88R22046 AMF-F
By: Moody H.B. No. 3544
Substitute the following for H.B. No. 3544:
By: Flores C.S.H.B. No. 3544
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
relating to payment of certain court costs associated with
interpreters.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. The heading to Section 57.002, Government Code,
is amended to read as follows:
Sec. 57.002. APPOINTMENT OF INTERPRETER OR CART PROVIDER;
CART PROVIDER LIST; PAYMENT OF INTERPRETER COSTS.
SECTION 2. Section 57.002, Government Code, is amended by
adding Subsections (g), (h), and (i) to read as follows:
(g) A party to a proceeding in a court who files a statement
of inability to afford payment of court costs under Rule 145, Texas
Rules of Civil Procedure, is not required to provide an interpreter
at the party's expense or pay the costs associated with the services
of an interpreter appointed under this section that are incurred
during the course of the action, unless the statement has been
contested and the court has ordered the party to pay costs pursuant
to Rule 145. Nothing in this subsection is intended to apply to
interpreter services or other auxiliary aids for individuals who
are deaf, hard of hearing, or have communication disabilities,
which shall be provided to those individuals free of charge
pursuant to federal and state laws.
(h) Each county auditor, or other individual designated by
the commissioners court of a county, in consultation with the
district and county clerks shall submit to the Office of Court
Administration of the Texas Judicial System, in the manner
prescribed by the office, information on the money the county spent
during the preceding fiscal year to provide court-ordered
interpretation services in civil and criminal proceedings. The
information must include:
(1) the number of interpreters appointed;
(2) the number of interpreters appointed for parties
or witnesses who are indigent;
(3) the amount of money the county spent to provide
court-ordered interpretation services; and
(4) for civil proceedings, whether a party to the
proceeding filed a statement of inability to afford payment of
court costs under Rule 145, Texas Rules of Civil Procedure,
applicable to the appointment of an interpreter.
(i) Not later than December 1 of each year, the Office of
Court Administration of the Texas Judicial System shall:
(1) submit to the legislature a report that aggregates
by county the information submitted under Subsection (h) for the
preceding fiscal year; and
(2) publish the report on the office's Internet
website.
SECTION 3. The change in law made by this Act applies to an
action pending on the effective date of this Act or filed on or
after the effective date of this Act.
SECTION 4. This Act takes effect immediately if it receives
a vote of two-thirds of all the members elected to each house, as
provided by Section 39, Article III, Texas Constitution. If this
Act does not receive the vote necessary for immediate effect, this
Act takes effect September 1, 2023.