81R31918 KFF-D
By: Alvarado H.B. No. 4445
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
relating to the licensing and appointment of certain court
interpreters.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. Section 57.002, Government Code, is amended by
adding Subsection (b-1) to read as follows:
(b-1) A licensed court interpreter appointed under
Subsection (a) or (b) by a court located in a county with a
population of 3.3 million or more must hold a license that includes
the appropriate designation under Section 57.043(d) that indicates
the interpreter is permitted to interpret in that court.
SECTION 2. Section 57.043, Government Code, is amended by
adding Subsections (d) and (e) to read as follows:
(d) The executive director shall establish license
designations for persons who seek to be appointed to interpret in a
court located in a county with a population of 3.3 million or more.
The person's license must include one of the following
designations:
(1) a basic designation that permits the interpreter
to interpret court proceedings in justice and municipal courts; or
(2) a master designation that permits the interpreter
to interpret court proceedings in all state courts, including
justice and municipal courts.
(e) In adopting rules relating to licensing under this
subchapter, the commission shall prescribe the qualifications
required for a license that includes a basic designation and for a
license that includes a master designation under Subsection (d).
SECTION 3. Section 57.002(b-1), Government Code, as added
by this Act, applies only to the appointment of a licensed court
interpreter on or after September 1, 2010. An appointment before
that date is governed by the law in effect on the date the
appointment was made, and the former law is continued in effect for
that purpose.
SECTION 4. This Act takes effect September 1, 2009.