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Officials and advocates urge stronger enforcement, funding and an emergency language-access plan
Summary
At a May 20 hearing, the Office of Civic Engagement and Immigrant Affairs and community groups reviewed the 2021 Language Access Ordinance report and urged more funding, better data, stronger enforcement and a citywide emergency language-access plan; committee filed the hearing for follow-up.
City officials, immigrant-rights commissioners and community advocates on May 20 urged the Board’s Government Audit and Oversight Committee to strengthen San Francisco’s Language Access Ordinance (LAO) with more funding, accountability and better emergency protocols.
Adrian Pund, executive director of the Office of Civic Engagement and Immigrant Affairs (OCEIA), presented the 2021 language-access report and said the city’s total language-access spending rose to about $22 million — a roughly 40% increase from the prior year — but that the number of bilingual staff did not increase. "Language access should be a priority, not an afterthought," Pund said, arguing for more centralized capacity and a citywide emergency plan.
Immigrant Rights Commission members and the Language Access Network said departments rely too heavily on self-reporting and telephonic interpretation, that quality control of translations and interpretations is inconsistent, and that non-threshold and emerging languages (including indigenous and African languages) lack adequate services. Annette Wong of Chinese for Affirmative Action said community-based organizations have documented long waits and limited quality control; Eva (name redacted in the transcript) and Rebecca Dean urged measures including public reporting of departmental violations, budget transparency about language-access spending, independent audits, and compensation for community-based organizations that provide interpretation.
Supervisors pressed OCEIA on practical steps. Pund described a soft launch of a $30,000 community-interpreters pilot and recommended linking compliance to existing budget-review mechanisms and stronger data tools. Committee members asked for clearer accountability mechanisms and for OCEIA to return with proposals for enforcement tied to budgeting and audits.
Public callers described emergency incidents where responders lacked language access and urged more multilingual neighborhood resources and bilingual staff in legal and emergency services. President Walton moved to file the hearing; the committee voted to file it unanimously.
Why it matters: roughly one-fifth of San Francisco residents are limited English proficient, and gaps in translation or interpretation can affect access to health, safety, legal and emergency services. The hearing highlighted both increases in funding and persistent implementation challenges, especially for non-threshold languages and in emergency contexts.
What’s next: OCEIA and immigrant-rights commissioners will refine recommendations and work with the Board on possible amendments to strengthen enforcement, data collection and emergency planning.
