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Home My WebLink AboutResolution No. R2024-03 RESOLUTION NO. R2024-03 A RESOLUTION OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF FRIENDSWOOD, TEXAS, DIRECTING THE MAYOR OF THE CITY OF FRIENDSWOOD TO FILE WITH HARRIS AND GALVESTON COUNTIES(I) A CERTIFICATION THAT CERTAIN PRECINCTS QUALIFY FOR AN EXEMPTION FROM THE BILINGUAL REQUIREMENTS OF THE VOTING RIGHTS ACT AS WELL AS THE TEXAS ELECTION CODE,(II)A WRITTEN SUMMARY OF THE OFFICIAL CENSUS INFORMATION UPON WHICH THE CITY COUNCIL RELIED TO DETERMINE ITS EXEMPTION, (III) A MAP OF THE PRECINCT BOUNDARIES OF THE CENSUS ENUMERATED AREAS, AND (IV) A CERTIFIED COPY OF THIS RESOLUTION; MAKING OTHER FINDINGS RELATED THERETO; AND PROVIDING FOR THE EFFECTIVE DATE. ****************************************************************************** WHEREAS, the Voting Rights Act (the "Act") provides that a political subdivision is subject to certain bilingual requirements if(i)more than five percent(5%)of its voting age citizens are members of a single language minority group and are limited-English proficient' and (ii) the illiteracy2 rate of such language minority citizens in the political subdivision is higher than the national illiteracy rate; and WHEREAS,the Voting Rights Act(the "Act") also provides that a political subdivision is subject to certain bilingual requirements if (i) more than 10,000 of its voting age citizens are members of a single language minority group and are limited-English proficient and (ii) the illiteracy rate of such language minority citizens in the political subdivision is higher than the national illiteracy rate; and WHEREAS,the Director for the Bureau of the Census has determined that Harris County is subject to such bilingual requirements of the Act for persons of Vietnamese and Chinese (including Taiwanese) origin or descent(collectively the "Language Minority Group"); and WHEREAS, being a political subdivision that holds elections within a portion of Harris County, the City of Friendswood, therefore, is subject to the same requirements as Harris County for portions of the City that lie within Harris County pursuant to 28 CFR §55.9; and WHEREAS,the City of Friendswood(the"City")was comprised of four(4)Harris County Precincts in 2020,and is now comprised of five(5)Harris County Precincts as further depicted on the maps,which are attached hereto as Exhibits "A" and "B" and incorporated herein for all intents and purposes; and WHEREAS, the updated Census data reveals the following Language Minority Group information in the precincts located within the City of Friendswood and Harris County, Texas: ' "Limited-English proficient"means unable to speak or understand English adequately enough to participate in the electoral process. 2"Illiteracy"means the failure to complete the fifth primary grade. Number of Voting Chinese/Taiwanese Voting Precinct Age Persons in Vietnamese Voting Age Persons Age Persons No. the Precinct # # % # '%, 0378 1,961 77 3.93% 90 4.59% 0655 0 0 0.00% 0 0.00% 0742 0 0 0.00% 0 0.00% 1043 2,647 7 0.26% 9 0.34% 1110 3,254 5 0.15% 5 0.15% and Number of Voting Age Vietnamese VAP with limited Chinese/Taiwanese VAP Precinct Persons in the English proficiency with limited English No. Precinct proficiency # # % # % 0378 1,961 0 0.00% 0 0.00% 0655 0 0 0.00% 0 0.00% 0742 0 0 0.00% 0 0.00% 1043 2,647 0 0.00% 0 0.00% 1110 3,254 0 0.00% 0 0.00% ; and WHEREAS,the updated Census data also reveals that the illiteracy rate of such Language Minority Group members in the City of Friendswood is lower than the national illiteracy rate, which is twenty-one percent(21%),based upon the following: Number of Voting Vietnamese Voting Age Persons, Chinese/Taiwanese Voting Precinct Age Persons in Age Persons, who are No. the Precinct who are Illiterate Illiterate # # % # % 0378 1,961 0 0.00% 0 0.00% 0655 0 0 0.00% 0 0.00% 0742 0 0 0.00% 0 0.00% 1043 2,647 0 0.00% 0 0.00% 1110 3,254 0 0.00% 0 0.00% ; and WHEREAS, based upon the updated Census data and the independent research conducted by the City, the City Council hereby finds that there are few, if any, persons in the City, whose participation in the electoral process would be made more effective by the provision of written materials or oral assistance or publicity in the Vietnamese or Chinese (including Taiwanese) language (collectively the "Affected Language"),because: 2 (a) Minority Language Group members in the Harris County portion of the City are well below the national illiteracy rate; (b) Minority Language Group members in the Harris County portion of the City are proficient in the English language; (c) Minority Language Group members are not concentrated in particular area of the City; and (d) No individuals of Affected Language interest groups inside or outside the City have requested assistance; and WHEREAS, the City Council, nonetheless, desires to establish a "targeting system" as expressed in 28 C.F.R. §§ 55.17— 55.20, through its compliance with certain precinct exemption requirements of Section 272.006 of the Texas Election Code(the "Code") as detailed herein; and WHEREAS,the City's "targeting system" shall be designed and modified, as necessary,to ensure that Affected Language materials and assistance are provided to Language Minority Group members who need them using the system established in Section 272.006 of the Code; and WHEREAS, Section 272.003 of the Code provides an election precinct may be exempted from the bilingual requirements of the Code if (i) the official census information or other information indicates that Language Minority Group members comprise less than five percent (5%)of the precinct's inhabitants; and WHEREAS, based upon the updated census information and other information, the City Council hereby finds that persons in each such Language Minority Group comprise less than five percent(5%) of each precinct's inhabitants based upon the following: Inhabitants Vietnamese Inhabitants Chinese/Taiwanese Precinct No. Inhabitants # # % # "A) 0378 3,036 119 3.92% 139 4.58% 0655 0 0 0.00% 0 0.00% 0742 0 0 0.00% 0 0.00% 1043 3,548 10 0.28% 11 0.31% 1110 6,134 9 0.15% 10 0.16% ; and WHEREAS, based upon the voter registration rolls, the City Council hereby finds that persons in each such Language Minority Group comprise less than five percent (5%) of each precinct's registered voters based upon the following: 3 Registered Vietnamese Registered Chinese/Taiwanese Registered Precinct No. Voters Voters Voters # # °A) # 0/0 0378 2,386 20 0.84% 12 0.50% 0655 0 0 0.00% 0 0.00% 0742 0 0 0.00% 0 0.00% 1043 2,163 13 0.60% 2 0.09% 1110 2,251 99 4.40 % 54 2.40 % ; and WHEREAS, this resolution (i) records the City Council's approval of the Mayor's certification that the City of Friendswood election precincts located in Harris County are exempt from the bilingual language requirements of the Code; (ii) authorizes the Mayor to make the requisite filings pursuant to Section 272.003 of the Code; and (iii) establishes a targeting system in compliance with the Act;NOW THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED BY THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF FRIENDS WOOD, STATE OF TEXAS: Section 1. That the findings set forth in the recitals of this resolution are found to be true and correct and are incorporated herein for all purposes. Section 2. That the City Council hereby approves the Mayor's submission of the following to Harris and Galveston Counties: (a) a written certification by the presiding officer that the precinct qualifies for the exemption; (b) a written summary of the official census information or other information relied upon to support the exemption; (c) a map or maps indicating the precinct's boundary and the boundaries of the census enumeration areas referred to in the summary; and (d) an authenticated copy of the resolution or other official action showing the governing body's approval of the exemption. Section 3. While the City is exempt from the bilingual requirements of the Act and Code, the City is committed to provide assistance to Language Minority Groups and hereby establishes the following targeting system, one or more of which may be used to concentrate its efforts of providing Language Minority Group members assistance: (a) in City elections that are not conducted pursuant to a joint election/election services agreement with Harris County,the City shall post,or cause to have posted,its ballot in each voting station; 4 (b) in City elections that are not conducted pursuant to a joint election/election services agreement with Harris County, the City shall place, or cause to have placed, a statement at each polling location informing the voter that the translation is posted in the station; (c) the City shall furnish, or cause to be furnished, a separate translation of the ballot to each voter to whom an early voting ballot to be voted by mail is provided; (d) for Election Materials,as hereinafter defined,a statement in the Affected Language shall be included on the item to inform voters of the availability of the translation, and a separate translation of the item shall be made available on request; and/or (e) for Election Materials used in connection with early voting by mail, a separate translation of the item is furnished with the item to the voter. As used in this Section, "Election Materials" includes (i) the official affidavit forms and other official forms that voters are required to sign in connection with voting;(ii) the official application forms for early voting ballots; (iii) written instructions furnished to early voting voters; and (iv) the balloting materials furnished to voters in connection with early voting by mail. Section 4. That this resolution shall take effect immediately from and after its passage by the City Council of the City of Friendswood. INTRODUCED, READ and PASSED by the affirmative vote of the City Council of the City of Friendswood this the 8th day of January, 2024. STEVE ROCKEY, Mayor Pr em ATTr.T: iLLLdI.pii ' lr gyp,\ENDS'Ji LETICIA BRYSCH, City S O� 00 a ate ~ APPROVED AS TO FORM: co *(75 fit Or''" Si- 47- xiTE O -s L. ORNER, City Attorney H:\City Council\Resolutions\2024\01-08-2024\Resolution-Language Exemptions.docx 5 Exhibit "A" N 047 1 1 ► i 0457 ► a rue nds wood 1 ' 0378 0655. , 0456 0742 ► 0460 ► ► 0464 1 ► 0462 0263 ' I -0401-e_ 0461 0482 ——— ' r ► l r � 5 l ♦` 0 0.5 1 Miles `• • City of Houston,HPB,Texas Parks&Wildlife,CONANP,Esri,HERE,Garmin,Foursquare,SafeGraph, GeoTechnologies,Inc,METI/NASA,USGS,EPA,NPS,USDA qsw o� 4 City of Friendswood - Election Precincts 2020 Exhibit "B" 1/4 , , i 10-1 / ! , 1 1 " 0357 r,r a\ 1 M I ,, 1 a rriendswood , I •. • • ► 0375 . , y'k'.' ig. '' . 0492 0742 I ► A l',.,, 0356 1110 �. IIRK 7 r 0460 i/ H, A 4 0495 I , 0462 'i r' r i i 1 / 1 0452, > 1 /—'--'� 1" 0461 0401 f , ii n 0 0.5 1 Miles I 1 I City of Houston,HPB,Texas Parks&Wildlife,CONANP,Esn,HERE,Garmin,Foursquare,SafeGraph, GeoTechnologies,Inc,METI/NASA,USGS,EPA,NPS,USDA _-s400 City of Friendswood - Election Precincts 2022 IN* aAc yy lrr=iff CITY OF FRIENDSWOOD Bilingual Exemption Certification Pursuant to Section 272.003 of the Texas Election Code(the"Code"),I hereby certify and confirm that the information provided hereinbelow is true and correct: On January 8, 2024, by official action of the City Council of the City of Friendswood, Texas (the "City"), the City Council determined that the following precincts located in Friendswood, Harris County, Texas, qualify for an exemption from the bilingual requirement of the Voting Rights Act of 1965,as amended(the "Act"), as well as Section 272.002 of the Code for Chinese(including Taiwanese)and Vietnamese language minority groups: Precinct No. 0378 0655 0742 1043 1110 A summary of the official census information and other information relied on to support this exemption is contained in the certified copy of the resolution,which is attached hereto as Exhibit"A" and incorporated herein for all intents and purposes(the "Resolution"). Maps indicating the precincts boundaries/boundaries of the census enumeration areas referred to in the Resolution are attached as exhibits to the Resolution. Based upon the official census information and other information relied on to support this exemption, the City is not required to have election materials, documents, notices and postings in the Chinese(including Taiwanese)and Vietnamese language minority groups. Nonetheless,the City will utilize a targeting system to provide minority language materials or assistance as the City deems appropriate to ensure that language minority group members who need minority language materials and assistance receive them. IN WITNESS WHEREOF, this Bilingual Exemption Certification is executed on the 9th day of January,2024. _AA IKE F P ' ' N,Mayor ATT . FFt1ENDs�2 F h O 0 L CIA BRYSCH,City Se• a H:\City Council\FDF's for Council Meeting\2024\0I-08-2024\Exemption Certification.docx "41 TE O -c((' !