Iris Jones, director of the Governor's Office for New Americans, told the Senate Finance and Assembly Ways and Means committees that state agencies have requested about $5.34 million of the $25 million allocated under AB 480 and that additional requests expected at upcoming Interim Finance Committee meetings would bring the total to roughly $5.80 million as of January 2025.

The matter is significant because AB 480’s $25 million was intended to help state agencies implement language access plans developed under AB 266 and SB 318. "This money became available on 07/01/2024," Jones told the committees, and she described agencies' differing implementation timelines and contracting delays as reasons some funds remain unspent. She asked the committee to consider extending the deadline for expenditure so agencies and local governments can access the funds.

Jones outlined the office’s outreach and technical support for language access plans, including a toolkit, templates, training, a public roster of interpreters and translators, and demographic guidance for limited-English-proficient (LEP) populations. She reported increases in participation: the number of participating state agencies and boards grew from 32 in 2022 to 98, and she said the state’s LEP population is about 29.9 percent, roughly matching the Hispanic/Latino share of the population (about 30 percent).

Director Jones described differences between state agencies and local governments: AB 480 dollars, she said, are explicitly available only to state agencies, not cities and counties, and several local jurisdictions highlighted funding and sustainability concerns for their own language-access programs. Jones said the city of North Las Vegas uses real-time translation software in meetings and the city of Henderson maintains a 24/7 language-line solution with more than 260 languages and American Sign Language options.

Committee members repeatedly pressed Jones for explanations about why much of the appropriation remains unspent and about the office’s role in coordinating fund requests. Senator Wynne and Assemblymember Torres Fawcett expressed concern that roughly $20 million may revert if it is not encumbered by the June 30, 2025 deadline; Jones said agencies are coordinating with the Interim Finance Committee (IFC) and that some work programs have been scheduled but that "IFC meetings don't happen often" and some agencies have been pulled from agendas.

Jones described agency responses: as of January 2025, the IFC had approved $5,343,152.66 in total for agencies and an additional $459,532 was expected to be requested at the next IFC meeting, bringing the subtotal she cited to $5,802,683.66. She said seven agencies had not submitted plans; three expected to submit by March, one commission expected to submit in February, and one agency indicated it would not submit a plan.

Lawmakers asked for more detailed, itemized follow-up: Assemblymember Watts requested a breakdown of which agencies had submitted plans and which had pending work programs and asked whether the Office of New Americans had recommended one-shot funding to the governor for state agencies or for local governments; Jones said the office had recommended consideration for local governments but said it had not presented a firm statewide funding projection because some agencies were still finalizing their requests. Members also sought clarity on implementation timelines and whether the office had proactively assisted agencies to present to IFC; Jones said the office had conducted monthly reminders, cabinet presentations and one-on-one meetings with agency directors.

Public comment included a caller, Jose Hernandez, who described receiving assistance from the Office of New Americans to resolve an unemployment benefit issue within 24 hours. "They fixed it in less than 24 hours," Hernandez said, describing culturally competent help that he said he could not obtain directly from the unemployment office.

Committee members asked the director to follow up with a detailed spreadsheet of agency participation, funding requests and timelines; Assemblymember Watts emphasized state agencies should be prioritized before extending fund eligibility to local governments. The office said it would provide further documentation and noted the IFC has a scheduled meeting in April but that agencies may need the June IFC to complete approvals for contracts before the June 30 expiration of the appropriation.