Florida Senate - 2023 SB 1572
By Senator Bradley
6-01193B-23 20231572__
1 A bill to be entitled
2 An act relating to court interpreter services;
3 amending s. 29.0185, F.S.; authorizing the state
4 courts system to use state revenues, if available, to
5 provide court-appointed interpreting services to
6 nonindigent individuals; requiring such services to be
7 provided as prescribed by the Supreme Court; amending
8 s. 29.0195, F.S.; repealing the cost recovery
9 requirement for court-appointed interpreting services;
10 providing an exception for translation services;
11 providing an effective date.
12
13 Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:
14
15 Section 1. Section 29.0185, Florida Statutes, is amended to
16 read:
17 29.0185 Provision of state-funded due process services to
18 individuals.—
19 (1) Due process services may not be provided with state
20 revenues to an individual unless the individual on whose behalf
21 the due process services are being provided is eligible for
22 court-appointed counsel under s. 27.40, based upon a
23 determination of indigency under s. 27.52, regardless of whether
24 such counsel is appointed or the individual on whose behalf the
25 due process services are being provided is eligible for court
26 appointed counsel under s. 27.40 and has been determined
27 indigent for costs pursuant to s. 27.52.
28 (2) Notwithstanding subsection (1), state revenues may be
29 used by the state courts system to provide court-appointed
30 interpreting services to nonindigent individuals if funds are
31 available in the fiscal year appropriation for due process
32 services and if interpreting services are provided as prescribed
33 by the Supreme Court.
34 Section 2. Section 29.0195, Florida Statutes, is amended to
35 read:
36 29.0195 Recovery of expenditures for state-funded
37 services.—
38 (1) The trial court administrator of each circuit shall
39 recover expenditures for state-funded services when those
40 services have been furnished to a user of the state court system
41 who possesses the present ability to pay. The rate of
42 compensation for such services is shall be the actual cost of
43 the services, including the cost of recovery. The trial court
44 administrator shall deposit moneys recovered under this section
45 in the Administrative Trust Fund within the state courts system.
46 The trial court administrator shall recover the costs of court
47 reporter services and transcription; translations court
48 interpreter services, including translation; and any other
49 service for which state funds were used to provide a product or
50 service within the circuit.
51 (2) This section does not authorize cost recovery for
52 court-appointed interpreting services, except translations, or
53 cost recovery from entities described in ss. 29.005-29.007.
54 Section 3. This act shall take effect upon becoming a law.