A few weeks ago, I began the process to get a Utah driver’s license. Despite years of driving, I still searched through the driver’s handbook to find answers to the written driving test. If I had to take the test in a language other than English, my first language, I would have struggled and likely not attained my Utah driver’s license. To ease this process for nonnative English speakers, Rep. Gay Lynn Bennion proposed the first substitute of House Bill 130, the Driver License Test Amendments. This bill would help better recognize the increasing diversity in the state and make important practical change in the state.

This proposed bill, as it stands, allows for the Driver License Division to administer tests in languages other than English. With this bill, people can take certain driver license exams in their preferred language, as available, for their initial and first renewal applications. It also allows for a translator if the test can’t be given in the needed language, upon division approval. The fiscal note of this bill indicates that the state would need to pay $60,000 in 2022. In an interview Rep. Bennion said, “[The driver license division] found this platform that will do the translation for just $50,000 and they will use another $10,000 to pay certified translators to go through the test and make any corrections that they feel are needed.”

Forty-five states offer tests in other languages, including Idaho, Arizona and Nevada. We should join the majority of the nation in providing this well-overdue service for our community. Currently, the written knowledge test for obtaining a driver’s license is offered in languages other than English for refugees and asylees. Rep. Bennion also explained that the current substitute of the bill makes it so that driver privilege cards for undocumented individuals are ineligible for translation. However, these factors exclude many parts of our growing population.

In the past 10 years, Utah’s Latino community grew by 38% and makes up 15% of the state’s population. In 2016, one in seven Utahns spoke a language other than English at home. This number has likely increased since our population continues to grow. Learning English takes time and this bill grants that time.

Rep. Bennion has experience teaching English to immigrants and refugees. Because of her experience, she knows how hard people work to learn a new language, and how hard it might be for these individuals to understand the questions. “[The test] might say ‘impaired’ rather than ‘drunk’ or it might use the word ‘collision’ rather than ‘crash,’” she pointed out. H.B. 130 doesn’t expect people to know English immediately. Because Utah requires one to renew their license every five years, this bill gives people 10 years to practice for their test in English and learn the finer details of the language.

People fear not passing the test and then not being able to drive to buy groceries or go to appointments. They drive to support our state’s economy and uphold the workforce, which this bill helps to keep stable. “Our businesses are relying on [immigrants] and need them in the workplace,” Rep. Bennion said. This bill gets rid of unnecessary barriers for immigrants, encouraging equity and recognizing our growing diversity.

Going forward, we can improve language programs in schools, encouraging students to study both their native language and English. Increasing dual language programs can help dismantle an attitude of English superiority. I was in a dual-immersion program from first through seventh grade and I will always look back on it favorably.

We can make the complicated processes of taxes, laws and college and job applications available in multiple languages. Last year, Gov. Spencer Cox signed a law that got rid of provision in Utah state law that required all official government documents, meetings and publications to be in English. Clearly, the state has made progress, but it’s absurd to think that it took this long. The Driver License Test Amendments pave the way for increasing equity for immigrants in the future.

H.B. 130 recognizes Utah’s growing non-English-speaking population. We must contact our senators and the governor to show our support for this bill to create important change in Utah. As Rep. Bennion said, “It’s helping individuals. It’s helping our economy. It’s helping families.”

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@SydneyKincart