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F I S C A L I M P A C T R E P O R T
SPONSOR Salazar
ORIGINAL DATE
LAST UPDATED
01/22/05
1-23-06 HB 248
SHORT TITLE Court Interpreter Raises
SB
ANALYST McSherry
APPROPRIATION (dollars in thousands)
Appropriation
Recurring
or Non-Rec
Fund
Affected
FY06
FY07
$300.0
Recurring
General
(Parenthesis ( ) Indicate Expenditure Decreases)
Partially duplicates current HAFC recommendation for an $150 thousand dollar appropriation in
the General Appropriation Act which was included in the LFC recommendation for the Adminis-
trative Office of the Courts.
ESTIMATED ADDITIONAL OPERATING BUDGET IMPACT (dollars in thousands)
FY06
FY07
FY08 3 Year
Total Cost
Recurring
or Non-Rec
Fund
Affected
Total
$100.0
$100.0
Non-
Recurring General
(Parenthesis ( ) Indicate Expenditure Decreases)
SOURCES OF INFORMATION
LFC Files
SUMMARY
Synopsis of Bill
House Bill 248, “Court Interpreter Raises” appropriates $300,000 from the general fund to the
Administrative Office of the Courts for the purpose of increasing the hourly court interpreter sal-
ary from $30/hour to $50/hour. The bill has an emergency clause which would allow the funds
to be used in fiscal year 2006 as well as 2007.
FISCAL IMPLICATIONS
The appropriation of $300,000 contained in this bill is a recurring expense to the general fund.
Any unexpended or unencumbered balance remaining at the end of fiscal year 2007 shall revert
to the general fund.
The Administrative Office of the Courts (AOC) estimated in their FY07 operating budget request
that $300 thousand would fund an increase in court interpreter salaries from $30 to $50/hour for
one year. The bill proposes $300 thousand for the remainder of FY06 and for the course of
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House Bill 248 – Page
2
FY07. The estimated additional operating budget impact was based on the use of 1/3 of the ap-
propriated $300 thousand ($100 thousand) during the remainder of FY06, and the need for an
additional $100 thousand in FY07 to fully fund the proposed interpreter increases.
SIGNIFICANT ISSUES
According to AOC, the hourly wages paid by the AOC for court interpreters are significantly less
than those paid in federal courts, NM Workers Compensation (50-60/hour), and private hires
($60-$90/hour).
PERFORMANCE IMPLICATIONS
AOC has not proposed performance measures and targets corresponding to this appropriation. It
would be hoped that the proportion of certified interpreters used in the NM courts would increase
and that the level of satisfaction with the quality of interpreters would improve with the ability to
pay interpreters a competitive rate.
ADMINISTRATIVE IMPLICATIONS
The increased funding for interpreter salaries could result in lessened administrative burden to
find and schedule an interpreter.
CONFLICT, DUPLICATION, COMPANIONSHIP, RELATIONSHIP
This bill partially duplicates current HAFC budget recommendation for the AOC which includes
$150 thousand for the 2007 fiscal year to increase interpreters’ hourly wages from $30/hour to
$40/hour.
WHAT WILL BE THE CONSEQUENCES OF NOT ENACTING THIS BILL
If HB 248 is not passed, interpreters will not receive hourly wages increases in FY06. If the bill
does not pass and the HAFC’s current recommendation to increase wages from $30 to $40/hour
is not maintained, court interpreters would not receive raises in FY07. If the bill does not pass,
but the current HAFC recommendation does, interpreters will receive hourly raises to $40/hour.
POSSIBLE QUESTIONS
1.
What is the expected growth in the statewide court interpreter pool with the proposed
wage increases.
2.
Are interpreters currently paid travel expenses. If so, would they still be paid travel ex-
penses if the proposed wage increase takes effect. If so, do the other agencies and entities
used in the provided salary comparison also fund travel costs.
3.
Will $300 thousand be sufficient to fund the proposed wage increases from $30/hour to
$50/hour. If so, why was $300 thousand requested by the AOC for FY07 alone.
EM/mt