HB 1100 Summary

• Amends Oklahoma statutes governing the State Board of Examiners of Certified Courtroom Interpreters, allowing the Supreme Court to exempt Board members from standard qualifications and removing the two-consecutive-term limit for Board members.

• Requires initial Board members to obtain Oklahoma certification within one (1) year of appointment or permits the Chief Justice to appoint otherwise qualified individuals as determined by the Chief Justice.

• Authorizes the Board to conduct examinations and training programs, contract for such services, and mandate interpreter ethics education as part of certification; allows the Supreme Court to promulgate rules adopting alternative examination standards consistent with National Center for State Courts (NCSC) standards.

• Expands applicant criminal history record checks to include Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation or Federal Bureau of Investigation databases; requires applicants to furnish releases, authorizations, and fingerprints; permits the Board to charge Supreme Court-approved fees for the checks.

• Removes residency requirements for certification, eliminates annual fee schedule publication requirements, permits periodic fee updates with Supreme Court approval, and allows courts to utilize interpreters from nationally recognized databases like those maintained by NCSC; effective November 1, 2015.