S T A T E   O F   N E W   Y O R K
 ________________________________________________________________________
 
                                   3669
 
                        2025-2026 Regular Sessions
 
                           I N  A S S E M B L Y
 
                             January 29, 2025
                                ___________
 
 Introduced by M. of A. CONRAD -- read once and referred to the Committee
   on Judiciary
 
 AN  ACT  to  amend  the judiciary law, in relation to requiring town and
   village courts compensate temporary interpreters for deaf or  hard  of
   hearing persons
 
   THE  PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK, REPRESENTED IN SENATE AND ASSEM-
 BLY, DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
 
   Section 1. 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] SUCH INTERPRETER'S duties file with the clerk  of  the  court  the
 constitutional  oath  of office. The court shall fix the compensation of
 such interpreter [at not more than twenty-five] A MINIMUM OF ONE HUNDRED
 TEN dollars per day for each day's actual attendance by direction 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, PROVIDED, HOWEVER,
 THAT  IF  THE  COMPENSATION OF THE TEMPORARY INTERPRETER IS GREATER THAN
 ONE HUNDRED TEN DOLLARS PER DAY,  THE  AMOUNT IN EXCESS OF  ONE  HUNDRED
 TEN  DOLLARS  SHALL  BE  PAID  BY THE TOWN OR VILLAGE WHERE THE COURT IS
 LOCATED.
   § 2. Subdivision 1 of section 390 of the judiciary law, as amended  by
 chapter 272 of the laws of 2015, is amended to read as follows:
   1.  Whenever  any deaf or hard of hearing person is a party to a legal
 proceeding of any nature, or a witness or  juror  or  prospective  juror
 therein, the court in all instances shall appoint a qualified interpret-
 er  who  is certified by a recognized national or New York state creden-
 tialing authority as approved by the chief administrator of  the  courts
 to  interpret the proceeding to, and the testimony of, such deaf or hard
 
  EXPLANATION--Matter in ITALICS (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                       [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                            LBD02996-01-5
              

 A. 3669                             2
 
 of hearing person; provided, however, where compliance with this section
 would cause unreasonable delay in court proceedings, the court shall  be
 authorized to temporarily appoint an interpreter who is otherwise quali-
 fied to interpret the proceedings to, and the testimony of, such deaf or
 hard  of  hearing  person until a certified interpreter is available. In
 any criminal action in  a  state-funded  court,  the  court  shall  also
 appoint  such  an  interpreter to interpret the proceedings to a deaf or
 hard of hearing person who is the victim of the  crime  or  may  appoint
 such  interpreter for the deaf or hard of hearing members of the immedi-
 ate family (parent or spouse) of a victim of the crime when specifically
 requested to do so by such victim or family member. The fee for all such
 interpreting services shall be a charge  upon  the  state  at  rates  of
 compensation established by rule of the chief administrator; except that
 where  such  interpreting  services are rendered in a justice court, the
 fee therefor shall be paid as provided by law in effect on  July  first,
 nineteen  hundred  ninety-one,  AND WHERE TEMPORARY INTERPRETER SERVICES
 ARE RENDERED, THE FEE THEREFOR SHALL BE  PAID  AS  PROVIDED  IN  SECTION
 THREE HUNDRED EIGHTY-SEVEN OF THIS ARTICLE.
   § 3. This act shall take effect immediately.