speak English less than “very well” is as comprehensive, actionable, and timely as the information provided to English-speaking persons.\n(2) Endeavor to utilize community members with the cultural competencies and language skills necessary to effectively communicate with those that speak English less than “very well” using, whenever feasible, native speakers of the relevant languages who also speak English fluently.\n(d) Commencing January 1, 2027, the Office of Land Use and Climate Innovation shall survey a sample of local agencies every three years to determine the extent to which local agencies are complying with the requirements of this section and shall report the findings to the Legislature pursuant to Section 9795.\n(e) For purposes of this section, the following definitions apply:\n(1) “Emergency” means a situation that calls for immediate action to respond to the threat of serious harm or mass casualties, including conditions of natural disaster or conditions posing extreme peril to the safety of persons and property in the territorial limits of the local agency.\n(2) “Emergency response services” means police, fire, or emergency medical services.\n(3) “Local agency” means a city, county, city and county, or a department of a city or county.\n(f) (1) This section does not relieve a local agency of its responsibilities under the California Emergency Services Act (Chapter 7 (commencing with Section 8550) of Division 1 of Title 2).\n(2) This section does not prohibit a local agency from adopting more expansive standards than those set forth in this section.","path":["Government Code - GOV","TITLE 1. GENERAL [100. - 7931.000.]","DIVISION 7. MISCELLANEOUS [6000. - 7599.200.]","CHAPTER 17.5. Use of a Foreign Language in Public Services [7290. - 7299.8.]"],"source_url":"https://downloads.leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/pubinfo_2025.zip","current_through":"2026-09-13","vintage":"","retrieved_at":"2026-09-14T05:56:33Z","sha256":"60acdfea0f64143e969e2e79d3546fb57aa32ea5e515742feec6b44acafb1223","source_id":"us-ca","stale":false,"prev":"us-ca/gov-7299.6","next":"us-ca/gov-7299.8"},"notice":"GroundRules: Original legal text. Not legal advice."}