O F F I C E O F L E G I S L A T I V E R E S E A R C H
P U B L I C A C T S U M M A R Y
Page 1
PA 22-31—sHB 5230
Human Services Committee
Judiciary Committee
AN ACT CONCERNING STANDARDS FOR INTERPRETERS FOR DEAF,
DEAFBLIND AND HARD OF HEARING PERSONS
SUMMARY: This act makes several changes related to interpreters registered with
the Department of Aging and Disability Services (ADS).
Existing law establishes qualifications for interpreters generally and additional
requirements for interpreting in educational, medical, or legal settings. Under the
act, settings that are not educational, medical, or legal are “community settings”
and may include everyday life activities such as information sharing, employment,
social services, entertainment, and civic and community engagements. The act
retains existing interpreter qualification requirements for these settings.
For medical and legal settings, the act expands the acceptable qualifications for
registered interpreters to include holding an Approved Deaf Interpreter credential
from the Massachusetts Commission on the Deaf and Hard of Hearing. Also, the
act makes a minor change to specify that the circumstances under which interpreters
must be credentialed for medical settings are those in which “physical health,
mental health, or both” are discussed, rather than those in which “health and
wellness” are discussed.
The act establishes penalties for certain acts of false representation. It also
eliminates a provision allowing people to report violations of interpreter
credentialling laws to the state’s protection and advocacy system (i.e., Disability
Rights Connecticut).
The act requires ADS to categorize interpreters on its online list of registered
interpreters by the settings for which they are qualified. It also requires ADS, the
Department of Children and Families (DCF), the Department of Mental Health and
Addiction Services (DMHAS), and the Department of Social Services (DSS) to
provide information about certain services on their websites.
Lastly, the act makes technical and conforming changes (e.g., updating
terminology by changing from “deaf-blind” to “deafblind”; replacing references to
the Department of Rehabilitation Services with ADS).
EFFECTIVE DATE: October 1, 2022
WEBPAGE REQUIREMENTS
The act requires several agencies to provide online information about services.
Specifically, it requires
1. ADS to establish a webpage with information on services for deaf,
deafblind, and hard of hearing people, including services it provides and
those that DCF, DMHAS, and DSS provide and O L R P U B L I C A C T S U M M A R Y
Page 2 of 2
2. DCF, DMHAS, and DSS, on their websites, to maintain information about
services for people with disabilities and link to ADS’s page on services for
deaf, deafblind, and hard of hearing people.
FALSE REPRESENTATION PENALTIES
The act makes it a class C misdemeanor, punishable by a fine of up to $500,
three months imprisonment, or both, for someone to (1) engage in willful or
fraudulent misrepresentation in an attempt to register with ADS or (2) falsely
represent himself or herself as registered. However, an interpreter is not guilty of
the latter merely because his or her registration renewal was delinquent for up to 30
days.