HISPANIC/LATINO COMMISSION S.B. 215 (S-3):
FLOOR SUMMARY
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Senate Bill 215 (Substitute S-3 as reported)
Sponsor: Senator Valde Garcia
Committee: Local, Urban and State Affairs
CONTENT
The bill would amend Public Act 164 of 1975, which provides for the Commission on Spanish-Speaking Affairs, the Office of Spanish-Speaking Affairs, and the Interagency Council on Spanish-Speaking Affairs, to do the following:
-- Change the names of the Commission, the Office, and the Interagency Council to the Hispanic/Latino Commission of Michigan, the Office of Hispanic/Latino Affairs, and the Hispanic/Latino Interagency Council, respectively.
-- Replace the term "Spanish-speaking" with "Hispanic/Latino" throughout the Act.
-- Require Commission members to be broadly representative of all fields of interest to Hispanic/Latino people, rather than Spanish-speaking and of Spanish-speaking origin.
-- Reduce the number of times the Commission must meet annually from 12 to six.
-- Expand the Commission's duties to include assisting with the planning and implementation of celebrations for Hispanic/Latino Heritage Month and Hispanic/Latino holidays.
-- Specify that the Commission's duties are listed in priority order.
Under the Act, "Spanish-speaking people" means a person, including a migrant agricultural worker, who: has a Spanish surname; has a parent or grandparent of Mexican, Puerto Rican, Cuban, Central American, South American, or other Spanish origin or descent; uses Spanish as the primary language or mother tongue; is identified by an employer in an EEO 1 report as a "Spanish-surnamed American"; or is regarded in the community as being of Mexican, Puerto Rican, Cuban, Central American, South American, or other Spanish origin or descent. The bill would delete this definition. Instead, the bill would define "Hispanic/Latino people" as people of Mexican, Puerto Rican, Cuban, Central American, South American, or other Spanish or indigenous origin or descent.
MCL 18.301-18.306 Legislative Analyst: Julie Cassidy
FISCAL IMPACT
The Commission on Spanish-Speaking Affairs is currently staffed with 2.0 FTEs supported by $237,700 GF/GP in FY 2008-09. The bill would not provide any additional funding to support the planning and implementation of the celebrations included in the bill. To the extent that the Commission incurred additional costs as a result of these new responsibilities, existing resources would have to be used to cover them.
Date Completed: 6-10-09 Fiscal Analyst: Elizabeth Pratt
Maria Tyszkiewicz
Analysis was prepared by nonpartisan Senate staff for use by the Senate in its deliberations and does not constitute an official statement of legislative intent. sb215/0910