Bill Introduced to Make English California’s Official Language

Assemblyman Frank Hill (R-Whittier) Tuesday introduced legislation that would make English the official language of California, citing the passage of Proposition 38 last November as a clear indication that Californians are becoming less desirous of a bilingual society.

Hill--joined by S. I. Hayakawa, former Republican U.S. senator from California, in a Capitol press conference--called his legislation “an important policy statement” that would act as a foundation for future constitutional amendments to stress English in education and community living, rather than both English and Spanish.

Hayakawa referred to Hill’s bill as “a Hispanic issue” and said the need for “English language legislation” is reflected in the fact that about 50% of Latino students drop out of high school and that 18% are functionally illiterate.

“Many (Latino) students go to transitional classes in which they are taught in Spanish year after year,” Hayakawa said. “Many graduate from the sixth or eighth grade without knowing English worth a damn.”

Hill said his bill has bipartisan support in both the Senate and Assembly but emphasized it would have only symbolic impact.

“Keep in mind that we have an official state bird (the valley quail) and an official state flower (the California poppy),” he said. “There is no reason we shouldn’t have an official state language.”

Proposition 38, which passed overwhelmingly with 71% of the vote, was an advisory measure that required Gov. George Deukmejian to send a letter to President Reagan and Congress urging that official voting materials and ballots be printed only in English. Hayakawa was one of the measure’s chief sponsors.

Five other states--Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, Nebraska and Virginia--recently passed legislation similar to Hill’s to make English the official language in those states. None, however, has a Latino population nearly as large as California’s.