This bill creates the Tennessee board of professional sign language interpreters ("board") to be administratively attached to and receive administrative support from the division of health related boards within the department of health. The board must promulgate rules in consultation with the Tennessee council for the deaf, deaf-blind, and hard of hearing to implement, administer, and otherwise effectuate this bill. This bill provides that the rules must be published in the standards of professional practice and made available to all licensees. This bill requires the rules to (i) grant, suspend, reinstate, and revoke licenses, (ii) establish and maintain requirements for professional behavior of interpreters, including conflict of interest provisions, (iii) establish procedures for the investigation of complaints against licensed interpreters, agencies, and entities, (iv) establish procedures for licensure renewal, and (v) set a fee schedule for issuing new licenses and license renewals. BOARD MEMBERS This bill requires the board to meet at least twice annually and consist of five citizens of this state who are representative of state demographics, and the deaf, deaf-blind, hard of hearing, and sign language interpreting community in this state. The board is appointed by the governor and consists of (i) one deaf, deaf-blind, or hard of hearing member in a deaf or interpreting study department at a state university, who will serve an initial term of two years; (ii) two deaf, deaf-blind, or hard of hearing members with knowledge of interpreter issues, to be nominated by a state-level organization that advocates for or serves the deaf, deaf-blind, or hard of hearing community, who will serve an initial term of three years; and (iii) two licensed sign language interpreters at-large, to be nominated by the Tennessee Registry of Interpreters for the Deaf, who will serve an initial term of four years. This bill provides that if any nominating organization in the previous provision ceases to exist, then the board may select an equivalent organization to nominate persons to the board. This bill additionally provides that members of the board receive no compensation for their service but must be reimbursed for official travel expenses incurred in the performance of their official duties in accordance with the comprehensive travel regulations as promulgated by the department of finance. Governor's duties This bill requires the board to submit all applications received for membership on the board and any recommendations on the applications to the governor for consideration and the governor must consider such recommendations in appointing members to the board. This bill provides that the governor must appoint new members to complete the term of any vacated board position and the person filling the vacated position must possess the same qualifications as those required for such position. This bill authorizes the governor to remove a board member for neglect of duty or malfeasance in office. LICENSURE This bill prohibits a person from being granted a license to engage in the practice of sign language interpreting within this state unless the person makes application to the board for the license, along with a nonrefundable fee as set by the board. The application must contain the name of the applicant and show that the person (i) is 18 or older, (ii) is a citizen of the United states or an individual enumerated under the federal law provisions of alienage, (iii) has completed a criminal background check, (iv) holds an active professionally recognized certification, and (iv) must commit to completing an average of 40 hours of professional development in interpreting every two years. This bill provides that the board has the authority to establish qualifications and approve applicants for provisional licensure. Further, this bill provides that sign language interpreter licenses are valid for two years, both upon their issuance and their renewal. The board must issue a sign language interpreter license to persons who satisfy the qualification requirements to engage in the practice of sign language interpreting pursuant to this heading. This bill prohibits a person from engaging in, or attempting to engage in, the practice of sign language interpreting for remuneration in this state unless the person is a licensed sign language interpreter, licensed deaf interpreter, provisional sign language interpreter, or temporary nonresident interpreter. However, this bill does not prevent a person from engaging in the practice of sign language interpreting without a license if (i) the person seeks to provide interpreting services during an emergency, (ii) the person makes a diligent attempt to procure a licensed interpreter but none is available in the timeframe specified, or (iii) the use of video relay interpreting is not a viable option for the person in need of sign language interpreting services. Deaf interpreter license This bill prohibits a person from being granted a license to engage in the practice of deaf interpreting within this state unless the person makes application to the board for the license, along with a nonrefundable fee as set by the board. The application must contain the name of the applicant, and show certain information described in the bill, including that (i) such person is deaf of hard-of-hearing, (ii) such person is 18 or older, (iii) such person is a citizen of the United states or an individual enumerated under the federal law provisions of alienage, (iv) has completed a criminal background check, and (v) provides satisfactory evidence of required sign language skills as measured by a nationally recognized sign language proficiency interview selected by the board. An application for licensure as a deaf interpreter must be on a form prescribed and furnished by the board, contain statements made under oath showing the applicant's education and a detailed summary of the applicant's technical experience, and contain references, none of whom may be members of the board. This bill provides that deaf interpreter licenses are valid for two years, both upon their issuance and their renewal. The board must issue such license to persons who satisfy the qualification requirements to engage in the practice of deaf interpreting pursuant to this subheading. This bill additionally prohibits a person from being granted a provisional license to engage in the practice of deaf interpreting within this state unless the person meets requirements described in the bill that are similar to a deaf interpreter license. However, for a provisional license, such persons are not required to be deaf or hard-of-hearing. Temporary nonresident interpreter This bill prohibits a person from being granted a license as a temporary nonresident interpreter within this state unless such person works more than 21 days per calendar year, but not more than 90 nonconsecutive days per calendar year, makes application to the board for the license, and submits a nonrefundable fee as set by the board. This bill provides that the application must contain the name of the applicant, showing that such person is a permanent resident, is 18 or older, holds an active professionally recognized certification, and has submitted an affidavit of intent to comply with board established requirements for ethical practice. Applications for licensure as a temporary nonresident interpreter must be signed and sworn by the applicants and submitted on forms furnished by the board. This bill requires the board to issue a temporary nonresident interpreter license to persons who satisfy the qualification requirements to engage in the practice of deaf interpreting pursuant to this subheading. A temporary nonresident interpreter license must be renewed on an annual basis. Additionally, this bill provides that a person may petition the board to extend an active temporary nonresident interpreter license beyond the maximum 90-day period described by this subheading. Exemptions This bill does not apply to persons who, prior to July 1, 2025, are 18 or older, are citizens of the United States or an individual enumerated under the federal law provisions of alienage, are already engaged in the practice of sign language interpreting, do not meet the requirements set forth for licensure or licensure under a reciprocal agreement, and submits to the board documents of proof of work experience as described by the bill. All applicants who are deemed qualified to engage in the practice of sign language interpreting pursuant to this subheading are issued a license as a sign language interpreter, which is valid for four years from the date of issuance. This bill provides that the board may issue a license as a sign language interpreter or as a deaf interpreter without examination to nonresidents who (i) are 18 or older and hold a valid license or certificate of registration as a sign language interpreter or deaf interpreter in another jurisdiction that has substantially the same requirements for licensing or registration as a sign language interpreter or a deaf interpreter as are contained in this subheading or has entered into a reciprocal agreement with the board permitting licenses to be issued without examination to sign language interpreters or deaf interpreters residing in and registered by this state, (ii) proves by sworn affidavits that the nonresident has continuously and lawfully practiced as a sign language interpreter or a deaf interpreter in another jurisdiction for the immediately preceding five years, or (iii) has held a military occupational skill rating in a branch of the military service for two or more years that required the person to perform the duties of a sign language interpreter or of a deaf interpreter. This bill provides that, however, the licensure requirements of this subheading do not apply to sign language interpreters or to deaf interpreters who are employed exclusively by or otherwise provide interpreting services for religious entities exempted from coverage of Title III of the federal Americans with Disabilities Act, if their services are limited to activities or services conducted within the religious entity and for religious purposes. This exception does not apply to interpreting services provided during funerals, memorial services, or other nonreligious community events. Renewal This bill requires the board to promulgate rules for applying for licensure renewal by sign language interpreters, deaf interpreters, and provisional sign language interpreter. The application for renewal must be accompanied by payment of a renewal fee and any late fee, evidence of having completed an average of 40 hours of professional development during the two years of licensure, a completed criminal background check, and an affidavit of intent to comply with board established requirements for ethical practice. LICENSURE FEES & FUNDS This bill provides that reasonable fees for licensure, provisional licensure, temporary nonresident licensure, and licensure through reciprocal agreement under this heading, both for initial licenses and at licensure renewal, are established by rules promulgated by the board. All monies collected pursuant to this heading must be deposited into the state board of sign language interpreters fund, established under this bill. The board must charge and collect the fees upon the application for an initial license, renewal of a license, and reinstatement of a suspended license, all of which must be deposited into the fund. State board of sign language interpreters fund This bill provides that disbursements from the fund must be made solely for the purpose of defraying expenses incurred in the implementation and enforcement of this subheading. Such expense are not payable from the general fund of the state, except for the initial expenses of the board prior to the collection of licensure fees sufficient to defray such expenses. This bill requires the board to budget annually, in advance, its expenditures for programs, services, allocated overhead or chargebacks, and other normal operating expenses as determined by the board. These expenditures so established must be budgeted at the beginning of the fiscal year by the board, not to exceed the fees to be received by the board, including the excesses accumulated in the state board of sign language interpreters fund. The commissioner of finance and administration must inform the board annually, in advance for budgeting purposes, of the allocation of all overhead or chargebacks to the board. This bill additionally provides that subject to approval of the comptroller of the treasury and the commissioner of finance, the board may also contract for services to carry out this subheading. PENALTIES This bill provides that a person who knowingly undertakes or attempts to undertake the practice of sign language interpreting for remuneration without first having obtained a license and an agency or entity who knowingly assigns an unlicensed interpreter to undertake the practice of sign language interpretation for renumeration without confirming the interpreter's licensure status, is subject to a civil penalty established by the board. Each day of practice is a separate violation of this heading. A person who is not licensed and an agency or entity who assigned unlicensed interpreters may not bring or maintain an action to recover payment for sign language interpreting services that the person performed in violation of this heading. This bill authorizes the board to suspend or revoke a sign language interpreter's license if the interpreter is deemed unqualified to hold a license in this state. An interpreter is deemed unqualified by certain restrictions described in the bill, including, but not limited to if such person (i) is unable to show evidence of required credentials, (ii) violates the established code of professional behavior established by the board, (iii) is convicted of a felony or if the board determines a conviction of misdemeanor merits suspension or revocation of the license, or (iv) is placed on the state abuse registry. COMPLAINTS This bill provides that a person may file a complaint alleging a violation of this bill with the board within 180 calendar days of the alleged violation and the complainant may withdraw the complaint at any time. This bill requires the board to promulgate rules to create a complaint process.

Statutes affected:
Introduced: 68-1-101(a)(8), 68-1-101, 71-4-2102