BILL ANALYSIS Ó AB 1376 Page 1 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. AB 1376 Page 2 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 AB 1376 Page 3 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 AB 1376 Page 4 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 Page 5