HISPANIC/LATINO COMMISSION S.B. 215:
COMMITTEE SUMMARY
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Senate Bill 215 (as introduced 2-11-09)
Sponsor: Senator Valde Garcia
Committee: Local, Urban and State Affairs
Date Completed: 6-8-09
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.
-- Reduce the number of times the Commission must meet annually.
-- Expand the Commission's duties to include assisting with the planning and implementation of specific events.
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.
Currently, Commission members must be Spanish-speaking and of Spanish-speaking origin. Under the bill, instead, they would have to be broadly representative of all fields of interest to Hispanic/Latino people. The Act requires the Commission to meet at least 12 times per year. The bill would reduce the number of required meetings to six.
The bill would add to the Commission's duties assisting with the planning and implementation of celebrations for Hispanic Heritage Month, Cesar Chavez Day, and Cinco de Mayo.
Currently, the Act includes the Directors of the following departments, or their authorized representatives, among the membership of the Interagency Council: Mental Health, Public Health, Social Services, Licensing and Regulation, and Labor.
The bill would instead refer to the following departments, respectively: Community Health; Environmental Quality; Human Services; Energy, Labor, and Economic Growth; and History, Arts, and Libraries.
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 three events 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.
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