The following excerpt is from Yniguez v. Arizonans for Official English, 69 F.3d 920 (9th Cir. 1995):
Two of these states--California and Hawaii--are in our circuit. The "official-English" provisions in these states, like those of other states besides Arizona, appear to be primarily symbolic. See, e.g., Puerto Rican Org. for Political Action v. Kusper, 490 F.2d 575, 577 (7th Cir.1973) (noting that official-English law appears with laws naming state bird and state song, and does not restrict use of non-English languages by state and city agencies). Article III, section 6 of the California Constitution merely establishes English as the official language of the state of California; it imposes no prohibition on other languages and does not affect their use in the functioning of state government. Hawaii's provision is unlike California's in that it recognizes both English and Hawaiian as official state languages, but it too appears to have little practical effect. Given the extent to which the California and Hawaii provisions differ from Article XXVIII, our opinion in this case should not be construed as expressing any view regarding their constitutionality.
The above passage should not be considered legal advice. Reliable answers to complex legal questions require comprehensive research memos. To learn more visit www.alexi.com.