Senate Bill S4093

                             
                     S T A T E   O F   N E W   Y O R K
 ________________________________________________________________________
 
                                   4093
 
                        2025-2026 Regular Sessions
 
                             I N  S E N A T E
 
                             January 31, 2025
                                ___________
 
 Introduced by Sens. PARKER, SEPULVEDA -- read twice and ordered printed,
   and when printed to be committed to the Committee on Judiciary
 
 AN ACT to amend the judiciary law, in relation to enacting the "language
   barrier to justice elimination act"
 
   THE  PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK, REPRESENTED IN SENATE AND ASSEM-
 BLY, DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
 
   Section 1. Short title. This act shall be known and may  be  cited  as
 the "language barrier to justice elimination act".
   §  2.   Section 386 of the judiciary law, as amended by chapter 259 of
 the laws of 1909 and as renumbered by chapter 649 of the laws  of  1945,
 is amended to read as follows:
   §  386.  Appointment and compensation of court interpreters generally.
 [-] The county judge and the district attorney of the county may appoint
 one interpreter, who shall act as and be the court interpreter for  such
 county.    Such interpreter shall hold office during the pleasure of the
 county judge and district attorney and they shall  appoint  [his]  THEIR
 successor  in  office. [Said] SUCH interpreter shall receive a salary to
 be fixed by the board of supervisors of said county, which  shall  be  a
 charge  upon the county, to be paid monthly, in the same manner as other
 county officials are paid. [Said] SUCH interpreter so  appointed  shall,
 before entering upon [his] THEIR duties, file in the office of the coun-
 ty clerk, the constitutional oath of office, AND AN AFFIDAVIT UNDER OATH
 OR   AFFIRMATION   TO  MAKE  A  TRUE  AND  IMPARTIAL  INTERPRETATION  OF
 PROCEEDINGS IN AN UNDERSTANDABLE MANNER USING  SUCH  INTERPRETER'S  BEST
 SKILLS  AND  JUDGMENT  IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE STANDARDS FOR PROFESSIONAL
 CONDUCT AND ETHICAL BEHAVIOR FOUND  AND  REINFORCED  IN  THE  UCS  COURT
 INTERPRETER  MANUAL  AND  THE  COURT  INTERPRETER CANONS OF PROFESSIONAL
 RESPONSIBILITY.  COURT  INTERPRETERS  SHALL  PARTICIPATE   IN   TRAINING
 PROGRAMS  PROVIDED  BY  THE  COURT SYSTEM FOR COURT PERSONNEL ON ETHICS,
 DOMESTIC VIOLENCE AND CULTURAL SENSITIVITY.    The  provisions  of  this
 section, however, shall not apply to the counties of New York, Kings and
 
  EXPLANATION--Matter in ITALICS (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                       [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                            LBD07570-01-5
              

 S. 4093                             2
 
 Queens, nor to any other county in which the appointment or compensation
 of  court  interpreters therein is governed by a special or local act or
 by any special provision of a general act.
   § 3. Section 387 of the judiciary law, as amended by chapter 15 of the
 laws of 1975, is amended to read as follows:
   §  387.  Temporary  appointment of interpreters. If the services of an
 interpreter be required in any court and there be no unemployed official
 interpreter to act therein, the court may appoint an interpreter to  act
 temporarily  in  such court. Such interpreter shall before entering upon
 [his] THEIR duties file with the clerk of the court  the  constitutional
 oath  of  office,  AND  AN AFFIDAVIT UNDER OATH OR AFFIRMATION TO MAKE A
 TRUE AND IMPARTIAL INTERPRETATION OF PROCEEDINGS  IN  AN  UNDERSTANDABLE
 MANNER  USING  SUCH INTERPRETER'S BEST SKILLS AND JUDGMENT IN ACCORDANCE
 WITH THE STANDARDS FOR PROFESSIONAL CONDUCT AND ETHICAL  BEHAVIOR  FOUND
 AND  REINFORCED IN THE UCS COURT INTERPRETER MANUAL AND THE COURT INTER-
 PRETER CANONS OF PROFESSIONAL RESPONSIBILITY. COURT  INTERPRETERS  SHALL
 PARTICIPATE  IN TRAINING PROGRAMS PROVIDED BY THE COURT SYSTEM FOR COURT
 PERSONNEL ON ETHICS, DOMESTIC VIOLENCE AND CULTURAL  SENSITIVITY.    The
 court  shall  fix  the compensation of such interpreter at not more than
 twenty-five dollars per day for each day's actual attendance  by  direc-
 tion  of  the  presiding judge or justice and such compensation shall be
 paid from the court fund of the county upon the order of the court.
   § 4. The judiciary law is amended by adding two new sections  381  and
 382 to read as follows:
   §  381.  STANDARDS AND FUNCTIONS OF COURT INTERPRETERS. 1. A QUALIFIED
 INTERPRETER IS A PERSON WHO IS: (A) ABLE TO COMMUNICATE WITH NON-ENGLISH
 SPEAKING PERSONS TO ORALLY TRANSFER THE MEANING  OF  STATEMENTS  TO  AND
 FROM ENGLISH AND THE LANGUAGE SPOKEN BY A NON-ENGLISH SPEAKING PERSON;
   (B)  INTERPRET IN A MANNER THAT CONSERVES THE MEANING, TONE, LEVEL AND
 REGISTER OF THE ORIGINAL  STATEMENT  WITHOUT  SUBSTANTIVE  ADDITIONS  OR
 OMISSIONS; AND
   (C) PERFORMS THEIR DUTIES IN CONFORMANCE WITH THE STANDARDS OF PROFES-
 SIONAL  CONDUCT  AND  ETHICAL  BEHAVIOR  FOUND AND REINFORCED IN THE UCS
 COURT INTERPRETER MANUAL AND THE COURT  INTERPRETER  CANONS  OF  PROFES-
 SIONAL RESPONSIBILITY.
   2.  ANY  PERSON  SERVING  AS  A  COURT  INTERPRETER  PURSUANT  TO  THE
 PROVISIONS OF THIS ARTICLE SHALL, IN  ANY  PROCEEDING  BEFORE  A  COURT,
 STATE  AGENCY  OR  HEARING OFFICER, STATE OR SUBMIT SUCH PERSON'S QUALI-
 FICATIONS ON THE RECORD, UNLESS WAIVED OR OTHERWISE STIPULATED TO BY THE
 PARTIES OR COUNSEL TO THE PARTIES PRIOR TO SUCH PROCEEDING.
   3. A NON-ENGLISH SPEAKING PERSON SHALL BE ENTITLED TO THE SERVICES  OF
 A  QUALIFIED COURT INTERPRETER APPOINTED BY A COURT OR STATE AGENCY IN A
 CRIMINAL OR CIVIL PROCEEDING, AND SUCH  COURT  OR  STATE  AGENCY  SHALL,
 UNLESS WAIVED PURSUANT TO SECTION THREE HUNDRED EIGHTY-TWO OF THIS ARTI-
 CLE,  APPOINT  A  QUALIFIED  COURT  INTERPRETER  IN  A CIVIL OR CRIMINAL
 PROCEEDING TO: (A) INTERPRET THE PROCEEDINGS TO A  NON-ENGLISH  SPEAKING
 PARTY;
   (B)  INTERPRET  THE  TESTIMONY  OF  A  NON-ENGLISH  SPEAKING  PARTY OR
 WITNESS;
   (C) ASSIST THE COURT, AGENCY OR HEARING OFFICER IN  PERFORMING  DUTIES
 AND  RESPONSIBILITIES  OF  THE  COURT,  AGENCY OR HEARING OFFICER IN ANY
 PROCEEDING INVOLVING ONE OR MORE PARTIES WHO  ARE  NON-ENGLISH  SPEAKING
 PERSONS.
   §  382.    WAIVER  OF  COURT INTERPRETER. 1. WAIVER OF THE RIGHT TO AN
 INTERPRETER BY A NON-ENGLISH SPEAKING PARTY TO A PROCEEDING    SHALL  BE
 EFFECTIVE  ONLY  WHEN  APPROVED BY A JUDGE OR HEARING OFFICER AFTER SUCH
 S. 4093                             3
 
 NON-ENGLISH SPEAKING PARTY HAS CONSULTED  WITH  COUNSEL,  RECEIVED  ORAL
 COUNSEL  FROM  A JUDGE OR HEARING OFFICER IN OPEN COURT AS TO THE NATURE
 AND EFFECT OF SUCH WAIVER, AND HAS DEMONSTRATED, TO THE SATISFACTION  OF
 SUCH  JUDGE  OR HEARING OFFICER, COMPREHENSION OF SUCH NATURE AND EFFECT
 AND THAT SUCH  WAIVER  IS  KNOWINGLY  AND  VOLUNTARILY  MADE.  FOLLOWING
 APPROVAL  OF  A  WAIVER,  A JUDGE OR HEARING OFFICER SHALL ENSURE THAT A
 RECITATION OF THE WAIVER PROCEDURE PURSUANT TO THIS SECTION IS MADE PART
 OF THE RECORD OF SUCH PROCEEDING.
   2. THE FAILURE OF A NON-ENGLISH SPEAKING PERSON TO REQUEST  AN  INTER-
 PRETER  SHALL  NOT  BE  DEEMED  A  WAIVER OF SUCH RIGHT. ANY NON-ENGLISH
 SPEAKING PERSON MAY RETRACT A WAIVER MADE PURSUANT TO SUBDIVISION ONE OF
 THIS SECTION AT ANY TIME DURING THE PROCEEDING AND INDICATE THEIR DESIRE
 TO BE ASSISTED BY A QUALIFIED INTERPRETER.
   § 5. This act shall take effect immediately.