By: Zaffirini S.B. No. 380
 
  (Moody)
 
   
 
 
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
 
AN ACT
  relating to payment of certain court costs associated with
  interpreters.
         BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
         SECTION 1.  The heading to Section 57.002, Government Code,
  is amended to read as follows:
         Sec. 57.002.  APPOINTMENT OF INTERPRETER OR CART PROVIDER;
  CART PROVIDER LIST; PAYMENT OF INTERPRETER COSTS.
         SECTION 2.  Section 57.002, Government Code, is amended by
  adding Subsections (g), (h), and (i) to read as follows:
         (g)  A party to a proceeding in a court who files a statement
  of inability to afford payment of court costs under Rule 145, Texas
  Rules of Civil Procedure, is not required to provide an interpreter
  at the party's expense or pay the costs associated with the services
  of an interpreter appointed under this section that are incurred
  during the course of the action, unless the statement has been
  contested and the court has ordered the party to pay costs pursuant
  to Rule 145. Nothing in this subsection is intended to apply to
  interpreter services or other auxiliary aids for individuals who
  are deaf, hard of hearing, or have communication disabilities,
  which shall be provided to those individuals free of charge
  pursuant to federal and state laws. 
         (h)  Each county auditor, or other individual designated by
  the commissioners court of a county, in consultation with the
  district and county clerks shall submit to the Office of Court
  Administration of the Texas Judicial System, in the manner
  prescribed by the office, information on the money the county spent
  during the preceding fiscal year to provide court-ordered
  interpretation services in civil and criminal proceedings. The
  information must include:
               (1)  the number of interpreters appointed;
               (2)  the number of interpreters appointed for parties
  or witnesses who are indigent;
               (3)  the amount of money the county spent to provide
  court-ordered interpretation services; and
               (4)  for civil proceedings, whether a party to the
  proceeding filed a statement of inability to afford payment of
  court costs under Rule 145, Texas Rules of Civil Procedure,
  applicable to the appointment of an interpreter.
         (i)  Not later than December 1 of each year, the Office of
  Court Administration of the Texas Judicial System shall:
               (1)  submit to the legislature a report that aggregates
  by county the information submitted under Subsection (h) for the
  preceding fiscal year; and
               (2)  publish the report on the office's Internet
  website.
         SECTION 3.  The change in law made by this Act applies to an
  action pending on the effective date of this Act or filed on or
  after the effective date of this Act.
         SECTION 4.  This Act takes effect immediately if it receives
  a vote of two-thirds of all the members elected to each house, as
  provided by Section 39, Article III, Texas Constitution. If this
  Act does not receive the vote necessary for immediate effect, this
  Act takes effect September 1, 2023.