[§371-33]  Oral and written languageservices.  (a)  Each state agency and all covered entities shalltake reasonable steps to ensure meaningful access to services, programs, andactivities by limited English proficient persons, which will be determined by atotality of circumstances, including the following factors:

(1)  The number or proportion of limited Englishproficient persons served or encountered in the eligible service population;

(2)  The frequency with which limited Englishproficient persons come in contact with the services, programs, or activities;

(3)  The nature and importance of the services,programs, or activities; and

(4)  The resources available to the State or coveredentity and the costs.

(b)  Subject to subsection (a), each state agencyand covered entity shall provide competent, timely oral language services tolimited English proficient persons who seek to access services, programs, oractivities.

(c)  Subject to subsection (a), each stateagency and covered entity shall provide written translations of vital documentsto limited English proficient persons who seek to access services, programs, oractivities, as follows:

(1)  Written translations of vital documents for eacheligible limited English proficient group that constitutes five per cent or onethousand, whichever is less, of the population of persons eligible to be servedor likely to be affected or encountered; or

(2)  If there are fewer than fifty persons in alimited English proficient group that reaches the five per cent threshold inparagraph (1), written notice in the primary language to the limited Englishproficient language group of the right to receive competent oral interpretationof those written materials, free of cost.

(d)  To the extent that the State requiresadditional personnel to provide language services based on the determinationset forth in this section, the State shall hire qualified personnel who arebilingual to fill existing, budgeted vacant public contact positions. [L 2006,c 290, pt of §1]