S.B. No. 380

	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.
	______________________________	______________________________
	President of the Senate	Speaker of the House
	I hereby certify that S.B. No. 380 passed the Senate on
	March 27, 2023, by the following vote:  Yeas 26, Nays 4.
	______________________________
	Secretary of the Senate
	I hereby certify that S.B. No. 380 passed the House on
	May 9, 2023, by the following vote:  Yeas 113, Nays 30, two
	present not voting.
	______________________________
	Chief Clerk of the House
	Approved:
	______________________________
	Date
	______________________________
	Governor