2013-2014 Bill 3880: Sign Language Interpreters Act - South Carolina Legislature Online

1 South Carolina General Assembly 2 120th Session, 2013-2014 3 4 H. 3880 5 6 STATUS INFORMATION 7 8 General Bill 9 Sponsors: Reps. Allison and Atwater 10 Document Path: l:\council\bills\agm\19952ab13.docx 11 Companion/Similar bill(s): 1060 12 13 Introduced in the House on April 9, 2013 14 Currently residing in the House Committee on Labor, Commerce and Industry 15 16 Summary: Sign Language Interpreters Act 17 18 19 HISTORY OF LEGISLATIVE ACTIONS 20 21 Date Body Action Description with journal page number 22 4/9/2013 House Introduced and read first time ( House Journalpage 20) 23 4/9/2013 House Referred to Committee on Labor, Commerce and Industry (House 24 Journalpage 20) 25 3/27/2014 House Member(s) request name added as sponsor: Atwater 26 27 28 VERSIONS OF THIS BILL 29 30 4/9/2013 31 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 A BILL 10 11 TO AMEND THE CODE OF LAWS OF SOUTH CAROLINA, 12 1976, BY ADDING ARTICLE 3 TO CHAPTER 67, TITLE 40 13 SO AS TO ENACT THE “SIGN LANGUAGE INTERPRETERS 14 ACT”; TO PROVIDE A CITATION; TO PROVIDE FOR THE 15 APPLICABILITY AND PURPOSE OF THE CHAPTER; TO 16 DEFINE NECESSARY TERMS; TO CREATE THE SIGN 17 LANGUAGE INTERPRETER BOARD, AND TO PROVIDE 18 FOR THE COMPOSITION, TERMS, DUTIES, AND POWERS 19 OF THE BOARD; TO PROVIDE THE DEPARTMENT OF 20 LABOR, LICENSING AND REGULATION MUST 21 ADMINISTER THE BOARD; TO REQUIRE THAT A PERSON 22 WHO PROVIDES INTERPRETING SERVICES IN A 23 COMMUNITY SETTING OR CERTAIN EDUCATIONAL 24 SETTINGS FOR REMUNERATION MUST BE LICENSED BY 25 THE BOARD, SUBJECT TO EXCEPTIONS; TO PROVIDE 26 FOR RECIPROCITY WITH OTHER STATES; TO PROVIDE 27 FOR THE DENIAL, SUSPENSION, OR REVOCATION OF A 28 LICENSE; TO PROVIDE REQUIREMENTS FOR INITIAL 29 LICENSURE AND RENEWAL; TO PROVIDE FOR THE 30 INITIATION AND DISPENSATION OF CERTAIN 31 MISCONDUCT CHARGES AGAINST A LICENSEE; TO 32 PROVIDE FOR CRIMINAL AND CIVIL PENALTIES FOR 33 CERTAIN VIOLATIONS OF THE ACT; TO REQUIRE A 34 LICENSEE WHO RECEIVES A FELONY CONVICTION OR IS 35 SUBJECT TO A CIVIL ACTION MUST PROVIDE NOTICE TO 36 THE BOARD; TO PROVIDE A MEMBER OF THE BOARD IS 37 COVERED BY THE TORT CLAIMS ACT; TO PROVIDE 38 THAT NOMINATIONS FOR INITIAL APPOINTMENTS TO 39 THE BOARD MUST BE MADE AND THE BOARD MUST 40 MEET WITHIN A SPECIFIC TIME FRAME; AND TO 41 REDESIGNATE THE EXISTING SECTIONS OF CHAPTER 67,

[3880] 2 1 TITLE 40 AS ARTICLE 1 ENTITLED “SPEECH 2 PATHOLOGISTS AND AUDIOLOGISTS”. 3 4 Be it enacted by the General Assembly of the State of South 5 Carolina: 6 7 SECTION 1. Chapter 67, Title 40 of the 1976 Code is amended 8 by adding: 9 10 “Article 3 11 12 Sign Language Interpreters Act 13 14 Section 4067500. This article must be known and may be cited 15 as the ‘Sign Language Interpreters Act’ and must be liberally 16 construed and implemented to promote the purposes set forth in 17 this article. 18 19 Section 4067510. The General Assembly declares that it is in 20 the best interest of the public health, safety, and welfare to regulate 21 the practice of interpreting on behalf of consumers who are 22 hearing, deaf, hardofhearing, deafblind, or speech disabled by 23 licensing and provisionally licensing the providers of sign 24 language interpreting services and establishing and monitoring 25 sign language interpreting standards in this State. 26 27 Section 4067520. As used in this article: 28 (1) ‘Board’ means the Board for Sign Language Interpreters as 29 established in this article. 30 (2) ‘CEUs’ or ‘continuing education units’ means a nationally 31 recognized unit of measurement for educational activities that meet 32 established criteria for increasing knowledge and competency. 33 CEUs are approved by a sponsor that is approved by RID. 34 (3) ‘Code of Professional Conduct for Educational Interpreters’ 35 means the tenets for interpreters working in K12 settings 36 established by the Educational Interpreter Performance 37 Assessment Diagnostic Center at Boys Town National Research 38 Hospital. 39 (4) ‘Community setting’ means medical, legal, mental health, 40 postsecondary education settings and other settings not to include 41 K12 educational settings or religious settings. 42 (5) ‘Consumer’ means a hearing, deaf, hardofhearing, 43 deafblind, or speech disabled person, or other person or an agency

[3880] 3 1 that requires the services of an interpreter to effectively 2 communicate and comprehend signed or spoken discourse. 3 (6) ‘Deaf interpreter’ means an individual who is deaf who 4 works as part of a team with an interpreter who can hear. The deaf 5 interpreter may be needed when the communication mode of a 6 deaf consumer is so unique that it cannot be adequately accessed 7 by interpreters who can hear. 8 (7) ‘Educational Interpreter Performance Assessment’ or 9 ‘EIPA’ means a proficiency assessment for K12 educational 10 interpreting based on a five point Likert scale. This includes 11 several distinct language variations as offered by the Boys Town 12 National Research Hospital. For purposes of this article, an EIPA 13 level 3.5 using the ASL/PSE language version provides sufficient 14 evidence of professional competency. 15 (8) ‘Interpreting’ means the process of taking a message from 16 one language and expressing the same message in another 17 language, conveying all essential elements of meaning and intent. 18 It is a highly sophisticated and demanding mental task involving 19 complex thinking and analytical strategies. 20 (9) ‘Interpreter’ means a professional who is credentialed as 21 such; he takes a source language message and, after working 22 through a complex mental process, expresses that same message 23 into the target language, maintaining essential elements of 24 meaning and intent. 25 (10) ‘NADRID Code of Professional Conduct’ means the tenets 26 established by the National Association of the Deaf and the 27 Registry of Interpreters for the Deaf, which sets guidelines 28 governing professional conduct for interpreters. 29 (11) ‘Nationally recognized certification’ means certification 30 awarded to individuals who successfully complete an evaluation of 31 interpreting skills at a professional level. The term includes a 32 certification issued, recognized, or both by the Registry of 33 Interpreters for the Deaf. 34 (12) ‘K12 educational setting’ means a school setting, public or 35 private, within South Carolina, not to include postsecondary 36 education. 37 (13) ‘RID’ means Registry of Interpreters for the Deaf. 38 (14) ‘Sign Language’ or ‘American Sign Language’ or ‘ASL’ 39 means a visualgestural language which incorporates facial 40 grammatical markers, physical affect markers, spatial linguistic 41 information, and fingerspelling, as well as signs made with the 42 hands. ASL is a distinct language with its own grammar and

[3880] 4 1 syntax, which is not based on, nor derived from, a spoken 2 language. 3 (15) ‘South Carolina Association of the Deaf, Inc.’ or 4 ‘association’ means the state chapter of the National Association 5 of the Deaf acting as a consumer advocacy organization serving 6 the deaf and hardofhearing population of South Carolina and as 7 incorporated at the time of enactment. 8 (16) ‘South Carolina Registry of Interpreters for the Deaf’ 9 means the state affiliate chapter of the Registry of Interpreters for 10 the Deaf, Inc., serving as an interpreter advocacy and professional 11 organization and as incorporated at the time of enactment. 12 13 Section 4067530. (A) There is created the Board for Sign 14 Language Interpreters. 15 (B) The board shall consist of five members appointed by the 16 Governor, of whom two must be deaf or hardofhearing individuals 17 and three must be licensed interpreters. 18 (1) The South Carolina Registry of Interpreters for the Deaf, 19 Inc. will submit a total of three nominations to the Governor. One 20 nominee must be a licensed interpreter who works primarily in 21 community settings and one nominee must be a licensed 22 interpreter who works primarily in a K12 educational setting. One 23 nominee must be a deaf or hardofhearing individual who is 24 knowledgeable in the field of professional interpreting. 25 (2) The South Carolina Association of the Deaf, Inc. will 26 submit a total of two nominations. One nominee must be a licensed 27 interpreter, community or K12. One nominee must be a deaf or 28 hardofhearing individual who is knowledgeable in the field of 29 professional interpreting. 30 (C) Members shall serve terms of four years or until their 31 successors are appointed and qualified. No member may serve 32 more than two terms consecutively. 33 (D) The board shall meet not less than twice annually, and as 34 frequently as it considers necessary, in such ways and at such 35 times and places as it designates. Three members constitute a 36 quorum for the transaction of business. 37 (E) Members of the board are entitled to per diem, subsistence, 38 and mileage as is provided by law for members of state boards, 39 committees, and commissions. 40 (F) The board annually shall elect from its total membership a 41 chairman, vice chairman, and other officers the board determines 42 necessary. The board may adopt an official seal and shall adopt

[3880] 5 1 rules and procedures reasonably necessary for the performance of 2 its duties and the governance of its operations and proceedings. 3 (G) A board member is required to attend meetings or to 4 provide proper notice and justification of his or her inability to do 5 so. The Governor may remove a member of the board pursuant to 6 Section 13240. 7 (H) Vacancies on the board must be filled for the unexpired 8 portion of the term in the manner of the original appointment. 9 10 Section 4067540. The board shall: 11 (1) act on matters concerning licensure and provisional 12 licensure and the process of granting, suspending, reinstating, and 13 revoking a license or provisional license; 14 (2) set a fee schedule in regulation for granting and renewing 15 licenses and provisional licenses. The fees must be sufficient to 16 cover the cost of the continued operation and administration of the 17 board; 18 (3) establish a procedure to enable the investigation of 19 complaints concerning the violation of ethical practices for 20 licensed or provisionally licensed interpreters; 21 (4) maintain a current register of licensed interpreters and a 22 current register of provisionally licensed interpreters; these 23 registers are matters of public record; and 24 (5) maintain a complete record of all board proceedings. 25 26 Section 4067550. (A) The South Carolina Department of 27 Labor, Licensing and Regulation shall administer the board 28 pursuant to Chapter 1, Title 40. The department shall provide all 29 administrative, fiscal, investigative, inspectional, clerical, 30 secretarial, and license renewal operations and activities. 31 (B) Fees must be assessed, collected, and adjusted on behalf of 32 the board by the department in accordance with this chapter and 33 Section 40150(D). 34 35 Section 4067560. Effective July 1, 2014: 36 (1) A person who provides interpreting services in a 37 community setting for remuneration must be licensed by the board 38 unless that person is exempt pursuant to Section 4067610. 39 (2) An initial license will be issued upon submission of: 40 (a) an application; 41 (b) documentation of current validation of a nationally 42 recognized certification as approved by the board;

[3880] 6 1 (c) a sworn statement that the applicant has read, 2 understands, and agrees to abide by the NADRID Code of 3 Professional Conduct for sign language interpreters; and 4 (d) payment of the required nonrefundable fee. 5 (3) A license must be renewed biennially upon submission of: 6 (a) documentation of current validation of a nationally 7 recognized certification as approved by the board; 8 (b) documentation of at least two RID Continuing Education 9 Units; and 10 (c) payment of the nonrefundable renewal fee. 11 12 Section 4067570. Effective July 1, 2014: 13 (1) A person who provides interpreting services in a K12 14 educational setting for remuneration must be licensed by the board 15 unless that person is exempt pursuant to Section 4067610. 16 (2) An initial license must be issued upon submission of: 17 (a) an application; 18 (b) documentation of current validation of an EIPA 19 ASL/PSE rating at or above 3.5; 20 (c) documentation of valid successful completion of the 21 EIPA written test; 22 (d) a sworn statement that the applicant has read, 23 understands, and agrees to abide by the EIPA Code of Professional 24 Conduct for Educational Interpreters; and 25 (e) payment of the required nonrefundable fee. 26 (3) A license must be renewed biennially upon submission of: 27 (a) documentation of current validation of an EIPA 28 ASL/PSE rating at or above 3.5; 29 (b) documentation of at least twenty hours of continuing 30 education and/or CEUs as meets guidelines to be established by 31 the board; and 32 (c) payment of the nonrefundable renewal fee. 33 34 Section 4067580. (A) A licensee has sixty days after the 35 expiration of the license to renew. During this sixty day period, the 36 licensee may continue to practice and may renew the license by 37 submitting the necessary documentation, payment of the 38 nonrefundable fee, plus a late renewal fee as the board shall 39 provide for in regulation. 40 (B) A license not renewed within sixty days is automatically 41 terminated based on the failure of an individual to renew in a 42 timely manner. Upon termination, the licensee is no longer eligible 43 to practice in South Carolina.

[3880] 7 1 (C) A licensee whose license has lapsed for more than sixty 2 days but not more than two years due to nonpayment of fees can 3 be granted reinstatement by submission of the necessary 4 documentation and repayment of the past due fees plus a late 5 renewal fee. License reinstatement will not be retroactive to the 6 original license date. 7 (D) A license that was not renewed in two years is invalid and 8 only may be reinstated upon receipt of an application for licensure 9 submitted under the license requirements in effect at the time the 10 renewal request is submitted and accompanied by the biennial 11 license fee and reinstatement fee. 12 13 Section 4067590. (A) The board shall issue a provisional 14 license to a person who is practicing as an interpreter for 15 remuneration as of July 1, 2014 if the person does not otherwise 16 meet the requirements for licensure in either the community or 17 K12 educational setting, and the person submits: 18 (1) an application detailing relevant training and experience 19 to justify the granting of a provisional license; 20 (2) payment of the nonrefundable provisional license fee; 21 and 22 (3) for a community provisional license, a sworn statement 23 that the applicant has read, understands, and agrees to abide by the 24 NADRID Code of Professional Conduct; or 25 (4) for a K12 provisional license, a sworn statement that the 26 applicant has read, understands, and agrees to abide by the EIPA 27 Code of Professional Conduct for Educational Interpreters. 28 (B) A provisional license may be issued for a period of twelve 29 months. If within that time the interpreter still does not meet the 30 requirements for licensure, the interpreter may apply for an 31 additional twelve month provisional license. An individual may 32 hold a provisional license for a maximum period of fortyeight 33 months. 34 (C) To obtain a renewal provisional license, an applicant must 35 submit: 36 (1) an application; 37 (2) payment of the nonrefundable provisional license 38 renewal fee; 39 (3) evidence of at least ten hours of continuing education, 40 CEUs, or both during the previous twelve months; and 41 (4) for a community provisional license, a sworn statement 42 that the applicant has read, understands, and agrees to abide by the 43 NADRID Code of Professional Conduct; or

[3880] 8 1 (5) for a K12 provisional license, a sworn statement that the 2 applicant has read, understands, and agrees to abide by the EIPA 3 Code of Professional Conduct for Educational Interpreters. 4 5 Section 4067600. (A) In addition to the provisions of Section 6 401110, the board may deny, revoke, or suspend an interpreter’s 7 license or provisional license or impose another reasonable 8 limitation on an interpreter’s license or provisional license if the 9 interpreter engages in any of the following conduct and this 10 conduct is likely to endanger the health, welfare, or safety of the 11 public: 12 (1) using a false, fraudulent, or forged statement or engaging 13 in a fraudulent, deceitful, or dishonest act in connection with a 14 licensure requirement; 15 (2) having an addiction to alcohol or drugs to such an extent 16 as to render the licensee unfit to practice as an interpreter; 17 (3) having a physical or mental disability that renders further 18 practice by the licensee dangerous to the public; 19 (4) violating the applicable Code of Professional Conduct 20 for the profession of interpreters in that setting; 21 (5) engaging in dishonorable, unethical, or unprofessional 22 conduct that is likely to deceive or harm the public; 23 (6) using a false or fraudulent statement in a document 24 connected with the practice of interpreter services; 25 (7) intentionally violating or attempting to violate, directly 26 or indirectly, or assisting in or abetting the violation of or 27 conspiring to violate a provision of this article; 28 (8) committing an act, during the course of practice 29 conducted pursuant to a license issued under this article, that 30 constitutes fraud, dishonest dealing, illegality, incompetence, or 31 gross negligence; or 32 (9) engaging in a activity that is beyond the scope of practice 33 as set forth in this article. 34 (B) The suspension or revocation of an interpreter’s license or 35 the imposition of probationary conditions upon an interpreter may 36 be recommended by the board after a hearing is conducted. 37 38 Section 4067610. (A) The following are exempt from 39 licensure or provisional licensure under this article: 40 (1) a student who is enrolled in an interpreter training, 41 internship program, or both is allowed to interpret as part of his or 42 her training for a maximum of sixteen weeks, provided all hours

[3880] 9 1 must be supervised by a licensed interpreter, not holding a 2 provisional license; 3 (2) an individual participating in a boardapproved mentoring 4 program, under the direct supervision of a licensed interpreter; 5 (3) a person who interprets solely in a church, synagogue, 6 temple, mosque or other religious setting; 7 (4) a person holding current nationally recognized 8 certification and who resides outside of the State may provide 9 interpreting services for up to twenty working days for each 10 calendar year without a license; 11 (5) a person holding a current K12 license, unless the license 12 is provisional, may petition the board for a temporary exemption to 13 interpret in a community setting for up to ninety calendar days; 14 (6) a person holding a current community license, unless the 15 license is provisional, may petition the board for a temporary 16 exemption to interpret in a K12 setting for up to ninety calendar 17 days; and 18 (7) a person who is deaf or hardofhearing who is performing 19 the role of deaf interpreter alongside a licensed interpreter when 20 culturally and linguistically appropriate. 21 22 Section 4067620. (A) The board may enter into a reciprocal 23 agreement with a state that licenses, certifies, or registers 24 professional interpreters, if the board finds that the state has 25 substantially the same or more stringent requirements. The 26 reciprocity agreement must provide that the board shall license a 27 person who is currently licensed, certified, or registered by the 28 state if that state agrees to license, certify, or register a practitioner 29 who is currently licensed pursuant to this article. 30 (B) The board shall establish in regulation the fees appropriate 31 in processing reciprocity licenses. The licensing and provisional 32 licensing fees may be increased or decreased by the Department of 33 Labor, Licensing and Regulation; however, the board shall not set 34 a fee at an amount which would not provide sufficient revenues to 35 pay all the costs and expenses incurred by the board in enforcing 36 this article. 37 38 Section 4067630. (A) A person may bring charges of fraud, 39 deceit, negligence, incompetence, or misconduct against a licensee 40 or provisional licensee. The person making the charges should be a 41 party to the actual incident resulting in charges being brought. All 42 charges must be made in writing and sworn to by the person 43 making the charges. All charges must be submitted to the chair of

[3880] 10 1 the board within one year of the alleged occurrence. After a review 2 of the charges, the board may conduct a hearing at which it may: 3 (1) dismiss the charges; 4 (2) impose a fine not to exceed five thousand dollars; 5 (3) suspend or revoke the license or provisional license of 6 the person charged; or 7 (4) any combination of these. 8 (B) The licensee or provisional licensee may appeal a decision 9 of the board in accordance with the Administrative Procedures 10 Act. 11 (C) The board will retain all fines issued pursuant to this 12 section. The fines revenue will be used to offset costs associated 13 with operating the licensure program. 14 15 Section 4067640. (A) A person is guilty of a misdemeanor 16 and, upon conviction, must be fined not more than five thousand 17 dollars if he: 18 (1) undertakes or attempts to undertake the practice of 19 interpreting among consumers without first having procured a 20 valid license or provisional license; 21 (2) knowingly presents or files false information with the 22 board for the purpose of obtaining a license or provisional license; 23 or 24 (3) violates a provision of this article. 25 (B) A hiring entity retaining services of an unlicensed 26 interpreter must be subject to fines or penalties to be determined 27 by the board. 28 (C) If it appears to the board that an interpreter or hiring entity 29 has violated or is about to violate a provision of this article, the 30 board may petition an administrative law judge for a temporary 31 restraining order enjoining the violation. 32 (D) A person who is not licensed or provisionally licensed may 33 not bring or maintain an action to enforce a contract for 34 interpreting services which he entered into in violation of this 35 chapter. 36 (E) The board will retain all fines issued pursuant to this 37 section. The fines revenue will be used to offset costs associated 38 with operating the licensure program. 39 40 Section 4067650. (A) A licensee or provisional licensee shall 41 notify the board within ten days of a felony conviction and within 42 ten days of a civil action being brought against the licensee or 43 provisional licensee if the civil action arose from an interpreting

[3880] 11 1 transaction or involves the goodwill of a licensee or provisional 2 licensee or an existing interpreting business or agency. The 3 notification must be in writing and sent by certified mail and must 4 include a copy of the judgment. 5 (B) Allegations of a breach of professional ethics or conduct 6 incompatible with the regulations promulgated by the board may 7 be brought against a licensee or provisional licensee by an 8 individual, business, or agency. 9 10 Section 4067660. A member of the board is covered by the 11 South Carolina Tort Claims Act.” 12 13 SECTION 2. (A) Nominations for initial appointments to the 14 South Carolina Board for Sign Language Interpreters, created in 15 Section 4067530 of the 1976 Code, as added by SECTION 1 of 16 this act, must be submitted to the Governor before September 1, 17 2013. 18 (B) The Governor shall make the initial appointments to the 19 South Carolina Board for Sign Language Interpreters before 20 November 1, 2013. 21 (C) The board shall meet before January 1, 2014 for the 22 purpose of selecting a chair of the board and for organizing and 23 transacting business as may come before the board. 24 25 SECTION 3. Sections 40675 through 4067350 of the 1976 Code 26 are redesignated as Article 1, Chapter 67, entitled “Speech 27 Pathologists and Audiologists”. The Code Commissioner is 28 directed to change references from “chapter” to “article” as 29 appropriate to reflect the redesignated provisions. 30 31 SECTION 4. This act takes place upon approval of the Governor. 32 XX 33

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