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House Co-Sponsorship Memoranda
House of Representatives
Session of 2023 - 2024
Regular Session
MEMORANDUM
| Posted: | May 19, 2023 01:48 PM |
|---|---|
| From: | Representative Johanny Cepeda-Freytiz |
| To: | All House members |
| Subject: | Diacritical Marks on State IDs and Documents |
| Diacritical marks are accent marks used in writing to indicate stress or special pronunciation of a letter. These marks are essential to the spelling, pronunciation, and cultural background of many names. Numerous languages (including Spanish and other Latin-derived languages) use diacritical marks, but our state often fails to put diacritical marks on driver’s licenses and other official documents, leading to inaccurate reflections of people’s names. Name inconsistencies on documents and identification can lead to a host of problems, such as confirming one’s identity for rental applications, voting, or applying for services such as the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program. Every Pennsylvanian deserves to have their name acknowledged and spelled accurately. That is why I am introducing a resolution urging all state agencies to use diacritical marks on official state documents by July 1, 2025. While many state agencies already have the ability to use diacritical marks, the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation (PennDOT) does not. PennDOT has begun the process of implementing new technology to remedy this issue, but the update may not be complete until 2027. This is far too long to wait. Please join me in co-sponsoring this important resolution to respect the dignity of all Pennsylvanians and spell their names properly. Thank you for your consideration. |
Introduced as HR175