Raises the minimum fee for temporary interpreters, the official text

S T A T E   O F   N E W   Y O R K
 ________________________________________________________________________
 
                                    916
 
                        2025-2026 Regular Sessions
 
                             I N  S E N A T E
 
                                (PREFILED)
 
                              January 8, 2025
                                ___________
 
 Introduced  by  Sen. S. 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:
 
   Section  1. Section 387 of the judiciary law, as amended by chapter 15
 of the laws of 1975, is amended to read as follows:
   § 387. Temporary appointment of interpreters. If the  services  of  an
 interpreter be required in any court and there be no unemployed official
 interpreter  to act therein, the court may appoint an interpreter to act
 temporarily in such court. Such interpreter shall before  entering  upon
 [his]  SUCH  INTERPRETER'S  duties  file with the clerk of the court the
 constitutional oath of office. The court shall fix the  compensation  of
 such interpreter [at not more than twenty-five] A MINIMUM OF ONE HUNDRED
 TEN dollars per day for each day's actual attendance by direction of the
 presiding  judge or justice and such compensation shall be paid from the
 court fund of the county upon the order of the court, PROVIDED, HOWEVER,
 THAT IF THE COMPENSATION OF THE TEMPORARY INTERPRETER  IS  GREATER  THAN
 ONE  HUNDRED  TEN DOLLARS PER DAY,  THE  AMOUNT IN EXCESS OF ONE HUNDRED
 TEN DOLLARS SHALL BE PAID BY THE TOWN OR  VILLAGE  WHERE  THE  COURT  IS
 LOCATED.
   §  2. Subdivision 1 of section 390 of the judiciary law, as amended by
 chapter 272 of the laws of 2015, is amended to read as follows:
   1. Whenever any deaf or hard of hearing person is a party to  a  legal
 proceeding  of  any  nature,  or a witness or juror or prospective juror
 therein, the court in all instances shall appoint a qualified interpret-
 er who is certified by a recognized national or New York  state  creden-
 tialing  authority  as approved by the chief administrator of the courts
 
  EXPLANATION--Matter in ITALICS (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                       [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                            LBD02996-01-5
 S. 916                              2
 
 to interpret the proceeding to, and the testimony of, such deaf or  hard
 of hearing person; provided, however, where compliance with this section
 would  cause unreasonable delay in court proceedings, the court shall be
 authorized to temporarily appoint an interpreter who is otherwise quali-
 fied to interpret the proceedings to, and the testimony of, such deaf or
 hard  of  hearing  person until a certified interpreter is available. In
 any criminal action in  a  state-funded  court,  the  court  shall  also
 appoint  such  an  interpreter to interpret the proceedings to a deaf or
 hard of hearing person who is the victim of the  crime  or  may  appoint
 such  interpreter for the deaf or hard of hearing members of the immedi-
 ate family (parent or spouse) of a victim of the crime when specifically
 requested to do so by such victim or family member. The fee for all such
 interpreting services shall be a charge  upon  the  state  at  rates  of
 compensation established by rule of the chief administrator; except that
 where  such  interpreting  services are rendered in a justice court, the
 fee therefor shall be paid as provided by law in effect on  July  first,
 nineteen  hundred  ninety-one,  AND WHERE TEMPORARY INTERPRETER SERVICES
 ARE RENDERED, THE FEE THEREFOR SHALL BE  PAID  AS  PROVIDED  IN  SECTION
 THREE HUNDRED EIGHTY-SEVEN OF THIS ARTICLE.
   § 3. This act shall take effect immediately.