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A.  The Department of Culture, Recreation and Tourism, referred to in this Chapter as the “department”, in concert with and under the guidance of the Council for the Development of French in Louisiana, shall develop and provide for implementation of a program for provision of services of state government in the French language.

B.(1)(a)  In developing the program, the department shall work in cooperation with departments of state government, and such departments shall cooperate with the department.

(b)  The Department of Culture, Recreation and Tourism shall also participate in the program in the same manner as other departments.

(2)  The department shall request each state department to identify its employees who speak French with sufficient fluency to provide or assist others in providing services of the department to French-speaking persons and shall assist the departments in identifying such employees.  The department shall request the Council for the Development of French in Louisiana to assist the departments of state government in identifying employees who speak French with necessary fluency.

(3)  The department shall develop guidelines for implementation of the program.  Such guidelines shall address such issues as priorities in implementing the program in service areas with greater numbers of French-speaking citizens or visitors and for services dealing with such matters as health, safety, compliance with regulations, or complexity of processes.  The implementation guidelines shall also address dealing with limited department resources.

(4)  The department shall provide for appropriate insignia, such as a badge with the word “Bienvenue” or “Bonjour” to identify employees who will assist French-speaking clients in accessing and using department services.  The department shall provide procedures for recognition of the employees entitled to wear such insignia which may include recognition of the employee’s language skills by the Council for the Development of French in Louisiana.

C.(1)  The department shall provide for implementation of the program by state departments in accordance with the guidelines developed as provided in this Section and subject to the resources available to individual departments.

(2)  The department shall urge the convention and visitors bureaus throughout the state to implement a similar program.

Acts 2011, No. 106, §1.