Assembly BillIntroduced
A 8891: Includes certain persons of Middle Eastern and North African heritage and speakers of Haitian Creole as language minorities.
What A 8891 does, verified January 8, 2026
The bill aims to add speakers of Haitian Creole and persons of Middle Eastern or North African heritage to the list of recognized language minorities in New York State. The bill would update the definition of language minorities to include these groups, alongside American Indian, Asian American, Alaskan Native, and Spanish heritage. The change would help ensure that individuals from these diverse backgrounds have equal access to language-based services and programs. The bill would take effect one year after it becomes a law.
Bill journey
1IntroducedCurrent
2In CommitteePending
3First Chamber FloorPending
4Second ChamberPending
5GovernorPending
6ChapteredPending
Last action: referred to election law (2026-01-07)Alert me
Quick answers about A 8891
- What is the current status of A 8891?
- As of January 8, 2026, A 8891 is recorded as "Introduced": it has been introduced and is waiting for its first committee hearing or floor vote. The last recorded action, on January 7, 2026, was "referred to election law".
- Did A 8891 pass?
- Not yet. A 8891 has been introduced and has not passed either house.
- Who wrote A 8891, and where is it now?
- A 8891 was authored by Asm. Clyde Vanel. Its committee of record is Assembly Election Law.
Author and sponsors
Full contact details, staff, and committees with Connect, $16/moUnlockRecent actions2 total · showing 2
| Jan. 07, 2026 | referred to election law |
| Jun. 10, 2025 | referred to election law |
Latest bill textIntroduced version, June 10, 2025 · 210 words
STATE OF NEW YORK ________________________________________________________________________ 8891 2025-2026 Regular Sessions IN ASSEMBLY June 10, 2025 ___________ Introduced by M. of A. VANEL -- read once and referred to the Committee on Election Law AN ACT to amend the election law, in relation to including speakers of Haitian Creole and persons of Middle Eastern or North African heritage as language minorities The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem- bly, do enact as follows: 1 Section 1. Subdivision 5-a of section 17-204 of the election law, as 2 added by chapter 226 of the laws of 2022, is amended to read as follows: 3 5-a. "Language minorities" or "language-minority group" means persons 4 who are American Indian, Asian American, Alaskan Natives, speakers of 5 Haitian Creole, or of Spanish heritage. "Language minorities" or 6 "language-minority group" shall also mean persons of Middle Eastern or 7 North African heritage as defined by the federal office of management 8 and budget's statistical policy directive fifteen. 9 § 2. This act shall take effect one year after it shall have become a 10 law. EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets [] is old law to be omitted. LBD01724-03-5
Text of A 8891 as introduced, from the official record. Connect Plus keeps every version and highlights what changed.Compare versions