Increases the amount of compensation which a court may pay to a temporary appointed interpreter to not more than two hundred fifty dollars per day.

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S275-2011 Actions

• Jan 4, 2012: REFERRED TO JUDICIARY
• Jan 5, 2011: REFERRED TO JUDICIARY

S275-2011 Memo

BILL NUMBER:S275

TITLE OF BILL:
An act
to amend the judiciary law, in relation to the compensation of
interpreters for certain courts of record

PURPOSE:
This bill will increase allowances for temporary court
interpreters.

SUMMARY OF PROVISIONS:
Section 1 amends section 387 of the judiciary law by
increasing the allowances of court interpreters from than twenty-five
to more than two hundred dollars.

JUSTIFICATION:
The present statutory allowance has not been changed
since 1974.
Interpreters in Monroe County are currently charging forty-five
dollars or more an hour and some require a minimum guarantee of
two hours to appear in court. The rates in towns and counties outside
New York City are much higher. Raising the allowance to two hundred
dollars will bring the rate in line with market trends.

Courts are required by law to provide an interpreter for
arraignments, hearings, trials and all other court proceedings where
the defendant or at times witness cannot speak English.  With the
current rates counties and towns are forced to put up the difference.
Thus raising the allowance will help to reduce the burden that
Counties are currently paying over above the statutory requirement
in order to get the services of interpreters to meet the statutory
requirement.

LEGISLATIVE HISTORY:
S.2147/A.5246 of 2009-2010; Referred to Judiciary

FISCAL IMPLICATIONS:
This bill will require the state to increase the amount of
disbursements to counties for the purpose of hiring
interpreters.

EFFECTIVE DATE:
This act shall take effect immediately.

S275-2011 Text

                      S T A T E   O F   N E W   Y O R K
  ________________________________________________________________________

                                     275

                         2011-2012 Regular Sessions

                              I N  SENATE

                                 (PREFILED)

                               January 5, 2011
                                 ___________

  Introduced by Sens. MAZIARZ, DeFRANCISCO, DIAZ -- read twice and ordered
    printed,  and when printed to be committed to the Committee on Judici-
    ary

  AN ACT to amend the judiciary law, in relation to  the  compensation  of
    interpreters for certain courts of record

    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:

    S  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 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] TWO HUNDRED FIFTY 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.
    S 2. This act shall take effect immediately.




   EXPLANATION--Matter in ITALICS (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                        [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                             LBD01657-01-1