Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 is a federal statute that states the following: “No person in the United States shall, on the grounds of race, color, or national origin be excluded from participation in, be denied the benefits of, or be subjected to discrimination under any program or activity receiving Federal financial assistance.”  As stated in the statute, Title VI prohibits recipients of Federal financial assistance from discriminating on the basis of race, color, or national origin in their programs or activities, and it obligates federal funding agencies to enforce statutory compliance.

Limited English Proficient (LEP) persons refer to persons for whom English is not their primary language and who have a limited ability to read, write, speak or understand English. It includes people who reported to the U.S. Census that they speak English less than very well, not well, or not at all. According to Executive Order 13166: Improving Access to Service for Persons with Limited English Proficiency, LEP persons are entitled to language assistance under Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, and federal assistance recipients shall take reasonable steps to ensure meaningful access to benefits, services, information, and other important portions of their programs and activities.

In 2012, the Federal Transit Administration set new guidelines for Caltrans requiring sub-recipients of Caltrans Planning Grants to submit a Title VI Plan to the Federal Transit Administration every three years. The Association of Monterey Bay Area Governments, as a sub-recipient of such funds and as the federally designated Metropolitan Planning Organization for the Monterey Bay Region, must prepare and adopt a Title VI Plan at least once every three years. As such, the Association is in the process of updating their plan for 2021. 

The Association's 2021 Title VI Plan will cover the three-year period from 2021-2024 and must comply with Federal Transit Administration Circular 4702.1B. The 2021 Title VI Plan emphasizes the AMBAG Title VI process and procedures, including the use of public outreach techniques and innovative strategies to specifically include Limited English Proficiency Populations within the region. AMBAG staff will provide committee members with an overview of the 2021 Title VI Plan development process, and the draft plan outline is included as an attachment to this staff report.

Similarly, as a sub-recipient and direct recipient of federal funding, the Transportation Agency has also adopted a Title VI plan, and the Agency's current plan can be found as a web attachment to this staff report. TAMC is starting the process to update its Title VI plan and will bring an agenda item to get the Technical Advisory Committee's input in April.