Tim Bearden

A recent poll conducted by Mason-Dixon Polling & Research Inc. showed that 71 percent of registered Georgia voters favor amending the state constitution to make English Georgia’s official language, reviving debate about how pending legislation would affect the state’s international business climate. 

U.S. English Inc., a Washington-based organization that lobbies to preserve what it calls the “unifying role of English” in the United States, commissioned Mason-Dixon to do the poll while it considered supporting State Rep. Tim Bearden (R-Villa Rica) in his efforts to strengthen the state’s existing English law. 

In the 2007 legislative session, Mr. Bearden introduced a bill that would amend the state constitution to confirm English as the state’s official language and require that all state forms be offered only in English, with exceptions for federally mandated provisions like public health and legal defense, among others.

House Resolution 413 unanimously passed the subcommittee, and Mr. Bearden told GlobalAtlanta that he will ask for a hearing before the full committee on the first day of the legislative session in 2008, closer to the November elections, when the bill could go on the ballot for confirmation by the voters.

Mr. Bearden said that he is confident that the bill will pass the two-thirds vote required in both legislative houses, and he “knows” that it will pass if it goes to the public, he said.

Calling H.R. 413 a “common sense” bill, Mr. Bearden said that protecting the English language by adopting his proposed amendment would help the state economically by encouraging immigrants to learn the language, which will help them “increase their personal wealth.”

“The goal is to make sure that people have the ability to move themselves through that ladder of employment to a higher level to become more self-sufficient” and less dependent on government programs, Mr. Bearden said.

Jerry Gonzalez, executive director of the Georgia Association of Latino Elected Officials, called Mr. Bearden’s legislation a “waste of legislative effort” and a “thinly veiled political attack on immigrants” that could potentially deter international companies from doing business in Georgia. 

Jerry Gonzalez

“Here we are building a Kia plant in Georgia and we’re asking for other suppliers and vendors to build plants in Georgia, and here’s a big slap in the face, saying that you have to do everything in English,” Mr. Gonzalez said.  “I think it would do more harm in attracting international business to Georgia than it would do good.”

He said that he could not comment on the validity of the survey results without looking at the way the question was worded. 

Mr. Bearden said that his bill puts no mandates on private businesses.

The resolution outlines the occasions in which the government can use languages other than English, and one section stipulates that other languages can be used to “promote trade, commerce, and tourism.”

Tim Schultz, director of government relations for U.S. English, said that the final draft of Mr. Bearden’s bill remains to be seen, but most of the legislation supported by U.S. English has exceptions for international commerce. 

“All these concerns that international business is going to be hamstrung somehow is grasping at straws by opponents,” he said. 

To gauge the real effects of the proposed amendment on business, Mr. Schultz said that opponents should evaluate the 30 states that have made English their official language to see whether similar laws have scared business away.

While Mr. Gonzalez said that Mr. Bearden and others were putting forth these bills as a political stunt to bring voters to the polls, both Mr. Bearden and Mr. Schultz stressed the importance of English as a “common bond” that has helped keep the country together for the past 200-plus years. 

Mr. Gonzalez disagreed, contending that legislators should spend more time investing in schools and programs that make sure all Georgians speak better English.  A product of immigration himself, he said that immigrants on the whole want to assimilate, and second- and third-generation immigrants generally show a mastery of the English language. 

Because English is already the universal language of business and the dominate language in the U.S., Mr. Gonzalez said that it needs no further legal protection. 

Mr. Bearden, who said there are ample programs for people desiring to learn English, made the same argument to show that the law needs to be more clearly defined.  Since English is so prevalent, people who want to be successful in America should be learning it, he said.

He added that many other countries have official languages that have not prevented them from growing economically. 

“If I’m not mistaken Japan has an official language, and last time I checked they were doing extremely well,” Mr. Bearden said.

As for an attack on immigrants, Mr. Bearden said that his bill would encourage legal immigrants to learn English, and he doesn’t mind offending those who have broken federal law by coming into the country illegally. 

Mr. Schultz agreed, saying that those to whom the government caters are the least likely to learn English and assimilate. 

An important thing to remember, Mr. Schultz said, is that the state is not discriminating against people who cannot speak English. 

“It’s not the we’re doing business with only English speakers, it’s just that the business is being done in English,” he said, adding that people who cannot speak English will receive help from friends, family or organizations.

By compiling poll results from states all around the country to get a large enough sample size, it can be seen that over 70 percent of immigrants favor English as the official language, Mr. Schultz said.