BILL ANALYSIS                                                                                                                                                                                                    Ó



                                                                  AB 1127
                                                                  Page  1

          Date of Hearing:   May 15, 2013

                        ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON APPROPRIATIONS
                                  Mike Gatto, Chair

                      AB 1127 (Chau) - As Amended:  May 2, 2013 

          Policy Committee:                              JudiciaryVote:8-2

          Urgency:     No                   State Mandated Local Program:  
          No     Reimbursable:               

           SUMMARY  

          This bill

          1)Requires the Judicial Council, by March 1, 2014, to establish  
            a California Language Access Task Force, as specified, to  
            develop a Language Access Plan (LAP) for court use to address  
            the needs of all limited-English-proficient persons in  
            conformance with state and federal law.

          2)Requires the Judicial Council to adopt a statewide LAP by  
            December 31, 2014.

           FISCAL EFFECT  

          In order to complete the LAP, one-time General Fund costs in the  
          range of $175,000 for staff of the Administrative Office of the  
          Courts to support the work of the task force and for the  
          participation of judicial officers and other court personnel on  
          the task force. Minor ongoing costs to maintain and update the  
          LAP.

          To the extent the plan is implemented statewide, the courts  
          could incur significant ongoing costs. According to the bill,  
          elements of the plan are to include: provision by the trial  
          courts of comprehensive data on the language access needs of  
          court users; strategies to provide interpreter services in all  
          court proceedings; a statewide plan for the translation of court  
          documents; and providing relevant education and training to  
          judicial offers, court personnel, and court-appointed  
          professionals. 

           COMMENTS  








                                                                  AB 1127
                                                                  Page  2


           Purpose  . According to the 2010 Census, 27% of Californians (9.9  
          million) are foreign born with 20% of the population considered  
          limited English proficient. According to the author, AB 1127  
          would provide Californians with an explicitly recognized right  
          to equal access to the courts without regard to language  
          proficiency by creating a comprehensive language access plan.  
          The bill is sponsored by the California Federation of  
          Interpreters (CFI)-the union and professional association for  
          court interpreters.

          According to the sponsor, "California has continued to struggle  
          to meet the needs for language assistance in our justice system  
          and it is time that we recognize that all Californians have a  
          constitutional right to access the courts without regard to  
          language proficiency.
          While the landscape for language access standards nationwide is  
          changing, due to the US Department of Justice enforcement of  
          language access requirements, California's language access law  
          consists of a patchwork of statutes, rules and policies." The  
          CFI contends that the LAP develop through AB 1127 will ensuring  
          "the right to a qualified, competent and certified court  
          interpreter is available to limit-English speaking individuals."

           Analysis Prepared by  :    Chuck Nicol / APPR. / (916) 319-2081