H.B. No. 4445
AN ACT
relating to the licensing and appointment of 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 by a court
under Subsection (a) or (b) 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
amending Subsection (a) and adding Subsections (d) and (e) to read
as follows:
(a) The executive director shall issue a court interpreter
license to an applicant who:
(1) can interpret for an individual who can hear but
who does not comprehend English or communicate in English;
(2) passes the appropriate examination prescribed by
the executive director not earlier than two years before the date
the executive director receives the applicant's application for a
license; and
(3) possesses the other qualifications for the license
required by this subchapter or by rules adopted under this
subchapter.
(d) A license issued under this subchapter must include at
least one of the following designations:
(1) a basic designation that permits the interpreter
to interpret court proceedings in justice courts and municipal
courts that are not municipal courts of record, other than a
proceeding before the court in which the judge is acting as a
magistrate; or
(2) a master designation that permits the interpreter
to interpret court proceedings in all courts in this state,
including justice courts and municipal courts described by
Subdivision (1).
(e) In adopting rules relating to licensing under this
subchapter, the commission shall, after consulting with the board,
prescribe the minimum score an individual must achieve on an
examination to receive a license that includes a basic designation
under Subsection (d) and the minimum score an individual must
achieve to receive a license that includes a master designation
under that subsection.
SECTION 3. Section 57.046(a), Government Code, is amended
to read as follows:
(a) The executive director shall prepare examinations under
this subchapter that test an applicant's knowledge, skill, and
efficiency in interpreting under this subchapter. The same
examinations must be used for issuing a license that includes a
basic designation or master designation as described by Section
57.043(d).
SECTION 4. (a) Notwithstanding Section 57.043(e),
Government Code, as added by this Act, and not later than December
1, 2011, the executive director of the Texas Department of
Licensing and Regulation shall issue to a person who, on September
1, 2011, holds a court interpreter license issued under Section
57.043(a), Government Code, a new court interpreter license that
includes a master designation described by Section 57.043(d)(2),
Government Code, as added by this Act.
(b) Section 57.043(d), Government Code, as added by this
Act, applies only to a court interpreter license, other than a court
interpreter license issued under Subsection (a) of this section,
that is initially issued under Section 57.043(a), Government Code,
on or after September 1, 2011, and to the subsequent renewal of that
license.
(c) 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 January 1, 2012. 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 5. This Act takes effect September 1, 2011.
______________________________ ______________________________
President of the Senate Speaker of the House
I certify that H.B. No. 4445 was passed by the House on May
15, 2009, by the following vote: Yeas 144, Nays 0, 1 present, not
voting; and that the House concurred in Senate amendments to H.B.
No. 4445 on May 29, 2009, by the following vote: Yeas 136, Nays 0,
2 present, not voting; and that the House adopted S.C.R. No. 82
authorizing certain corrections in H.B. No. 4445 on June 1, 2009, by
the following vote: Yeas 140, Nays 0, 1 present, not voting.
______________________________
Chief Clerk of the House
I certify that H.B. No. 4445 was passed by the Senate, with
amendments, on May 25, 2009, by the following vote: Yeas 31, Nays
0; and that the Senate adopted S.C.R. No. 82 authorizing certain
corrections in H.B. No. 4445 on June 1, 2009 by the following
vote: Yeas 31, Nays 0.
______________________________
Secretary of the Senate
APPROVED: __________________
Date
__________________
Governor