AB 1127, as amended, Chau. 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,begin insert as specified,end insert which would be responsible for developing a comprehensive statewide Language Access Plan (LAP) for use by courts to address the needs ofbegin insert allend insert limited-English-proficient individualsbegin insert end insertbegin insertin conformance with state and federal lawend insert. The bill would require the task force to, among other things, establish standards for meaningful and timelybegin delete access toend deletebegin insert provision ofend insert 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.begin insert The bill would require the Judicial Council to adopt a statewide LAP on or beforeend insertbegin insert December 31, 2014.end insert The bill would also make related legislative findings and declarations.
Vote: majority. Appropriation: no. Fiscal committee: yes. State-mandated local program: no.
The people of the State of California do enact as follows:
The Legislature hereby finds and declares the
2following:
3(a) California is one of the most linguistically diverse states in
4the nation. As language diversity continues to increase, there is a
5greater need to ensure that all Californians have meaningful access
6to the court system.
7(b) There continues to be a need to expand and improve
8California’s ability to provide language assistance within the
9judicial system.
10(c) Currently, California has not developed a statewide plan to
11address the needs of
limited-English-proficient individuals in all
12court proceedings and at all public points of contact within our
13courts.
Section 68567 is added to the Government Code, to
15read:
(a) On or before March 1, 2014, the Judicial Council
17shall establish the California Language Access Task Force, which
18shall be responsible for developing a comprehensive statewide
19Language Access Plan (LAP) for use by courts to address the needs
20ofbegin insert allend insert limited-English-proficient individualsbegin insert end insertbegin insertin conformance with
21state and federal lawend insert.
22(b) The task force shall include court executive officers,
23presiding judges, interpreter coordinators, interpreters, at least
24two of whom shall be nominated by an exclusive representative of
25interpreter employees, representatives of legal services
26organizations and organizations representing individuals with
27limited English proficiency, and others the Judicial Council
P3 1determines necessary. The task force shall also include a
2representative from a rural community in order to highlight the
3particular challenges of providing court interpreter services in
4rural communities.
5(b)
end delete
6begin insert(c)end insert In developing the LAP, the task force shall do all of the
7following:
8(1) Establish standards for meaningful and timelybegin delete access toend delete
9begin insert provision of end insert language services in all court proceedings and at all
10public points of contact within the courts.
11(2) Establish procedures for gathering comprehensive data on
12the language access needs of court users, including, but not limited
13to, providing a means of registering an individual’s language needs
14in court documents. These procedures should provide metrics on
15the need for interpreter services in court proceedings and ancillary
16programs and services.
17(3) Review current court interpreter procedures and recommend
18improvements or additional procedures to provide the most
19competent interpreter services to limited-English-proficient court
20users and to ensure compliance with Rule 2.890 of the California
21Rules of Court.
22(4) Review current court procedures and recommend
23improvements or additional procedures to maximize existing
24language resources, including bilingual staff, court interpreters,
25translators, and other resources shared among courts to expand
26access to language services at all public points of contact within
27the courts.
28(5) Review current practices and develop strategies to provide
29interpreter services that comply with the Trial Court Interpreter
30Employment
and Labor Relations Actbegin insert (Chapter 7.5 (commencing
31with Section 71800) of Title 8)end insert in all court proceedings. The review
32may include the evaluation of any programs providing interpreters
33in domestic violence cases or other civil cases, including any pilot
34projects.
35(6) Establish a statewide plan to provide for the translation of
36court documents using competent and qualified interpreters.
37(7) Establish a plan to provide education and training to judicial
38officers, court personnel, and court-appointed professionals on the
39legal requirements for language access, court policies and rules
40pertaining to language access, language service provider
P4 1qualifications, ethics pertaining to interpreter services,
the effective
2use of translated court documents, and effective techniques for
3working with language service providers.
4(8) Review and consider the American Bar Association’s
5Standards for Language Access in Courts, as adopted February
62012.
7(9) The Judicial Council shall adopt a statewide LAP on or
8before December 31, 2014.
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