Bill Text: IA SSB1034 | 2013-2014 | 85th General Assembly | Introduced

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Bill Title: A study bill for an act relating to interpreters and translators for limited English proficient participants in legal proceedings and in court=ordered programs.

Spectrum: Unknown

Status: (N/A - Dead) 2013-01-17 - Judiciary: Hogg Chair,Courtney, and Schneider. [SSB1034 Detail]

Download: Iowa-2013-SSB1034-Introduced.html

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Senate Study Bill 1034 - Introduced
SENATE/HOUSE FILE _____
BY (PROPOSED JUDICIAL BRANCH
BILL)
A BILL FOR
An Act relating to interpreters and translators for limited
English proficient participants in legal proceedings and in
court-ordered programs.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF IOWA:
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Section 1. Section 232.141, subsections 1 and 2, Code 2013,
are amended to read as follows:
1. Except as otherwise provided by law, the court shall
inquire into the ability of the child or the child’s parent
to pay expenses incurred pursuant to subsections 2, 4, and 8 .
After giving the parent a reasonable opportunity to be heard,
the court may order the parent to pay all or part of the costs
of the child’s care, examination, treatment, legal expenses,
or other expenses , excluding the costs and fees of interpreter
and translator services . An order entered under this section
does not obligate a parent paying child support under a custody
decree, except that part of the monthly support payment may be
used to satisfy the obligations imposed by the order entered
pursuant to this section . If a parent fails to pay as ordered,
without good reason, the court may proceed against the parent
for contempt and may inform the county attorney who shall
proceed against the parent to collect the unpaid amount. Any
payment ordered by the court shall be a judgment against each
of the child’s parents and a lien as provided in section
624.23 . If all or part of the amount that the parents are
ordered to pay is subsequently paid by the county or state,
the judgment and lien shall thereafter be against each of the
parents in favor of the county to the extent of the county’s
payments and in favor of the state to the extent of the state’s
payments.
2. All of the following juvenile court expenses are a charge
upon the county in which the proceedings are held, to the
extent provided in subsection 3 :
a. Juvenile court expenses incurred by an attorney appointed
by the court to serve as counsel to any party or to serve as a
guardian ad litem for any child, including fees and expenses
for foreign language interpreters, costs of depositions and
transcripts, fees and mileage of witnesses, and the expenses of
officers serving notices and subpoenas.
b. Reasonable compensation for an attorney appointed by the
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court to serve as counsel to any party or as guardian ad litem
for any child in juvenile court.
c. Fees and expenses incurred by the juvenile court for
foreign language interpreters for court proceedings.
Sec. 2. Section 602.1302, subsection 3, Code 2013, is
amended to read as follows:
3. A revolving fund is created in the state treasury for
the payment of jury and witness fees, mileage, costs related to
summoning jurors by the judicial branch, costs and fees related
to the management and payment of interpreters and translators
in judicial branch legal proceedings and court-ordered
programs, and attorney fees paid by the state public defender
for counsel appointed pursuant to section 600A.6A . The
judicial branch shall deposit any reimbursements to the state
for the payment of jury and witness fees and mileage in the
revolving fund. In each calendar quarter the judicial branch
shall reimburse the state public defender for attorney fees
paid pursuant to section 600A.6B . Notwithstanding section
8.33 , unencumbered and unobligated receipts in the revolving
fund at the end of a fiscal year do not revert to the general
fund of the state. The judicial branch shall on or before
February 1 file a financial accounting of the moneys in the
revolving fund with the legislative services agency. The
accounting shall include an estimate of disbursements from the
revolving fund for the remainder of the fiscal year and for the
next fiscal year.
Sec. 3. Section 622A.1, Code 2013, is amended by striking
the section and inserting in lieu thereof the following:
622A.1 Definitions.
As used in this chapter, unless the context otherwise
requires:
1. “Administrative agency” means any department, board,
commission, or agency of the state or any political subdivision
of the state.
2. “Court-ordered program” means any activity in which a
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court orders a party to participate and which is not supervised
by the department of corrections or the department of human
services.
3. “Interpreter” means a person who can accurately transfer
the meaning of words, phrases, or signs in one language into
the equivalent words, phrases, or signs in another language
and includes an oral language interpreter and a sign language
interpreter.
4. “Legal proceeding” means any action before any court,
or any legal action preparatory to appearing before any
court, whether civil, criminal, or juvenile in nature
or any proceeding before any administrative agency which
is quasi-judicial in nature and which has direct legal
implications to any person.
5. “Limited English proficient” means the inability to
adequately understand or effectively communicate in the English
language because a person’s primary language is a language
other than English.
6. “Oral language interpreter” means an interpreter who is
able to interpret from one oral language into a second oral
language and from the second oral language into the first oral
language.
7. “Participant” means a party, witness, attorney, or
child, including a child who is or may be the subject of a
delinquency petition, a parent or guardian whose child is or
may be the subject of a delinquency petition, or a person who
is a guardian, conservator, or trustee in a probate case.
8. “Sign language interpreter” means an interpreter who is
able to interpret from sign language into an oral language and
from that oral language into sign language.
9. “Translator” means a person who can accurately transfer
the meaning of written words and phrases in one language into
the equivalent written words and phrases in another language.
Sec. 4. Section 622A.2, Code 2013, is amended to read as
follows:
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622A.2 Who entitled to interpreter or translator .
Every limited English proficient person who cannot speak
or understand the English language and who is a party to any
is a participant in a legal proceeding or a witness therein,
court-ordered program shall be entitled to an interpreter or
translator to assist such person throughout the proceeding or
program .
Sec. 5. Section 622A.3, Code 2013, is amended to read as
follows:
622A.3 Costs —— when taxed .
1. An interpreter shall be or translator appointed without
expense to the person requiring assistance in the following
cases: for a limited English proficient participant who is
entitled to an interpreter or translator pursuant to section
622A.2 shall be paid in accordance with this section and the
fees for interpreter or translator services shall not be
charged to the limited English proficient participant or the
parties in the case.
a. If the person requiring assistance is a witness in the
civil legal proceeding.
b. If the person requiring assistance is indigent and
financially unable to secure an interpreter.
2. In civil cases, every court shall tax the cost of
an interpreter the same as other court costs. In criminal
cases, where the defendant is indigent, the interpreter
shall be considered as a defendant’s witness under rule
of criminal procedure 2.15 for the purpose of receiving
fees, except that subpoenas shall not be required. If the
proceeding is before an administrative agency, that agency
shall provide such interpreter but may require that a party
to the proceeding pay the expense thereof An oral language
interpreter or a translator required for a limited English
proficient participant in a judicial branch legal proceeding
or a court-ordered program shall be paid by the state court
administrator from the revolving fund created in section
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602.1302, subsection 3 .
3. Moneys recovered as court costs for interpreters paid
through the revolving fund established in section 602.1302,
subsection 3 , shall be deposited in that fund An oral
language interpreter or a translator required for a limited
English proficient participant in a legal proceeding before
an administrative agency shall be paid by the appropriate
administrative agency .
4. A sign language interpreter and a real-time court
reporter who assist a deaf or hard-of-hearing participant in a
legal proceeding before a court or an administrative agency or
in a court-ordered program shall be paid by the county pursuant
to section 622B.7.
Sec. 6. Section 622A.4, Code 2013, is amended to read as
follows:
622A.4 Fee for interpreter and translator services set by
court or administrative agency —— payment.
Every An interpreter or translator appointed by a court
or administrative agency shall receive a fee to be set by
the court or administrative agency. If the interpreter is
appointed by the court in a civil case for a person who is
indigent and unable to secure an interpreter, the fee for the
interpreter shall be paid from the revolving fund established
in section 602.1302, subsection 3 .
Sec. 7. Section 622A.5, Code 2013, is amended to read as
follows:
622A.5 Oath.
Every An interpreter or translator in any legal proceeding
shall take the same an oath as any other witness approved by
the supreme court .
Sec. 8. Section 622A.6, Code 2013, is amended to read as
follows:
622A.6 Qualifications and integrity.
Any court or administrative agency may inquire into the
qualifications , neutrality, and integrity of any interpreter
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or translator , and may disqualify any person from serving as
an interpreter or translator .
Sec. 9. Section 622A.7, Code 2013, is amended to read as
follows:
622A.7 Rules —— qualifications and compensation of
interpreters and translators .
The supreme court, after consultation with the commission
of Latino affairs of the department of human rights and other
appropriate departments, shall adopt rules governing the
qualifications and compensation of interpreters and translators
appearing in proceedings before a court or grand jury under
this chapter . However, an administrative agency which is
subject to chapter 17A may adopt rules differing from those of
the supreme court governing the qualifications and compensation
of interpreters and translators appearing in proceedings before
that agency.
Sec. 10. Section 622A.8, Code 2013, is amended to read as
follows:
622A.8 Tape Electronic recording of testimony .
A tape An electronic recording of the portion of proceedings
where non-English testimony is given shall be made and
maintained.
Sec. 11. Section 622B.1, subsection 1, paragraphs d through
f, Code 2013, are amended to read as follows:
d. “Interpreter” means an oral interpreter or sign language
interpreter a person who can accurately transfer the meaning of
words, phrases, or signs in one language into the equivalent
words, phrases, or signs in another language, and includes an
oral language interpreter and a sign language interpreter .
e. “Oral language interpreter” means an interpreter who is
fluent in transliterating, paraphrasing, and voicing able to
interpret from one oral language into a second oral language
and from the second oral language into the first oral language .
f. “Sign language interpreter” means an interpreter who is
able to interpret from sign language to English and English to
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sign language into an oral language and from that oral language
into sign language .
Sec. 12. Section 815.9, subsections 3 through 6, Code 2013,
are amended to read as follows:
3. If a person is granted an appointed attorney, the person
shall be required to reimburse the state for the total cost of
legal assistance provided to the person , excluding the costs
and fees of interpreter and translator services, pursuant
to this section . “Legal assistance” as used in this section
shall include not only the expense of the public defender or
an appointed attorney, but also transcripts, witness fees,
expenses, and any other goods or services required by law to
be provided to an indigent person entitled to an appointed
attorney.
4. a. If the appointed attorney is a public defender,
the attorney shall submit a report to the court specifying
the total hours of service plus expenses incurred , excluding
the costs and fees of interpreter and translator services, in
providing legal assistance to the person. In a criminal case,
the report shall be submitted within ten days of the date of
sentencing, acquittal, or dismissal. In a case other than a
criminal case, the report shall be submitted within ten days of
any court ruling or the conclusion of a trial held in the case,
or if the case is dismissed within ten days of the dismissal.
b. If the appointed attorney is a private attorney or is
employed by a nonprofit organization, the state public defender
shall report to the clerk of the district court the amounts
of any approved claims for compensation and expenses paid on
behalf of a person receiving legal assistance , excluding the
costs and fees of interpreter and translator services, after
such claims have been reviewed and paid by the state public
defender.
5. If the person receiving legal assistance is convicted in
a criminal case, the total costs and fees incurred for legal
assistance , excluding the costs and fees of interpreter and
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translator services, shall be ordered paid when the reports
submitted pursuant to subsection 4 are received by the court,
and the court shall order the payment of such amounts as
restitution, to the extent to which the person is reasonably
able to pay, or order the performance of community service in
lieu of such payments, in accordance with chapter 910 .
6. If the person receiving legal assistance is acquitted in
a criminal case or is a party in a case other than a criminal
case, the court shall order the payment of all or a portion
of the total costs and fees incurred for legal assistance,
excluding the costs and fees of interpreter and translator
services, to the extent the person is reasonably able to
pay, after an inquiry which includes notice and reasonable
opportunity to be heard.
EXPLANATION
This bill relates to interpreters and translators for
limited English proficient participants in legal proceedings
and in court-ordered programs.
The bill provides that a “limited English proficient” (LEP)
person who is a participant in any legal proceeding involving a
court or an administrative agency or in a court-ordered program
shall be entitled to an interpreter or a translator to assist
the person in the proceeding or program. LEP is defined as the
inability of a person to adequately understand or effectively
communicate in the English language because a person’s primary
language is a language other than English. The bill defines
an “interpreter” as a person who can accurately transfer the
meaning of words, phrases, or signs in one language into the
equivalent words, phrases, or signs in another language and
includes an oral language interpreter and a sign language
interpreter; a “translator” as a person who can accurately
transfer the meaning of written words and phrases in one
language into the equivalent written words and phrases in
another language; and a “participant” as a party, witness,
attorney, or child, including a child who is or may be the
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subject of a delinquency petition, a parent or guardian whose
child is or may be the subject of a delinquency petition, or a
person who is a guardian, conservator, or trustee in a probate
case.
The bill provides that fees for interpreter or translator
services shall not be charged to an LEP participant in a legal
proceeding or court-ordered program. The bill specifies
that an oral language interpreter or a translator required
for an LEP participant in a judicial branch legal proceeding
or in a court-ordered program is to be paid by the state
court administrator from the revolving fund established in
Code section 602.1302, subsection 3 (known as the jury and
witness fund); an oral language interpreter or a translator
required for an LEP participant in a legal proceeding before
an administrative agency is to be paid by the appropriate
administrative agency; and a sign language interpreter and a
real-time court reporter who assist a deaf or hard-of-hearing
participant in a legal proceeding before a court or an
administrative agency or in a court-ordered program are to be
paid by the county pursuant to Code section 622B.7. The bill
makes conforming changes excluding the costs of interpreter
and translator services from being charged to a parent in a
juvenile proceeding (Code section 232.141) and to a person
receiving indigent legal assistance services (Code section
815.9).
The bill provides additional provisions specifying that fees
and qualifications for interpreter and translator services
are to be determined by the court or administrative agency,
as appropriate; an interpreter or translator in any legal
proceeding is required to take an oath approved by the supreme
court; and a court or an administrative agency may inquire into
the qualifications, neutrality, and integrity of an interpreter
or translator and may disqualify any person from serving as an
interpreter or translator. The bill requires electronic rather
than audio recordings of the portion of proceedings where
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non-English testimony is given to be made and maintained.
The bill makes conforming changes to the definitions of
“interpreter”, “oral language interpreter”, and “sign language
interpreter” in Code chapter 622B (deaf and hard-of-hearing
interpreters) to be consistent with the definitions in the
bill.
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