S.B. 311 Medical Translation Amendments: transcript

You. So this, actually, this bill before it was a bill, was an RFAI presented. They loved it, and they said this fiscal notice below 20,000. And if it be, you know, if it's a bill, then it will automatically be funded. So here I am. Uh, I had this situation happen. I, I've been working on this since last summer, and, um, as a resident of Utah County, the second largest county in the state, uh, it came to my attention that, uh, having worked with a lot of people in our Latino community, one in five residents in Utah County has their primary language as Spanish and Salt Lake County. It's slightly higher. Um, so basically the two most populous cities in the state have a huge Spanish speaking population. My goal was, um, to help more people access, um, more easily and more readily the safe UT app, which is currently in existence. And with that app, um, if someone texts to the app, then it would have to, it would take a while to get to someone who, um, might speak Spanish. So the goal was, I thought in my mind that I would go and we would have, we would hire more FTEs or hire bilinguals, which of course would be very expensive to do so. And talking to the stakeholders, they actually said, what if we did a, an app, or excuse me, what if we did a multi translation app? So not only would, um, the trans, the multi translation lingual app, um, help those who speak Spanish, but any language. So, as you know, our younger generation, uh, typically more than talking, they text. And so in the solution, we found a much cheaper solution and we found out we could help even more people. So basically, we're gonna help everyone because the cost of the app is not dependent on how many languages you utilize. It's dependent upon the number of users. And so, um, with that, I think that everyone should have access, um, to help, uh, in and have the language should never be the reason that help doesn't arrive in time. And as stewards of these public funds, we are also stewards of human life. And this bill addresses both. With that, I can conclude my presentation.

Pass. So, pass three 11, um, to the floor. A favorable recommendation.

Sounds good. I would, I would love that. Thank You. It's probably a good move.

You, Madam Chair. I am happy to be here today with you, uh, this afternoon to present Senate Bill three 11. Uh, which talks about something that I, uh, had the idea about last summer, and that was, I live in Utah County, which is the second largest county in our state. And the Decennial Census, uh, told us that one in five, uh, one in five residents in Utah County counts pri Spanish as their primary language. And that number is even higher in Salt Lake County, which is our most populous county. And, uh, I also, um, knew about the safe UT app, uh, which just had its 10 year anniversary and has saved over about 3000 lives in those 10 years. And I wanted to have better access for those whose l whose primary language was not English. And so, in my mind, I had this great idea that I was going to, you know, we should just hire bilingual people only, and then that way they won't have an extra step, and we're not gonna lose people, um, in the middle of trying to, to utilize the app. Um, but then I met with stakeholders, and as it often turns out, when you meet with stakeholders, they have better ideas. And so their idea was, what if instead, we developed a software application that is available in multiple languages? Uh, I was thrilled because the fiscal note was much smaller. And if you haven't looked at the fiscal note yet, it's $10,000 a year ongoing. And I would just say it's really hard to put a price tag on the value of even one life, but that's a pretty good bargain for the state. Um, because when we, when we intervene, uh, early, um, we can, we know that we can prevent emergency room utilization, law enforcement involvement, and, and save on long-term behavioral health costs. And so, um, this, the great other good thing about this is not only will it help our Spanish speakers, but the cost for the, for the application, um, translation service is based on the frequency of the use of service, not on the number of languages. So, um, we can have multiple languages, which is fantastic, so we can help everyone right where they are. And I would just say that in conclusion, in moments of crisis, when people cry out in the language, they cry out in the language of their heart. And as stewards of these public funds, we're also stewards of human life. This small investment ensures that when someone reaches out for help, Utah is listening clearly, compassionately and without barriers. Every call to safe, ut, or text represents a family hoping their loved one comes home safe and language should never be the reason that help doesn't arrive in time for $10,000 ongoing, we can strengthen families, prevent tragedy, ensure that safe ut works for every family, not just those who speak English. And with that, I conclude my presentation. Thank you. We'll bring it back to the committee

Yeah. I would, um, move that we favorably recommend Senate Bill three 11.

Yeah, I, um, I, I, I live in a, a rural county and, and represent even more rural counties, um, six of them in the state. And, um, would say that there is a language issue there. Even, you know, we, we, we deal with that a little bit, but more than the language issue, we have seen, um, the impact of, of mental health and, and, and suicide in, in our communities, in our area, at a level that's been much higher recently than, than normal, um, been pretty devastating to the communities that, that I live in and, and represent and appreciate the, the work on this. I think it's a step in the right direction of trying to find solutions to, um, have better outcomes. So I appreciate the work on it.

Yep. I'm in, in favor of the motion, and, uh, definitely the effort. Just wanted to add, uh, a comment that I hope that, uh, the intent is also to ensure as we continue to monitor and evaluate as we do with all these kinds of programs, um, that the, uh, response and timeliness and the quality of the response is exactly the same or on par as it would be with English. Thank you.

Uh, thank you for your comments. Uh, it indeed touches rural too, and I appreciate the support. Thank you.

I'll waive. All right.

But if anybody wants to make any comments before we leave today, you're more than welcome to do that. Just push your light and We'll, all right. We'll hear from, we'll, The really, the credit all goes to our staff. Uh, it happens without their hands on it, and we will, we'll cherish the friendships that we've developed along the way, so thank you.

Yeah. A motion that we s All right. Motion is to s santer.

I'll make a motion that we cease to ser All right.

Thank you Mr. President. Um, this bill is one that I'm proud of. I've been working on it since last summer, uh, because I wanted to address the need that one in five Utah County residents designate Spanish as their primary language. And the statistic is even higher in Salt Lake County, the two largest, most populous in the state. And we have what, uh, we mostly know as the safe UT app that helps with those who are contemplating suicide. It's also a place where students and teachers can report, um, threats to the school, et cetera. Our, our first responders and our National Guard also use this app, uh, for mental health. And I wanted to make sure that, uh, those Spanish speakers were able to, to take, to take when they had that experience with the app, they wouldn't have any delay in their communication. And so what uh, what this bill does is it creates a HIPAA compliant automated translation software app. And not only will it help our Spanish speakers, it will help a multitude of speakers because this is based on users, the amount of users, not the amount of languages. So we can actually have multilingual, um, help available because in moments of crisis, people cry out in the language of their heart. And as stewards of public funds, we are also stewards of human life. This small investment ensures that when someone reaches out for help, Utah is listening clearly, compassionately and without barriers. Every call to safe, ut, or text represents a family hoping that their loved one comes home safe and language should never be the reason that help doesn't arrive in time. Um, for just $10,000 ongoing a year, we can strengthen families, prevent tragedy, and ensure safe UT works for every family, not just those who speak English. And with that, I conclude my presentation. Thank you. Need a motion? I move that Senate Bill three 11 shall pass.

you Mr. President. This is a follow up bill to the A bill

Representative Eliason, Uh, thank you Mr. Speaker Pro Tem. This is a, a very straightforward bill that helps enhance the, uh, availability of the safe UT program. Uh, just yesterday, uh, I was pulled off the floor for a briefing about an incident involving a gun in my school district. I read about another incident that just happened yesterday with a, a gun in a school. Uh, safe UT every year receives hundreds of school safety complaints as well as, uh, many, uh, conversations regard related to crisis intervention. Uh, this bill is just very straightforward, requires the safe UT software application is available in multiple language languages. So, uh, school safety tips as well as the, uh, tip component that relates to school, uh, safety, uh, is available to, to all of the students, uh, in, in Utah, regardless of, uh, what, what language is their preference. Thank you, Mr. Speaker Pro. Tim,

I Will waive. Thank you. Summation has been waived.