Opinion ID: 2600380
Heading Depth: 3
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: The OEI Requires the Use of English in All Government Functions and Actions.

Text: The parties vigorously dispute the scope and effect of the law. We begin our analysis with its text: Sec. 44.12.300. Findings and purpose. The people of the State of Alaska find that English is the common unifying language of the State of Alaska and the United States of America, and declare a compelling interest in promoting, preserving and strengthening its use. Sec. 44.12.310. Official language. The English language is the official language of the State of Alaska. Sec. 44.12.320. Scope. The English language is the language to be used by all public agencies in all government functions and actions. The English language shall be used in the preparation of all official public documents and records, including all documents officially compiled, published or recorded by the government. Sec. 44.12.330. Applicability. AS 44.12.300-44.12.390 apply to the legislative and executive branches of the State of Alaska and all political subdivisions, including all departments, agencies, divisions and instrumentalities of the State, the University of Alaska, all public authorities and corporations, all local governments and departments, agencies, divisions, and instrumentalities of local governments, and all government officers and employees. Sec. 44.12.340. Exceptions. (a) The government, as defined in AS 44.12.330, may use a language other than English when necessary for the following purposes: (1) to communicate health and safety information or when an emergency requires the use of a language other than English; (2) to teach another language to students proficient in English; (3) to teach English to students of limited English proficiency; (4) to promote international relations, trade, commerce, tourism or sporting events; (5) to protect the constitutional and legal rights of criminal defendants; (6) to serve the needs of the judicial system in civil and criminal cases in compliance with court rules and orders; (7) to investigate criminal activity and protect the rights of crime victims; (8) to the extent necessary to comply with federal law, including the Native American Languages Act; (9) to attend or observe religious ceremonies; (10) to use non-English terms of art, names, phrases, or expressions included as part of communications otherwise in English; and (11) to communicate orally with constituents by elected public officials and their staffs, if the public official or staff member is already proficient in a language other than English. (b) An individual may provide testimony or make a statement to the government in a language other than English, if the individual is not an officer or employee of the government, and if the testimony or statement is translated into English and included in the records of the government. Sec. 44.12.350. Public accountability. All costs related to the preparation, translation, printing, or recording of documents, records, brochures, pamphlets, flyers, or other material in languages other than English shall be defined as a separate line item in the budget of every governmental agency, department, or office. Sec. 44.12.360. Non-denial of employment or services. (a) No governmental entity shall require knowledge of a language other than English as a condition of employment unless the requirements of the position fall within one of the exceptions provided in AS 44.12.340, and facility in another language is a bona fide job qualification required to fulfill a function included within one of the exceptions. (b) No person may be denied services, assistance, benefits, or facilities, directly or indirectly provided by the government, because that person communicates only in English. Sec. 44.12.370. Private sector excluded. AS 44.12.300-44.12.390 shall not be construed in any way that infringes upon the rights of persons to use languages other than English in activities or functions conducted solely in the private sector, and the government may not restrict the use of language other than English in such private activities or functions. Sec. 44.12.380. Private cause of action authorized. Any person may bring suit against any governmental entity to enforce the provisions of AS 44.12.300-44.12.390. Sec. 44.12.390. Severability. The provisions of AS 44.12.300-44.12.390 are independent and severable, and if any provision of AS 44.12.300-44.12.390, 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 AS 44.12.300-44.12.390 shall not be affected and shall be given effect to the fullest extent practicable.
ACL argues that the superior court misconstrued the purpose of the OEI, and that the law would have little impact on government because it was never intended as a categorical ban on communication in other languages. ACL claims that any potential constitutional problems can be avoided if we interpret the OEI as requiring the use of English only in the formal and official acts of government rather than as a categorical ban on speech in other languages in all aspects of government. The superior court, agreeing with Kritz and Alakayak, rejected ACL's proposed interpretation as unsupported by the text of the initiative itself or by the other ballot materials provided to voters on or before November 3, 1998.
Our precedent clearly establishes that courts should if possible construe statutes so as to avoid the danger of unconstitutionality. [26] To this end, [a] party raising a constitutional challenge to a statute bears the burden of demonstrating the constitutional violation. A presumption of constitutionality applies, and doubts are resolved in favor of constitutionality. [27] Thus, if we are able to avoid a finding of constitutional infirmity by construing the OEI to apply only to the official acts of government, our case law directs that we must do so. However, we may not read into a statute that which is not there, even in the interest of avoiding a finding of unconstitutionality, because the extent to which the express language of the provision can be altered and departed from and the extent to which the infirmities can be rectified by the use of implied terms is limited by the constitutionally decreed separation of powers which prohibits this court from enacting legislation or redrafting defective statutes. [28] While we often look to legislative intent to construe the meaning of ambiguous statutes, we take a slightly different approach when interpreting initiatives enacted by the voters. [29] When we construe a statute, we look at both its plain language and at its legislative history [30] and, whenever possible, we construe a statute in light of its purpose. [31] While [s]tatements made by a bill's sponsor during legislative deliberations are relevant evidence when the court is trying to determine legislative intent[,] [32] we have also observed that [w]here a statute's meaning appears plain and unambiguous . . . the party asserting a different meaning bears a correspondingly heavy burden of demonstrating contrary legislative intent. [33] By contrast, when we review a ballot initiative, we look to any published arguments made in support or opposition to determine what meaning voters may have attached to the initiative. [34] But we will not accord special weight to the stated intentions of any individual sponsor that are not reflected in the content of the legislation itself. [35] To the extent possible, we attempt to place ourselves in the position of the voters at the time the initiative was placed on the ballot, and we try to interpret the initiative using the tools available to the citizens of this state at that time. [36] ACL has urged this court to consider the affidavits of the OEI's drafters and sponsors as we construe the initiative. Kritz responds that it would be inappropriate to rely on these affidavits as evidence of voter intent because materials which were not published and distributed to the electorate do not carry the indicia of trustworthiness from having been presumptively distributed to and read by each and every voter. We agree. Because we must construe an initiative by looking to the materials considered by the voters themselves, we cannot rely on affidavits of the sponsors' intent. [37] Accordingly, we will rely only upon materials that Alaska voters had available and would have relied upon to determine the scope and impact of the OEI.
The parties dispute whether the OEI is properly characterized as an English-only law. ACL's statement in support of the initiative stated that  this bill will have no impact on public or private use of Alaska Native languages,  that the initiative will impose a limit only on the government, and that [p]rivate citizens will still be able to use any language they want, anywhere, at any time. (Emphasis in original.) The summary described English as our official language, a symbol which reminds Alaskans of every race, religion, and background of what we all have in common. In contrast, the opposition statement of the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) warned that, if enacted, the law will have severe consequences for the many non-English speaking residents and citizens of Alaska. Highlighting some of these consequences, the statement cautioned that the law would not protect the use of Native languages, that it would require government employees to communicate with non-English speakers only in English even if they were able to speak the individual's language, that it would bar non-English speakers from receiving many services to which they are entitled, and that it would violate the constitutional rights of each Alaskan to speak in the language of their choice, to petition their government for redress of grievances, and to equal protection of the laws. We agree. The OEI, presented to voters as Ballot Measure 6, was entitled Requiring Government to Use English. The ballot measure contained a neutral summary prepared by the lieutenant governor, a Legislative Affairs Agency summary, a copy of the full text of the proposed statute, a statement in support of the statute drafted by its sponsor ACL, and a statement in opposition to the statute drafted by the ACLU. The neutral summary stated: This bill requires the state to use English in all government functions and actions. State records must be in English. The state means the legislature, all state agencies, local governments, school districts, public corporations and the university. Those entities may use non-English languages for international trade, emergencies, teaching languages, court suits, criminal inquiries, for elected officials to talk to constituents or to comply with federal law. Costs of non-English records must be identified. Persons who speak only English may not be denied state jobs or services. The bill does not affect private sector use of non-English languages.[ [38] ] The Legislative Affairs Agency summary explained that the OEI would require each public office, including each office of the state, public corporations and local governments, to use English in all functions, except in eleven enumerated circumstances. It further explained: A person who is not a public officer or employee may make a statement to the government in another language if it is changed into English and made a part of the record. (Emphasis added.) The summary concluded: The government may not stop the use of another language in a private function. A person may sue to enforce this measure.
ACL argues that AS 44.12.310 and .320, when read together, support its argument that the OEI was meant to apply only to the official or authorized acts of the State, and prove that the OEI recognizes a common sense distinction between formal and informal acts of government. These sections of the initiative provide: Sec. 44.12.310. Official language. The English language is the official language of the State of Alaska. Sec. 44.12.320. Scope. The English language is the language to be used by all public agencies in all government functions and actions. The English language shall be used in the preparation of all official public documents and records, including all documents officially compiled, published or recorded by the government. (Emphasis added.) According to ACL, if the first sentence of section .320 applied to all acts by government employees, the second sentence would be unnecessary; thus its inclusion plainly modifies the reach of the initiative to govern only official state functions. ACL maintains that the OEI's language plainly contemplates a category of informal, unofficial, written documents which it does not purport to govern. ACL argues in addition that because the OEI contemplates instances in which the government may use informal written materials in languages other than English, it is reasonable to construe the statute to permit informal oral communication in languages other than English as well. While ACL concedes that the government must act through its officers and employees, it claims that the OEI requires only that they use English to the extent that they are carrying out the government functions and actions of public agencies  that is, only to the extent they are performing official, authorized acts of government. We disagree regarding the first sentence of AS 44.12.320. A similar argument was attempted  unsuccessfully  by proponents of English-only laws before the highest courts of both Arizona and Oklahoma. The Arizona court addressed the distinction between official and unofficial acts of government in Ruiz v. Hull, [39] after the Arizona Attorney General, in defending the law, argued that only official acts of government would be affected by the implementation of Article XXVIII of the Arizona Constitution (the amendment). [40] While somewhat more broadly applied than the OEI, [41] the amendment similarly provided that English must be the language of all government functions and actions, [42] that all employees of the state must act in English, [43] and that all government documents must be written in the English language. [44] The attorney general maintained that the Amendment should not be read to prohibit public employees from using non-English languages while performing their public functions that could not be characterized as official. [45] The court noted the inconsistency of that interpretation with both the language of the amendment, which applied to all government functions and actions, and with the ordinary meaning of those terms, which do not impose such a limitation. [46] The Ruiz court concluded: By its express terms, the Amendment is not limited to official government acts or to the formal, policy making, enacting and binding activities of the government. Rather, it is plainly written in the broadest possible terms, declaring that the English language is the language of . . . all government functions and actions  and prohibiting all government officials and employees at every level of state and local government from using non-English languages  during the performance of government business. [ [47] ] The Supreme Court of Oklahoma reached a similar conclusion in In re Initiative Petition No. 366. [48] The initiative at issue in Oklahoma required that [a]ll official documents, transactions, proceedings, meetings, or publications issued, which are conducted or regulated by, on behalf of, or representing the state and all of its political subdivisions shall be in the English language. [49] The court construed this provision to prohibit all governmental communications, both written and oral, by government employees, elected officials, and citizens, of all words, even those which are of common usage, in any language other than English when conducting state business. [50] The court concluded that this restriction prevented non-English speakers from effectively communicating with government officials and from receiving vital information about government. [51] The same issues are presented in this case. The first sentence of AS 44.12.320 requires the use of English in all government functions and actions. Because the plain language of the initiative is so clear, ACL bears a correspondingly heavy burden of demonstrating contrary [voter] intent. [52] We next turn to an examination of the ballot materials to determine whether ACL has met this burden. ACL points to no ballot materials that indicate that the voters might have contemplated distinctions between official and unofficial or formal and informal acts of government when they enacted the OEI. The Legislative Affairs Agency summary explicitly stated that, pursuant to the OEI, every public officer or employee of the state would be required to use English in all functions, except in situations governed by the eleven enumerated exceptions. While ACL's statement in support of the initiative claimed that it would limit only government speech and would have no effect on the speech of private individuals, it did not state that the initiative would allow government employees to engage in informal or unofficial conversation with private citizens regarding government business in a language other than English. Because the meaning of the first sentence of AS 44.12.320 appears plain and unambiguous, and because ACL has not offered sufficient evidence of contrary voter intent, we have no basis to find that the voters shared what ACL calls its common sense reading of the initiative. The first sentence of Section .320 plainly mandates the use of English by government officers and employees in the performance of their jobs, whether communicating with English or non-English speakers, except in specific circumstances. Accordingly, we reject ACL's contention that the plain language of the first sentence of AS 44.12.320, permits the unofficial or informal use of languages other than English by state officials or employees in the performance of their duties.
The same principles we applied to the first sentence of the OEI apply here as well. A presumption of constitutionality applies, and doubts are resolved in favor of constitutionality. [53] If we can save a statute, or part of one, via a narrowing construction, we must do so. [54] This presumption is limited, though, by our reluctance to step into the shoes of the legislature and redraft legislation. [55] In contrast to the first sentence of .320, the second sentence is capable of a narrow reading that is supported by its text and by the ballot materials. The text of the second sentence includes the word official, thus plainly contemplat[ing], as ACL argues, a category of informal, unofficial written documents outside the reach of the OEI. Furthermore, the part of the neutral ballot summary addressing the second sentence of .320 states only, State records must be in English. It does not require that all state records must be in English, at least suggesting that those state records that are not official are not within the reach of the OEI. Since the text of AS 44.12.320 and the ballot materials demonstrate that the second sentence of section .320 is capable of a narrow construction, we are bound by our rules of statutory interpretation to use that construction. Of what, then, does this category of informal, unofficial written documents consist? We agree with ACL's position that the distinction between official and unofficial is a conceptual distinction, not a laundry list. Looking at the record, we are met with various examples of documents that appear to be unofficial or informal. They are not published to the public but rather are written for an individual or a private audience. They lack indicia of formality such as seals or binding. They may even be handwritten. This category of unofficial or informal documents would include such documents as a note in Spanish from a teacher to a monolingual Spanish-speaking parent; a letter from a city councilor in Yup'ik responding to a constituent inquiry; a letter in Tlingit from a public health employee offering medical advice; or an invoice prepared in Yup'ik by a city mechanic for services rendered. None of these documents is an official public document in the sense that each one is individually tailored, is geared to address a private inquiry, and is generally not released to the public. These enumerated examples are neither exclusive nor comprehensive; nor by the discussion of these specific examples do we mean to provide a definitive holding as to their nature. This case presents, after all, only a facial challenge to the statute. Furthermore, we construe the second sentence of AS 44.12.320 to mean that multilingual official documents are not prohibited so long as an English version of the document is published. The second sentence states that [t]he English language shall be used in official documents. The first sentence, in contrast, states that English is the language to be used. We take this to mean that the first sentence of AS 44.12.320 intends an exclusivity of English and has a prohibitory function. The second sentence, in contrast, has a permissive aspect, allowing the use of non-English languages in documents so long as English is also used. Thus, the OEI would allow a fisheries notice to be posted in English and Yup'ik; it would allow the Department of Labor and Workforce Development to provide written information in English, Tagalog, and Spanish; and it would allow the Department of Motor Vehicles to give examinations in multiple languages. In keeping with this narrow construction, we believe, contrary to the argument of Alakayak, that the second sentence would not prohibit the publication of monograms of graduate student dissertations . . . children's books written in Yup'ik . . . ads and messages placed in the Anchorage Blue Book . . . or assorted messages and notes tacked to a community bulletin board in a Yup'ik village. This construction is the basis for our holding that unconstitutional portions of the OEI may be severed from constitutional portions.