Bill Text: NY S09024 | 2023-2024 | General Assembly | Introduced

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Bill Title: Raises the minimum fee for temporary interpreters; requires that town and village courts share in the compensation of such temporary interpreters.

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 1-0)

Status: (Introduced) 2024-04-10 - REFERRED TO JUDICIARY [S09024 Detail]

Download: New_York-2023-S09024-Introduced.html

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                STATE OF NEW YORK
        ________________________________________________________________________

                                          9024

                    IN SENATE

                                     April 10, 2024
                                       ___________

        Introduced  by  Sen.  RYAN  --  read twice and ordered printed, and when
          printed to be committed to the Committee on Judiciary

        AN ACT to amend the judiciary law, in relation  to  requiring  town  and
          village  courts  compensate temporary interpreters for deaf or hard of
          hearing persons

          The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and  Assem-
        bly, do enact as follows:

     1    Section  1. Section 387 of the judiciary law, as amended by chapter 15
     2  of the laws of 1975, is amended to read as follows:
     3    § 387. Temporary appointment of interpreters. If the  services  of  an
     4  interpreter be required in any court and there be no unemployed official
     5  interpreter  to act therein, the court may appoint an interpreter to act
     6  temporarily in such court. Such interpreter shall before  entering  upon
     7  [his]  such  interpreter's  duties  file with the clerk of the court the
     8  constitutional oath of office. The court shall fix the  compensation  of
     9  such interpreter [at not more than twenty-five] a minimum of one hundred
    10  ten dollars per day for each day's actual attendance by direction of the
    11  presiding  judge or justice and such compensation shall be paid from the
    12  court fund of the county upon the order of the court, provided, however,
    13  that if the compensation of the temporary interpreter  is  greater  than
    14  one  hundred  ten dollars per day,  the  amount in excess of one hundred
    15  ten dollars shall be paid by the town or  village  where  the  court  is
    16  located.
    17    §  2. Subdivision 1 of section 390 of the judiciary law, as amended by
    18  chapter 272 of the laws of 2015, is amended to read as follows:
    19    1. Whenever any deaf or hard of hearing person is a party to  a  legal
    20  proceeding  of  any  nature,  or a witness or juror or prospective juror
    21  therein, the court in all instances shall appoint a qualified interpret-
    22  er who is certified by a recognized national or New York  state  creden-
    23  tialing  authority  as approved by the chief administrator of the courts
    24  to interpret the proceeding to, and the testimony of, such deaf or  hard
    25  of hearing person; provided, however, where compliance with this section
    26  would  cause unreasonable delay in court proceedings, the court shall be
    27  authorized to temporarily appoint an interpreter who is otherwise quali-

         EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                              [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                                   LBD15002-01-4
        S. 9024                             2

     1  fied to interpret the proceedings to, and the testimony of, such deaf or
     2  hard of hearing person until a certified interpreter  is  available.  In
     3  any  criminal  action  in  a  state-funded  court,  the court shall also
     4  appoint  such  an  interpreter to interpret the proceedings to a deaf or
     5  hard of hearing person who is the victim of the  crime  or  may  appoint
     6  such  interpreter for the deaf or hard of hearing members of the immedi-
     7  ate family (parent or spouse) of a victim of the crime when specifically
     8  requested to do so by such victim or family member. The fee for all such
     9  interpreting services shall be a charge  upon  the  state  at  rates  of
    10  compensation established by rule of the chief administrator; except that
    11  where  such  interpreting  services are rendered in a justice court, the
    12  fee therefor shall be paid as provided by law in effect on  July  first,
    13  nineteen  hundred  ninety-one,  and where temporary interpreter services
    14  are rendered, the fee therefor shall be  paid  as  provided  in  section
    15  three hundred eighty-seven of this article.
    16    § 3. This act shall take effect immediately.