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F I S C A L I M P A C T R E P O R T

SPONSOR Rodriguez

DATE TYPED 3/3/05

HB

SHORT TITLE Develop Sign Language Interpreter Licensure

SB SJM78

ANALYST McSherry

APPROPRIATION

Appropriation Contained Estimated Additional Impact Recurring

or Non-Rec

Fund

Affected

FY05

FY06

FY05

FY06

NFI

NFI Recurring General Fund

(Parenthesis ( ) Indicate Expenditure Decreases)

Senate Joint Memorial 78 duplicates House Joint Memorial 80 and relates to, and conflicts with

SB 1054, which proposes to establish licensure of interpreters.

SOURCES OF INFORMATION

LFC Files

Responses Received From

Administrative Office of the Courts (AOC)

Regulations and Licensing Department (RLD)

Public Education Department (PED)

SUMMARY

Synopsis of Bill

Senate Joint Memorial 78 proposes to resolve that: a state evaluation and licensure system for

sign language interpreters is needed, the Commission for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing (CDHH),

the Public Education Department (PED), the Regulation and Licensing Department (RLD), and

the New Mexico School for the Deaf (NMSD) be requested to work collaboratively to develop

and recommend a sign language licensure process for the state and that the recommendation be

presented to the appropriate legislative committee no later than January 30, 2006.

Significant Issues

PED notes that the Department already licenses interpreters for the deaf with two different li-

cense types: Professional Interpreters and Education Interpreters. In addition, if a candidate

qualifies as a teacher with a bachelor’s degree and sufficient credit hours in American Sign Lan-

guage, a candidate can also be licensed in Modern, Classical and Native Languages. The PED

recognizes American Sign Language and a modern language that can be taught in the schools

AOC reports that, based on Sections 38-10-1 through 38-10-8 NMSA 1978 and the Americans

Senate Joint Memorial 78 -- Page 2

with Disabilities Act, the courts provide sign language interpreters, as needed, for all case types

and all proceedings. There is a national testing and certification process for sign language inter-

preters but there is no state evaluation and licensure process. AOC asserts that a state licensure

process would provide the courts with more information about the skills and background of sign

language interpreters and assist the courts as they hire sign language interpreters. The Adminis-

trative Office of the Courts would cooperate with this process as requested.

RLD asserts that if SB 1054, which proposes licensure of sign language interpreters, were en-

acted it would drive interpreting costs up result in a significant decrease of available interpreters

and create a board that would not be financially self-sustaining. Alternately the Department pre-

dicts that this SJM, through requiring collaboration with educational interpreters, could result in

a larger licensing pool by requiring the groups of interpreters to work together. RLD comments

that currently there is division amongst factions of the interpreting professional regarding licen-

sure.

PERFORMANCE IMPLICATIONS

AOC predicts that state licensure of sign language interpreters could assist the courts in hiring

sign language interpreters.

The bill relates to the PED’s performance measure of relevant agency requirements and timelines

to address student success.

FISCAL IMPLICATIONS

Licensure of sign language interpreters could increase costs for work environments using inter-

preters and would cause the collection of licensing fees by the proposed licensing body.

ADMINISTRATIVE IMPLICATIONS

PED reports that the joint memorial could require involvement of two or more PED consultants

as members of the collaborative team and that the costs associated with the consultants would be

absorbed by the agency.

SJM would result in additional administrative duties for AOC, PED, CDHH, RLD and NMSD.

RLD predicts that the memorial would result in duplicative administrative burden because the

department is responsible for conducting the Sunrise process for newly proposed occupational

licensing boards and has been working with a small group of interpreters.

CONFLICT, DUPLICATION, COMPANIONSHIP, RELATIONSHIP

SJM 78 duplicates HJM80, and relates to and conflicts with Senate Memorial 1054

WHAT WILL BE THE CONSEQUENCES OF NOT ENACTING THIS BILL.

A collaborative recommendation may not be developed and reported regarding sign language

licensure.

EM/yr