May 8, 2006

The Honorable Judy Chu
State Capitol, Room 2114
Sacramento, CA 95814
Facsimile: (916) 319-2149

Dear Assembly Member Chu:

The American Association of People with Disabilities (AAPD) writes to you today to support your bill, AB 2227, a measure we believe that would take steps to expand the number of available qualified court interpreters involved in the judicial system.

AAPD is the largest national nonprofit cross-disability member organization in the United States, dedicated to ensuring economic self-sufficiency and political empowerment for the more than 56 million Americans with disabilities. AAPD works in coalition with other disability organizations for the full implementation and enforcement of disability nondiscrimination laws, particularly the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) of 1990 and the Rehabilitation Act of 1973.

We understand that California faces a persistent shortage of qualified court interpreters with the number of certified court interpreters dropping from 1,665 in 1995 to 1,238 certified court interpreters in 2005. We believe that a lack of court interpreter services impacts persons with disabilities and their families adversely and may have led to situations involving mistranslations that could jeopardize justice for persons with disabilities in the State of California.

AB 2227 establishes an independent commission, composed mainly of certified interpreters and court interpreter educators, to advise both the Legislature and the Judicial Council about the recruitment and certification of court interpreters; this could lead to growth in the number of interpreters available, benefiting persons with disabilities, and their family members and representatives. AAPD also supports efforts to ensure increasing the availability of sign language interpreters.

AAPD believes that the effort to establish an independent interpreter entity could greatly further the productivity, independence, full citizenship, and total integration of people with disabilities into all aspects of society and the natural environment.

Sincerely,

Andrew J. Imparato
CEO and President