BILL ANALYSIS |
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C.S.H.B. 3374 |
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By: Kuempel |
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Licensing & Administrative Procedures |
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Committee Report (Substituted) |
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BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE
Interested parties contend that speech-to-text translation of the spoken word into English text is a fast-growing service for individuals who are deaf or who have a hearing impairment. The parties have expressed a need to ensure the same level of accuracy and competency for all individuals providing such services in Texas. C.S.H.B. 3374 seeks to address this need by requiring an individual to obtain a certificate of registration to engage in the practice of communication access realtime translation and by providing for the regulation of these providers.
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CRIMINAL JUSTICE IMPACT
It is the committee's opinion that this bill does not expressly create a criminal offense, increase the punishment for an existing criminal offense or category of offenses, or change the eligibility of a person for community supervision, parole, or mandatory supervision.
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RULEMAKING AUTHORITY
It is the committee's opinion that rulemaking authority is expressly granted to the Office of Court Administration of the Texas Judicial System in SECTION 1 of this bill.
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ANALYSIS
C.S.H.B. 3374 amends the Government Code to prohibit a person from facilitating communication between an individual who is deaf or has a hearing impairment and another individual through the immediate, verbatim translation of the spoken word into English text in Texas unless the person holds a certificate of registration issued by the Office of Court Administration of the Texas Judicial System (OCA). The bill requires an applicant for such a certificate to submit an application to OCA on the form and in the manner provided by OCA and requires the application to include proof that the applicant is at least 18 years of age; proof that the applicant holds a certificate to provide communication access realtime translation, or "CART," services issued by the Texas Court Reporters Association or another certification association selected by OCA; proof that the applicant has complied with the education, training, experience, and other requirements for engaging in such a practice of communication access realtime translation as prescribed by OCA rule; and any other information OCA may require. The bill requires OCA by rule to establish the training, educational, and experience requirements for the certificate and requires OCA to consider the best interests of individuals who are deaf or have a hearing impairment in developing those requirements. The bill requires OCA to issue a certificate of registration to an applicant who complies with the bill's requirements and sets the expiration of the certificate on the first anniversary of the date of issuance.
C.S.H.B. 3374 requires OCA to establish and maintain a registry of individuals certified by OCA as CART providers and requires the registry to include the name of each CART provider and any other information prescribed by OCA and to indicate if a CART provider is also a CART provider certified to provide communication access realtime translation services at an advanced or master level by the Texas Court Reporters Association or another certification association selected by the applicable health and human services agency. The bill requires OCA to post the registry on the OCA website and to provide a copy of the registry to any person without charge. The bill requires a person to obtain a renewal certificate of registration not later than the anniversary of the date on which the initial registration was issued to be able to continue engaging in the practice of communication access realtime translation. The bill authorizes OCA by rule to impose fees to cover the cost of administering the bill's provisions and requires OCA to set fees for issuing or renewing a certificate of registration in amounts designed to allow OCA to recover from certificate holders all of the direct and indirect costs in administering and enforcing the bill's provisions. The bill requires OCA to develop by rule ethical standards for CART providers and requires the standards to require that a provider maintain the confidentiality of all communications between a CART provider and an individual receiving the CART provider's services.
C.S.H.B. 3374 subjects a person who violates the bill's provisions or a rule adopted under those provisions to a civil penalty of not less than $50 or more than $2,000 for each act of violation and establishes that each day of a violation is a separate violation. The bill authorizes the attorney general, if it appears that a person has violated or is threatening to violate such provisions or rules and at the request of OCA, to file an action for injunctive relief to restrain the person from continuing the alleged violation, the civil penalty, or both injunctive relief and the civil penalty. The bill authorizes the attorney general to recover reasonable costs and fees incurred in bringing such an action.
C.S.H.B. 3374 authorizes OCA to adopt rules necessary to implement the bill's provisions and requires OCA to adopt rules necessary to implement the bill's provisions not later than January 1, 2018. The bill establishes that a person is not required to hold a certificate of registration to engage in the practice of communication access realtime translation until September 1, 2018. The bill exempts from its provisions a person who is licensed by another state to engage in the practice of communication access realtime translation and who engages in the communication access realtime translation in Texas for not more than 30 days in a calendar year or, if the services provided are necessary because a CART provider registered in Texas is not available, by teleconference; engages in the practice of communication access realtime translation solely for meetings of a nonprofit or religious organization; engages in the practice of communication access realtime translation as necessary for the provision of an emergency medical or governmental service to a person who is deaf or has a hearing impairment; or is a CART provider certified to provide communication access realtime translation services at an advanced or master level by the Texas Court Reporters Association or another certification association selected by the applicable health and human services agency.
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EFFECTIVE DATE
September 1, 2017.
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COMPARISON OF ORIGINAL AND SUBSTITUTE
While C.S.H.B. 3374 may differ from the original in minor or nonsubstantive ways, the following comparison is organized and formatted in a manner that indicates the substantial differences between the introduced and committee substitute versions of the bill.
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