Equal Access to Information Act of 2020
Latest action · Aug 6, 2020 Read twice and referred to the Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs.
Progress
Where this bill reached, and when. A stage with no date was not reached; one that failed a vote and later carried shows the date it carried.
- IntroducedAug 6, 2020
- Passed SenateNot reached
- Passed HouseNot reached
- To the PresidentNot reached
- Became lawNot reached
Summary
Equal Access to Information Act of 2020
This bill requires federal agencies to take specified steps to ensure that individuals with limited English proficiency and people with disabilities can access the services, activities, programs, and benefits of those agencies, particularly during national or public health emergencies or under other specified circumstances.
Specifically, each federal agency shall, within specified timeframes
- conduct demographic assessments of individuals with limited English proficiency and individuals with disabilities who are eligible to be served or likely to be encountered by that agency,
- establish within the agency a Language Access Working Group,
- prepare and submit to the Department of Justice (DOJ) an access plan for federally conducted programs and activities, and
- issue guidance for recipients of federal financial assistance under the agency's jurisdiction.
DOJ shall review (1) each plan submitted within 120 days after receipt of the plan, and (2) the most recently submitted plan from each relevant agency not later than 7 days after an emergency has been declared.
Agencies shall ensure stakeholder input to ensure meaningful access.
Cosponsors 5
Members who signed on, in the order they did. All signed on Aug 6, 2020.
| Seat | Cosponsor | Signed on | |
|---|---|---|---|
| D-NJ | Cory A. Booker | Original | Aug 6, 2020 |
| D-MA | Elizabeth Warren | Original | Aug 6, 2020 |
| D-HI | Mazie K. Hirono | Original | Aug 6, 2020 |
| D-PA | Robert P. Casey Jr. | Original | Aug 6, 2020 |
| D-OH | Sherrod Brown | Original | Aug 6, 2020 |
Actions 2
Everything that happened, newest first.
- Aug 6, 2020Introduced in Senate
- Aug 6, 2020Read twice and referred to the Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs.
Subjects
Assigned by the Library of Congress. Policy area: Government Operations and Politics.
- Broadcasting, cable, digital technologies
- Disability and health-based discrimination
- Disability assistance
- Emergency medical services and trauma care
- Foreign language and bilingual programs
- Government information and archives
- Government Operations and Politics
- Government studies and investigations
- Health technology, devices, supplies
- Infectious and parasitic diseases
Text 1
Each version as it was printed, newest first.
- Aug 6, 2020Introduced in Senate
Everything here is as published by Congress: the summary is the Congressional Research Service's, the action wording is the clerks', and the subjects are the Library of Congress's. How far it got is read from the actions themselves, taking the most recent one of each kind, so a bill that failed a vote and later passed is shown as having passed. Records come from this bill on Congress.gov and govinfo.gov.