Florida Senate - 2024                                     SB 468
       
       
        
       By Senator Bradley
       
       
       
       
       
       6-00470-24                                             2024468__
    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 courts court
   41  system 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.