Appendix A Research Methods
I conducted the research for this book between 2011 and 2023, with fieldwork in 2015–2016 and 2019. For events that took place before my fieldwork began, I observed streaming video footage of public hearings and government meetings. These government-sponsored events typically lasted one to three hours, featured a variety of speakers, and were posted online with additional attachments such as meeting agendas and minutes. Because contemporary language policy campaigns tend to be sources of controversy and matters of public record, they have a significant online presence. Each of the four governments typically deliberated over the course of three to four public hearings and meetings over several months, resulting in several dozen hours of public interaction. In addition to analyzing these materials in their own right, collecting this data also informed the rest of the study, by giving an early sense of which people and organizations were involved.
In cases where a key file was not available on a government’s or organization’s website, I sent a request over email or I used the Internet Archive to locate it on an older version of the website. The Internet Archive’s Way Back Machine (at http://archive.org) does not pinpoint when a website or a version of a site first appears online, but its automated web crawler has periodically collected and archived snapshots of public websites since 1996. So, this tool can be used both to find older versions of sites and to approximate when an older version was the current one.
During the fieldwork phase of data collection, I interviewed people, observed and attended events relating to local politics and culture, wrote field notes, took photographs, and collected texts. Field notes were instrumental as a way to document my impressions of the communities I visited, the events I attended, the people I interacted with, the discourse I encountered, and the research methods I used.
Interview recruitment focused on people directly involved in shaping, sponsoring, and/or protesting these language policies. Over the course of two rounds of Institutional Review Board-approved research, I interviewed twenty-six people, and I include twenty-three of those people in this book (Table A.1). About half of them are in favor of making English the official language, and the other half are against, although this designation is so blurry that I have chosen not to officially categorize each person’s stance. I define “activist” broadly, in order to include everything from speaking at public hearings, to participating in protests, to collecting signatures for a petition, to writing letters to the editor, to taking on more formal roles in organizations or commissions. Similarly, under the banner of “blogger,” I include both people who run their own blog on their own website and someone who runs a Facebook page. I would not characterize most Facebook accounts as blogs, but in this case, the page features frequent posts about current events that are several paragraphs long. The descriptions of each person’s role are not meant to be exhaustive but are merely aimed at giving a sense of the breadth of participants’ experiences. For example, most of the elected officials could also qualify as activists, and social media can be a form of activism (Zentz, Reference Zentz2021). To recruit these participants, I contacted all the elected officials involved, as well as people who spoke in depth at public hearings or who wrote prominent editorials or blog posts. To reach people who may have played more unassuming roles, I also distributed flyers and asked each interview participant if there were anyone else they recommended that I interview.
Table A.1 List of interview participants, including details on their role at the time, the location, and the date
| # | Name | Role | Location | Date |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Hayden Duke | Activist | Frederick County | 10/10/15 |
| 2 | Farrell Keough | Activist | Frederick County | 10/12/15 |
| 3 | C. Paul Smith | Elected official | Frederick County | 10/14/15 |
| 4 | Jay Mason | Activist | Frederick County | 10/20/15 |
| 5 | Frederick Local Yokel writer | Blogger | Frederick County | 10/22/15 |
| 6 | Frederick Local Yokel writer | Blogger | Frederick County | 10/22/15 |
| 7 | Frederick Local Yokel writer | Blogger | Frederick County | 10/22/15 |
| 8 | Occupy Frederick writer | Blogger/activist | Frederick County | 10/22/15 |
| 9 | Jerry Donald | Elected official | Frederick County | 10/22/15 |
| 10 | Angela Spencer | Activist | Frederick County | 10/22/15 |
| 11 | M. C. Keegan-Ayer | Elected official | Frederick County | 10/26/15 |
| 12 | David Lee (pseudonym) | Elected official | Anne Arundel County | 10/26/15 |
| 13 | Robert Vandervoort | Executive Director of ProEnglish | Washington, DC | 10/28/15 |
| 14 | Bob Simmons | Elected official | Queen Anne’s County | 10/28/15 |
| 15 | Kevin Waterman | Activist | Queen Anne’s County | 10/29/15 |
| 16 | Jessica Fitzwater | Elected official | Frederick County | 10/30/15 |
| 17 | Kirby Delauter | Elected official | Frederick County | 10/30/15 |
| 18 | Phil Dumenil | Elected official | Queen Anne’s County | 11/6/15 |
| 19 | Charles Jenkins | Elected official | Frederick County | 11/10/15 |
| 20 | Chris Trumbauer | Elected official | Anne Arundel County | 11/12/15 |
| 21 | Will Gardner (pseudonym) | Activist | Frederick County | 1/30/16 |
| 22 | Robin Bartlett Frazier | Elected official | Carroll County | 6/25/19 |
| 23 | Mauro Mujica | CEO and Chair of U.S. English | Washington, DC | 6/26/19 |
Interviews were 30–120 minutes long, semi-structured, and tailored to each person’s particular roles and experiences. For example, my questions for a libertarian activist in Queen Anne’s County were nearly all different from my questions for a Democratic politician in Anne Arundel County. However, there were certain common threads: I always asked how long someone had lived in their current county, how they would describe that county, how they first learned about their county’s language policy, what surprised them the most, if they ever changed their mind on some aspect of language policy, if there is anything they would do differently next time, and what advice they would offer to someone in their position. For each person, I would also ask several more text-based questions, either focused on policy texts from their county, policies from ProEnglish, or materials they themselves had published or discussed at a public hearing. Participants had a high degree of control over the nature, setting, recording, and identifiability of the interview (Olinger, Reference Olinger2020, pp. 195–199). Twenty-one people agreed to be recorded, and two opted for no recording. In cases where I did not record, I took notes, but did not attempt to quote more than brief phrases.
I also collected relevant news articles and social media posts. Because my focus is on policymakers and activists, rather than on the general public’s opinions or impressions per se, I used these sources sparingly. In other words, while there have been illuminating studies of language policy discourse in newspaper articles (Fitzsimmons-Doolan, Reference Fitzsimmons-Doolan2009; Tardy, Reference Tardy2009) and online comments sections (Marlow, Reference Marlow2015), that was not my aim. Rather, I generally focused on articles that were by or about my participants. However, there were also moments when I analyzed a text from news or social media in its own right. For example, I started to conceptualize Chapter 3 after reading a Frederick News-Post editorial (2012, February 26) about the English-only movement’s “conflicting messages,” and I first came across the Human Relations Commission’s Resolution on Facebook (Chapter 4). Finally, media discourse played a more important role in my analysis of people who played key roles in local language policy but who did not participate in interviews.
During this whole period of contemporary research, I was also visiting archives and consulting librarians. Archival research does not always go together with ethnographic research, but I find it indispensable for studying language policy movements that unfold over several decades and for studying discourse beyond the speech event more generally (Wortham and Reyes, Reference Wortham and Reyes2015; see also Inoue, Reference Inoue2006). Archival materials readily lend themselves to two of the key components of ethnography: foregrounding people’s perspectives on their own activities and triangulating multiple kinds of data.
Data analysis began with transcribing the audio/video interviews and footage of government meetings, with an eye toward transcribing not just people’s words but also nonverbal activities like laughter and gestures (in the case of video). Because I am interested in discourse across events, I also made a point of marking instances of reported speech when possible and, furthermore, of distinguishing between reported thought, reported talk, reported writing, and reading aloud from a text at hand. On a very practical level, it is important to note when someone is speaking off the cuff versus when they are reading a text aloud. While I have experience with doing very fine-grained transcription, for this book my priority was to make people’s speech as readable and accessible as possible, and so I have taken the liberty of adding punctuation and deleting some stops, starts, and “um”s.
Data analysis was a recursive process, as I continued to collect and compare data, take notes, follow up with participants, and revise my research questions (Sheridan, Reference Sheridan, Nickoson and Sheridan2012, p. 76). While this kind of iteration is typical of ethnographic writing research, the process was amplified by the fact that when the study began Frederick County’s English-only policy seemed thoroughly entrenched, and so I only came to focus on questions of resisting and rewriting (Chapter 4) as the repeal campaign began.
In order to check how my interpretations compared with those of my interview participants, I sent copies of earlier iterations of this project to relevant participants along the way, including for one final round of member checking in spring 2023. During the final check, I sent summaries of every chapter and copies of the specific paragraphs where I incorporated their interview, and people could respond over email or through comments on a GoogleDoc. I heard back from seven people across three counties. Four people had detailed feedback, which I was grateful to incorporate into the final manuscript.
Appendix B Policy Texts
This appendix includes copies of the twenty-first-century language policies that I discuss in detail. I have included these texts because while they are ostensibly public information (and not under copyright because they are US government documents), they are not easily accessible. Many earlier key US language policies are published elsewhere, often in one of two places: Crawford’s (Reference Crawford1992) Language loyalties: A source book on the Official English controversy and Crawford’s (Reference Crawford2002) digital Language Legislation Archives.
I have sought to capture the original structure, capitalization, and uses of bold as closely as possible. At times, the layouts and font styles may seem peculiar – sometimes text is in all caps and sometimes not, sometimes text is aligned to the right side of the page and sometimes not, sometimes clauses end with a period and sometimes not, and so on. This level of variation is typical of government policy texts in the United States.
The one typographical intervention I make here is to indicate revisions made between rough and final drafts. Key revisions affected Frederick County’s 2012 Ordinance and Queen Anne’s County’s 2012 Ordinance. If words were present in a rough draft but people deleted them during the revision process, I show that by crossing out that passage. If people added content during the revision process, I show that by italicizing those words. I will note that there are a few instances in the original texts where text is italicized, but it was never used to emphasize particular ideas, and so I have opted to just leave those passages as plain text, so as to use italics only to designate newly added content.
Finally, readers may wonder about a third kind of revision – rearranging text to go earlier or later in the document. I looked for those kinds of organizational edits, but they did not appear in any of these particular texts.
List of Texts
Frederick County’s Resolution, 2008 (passed)
Frederick County’s Ordinance, 2012, with revisions marked (passed, later repealed)
Anne Arundel County’s Bill, 2012 (did not pass)
Queen Anne’s County’s Ordinance, 2012, with revisions marked (passed)
Carroll County’s Ordinance, 2013 (passed)
Frederick County’s Human Relations Commission’s Resolution, 2015 (passed)
Frederick County’s Repeal Bill, 2015 (passed)
Frederick County’s Resolution, 2008 (passed)
THE EFFECTIVE DATE OF THIS RESOLUTION IS APRIL 24, 2008
RESOLUTION NO. 08-13
RESOLUTION OF
BOARD OF COUNTY COMMISSIONERS OF
FREDERICK COUNTY, MARYLAND
Re:Proclaiming English as the Official, Primary and Common Language
WHEREAS, the English language is the primary and common form of communication in Frederick County; and,
WHEREAS, the Board of County Commissioners of Frederick County, Maryland promotes proficiency in the English language to encourage full economic and civic participation of all its citizens; and,
WHEREAS, the community benefits from acknowledging and embracing the rich and varied cultural heritage in our community.
NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED BY THE BOARD OF COUNTY COMMISSIONERS OF FREDERICK COUNTY, MARYLAND that the Board hereby proclaims that the English language is the official, primary and common language of Frederick County Government.
The undersigned hereby certifies that this Resolution was approved and adopted on the 24th day of April, 2008.
ATTEST:BOARD OF COUNTY COMMISSIONERS
OF FREDERICK COUNTY, MARYLAND
Ronald A. Hart (signed)By:Jan H. Gardner, President (signed)
County Manager
Frederick County’s Ordinance, 2012 (passed, later repealed)
THE EFFECTIVE DATE OF THIS ORDINANCE IS FEBRUARY 22, 2012
ORDINANCE NO. 12-03-598
RE: Frederick County Official English Ordinance
The English language is the common language of Frederick County, Maryland and of the United States;
The use of a common language removes barriers of misunderstanding and helps to unify the people of Frederick County, this State and the United States, and helps to enable the full economic and civic participation of all its citizens, regardless of national origin, creed, race or other characteristics, and thus a compelling governmental interest exists in promoting, preserving, and strengthening the use of the English language;
Proficiency in the English language, as well as in languages other than the English language, benefits Frederick County both economically and culturally and should be encouraged;
In addition to any other ways to promote proficiency in the English language, the Board of County Commissioners of Frederick County, Maryland (BOCC) can promote proficiency in English by using the English language in its official actions and activities;
In today’s society, Frederick County may also need to protect and preserve the rights of those who speak only the English language to use or obtain governmental programs and benefits; and
The BOCC can reduce costs and promote efficiency, in its roles as employer and a government accountable to the people, by using the English language in its official actions and activities.
The BOCC held a duly advertised public hearing on this proposed Ordinance on February 21, 2012. The public had an opportunity to comment at this public hearing.
Section 1. Official English Declaration
A. The English language is the official language of Frederick County.
B. The BOCC and officials of Frederick County shall take all steps necessary to ensure that the role of English as the common language of Frederick County is preserved and enhanced.
C. The BOCC shall make no ordinance which diminishes or ignores the role of English as the common language of Frederick County.
D. Official actions of Frederick County which bind or commit Frederick County or which give the appearance of presenting the official views or position of Frederick County shall be taken in the English language. Unofficial or non-binding translations or explanations of official actions may be provided separately in languages other than English, if they are appropriately labelled as such and reference is made to a method to obtain the official action; unless otherwise required by federal or state law, no person has a right to such an unofficial or non-binding translation or explanation, and no liability or commitment of Frederick County shall be based on such a translation or explanation.
E. No ordinance, decree, program, or policy of Frederick County shall require the use of any language other than English for any documents, regulations, orders, transactions, proceedings, meetings, programs, or publications, except as provided in Section 2.
F. A person who speaks only the English language shall be eligible to participate in all programs, benefits and opportunities, including employment, provided by Frederick County (providing all other eligibility requirements are satisfied), except when required to speak another language as provided in Section 2.
G. No law, ordinance, decree, program, or policy of Frederick County shall penalize or impair the rights, obligations or opportunities available to any person solely because a person speaks only the English language.
Section 2. Exceptions
Frederick County may use a language other than English for any of the following purposes, whether or not the use would be considered part of an official action:
A. To teach or encourage the learning of languages other than English;
B. To protect the public health, sanitation, and public safety;
C. To teach English to those who are not fluent in the language;
D. To comply with the Native American Languages Act, the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act, the Voting Rights Act, or any other federal or state law;
E. To protect the rights of criminal defendants and victims of crime;
F. To promote trade, commerce, and tourism;
G. To collect payments, fines, or other financial obligations due and payable to Frederick County;
H. To create or promote mottos or designations, inscribe public monuments, and perform other acts involving the customary use of a language other than English;
I. To utilize terms of art or terms or phrases from other languages which are commonly used in communications otherwise in English;
J. Printed materials, signage, or other materials or documents of Frederick County printed in languages other than English at the time of the adoption of this ordinance and not otherwise excepted in this Section 2 shall not be discarded or reprinted solely in English at the addition [sic] cost or expense of the taxpayers of Frederick County until they are exhausted or become otherwise obsolete;
K. For any other worthy, justifiable or appropriate action approved by the Board of County Commissioners.
Section 3. Official Functions
Notwithstanding any other state law and except as provided in section 2 of this Ordinance, nothing in this Ordinance shall be construed to prohibit any elected official, officer, agent, employee of the state or a political subdivision, while performing official functions, from communicating unofficially through any medium with another person in a language other than English (as long as official functions are performed in English).
Section 4. Private Use Protected
The declaration and use of English as the official language of Frederick County should not be construed as infringing upon the rights of any person to use a language other than English in private communications or actions, including the right of government officials (including elected officials) to communicate with others while not performing official actions of Frederick County.
Section 5. Federal and State Preemption
Nothing in this Ordinance shall be interpreted as conflicting with the laws of the United States, or of the laws of the State of Maryland.
Section 6. No Cause of Action Created
This Ordinance is not intended to create any cause of action or authorize any legal proceedings to enforce or interpret this Ordinance.
Section 7. Repeal of Prior Resolution.
This Ordinance replaces and supersedes Resolution No. 08-13 “Proclaiming English as the Official, Primary and Common Language” and therefore Resolution No. 08-13 is hereby repealed.
Section 8. Effective Date.
This Ordinance shall take effect on February 22, 2012.
The undersigned hereby certifies that this Ordinance was approved and adopted on the 21st day of February, 2012.
ATTEST:BOARD OF COUNTY COMMISSIONERS
OF FREDERICK COUNTY, MARYLAND
David B. Dunn (signed)Blaine R. Young, President (signed)
County Manager
Anne Arundel County’s Bill, 2012 (did not pass)
COUNTY COUNCIL OF ANNE ARUNDEL COUNTY, MARYLAND
Legislative Session 2012, Legislative Day No. 3
Bill No. 13-12
Introduced by Mr. Walker, Mr. Grasso, Mr. Fink and Mr. Ladd
By the County Council, February 6, 2012
_____
Introduced and first read on February 6, 2012
Public Hearing set for March 5, 2012
Bill expires May 11, 2012
By Order: Elizabeth E. Jones, Administrative Officer
_____
A BILL ENTITLED
AN ORDINANCE concerning: General Provisions – Miscellaneous Provisions –Official Language
FOR the purpose of establishing English as the official language of Anne Arundel County; and generally related to County government.
BY adding § 1-9-105
Anne Arundel County Code (2005, as amended)
ARTICLE 1. GENERAL PROVISIONS
TITLE 9. MISCELLANEOUS PROVISIONS
1-9-105. Official Language
ENGLISH SHALL BE THE OFFICIAL AND COMMON LANGUAGE OF THE COUNTY. ALL OFFICIAL DOCUMENTS, COMMUNICATION AND AGREEMENTS ON BEHALF OF THE COUNTY SHALL BE IN ENGLISH UNLESS MANDATED BY FEDERAL OR STATE LAW OR AS NECESSARY TO PROTECT THE RIGHTS OF VICTIMS OF CRIME AND CRIMINAL DEFENDANTS, TO PROTECT PUBLIC HEALTH AND SAFETY, TO TEACH ENGLISH TO NON-NATIVE SPEAKERS, OR TO PROMOTE TRADE AND TOURISM IN THE COUNTY.
SECTION 2. And be it further enacted, That this Ordinance shall take effect 45 days from the date it becomes law.
_____
EXPLANATION:CAPITALS indicate new matter added to existing law.
[Brackets] indicate matter stricken from existing law.
AN AMENDMENT TO
A BILL ENTITLED
AN ACT CONCERNING Recognition of English as the Official Language of Queen Anne’s County.
FOR THE PURPOSE of designating the English language amending pending County Ordinance No. 12-06 to clarify the provisions regarding the declaration and recognition of English as the official language of Queen Anne’s County.
BY ADDING AMENDING the proposed new Section 4-14 to of the Code of Public Local Laws of Queen Anne’s County, Maryland.
Section I
BE IT ENACTED BY THE COUNTY COMMISSIONERS OF QUEEN ANNE’S COUNTY, MARYLAND that a new Section 4-14 be added to the Code of Public Local Laws of Queen Anne’s County, to read as follows: pending County Ordinance No. 12-06 be amended so that the new Section 4-14 of the Code of Public Local Laws shall read as follows:
§4-14. Official Language of Queen Anne’s County.
ENGLISH SHALL BE THE OFFICIAL AND COMMON LANGUAGE OF QUEEN ANNE’S COUNTY. ALL OFFICIAL DOCUMENTS, COMMUNICATION AND AGREEMENTS ON BEHALF OF THE COUNTY SHALL BE IN ENGLISH UNLESS MANDATED BY FEDERAL OR STATE LAW OR AS NECESSARY TO PROTECT THE RIGHTS OF VICTIMS OF CRIME AND CRIMINAL DEFENDANTS, TO PROTECT PUBLISH HEALTH AND SAFETY, TO TEACH ENGLISH TO NON-NATIVE SPEAKERS, OR TO PROMOT [SIC] TRADE AND TOURISM IN THE COUNTY.
A. Findings
The people of Queen Anne’s County, Maryland, find and declare that:
(1) the English language is the common language of Queen Anne’s County, of the State of Maryland and of the United States;
(2) the use of a common language removes barriers of misunderstanding and helps to unify the people of Queen Anne’s County, this State and the United States, and helps to enable the full economic and civil participation of all of its citizens, regardless of national origin, creed, race or other characteristics, and thus a compelling governmental interest exists in promoting, preserving, and strengthening the use of the English language;
(3) proficiency in the English language, as well as in languages other than the English language, benefits Queen Anne’s County both economically and culturally and should be encouraged;
(4) in addition to any other ways to promote proficiency in the English language, the government of Queen Anne’s County can promote proficiency in English by using the English language in its official actions and activities;
(5) in today’s society, Queen Anne’s County may also need to protect and preserve the rights of those who speak only the English language to use or obtain governmental programs and benefits; and
(6) the government of Queen Anne’s County can reduce costs and promote efficiency, in its roles as employer and a government accountable to the people, by using the English language in its official actions and activities.
B. Official English Declaration
(1) The English language is the official language of Queen Anne’s County.
(2) The County Commissioners and officials of Queen Anne’s County shall take all necessary steps to insure [sic] that the role of English as the common language of Queen Anne’s County is preserved and enhanced.
(3) The County Commissioners of Queen Anne’s County shall make no Ordinance which diminishes or ignores the role of English as the common language of Queen Anne’s County.
(4) Official actions of Queen Anne’s County which bind or commit Queen Anne’s County or which give the appearance of presenting the official views or position of Queen Anne’s County shall be taken in the English language, and in no other language. Unofficial or non-binding translations or explanations of official actions may be provided separately in languages other than English, if they are appropriately labeled as such and reference is made to a method to obtain the official action; unless otherwise required by federal or State law, no person has a right to such an unofficial or non-binding translation or explanation, and no liability or commitment of Queen Anne’s County shall be based on such a translation or explanation.
(5) No ordinance, decree, program, or policy of Queen Anne’s County of any of its subdivisions, shall require the use of any language other than English for any documents, regulations, orders, transactions, proceedings, meetings, programs, or publications, except as provided in Section C.
(6) A person who speaks only the English language shall be eligible to participate in all programs, benefits and opportunities, including employment, provided by Queen Anne’s County and its subdivisions, except when required to speak another language as provided in Section C.
(7) No law, ordinance, decree, program, or policy of Queen Anne’s County or any of its subdivisions shall penalize or impair the rights, obligations or opportunities available to any person solely because a person speaks only the English language.
C. Exceptions
Queen Anne’s County and its subdivisions may use a language other than English for any of the following purposes, whether or not the use would be considered part of an official action:
(1) To teach or encourage the learning of languages other than English;
(2) To protect the public health, sanitation, and public safety;
(3) To teach English to those who are not fluent in the language;
(4) To comply with the Native American Languages Act, the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act, the Voting Rights Act, or any other federal or State law;
(5) To protect the rights of criminal defendants and victims of crime;
(6) To promote trade, commerce, and tourism;
(7) To collect payments, fines, or other financial obligations due and payable to the court;
(8) To create or promote mottos or designations, inscribe public monuments, and perform other acts involving the customary use of a language other than English;
(9) To utilize terms of art or terms or phrases from other languages which are commonly used in communications otherwise in English; and
(10) Printed materials, signage, or other materials or documents of Queen Anne’s County printed in languages other than English at the time of adoption of this Ordinance and not otherwise excepted in this section C shall not be discarded or reprinted solely in English at the addition [sic] cost or expense of the taxpayers of the County until they are exhausted or become otherwise obsolete.
D. Rules of Construction.
Notwithstanding any other state law and except as provided in Section C of this chapter, nothing in this chapter shall be construed to prohibit any elected official, officer, agent, employee of the state or a political subdivision, while performing official functions, from communicating unofficially through any medium with another person in a language other than English (as long as official functions are performed in English).
E. Private Use Protected.
The declaration and use of English as the official language of Queen Anne’s County should not be construed as infringing upon the rights of any person to use a language other than English in private communications or actions, including the right of government officials (including elected officials) to communicate with others while not performing official’s [sic] actions of Queen Anne’s County.
F. Severability.
If any provision of this ordinance, or the applicability of any provision to any person or circumstance, shall be held to be invalid by a court of competent jurisdiction, the remainder of this ordinance shall not be affected and shall be given effect to the fullest extent practicable.
G. Federal and State Preemption.
Nothing in this Ordinance shall be interpreted as conflicting with the statutes of the United States, or the laws of the State of Maryland.
Section II
BE IT FURTHER ENACTED that this Amendment shall take effect immediately upon its adoption.
INTRODUCED BY: Commissioner Olds
DATE: April 10, 2012
VOTE: 4 Yea 1 Nay (Commissioner Dunmyer opposed)
DATE OF ADOPTION OF AMENDMENT: May 8, 2012
Carroll County’s Ordinance, 2013 (passed)
ORDINANCE NO. 2013-01
AN ORDINANCE ADOPTING AMENDMENTS TO THE CODE OF PUBLIC LOCAL LAWS AND ORDINANCES OF CARROLL COUNTY, MARYLAND
WHEREAS, The Board of Commissioners of Carroll County, Maryland, has enacted and codified the “Code of Public Local Laws and Ordinances of Carroll County, Maryland”;
WHEREAS, the Board of County Commissioners of Carroll County, Maryland, has determined that amendments to certain sections of Code are necessary to advance the public health, safety, and welfare;
WHERAS [SIC], the English language is the common language of Carroll County, Maryland and of the United States of America;
WHEREAS, the use of a common language removes barriers of misunderstanding and helps to unify the citizens of Carroll County, the State of Maryland, and the United States of America, and helps to enable the full economic and civic participation of all its citizens, regardless of national origin, creed, race, or other characteristics, and thus a compelling governmental interest exists in promoting, preserving, and strengthening the use of the English language;
WHEREAS, proficiency in the English language, as well as other languages, benefits Carroll County both economically and culturally and should be encouraged;
WHEREAS, in addition to other ways to promote efficiency in the English language, the Board of County Commissioners of Carroll County can promote proficiency in English by using the English language in its official actions and activities;
WHEREAS, the Board of County Commissioners recognizes the need to protect and preserve the rights of those who speak only the English language to use or obtain governmental programs, services, and benefits;
WHEREAS, the Board of County Commissioners of Carroll County can reduce costs and promote efficiency in its roles as employer and as a government accountable to its citizens by using the English language in its official actions and activities; and
WHEREAS, the Board of County Commissioners of Carroll County, Maryland, desires to designate the English language as the official language of Carroll County, and for that purpose, it is necessary to adopt an ordinance.
NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT ENACTED by the Board of County Commissioners of Carroll County, Maryland:
Article I. Amendments.
The Code of Public Local Laws and Ordinances of Carroll County, Chapter 10 (Reserved), is deleted in its entirety and replaced as follows:
Chapter 10, OFFICIAL LANGUAGE OF CARROLL COUNTY
§ 10-1. Official English Declaration.
A. The English language is the official language of Carroll County, Maryland.
B. The Board of County Commissioners of Carroll County shall take all steps necessary to ensure that the role of English as the common language of Carroll County is preserved and enhanced.
C. The Board of County Commissioners of Carroll County shall take no official action which would diminish or ignore the role of English as the common language of Carroll County.
D. Official actions of Carroll County government which bind or commit Carroll County or which give the appearance of presenting the official views or position of Carroll County shall be taken in the English language, and in no other language. Unofficial or non-binding translations or explanations of official actions may be provided separately in languages other than English, if they are appropriately labeled as such and reference is made to a method to obtain the official action. Unless otherwise required by federal or state law, no person has a right to such an official or non-binding translation or explanation, and no liability or commitment of Carroll County shall be based on such a translation or explanation.
E. No ordinance, decree, program, or policy of Carroll County shall require the use of any language other than English for any documents, regulations, orders, transactions, proceedings, meetings, programs, or publications, except as provided in § 10-2.
F. A person who speaks only the English language shall be eligible to participate in all programs, benefits, and opportunities, including employment provided by Carroll County provided all other eligibility requirements are satisfied, except when required to speak another language as provided in § 10-2.
G. No law, ordinance, decree, program, or policy of Carroll County shall penalize or impair the rights, obligations, or opportunities available to any person solely because a person speaks only the official language.
§ 10-2. Exceptions.
Carroll County may use a language other than English for any of the following purposes, whether or not the use would be considered part of an official action:
A. To teach or encourage the learning of languages other than English;
B. To protect the public health, sanitation, and public safety;
C. To teach English to those who are not fluent in the language;
D. To comply with the Native American Languages Act, the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act, the Voting Rights Act, or any other federal or state law;
E. To protect the rights of criminal defendants and victims of crime;
F. To promote trade, commerce, and tourism;
G. To collect payments, fines, or other financial obligations due and payable to Carroll County;
H. To create or promote mottos or designations, inscribe public monuments, and perform other acts involving the customary use of a language other than English;
I. To utilize the terms of art of terms or phrases from other languages which are commonly used in communications otherwise in English; and
J. Printed materials, signage, or other materials or documents of Carroll County printed in languages other than English at the time of the adoption of this ordinance and not otherwise excepted in this section shall not be discarded or reprinted solely in English at the additional cost or expense of the taxpayers of Carroll County until they are exhausted or become otherwise obsolete.
§ 10-3. Official Functions.
Notwithstanding any other state law and except as provided in § 10-2 of this ordinance, nothing in this ordinance shall be construed to prohibit any elected official, officer, agent, employee of the County or a political subdivision, while performing official functions, from communicating unofficially through any medium with another person in a language other than English, provided that all official functions are performed only in English.
§ 10-4. Private Use Protected.
The declaration and use of English as the official language of Carroll County should not be construed as infringing upon the rights of any person to use a language other than English in private communications or actions, including the right of government officials, including elected officials, to communicate with others while not performing official actions of Carroll County.
§ 10-5. Federal and State Preemption.
Nothing in this ordinance shall be interpreted as conflicting with the laws of the United States of America or the laws of the State of Maryland.
§ 10-6. No Cause of Action Created.
This ordinance is not intended to create any cause of action or authorize any legal proceedings to enforce or interpret this ordinance.
ARTICLE II. SEVERABILITY.
Should any provision, section, paragraph or subparagraph of this Ordinance, including any code or text adopted hereby, be declared null and void, illegal, unconstitutional, or otherwise determined to be unenforceable by a court having jurisdiction; the same shall not effect the validity, legality, or enforceability of any other provision, section, paragraph or subparagraph hereof, including any code or text adopted hereby. Each such provision, section, paragraph or subparagraph is expressly declared to be and is deemed severable.
ARTICLE III. EFFECTIVE DATE.
This Ordinance shall become effective on January 30, 2013.
Adopted this 24th day of January, 2013.
Attest:
Shawn D. Reese, County Clerk (signed)
The COUNTY COMMISSIONERS OF
CARROLL COUNTY, MARYLAND,
a body corporate and politic
of the state of Maryland
J. Douglas Howard, President (signed)
David H. Roush, Vice President (signed)
Haven N. Shoemaker, Jr., Secretary (signed)
Robin Bartlett Frazier, Commissioner (signed)
Richard S. Rothschild, Commissioner (signed)
Approved for legal sufficiency:
Timothy C. Burke (with ink signature)
County Attorney
Notice of Public Hearing published: 10/15/12; 10/29/12; 11/27/12; 12/04/12
Public Hearing held: 12/11/12
Public Meeting to adopt Ordinance: 01/24/13
Notice of Adoption of Ordinance published: 01/30/13
Ordinance filed with Clerk of Court: 01/30/13
I hereby certify that the actions described above took place on the dates referred to above and that this Ordinance is effective as of the 30th of January, 2013.
Timothy C. Burke, County Attorney (signed)
Frederick County’s Human Relations Commission’s Resolution, 2015 (passed)
Repeal of the Frederick County Official English Ordinance
Human Relations Commission
HRC Resolution 2014-15A
WHEREAS, on February 21, 2012, Frederick County adopted Ordinance Number 12-03-598 that declared English to be the official language in Frederick County, Maryland after one public hearing without significant public contribution or discussion,
WHEREAS, the apparent purpose of this Ordinance is the denigration of people who speak languages other than English and has come to symbolize intolerance, narrow-mindedness and discrimination,
WHEREAS, under the regulations of the Frederick County Human Relations Commission, this Commission is charged with the responsibility to “foster and encourage the elimination of discriminatory practices within Frederick County so that all persons in Frederick County are provided with an equal opportunity to be free from discrimination.” [Section 1(A)], and
WHEREAS, The Commission is also required to monitor and recommend civil rights policy to the County. [Section 4(A)],
WHEREAS, Frederick County has a long history of multiple languages over the last three centuries, including our rich German heritage to which we owe our founding,
WHEREAS, governments, businesses, and individuals in Frederick County communicate freely and openly, most often in English but in many other languages as well,
WHEREAS, Frederick County has many employers who participate in minority recruitment and hiring and recognize that embracing diversity is critical to recruiting and retaining the best and brightest to their respective fields,
WHEREAS, we believe that one of the most vital and valuable aspects of daily life in Frederick County is its diversity and cultural heritage where all races, religions, ages, and cultures are welcome, as should be all languages,
WHEREAS, we believe that this Ordinance, and the perception it has created, is a barrier to making Frederick County the very best place to live, work, and raise a family.
THEREFORE, BE IT HEREBY RESOLVED on this 28th day of April, 2015, that the Human Relations Commission of Frederick County recommends to the Frederick County Council that Ordinance Number 12-03-598 be repealed.
Angela H. Spencer (signed)Tonya Amedon (signed)
ChairVice Chair
Frederick County Repeal Bill, 2015 (passed)
Bill No. 15-08
Concerning: An Act to Repeal Ordinance No. 12-03-598
(Frederick County Official English Ordinance)
Introduced: June 16, 2015
Enacted: August 18, 2015
Executive: Jan H. Gardner 8-25-15 (signed)
Effective: October 17, 2015
COUNTY COUNCIL
FOR FREDERICK COUNTY, MARYLAND
By: Council Member Fitzwater. Co-Sponsor Council Vice President Keegan-Ayer
AN ACT to:
Repeal Ordinance No. 12-03-598, for the purpose of promoting a competitive business climate for Frederick County’s existing 6,200 businesses which employ 79,000 workers; attracting new life science businesses and jobs that will move Frederick County closer to becoming the State’s bio-tech hub; ensuring that non-English language speakers are not deterred from reporting crimes, seeking medical care or other human services; and generally relating to Frederick County’s encouragement of multi-linguistic acceptance, tolerance and multi-cultural diversity in an increasingly global economy.
By amending:
Frederick County Code, Chapter N/A
Bill No. 15-08
The Board of County Commissioners of Frederick County, Maryland, enacted Ordinance No. 12-03-598, titled “Frederick County Official English Ordinance” (Ordinance), effective February 22, 2012.
The Ordinance proclaimed English as the official language of Frederick County. The Ordinance required that official actions which bind or commit Frederick County or which give the appearance of presenting the official views or positions of Frederick County be taken in the English language.
The County Council of Frederick County, Maryland, (Council) finds that the Ordinance, and the perception it has created, constitutes a barrier to good business and impedes the growth and development of business and commercial endeavors in Frederick County.
The Council has determined that in order to broaden the appeal of Frederick County to the business community, and to attract and retain businesses and employees in the biotech and life science segments of the commercial economy, Frederick County must and does embrace diversity.
The Council determines and believes that Frederick County is, and should be, a welcoming community to all, with pride in the diversity of cultures and individuals who participate in and promote the well-being and growth of the County.
The Council finds that there are numerous federal and Maryland State laws and regulations that currently exist which require translation and interpretation to facilitate and recognize the increasing diversity of persons residing in Frederick County.
The Council further finds and determines that the Ordinance impedes the integration of diverse culture and values into our community and is contrary to the tolerance and acceptance of all individuals which is a hallmark of the community which is Frederick County.
In light of these circumstances, the Council has determined that it is necessary and proper, and in the best interest of the residents of Frederick County, that the Ordinance be repealed.
NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT ENACTED, that Ordinance 12-03-598, attached hereto as Exhibit A, be, and the same is hereby, REPEALED.
Harold F. (Bud) Otis, President (signed)
County Council of Frederick County, Maryland
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