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A09806 Summary:

BILL NOA09806
 
SAME ASSAME AS S09024
 
SPONSORConrad
 
COSPNSR
 
MLTSPNSR
 
Amd 387 & 390, Judy L
 
Raises the minimum fee for temporary interpreters; requires that town and village courts share in the compensation of such temporary interpreters.
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A09806 Actions:

BILL NOA09806
 
04/09/2024referred to judiciary
06/07/2024reference changed to ways and means
06/07/2024reported referred to rules
06/07/2024reported
06/07/2024rules report cal.633
06/07/2024substituted by s9024
 S09024 AMEND= RYAN
 04/10/2024REFERRED TO JUDICIARY
 05/07/20241ST REPORT CAL.948
 05/08/20242ND REPORT CAL.
 05/13/2024ADVANCED TO THIRD READING
 05/29/2024PASSED SENATE
 05/29/2024DELIVERED TO ASSEMBLY
 05/29/2024referred to judiciary
 06/07/2024substituted for a9806
 06/07/2024ordered to third reading rules cal.633
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A09806 Memo:

NEW YORK STATE ASSEMBLY
MEMORANDUM IN SUPPORT OF LEGISLATION
submitted in accordance with Assembly Rule III, Sec 1(f)
 
BILL NUMBER: A9806
 
SPONSOR: Conrad
  TITLE OF BILL: An act to amend the judiciary law, in relation to requiring town and village courts compensate temporary interpreters for deaf or hard of hearing persons   PURPOSE OR GENERAL IDEA OF BILL: Town and Village Justice Courts are facing exponential cost increases with the growing demand for court interpreters. The New York State Unified Court System has raised the per diem rate for full day - $385 and half day services - $220 as well as milage rates to meet this demand. However, since the 1990s Town and Village Courts have received only $25 per day reimbursement from their county government to help offset the cost.   SUMMARY OF PROVISIONS: Section 1 amends chapter 15 Section 387 of judiciary law of 1975 to increase the rate of reimbursement county governments from $25 per day to one hundred ten dollars ($110) per day for services by a temporary court interpreter. If the cost is more than $110 the remaining balance will be paid by the town or village where the court is located. Section 2 provides the same rate increases for interpreters for the deaf or hard of hearing.   JUSTIFICATION: As per our state constitution, each town must support a justice court. Proper representation is a hallmark of equal access to justice. It is every person's right to be treated fairly. Whenever necessary, it is the Court's responsibility to provide in=person translation services. Fail- ure to provide appropriate translation services may create an appealable issue as it may impact the defendant's right to due process. Due to the increase in cultural diversity, our town and village courts are seeing more and more demand for interpreter services for multiple languages as well as for the deaf and hard of hearing. Our county government needs to provide additional support to help defray the cost for these services.   PRIOR LEGISLATIVE HISTORY: New Legislation   FISCAL IMPLICATIONS FOR STATE AND LOCAL GOVERNMENTS: No cost for state government. County government costs TBD.   EFFECTIVE DATE: Immediately
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A09806 Text:



 
                STATE OF NEW YORK
        ________________________________________________________________________
 
                                          9806
 
                   IN ASSEMBLY
 
                                      April 9, 2024
                                       ___________
 
        Introduced by M. of A. CONRAD -- read once and referred to the Committee
          on Judiciary
 
        AN  ACT  to  amend  the judiciary law, in relation to requiring town and
          village courts compensate temporary interpreters for deaf or  hard  of
          hearing persons
 
          The  People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem-
        bly, do enact as follows:

     1    Section 1. Section 387 of the judiciary law, as amended by chapter  15
     2  of the laws of 1975, is amended to read as follows:
     3    §  387.  Temporary  appointment of interpreters. If the services of an
     4  interpreter be required in any court and there be no unemployed official
     5  interpreter to act therein, the court may appoint an interpreter to  act
     6  temporarily  in  such court. Such interpreter shall before entering upon
     7  [his] such interpreter's duties file with the clerk  of  the  court  the
     8  constitutional  oath  of office. The court shall fix the compensation of
     9  such interpreter [at not more than twenty-five] a minimum of one hundred
    10  ten dollars per day for each day's actual attendance by direction of the
    11  presiding judge or justice and such compensation shall be paid from  the
    12  court fund of the county upon the order of the court, provided, however,
    13  that  if  the  compensation of the temporary interpreter is greater than
    14  one hundred ten dollars per day,  the  amount in excess of  one  hundred
    15  ten  dollars  shall  be  paid  by the town or village where the court is
    16  located.
    17    § 2. Subdivision 1 of section 390 of the judiciary law, as amended  by
    18  chapter 272 of the laws of 2015, is amended to read as follows:
    19    1.  Whenever  any deaf or hard of hearing person is a party to a legal
    20  proceeding of any nature, or a witness or  juror  or  prospective  juror
    21  therein, the court in all instances shall appoint a qualified interpret-
    22  er  who  is certified by a recognized national or New York state creden-
    23  tialing authority as approved by the chief administrator of  the  courts
    24  to  interpret the proceeding to, and the testimony of, such deaf or hard
    25  of hearing person; provided, however, where compliance with this section
    26  would cause unreasonable delay in court proceedings, the court shall  be
    27  authorized to temporarily appoint an interpreter who is otherwise quali-
 
         EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                              [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                                   LBD15002-01-4

        A. 9806                             2
 
     1  fied to interpret the proceedings to, and the testimony of, such deaf or
     2  hard  of  hearing  person until a certified interpreter is available. In
     3  any criminal action in  a  state-funded  court,  the  court  shall  also
     4  appoint  such  an  interpreter to interpret the proceedings to a deaf or
     5  hard of hearing person who is the victim of the  crime  or  may  appoint
     6  such  interpreter for the deaf or hard of hearing members of the immedi-
     7  ate family (parent or spouse) of a victim of the crime when specifically
     8  requested to do so by such victim or family member. The fee for all such
     9  interpreting services shall be a charge  upon  the  state  at  rates  of
    10  compensation established by rule of the chief administrator; except that
    11  where  such  interpreting  services are rendered in a justice court, the
    12  fee therefor shall be paid as provided by law in effect on  July  first,
    13  nineteen  hundred  ninety-one,  and where temporary interpreter services
    14  are rendered, the fee therefor shall be  paid  as  provided  in  section
    15  three hundred eighty-seven of this article.
    16    § 3. This act shall take effect immediately.
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