STAND. COM. REP. NO. 334

Honolulu, Hawaii

RE: S.B. No. 813

Honorable Ronald D. Kouchi

President of the Senate

Thirty-Second State Legislature

Regular Session of 2023

State of Hawaii

Sir:

Your Committee on Judiciary, to which was referred S.B. No. 813 entitled:

"A BILL FOR AN ACT RELATING TO COURT INTERPRETERS,"

begs leave to report as follows:

The purpose and intent of this measure is to:

(1) Require the Judiciary to increase the hourly fees, mileage reimbursement rate, and commuter-time compensation rate for court interpreters; and

(2) Appropriate funds.

Your Committee received testimony in support of this measure from the Judiciary, Office of Language Access, Office of the Prosecuting Attorney of the County of Hawai‘i, Supreme Court Committee on Court Interpreters and Language Access Subcommittee on Interpreters Fees, Hawai‘i Health & Harm Reduction Center, Hawai‘i Friends of Civil Rights, Hawai‘i Coalition for Immigration Rights, Hawai‘i State Coalition Against Domestic Violence, The Legal Clinic, Hawai‘i Workers Center, and eleven individuals. Your Committee received testimony in opposition to this measure from one individual.

Your Committee finds that court interpreters are independent contractors of the Judiciary, who play an integral role in the administration of justice in the State, which has one of the highest proportions of non-English speakers in the nation. Your Committee further finds that court interpreters are often required to drive to distant courthouses, sometimes for hours, to provide interpretation services that are critical for a defendant with limited-English proficiency in exercising their constitutional and statutory right to represent themselves in court or assist counsels in doing so. However, despite the substantial increase in the cost of living in Hawaii over the years, including the considerable increase in the price of automobiles and gasoline, the compensation for court interpreters has remained unchanged for the most part since it was established in 2007. An increase in the fees and rates for court interpreters is overdue. This measure will ensure that court interpreters are paid fairly for their work.

Your Committee notes that this measure contains an unspecified appropriation amount, and respectfully requests that your Committee on Ways and Means consider inserting an appropriation amount of $250,000.

As affirmed by the record of votes of the members of your Committee on Judiciary that is attached to this report, your Committee is in accord with the intent and purpose of S.B. No. 813 and recommends that it pass Second Reading and be referred to your Committee on Ways and Means.

Respectfully submitted on behalf of the members of the Committee on Judiciary,

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KARL RHOADS, Chair