BILL NUMBER: AB 1127	AMENDED
	BILL TEXT

	AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY  MARCH 21, 2013

INTRODUCED BY   Assembly Member Chau

                        FEBRUARY 22, 2013

   An act  relating to court interpreters.   to
add Section 68567 to the Government Code, relating to courts. 


	LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST


   AB 1127, as amended, Chau.  Court interpreters. 
 Courts: California Language Access Task Force. 
   Existing law requires, when a witness is incapable of
understanding the English language or expressing himself or herself
in the English language so as to be understood directly by counsel,
court, and jury, an interpreter to be sworn to interpret for him or
her. Existing law requires the Judicial Council to conduct a study of
language and interpreter use and need in court proceedings, with
commentary, and to report its findings and recommendations to the
Governor and to the Legislature every 5 years. Existing law requires
that this study serve as the basis for determining the need to
establish interpreter programs and certification and for establishing
these programs and examinations through the normal budgetary
process. 
   This bill would, on or before March 1, 2014, require the Judicial
Council to establish the California Language Access Task Force, which
would be responsible for developing a comprehensive statewide
Language Access Plan (LAP) for use by courts to address the needs of
limited-English-proficient individuals. The bill would require the
task force to, among other things, establish standards for meaningful
and timely access to language services in all court proceedings and
at all public points of contact within the courts, and to establish a
statewide plan to provide for the translation of court documents
using competent and qualified interpreters. The bill would also make
related legislative findings and declarations.  
   This bill would declare the intent of the Legislature that every
effort be made to recruit and retain qualified interpreters to work
in the state courts, and that the Judicial Council make further
efforts to improve and expand court interpreter services and address
the shortage of qualified court interpreters. 
   Vote: majority. Appropriation: no. Fiscal committee:  no
  yes  . State-mandated local program: no.


THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:

   SECTION 1.    The Legislature hereby finds and
declares the following:  
   (a) California is one of the most linguistically diverse states in
the nation. As language diversity continues to increase, there is a
greater need to ensure that all Californians have meaningful access
to the court system.  
   (b) There continues to be a need to expand and improve California'
s ability to provide language assistance within the judicial system.
 
   (c) Currently, California has not developed a statewide plan to
address the needs of limited-English-proficient individuals in all
court proceedings and at all public points of contact within our
courts. 
   SEC. 2.    Section 68567 is added to the  
Government Code   , to read:  
   68567.  (a) On or before March 1, 2014, the Judicial Council shall
establish the California Language Access Task Force, which shall be
responsible for developing a comprehensive statewide Language Access
Plan (LAP) for use by courts to address the needs of
limited-English-proficient individuals.
   (b) In developing the LAP, the task force shall do all of the
following:
   (1) Establish standards for meaningful and timely access to
language services in all court proceedings and at all public points
of contact within the courts.
   (2) Establish procedures for gathering comprehensive data on the
language access needs of court users, including, but not limited to,
providing a means of registering an individual's language needs in
court documents. These procedures should provide metrics on the need
for interpreter services in court proceedings and ancillary programs
and services.
   (3) Review current court interpreter procedures and recommend
improvements or additional procedures to provide the most competent
interpreter services to limited-English-proficient court users and to
ensure compliance with Rule 2.890 of the California Rules of Court.
   (4) Review current court procedures and recommend improvements or
additional procedures to maximize existing language resources,
including bilingual staff, court interpreters, translators, and other
resources shared among courts to expand access to language services
at all public points of contact within the courts.
   (5) Review current practices and develop strategies to provide
interpreter services that comply with the Trial Court Interpreter
Employment and Labor Relations Act in all court proceedings. The
review may include the evaluation of any programs providing
interpreters in domestic violence cases or other civil cases,
including any pilot projects.
   (6) Establish a statewide plan to provide for the translation of
court documents using competent and qualified interpreters.
   (7) Establish a plan to provide education and training to judicial
officers, court personnel, and court-appointed professionals on the
legal requirements for language access, court policies and rules
pertaining to language access, language service provider
qualifications, ethics pertaining to interpreter services, the
effective use of translated court documents, and effective techniques
for working with language service providers.
   (8) Review and consider the American Bar Association's Standards
for Language Access in Courts, as adopted February 2012. 

  SECTION 1.    The Legislature hereby finds and
declares all of the following:
   (a) California is the most populous and demographically diverse
state in the nation, a meeting place of cultures, ethnicities, and
ideas unlike any other in the world. Of the state's 34 million
people, about 26 percent (roughly 8.8 million people) are foreign
born. Californians speak more than 220 languages, and 40 percent of
the state's population speaks a language other than English in the
home. This extraordinary diversity is among the state's greatest
assets and has helped make California an international leader in
business, the arts, entertainment, engineering, medicine, and other
fields. The state's diversity also poses unique challenges for the
delivery of government services, particularly for the courts.
   (b) For Californians not proficient in English, the prospect of
navigating the legal system is daunting, especially for the growing
number of parties who do not have access to legal services and
therefore have no choice but to represent themselves in court, which
is a virtually impossible task for people who are unable to
understand the proceedings. Nearly seven million Californians cannot
access the courts without significant language assistance, cannot
understand pleadings, forms, or other legal documents, cannot
communicate with clerks or court staff, and cannot understand or
participate meaningfully in court proceedings, much less effectively
present their cases without a qualified interpreter. People with
limited English proficiency are also often members of groups whose
cultural traits or economic circumstances make them more likely to be
subjected to legal problems, in part because perpetrators recognize
their victims' limited ability to access judicial protection. It is
essential to provide English learners and other non-English-speaking
litigants with interpreters in order to provide full and equal access
to our justice system without regard to language.
   (c) The Legislature has previously recognized that the number of
persons with limited English proficiency in California is increasing
and recognized the need to provide equal justice under the law to all
California residents and the need to provide for their special needs
in their relations with the judicial and administrative law systems.
The Legislature has likewise recognized that the effective
maintenance of a democratic society depends on the right and ability
of its residents to communicate with their government and the right
and ability of the government to communicate with them.
   (d) Court interpreter services are a core court function. Our
judicial system relies on the adversarial process in which neutral
arbiters decide disputes based upon competing presentations of facts
and law. Conducting court proceedings when one party is incapable of
fully participating significantly impairs the quality and efficiency
of the process and its results, including compliance with court
orders.
   (e) The inability to respond to the language needs of parties in
court impairs trust and confidence in the judicial system and
undermines efforts to secure justice for all. The authority of the
courts depends on public perceptions of fairness and accessibility.
Any significant erosion of public trust and confidence in the
fairness of judicial outcomes threatens the future legitimacy of the
legal system. By excluding a large segment of the population from
participation in an institution that shapes and reflects our values,
we threaten the integrity of the judicial process. Resentment
fostered by the inability to access the benefits of the court system
can ultimately impair enforcement of judicial decrees and attenuate
the rule of law.
   (f) Reliance on untrained interpreters, such as family members or
children, can lead to faulty translations and threaten the court's
ability to ensure justice. Court interpretation is extremely
difficult and takes a rare combination of skills, experience, and
training. Apart from the possibility of fraud, unqualified
interpreters often fail to accurately and comprehensively convey
questions and distort testimony by omitting or adding information, or
by stylistically altering the tone and intent of the speaker,
thereby preventing courts from hearing the testimony properly. These
problems compromise the factfinding process and can result in genuine
injustice.
   (g) California law currently mandates the appointment of an
interpreter for all witnesses in civil cases, and for parties with
hearing impairments. In addition, California statutes mandate the
appointment of an interpreter in adjudicative proceedings before
state agencies, boards, and commissions at no charge to the parties
whenever a party or the party's witness does not proficiently speak
or understand English. Other states, by contrast, provide both
witnesses and parties with a right to a court-appointed interpreter
in all civil matters at no cost to the party.  
  SEC. 2.    The Legislature finds and declares that
there continues to be a shortage in the availability of certified
and registered interpreters in the state courts that impacts the
state's ability to provide meaningful access to justice for all court
users. It is the intent of the Legislature that every effort be made
to recruit and retain qualified interpreters to work in the state
courts, and that the Judicial Council make further efforts to improve
and expand court interpreter services and address the shortage of
qualified court interpreters.