Texas 2023 - 88th Regular

Texas House Bill HB3544 Compare Versions

Version 1 (Old)

Version 2 (New)

Old	New	Differences
1	1	88R22046 AMF-F
2	2	By: Moody H.B. No. 3544
3	3	Substitute the following for H.B. No. 3544:
4	4	By: Flores C.S.H.B. No. 3544
5	5
6	6
7	7	A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
8	8	AN ACT
9	9	relating to payment of certain court costs associated with
10	10	interpreters.
11	11	BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
12	12	SECTION 1. The heading to Section 57.002, Government Code,
13	13	is amended to read as follows:
14	14	Sec. 57.002. APPOINTMENT OF INTERPRETER OR CART PROVIDER;
15	15	CART PROVIDER LIST; PAYMENT OF INTERPRETER COSTS.
16	16	SECTION 2. Section 57.002, Government Code, is amended by
17	17	adding Subsections (g), (h), and (i) to read as follows:
18	18	(g) A party to a proceeding in a court who files a statement
19	19	of inability to afford payment of court costs under Rule 145, Texas
20	20	Rules of Civil Procedure, is not required to provide an interpreter
21	21	at the party's expense or pay the costs associated with the services
22	22	of an interpreter appointed under this section that are incurred
23	23	during the course of the action, unless the statement has been
24	24	contested and the court has ordered the party to pay costs pursuant
25	25	to Rule 145. Nothing in this subsection is intended to apply to
26	26	interpreter services or other auxiliary aids for individuals who
27	27	are deaf, hard of hearing, or have communication disabilities,
28	28	which shall be provided to those individuals free of charge
29	29	pursuant to federal and state laws.
30	30	(h) Each county auditor, or other individual designated by
31	31	the commissioners court of a county, in consultation with the
32	32	district and county clerks shall submit to the Office of Court
33	33	Administration of the Texas Judicial System, in the manner
34	34	prescribed by the office, information on the money the county spent
35	35	during the preceding fiscal year to provide court-ordered
36	36	interpretation services in civil and criminal proceedings. The
37	37	information must include:
38	38	(1) the number of interpreters appointed;
39	39	(2) the number of interpreters appointed for parties
40	40	or witnesses who are indigent;
41	41	(3) the amount of money the county spent to provide
42	42	court-ordered interpretation services; and
43	43	(4) for civil proceedings, whether a party to the
44	44	proceeding filed a statement of inability to afford payment of
45	45	court costs under Rule 145, Texas Rules of Civil Procedure,
46	46	applicable to the appointment of an interpreter.
47	47	(i) Not later than December 1 of each year, the Office of
48	48	Court Administration of the Texas Judicial System shall:
49	49	(1) submit to the legislature a report that aggregates
50	50	by county the information submitted under Subsection (h) for the
51	51	preceding fiscal year; and
52	52	(2) publish the report on the office's Internet
53	53	website.
54	54	SECTION 3. The change in law made by this Act applies to an
55	55	action pending on the effective date of this Act or filed on or
56	56	after the effective date of this Act.
57	57	SECTION 4. This Act takes effect immediately if it receives
58	58	a vote of two-thirds of all the members elected to each house, as
59	59	provided by Section 39, Article III, Texas Constitution. If this
60	60	Act does not receive the vote necessary for immediate effect, this
61	61	Act takes effect September 1, 2023.