BILL ANALYSIS Ó
AB 1376
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Date of Hearing: April 16, 2013
ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON JUDICIARY
Bob Wieckowski, Chair
AB 1376 (Hernandez) - As Introduced: February 22, 2013
As Proposed to be Amended
SUBJECT : ADMINISTRATIVE AGENCIES: LANGUAGE ASSISTANCE
KEY ISSUE : SHOULD STATE STATUTES REGARDING APPOINTMENT OF
INTERPRETERS IN CERTAIN ADMINISTRATIVE PROCEEDINGS BE UPDATED
AND CLARIFIED FOLLOWING LAST YEAR'S EXECUTIVE BRANCH
REORGANIZATION OF HUMAN RESOURCES FUNCTIONS?
FISCAL EFFECT : As currently in print this bill is keyed fiscal.
SYNOPSIS
This noncontroversial measure follows up on the Governor's
reorganization of executive branch personnel functions last year
by formally eliminating, transferring and clarifying certain
obligations regarding interpreters in administrative
proceedings, and specifying how agencies are to make
appointments of interpreters when they are needed. The bill has
no opposition.
SUMMARY : Eliminates, transfers and clarifies certain
obligations regarding interpreters in administrative
proceedings. Specifically, this bill :
1)Eliminates the State Personnel Board's obligation to establish
and administer updated lists of certified administrative
hearing and medical examination interpreters, and provides
that the existing lists as of December 31, 2013 shall be
preserved and published for five years.
2)Eliminates specified fees for certification and renewal of
certification by interpreters.
3)Transfers functions of the State Personnel Board (SPB) to the
California Department of Human Resources (CalHR) consistently
with an executive branch reorganization last year.
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4)Deletes CalHR as the agency to determine which languages to
certify for interpreters, and transfers this function to the
Division of Workers Compensation.
5)Provides that interpreters required for administrative
hearings or medical examinations be qualified; specifies that
agencies may select a certified interpreter from any of the
established lists; clarifies that these certified interpreters
are presumptively qualified; and clarifies the process for
provisionally qualifying an interpreter if a certified
interpreter is not appointed.
EXISTING LAW :
1)Requires state agencies authorized by law to conduct
administrative hearings to provide a party or witness that
does not proficiently speak or understand English and requests
language assistance an interpreter for hearings and medical
examinations. (Government Code sections 110818 and 11435.20.)
2)Requires state agencies to make all state programs,
activities, services and benefits equally accessible to people
who lack sufficient English proficiency. (Government Code
section 11135; 42 U.S.C. section 2000d.)
3)Requires SPB to establish, maintain, administer and publish
annually an updated list of certified administrative hearing
and medical examination interpreters. (Government Code
sections 11435.30 and 11435.35.)
4)Provides that certified court interpreters are deemed
certified for the use in administrative hearings and medical
examinations. (Government Code sections 11435.30(b) and
11435.35(b).)
5)Provides that the Administrative Director of the Division of
Workers' Compensation may establish, maintain, administer, and
publish a list of certified hearing interpreters and certified
medical examination interpreters. (Government Code sections
11435.30(c) and 11435.35(c).)
6)Provides that an interpreter used in a hearing or a medical
examination shall be a SPB certified interpreter. However, if
a SPB certified interpreter cannot be present, a hearing
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agency or physician may provisionally qualify and use another
interpreter. (Government Code section 11435.55.)
COMMENTS : The author explains the reason for the bill as
follows:
Prior to the consolidation of the SPB and the Department of
Personnel Administration into the new California Department
of Human Resources (CalHR), SPB was charged with providing
testing for administrative hearing and medical examination
interpreters as well as maintaining and publishing a list
of interpreters to be utilized by the departments when
needed. SPB suspended testing of interpreters in 2006, and
has not certified new additions to its list since then.
However, SPB has continued to charge an annual renewal fee
to previously certified interpreters of $100 per year. No
tests have been administered since 2006, and the list of
interpreters remains the same assuming they annually renew
their registration. Under Governors Reorganization Plan 1,
(GRP 1) operations previously administered by SPB have been
transferred to CalHR, including responsibility for this
program.
This Bill Facilitates The Transition of Certain Statutory
Obligations Following The Reorganization of the State Personnel
Board and the Department of Personnel Administration Into the
New California Department of Human Resources. This bill would
repeal Government Code provisions that require the State
Personnel Board to annually certify interpreters who may be
needed in administrative hearings. This proposal also repeals
the annual fee interpreters previously paid to SPB to be
included on the SPB list.
Prior to the consolidation of the SPB and the DPA into the new
CalHR, SPB was charged with providing testing for administrative
hearing and medical examination interpreters, as well as
maintaining and publishing a list of interpreters to be utilized
by the departments when needed. While this function was under
SPB's purview, SPB apparently contracted with an outside entity,
Cooperative Personnel Services (CPS), to administer the
examination at a cost that reportedly grew to $250,000 a year.
When SPB could no longer afford the program in 2006, it
cancelled its contract with CPS and undertook to simply maintain
the list of interpreters by collecting annual renewal fees and
providing the list to departments on a yearly basis. The
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current renewal fee is $100 per year. However, the statutory
obligations of SPB/CalHR regarding interpreters have not been
abrogated.
The certification examination has apparently not been offered
since 2006 and the administration apparently does not intend to
offer it again. Those who were on the list as of the last
certification in 2006 have remained on the list since then by
paying a renewal fee annually. CalHR reports that there are
currently approximately 630 names on the list. Under this bill,
the SPB list as it exists at the end of this year would be
preserved by CalHR for five years, and available to agencies who
wish to make use of it. However, the bill would relieve CalHR
of the obligation to maintain an updated list. Thus, the value
of the list will diminish over time, and the bill provides that
CalHR need not maintain the list after five years. During this
five-year period, and afterward, agencies could alternatively
make use of interpreters certified by the courts as well as
those certified by the Division of Workers Compensation.
The Bill Also Clarifies The Obligations Of State Agencies to
Provide Interpreters In Specified Administrative Proceedings.
Existing law requires agencies to use interpreters when needed
and directs them to use an interpreter on the SPB list, or a
certified court interpreter. Agencies may also use another
qualified interpreter. However, the statute does not provide
adequate guidance about how that process is to work. This bill
would clarify that agencies are to use qualified interpreters
and specifies the criteria for making that determination based
on the process and criteria by which interpreters are currently
qualified in court proceedings.
REGISTERED SUPPORT / OPPOSITION :
Support
California Association of Joint Powers Authorities
Opposition
None on file
Analysis Prepared by : Kevin G. Baker and Kelsey Fischer/ JUD. /
(916) 319-2334
AB 1376
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