Legislation to Strengthen Colorado

Measure would give voters ultimate say in November

Colorado Senator Dave Schulteis introduced legislation yesterday that would strengthen the state’s official English law. Senate Concurrent Resolution 6 proposes an amendment to the state Constitution that would declare English the state’s official language and require the overwhelming majority of state activities be conducted in English, with exceptions for areas such as public health, judicial proceedings, and foreign language instruction. The measure provides that final approval of the statute be conducted through a general ballot initiative.
“Though English became the official language of Colorado in 1988, state agencies have defied the actions intended by the people 20 years ago,” said Mauro E. Mujica, Chairman of U.S. English, Inc. “I applaud Rep. Schultheis for his efforts to bring these agencies back in line and return to the tradition of promoting English learning by doing business in English. As Colorado struggles to assimilate a large population of limited English proficient persons, it must do so through the unifying bond of English.”
If S.C.R. 6 is passed by the House and Senate, the decision to make strengthen the state’s official English law would appear on the general election ballot in November. Coloradans previously passed official English legislation through ballot initiative on Nov. 8, 1988. That measure succeeded with 63 percent of the vote.
Legislative approval would also make Colorado the second state to feature a November ballot measure to strengthen an existing official English law. In May 2007, the Missouri legislature approved a joint resolution to make English the official language of all government proceedings, with voters getting the ultimate say in November 2008. State ballot measures proposing or strengthening official English laws have met with success each time they have been offered to the voters, most recently in 2006 when Arizona voters approved a new official English law by a margin of 3-1.
To date, 30 states have made English their official language, including Idaho and Kansas in 2007.