State Court Interpreter Grant Program Act of 2012 - Directs the Administrator of the Office of Justice Programs of the Department of Justice (DOJ) to make grants to state courts to develop and implement programs to assist individuals with limited English proficiency to access and understand state court proceedings in which they are a party.
Authorizes the use of grant awards by state courts to: (1) develop or enhance a court interpreter program; (2) develop, institute, and administer language certification examinations; (3) recruit, train, and certify qualified court interpreters; (4) pay for salaries, transportation, and technology necessary to implement the court interpreter program; (5) provide for remote interpretation services to facilitate certified court interpretations when costs prohibit in-person interpretation; or (6) engage in other activities prescribed by the Attorney General.
[Congressional Bills 112th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 3365 Introduced in Senate (IS)]
112th CONGRESS
2d Session
S. 3365
To authorize the Attorney General to award grants to State courts to
develop and implement State court interpreter programs.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES
July 10, 2012
Mr. Kohl introduced the following bill; which was read twice and
referred to the Committee on the Judiciary
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To authorize the Attorney General to award grants to State courts to
develop and implement State court interpreter programs.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the
United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the ``State Court Interpreter Grant
Program Act of 2012''.
SEC. 2. FINDINGS.
Congress finds that--
(1) the fair administration of justice depends on the
ability of all participants in a courtroom proceeding to
understand that proceeding, regardless of their English
proficiency;
(2) 21 percent of the population of the United States over
5 years of age speaks a language other than English at home;
(3) only qualified and certified court interpreters can
ensure that persons with limited English proficiency comprehend
judicial proceedings in which they are a party;
(4) the knowledge and skills required of a qualified court
interpreter differ substantially from those required in other
interpretation settings, such as social service, medical,
diplomatic, and conference settings;
(5) the Federal Government has demonstrated its commitment
to equal administration of justice, regardless of English
proficiency;
(6) regulations implementing title VI of the Civil Rights
Act of 1964 (42 U.S.C. 2000d et seq.), as well as the guidance
issued by the Department of Justice pursuant to Executive Order
13166, issued August 11, 2000, clarify that all recipients of
Federal financial assistance, including State courts, are
required to take reasonable steps to provide meaningful access
to their proceedings for persons with limited English
proficiency;
(7) 43 States have developed, or are developing, qualified
court interpreter programs;
(8) a robust and effective court interpreter program--
(A) actively recruits skilled individuals to serve
as court interpreters;
(B) trains those individuals in the interpretation
of court proceedings;
(C) develops and uses a thorough, systematic
certification process for court interpreters;
(D) has sufficient funding to ensure that a
qualified and certified interpreter will be available
to the court whenever necessary; and
(E) efficiently uses funding to create substantial
cost savings; and
(9) Federal funding is necessary to--
(A) encourage State courts that do not have court
interpreter programs to develop them;
(B) assist State courts with nascent court
interpreter programs to implement them;
(C) assist State courts with limited court
interpreter programs to enhance them; and
(D) assist State courts with robust court
interpreter programs to make further improvements and
share successful cost saving programs with other
States.
SEC. 3. STATE COURT INTERPRETER PROGRAM.
(a) Grants Authorized.--
(1) In general.--The Administrator of the Office of Justice
Programs of the Department of Justice (referred to in this
section as the ``Administrator'') shall make grants, in
accordance with such regulations as the Attorney General may
prescribe, to State courts to develop and implement programs to
assist individuals with limited English proficiency to access
and understand State court proceedings in which they are a
party.
(2) Use of grants.--A State court may use a grant awarded
under this subsection to--
(A) develop or enhance a court interpreter program
for the State court;
(B) develop, institute, and administer language
certification examinations;
(C) recruit, train, and certify qualified court
interpreters;
(D) pay for salaries, transportation, and
technology necessary to implement the court interpreter
program developed or enhanced under subparagraph (A);
(E) provide for remote interpretation services to
facilitate certified court interpretations when costs
prohibit in-person interpretation; or
(F) engage in other related activities, as
prescribed by the Attorney General.
(b) Application.--
(1) In general.--The highest State court of each State
seeking a grant under this section shall submit an application
to the Administrator at such time, in such manner, and
accompanied by such information as the Administrator may
reasonably require.
(2) Contents.--The highest State court of each State
submitting an application under paragraph (1) shall include in
the application--
(A) a demonstration of need for the development,
implementation, or expansion of a State court
interpreter program;
(B) an identification of each State court in that
State that would receive funds from the grant;
(C) the amount of funds that each State court
identified under subparagraph (B) would receive from
the grant; and
(D) the procedures that the highest State court
would use to directly distribute grant funds to State
courts identified under subparagraph (B).
(c) State Court Allotments.--
(1) Base allotment.--From amounts appropriated for each
fiscal year pursuant to section 5, the Administrator shall
allocate $100,000 to the highest court of each State that has
an application approved under subsection (b).
(2) Additional allotment.--
(A) In general.--From amounts appropriated for each
fiscal year pursuant to section 5, the Administrator
shall allocate $5,000,000 to be distributed among the
highest State courts that--
(i) have an application approved under
subsection (b); and
(ii) are located in a State with
extraordinary needs that prevent the
development, implementation, or expansion of a
State court interpreter program.
(B) Determining need.--In determining whether a
State has extraordinary needs required under
subparagraph (A), the Administrator shall consider--
(i) based on data from the Bureau of the
Census, the ratio between the number of people
over 5 years of age who speak a language other
than English at home and identify as speaking
English less than very well--
(I) in that State; and
(II) in all of the States that
receive an allocation under paragraph
(1); and
(ii) any efficiency or substantial cost
savings expected from a State court interpreter
program.
(C) Priority consideration.--In allocating amounts
under subparagraph (A), the Administrator shall give
priority to any State that does not have and has not
begun to develop a qualified court interpreter program.
(d) Treatment of District of Columbia.--For purposes of this
section--
(1) the District of Columbia shall be treated as a State;
and
(2) the District of Columbia Court of Appeals shall act as
the highest State court for the District of Columbia.
SEC. 4. REPORT.
Not later than 1 year after the date on which the first grant is
made under section 3, the Administrator shall submit a report to
Congress that describes how each highest State court has used the funds
from each grant made under section 3 in a manner consistent with
section 3(a)(2).
SEC. 5. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.
There are authorized to be appropriated $10,000,000 for each of
fiscal years 2013 through 2017 to carry out this Act.
<all>
Introduced in Senate
Sponsor introductory remarks on measure. (CR S4823-4824)
Read twice and referred to the Committee on the Judiciary. (text of measure as introduced: CR S4824-4825)
Llama 3.2 · runs locally in your browser
Ask anything about this bill. The AI reads the full text to answer.
Enter to send · Shift+Enter for new line