California Proposition 63 (1986)

Section 1:

(a) Purpose.: English is the common language of the people of the United States of America and the State of California. This section is intended to preserve, protect and strengthen the English language, and not to supersede any of the rights guaranteed to the people of this Constitution.

(b) English as the Official Language of California.: English is the official language of California.

(c) Enforcement.: The Legislature shall enforce this section by appropriate legislation. The Legislature and officials of the State of California shall take all steps necessary to insure that the role of English as the common language of the State of California is preserved and enhanced. The Legislature shall make no law which diminishes or ignores the role of English as the common language of the State of California.

(d) Personal Right of Action and Jurisdiction of Courts.: Any person who is a resident of or doing business in the State of California shall have standing to sue the State of California to enforce this action, and the Courts of record of the State of California shall have jurisdiction to hear cases brought to enforce this section. The Legislature may provide reasonable and appropriate limitations on the time and manner of suits brought under this section.

Section 2: Severability.

If any provision of this section, or the application of any such provision to any person or circumstance, shall be held invalid, the remainder of this section to the extent it can be given effect shall not be affected thereby, and to this end, the provisions of this section are severable.

Source: Charles V. Dale and Mark Gurevitz, Legal Analysis of Proposals to Make English the Official Language of the United States, Oct. 17, 1995, Washington, D.C.: Congressional Research Service.