Updated Action Alert for ATA members in California
Thank you to all of you who have already contacted your legislators. A lot has happened since then, and we need your help once more.
Since our last call to action, this bill has undergone multiple amendments and been considered by several legislative committees. However, these amendments have not substantively improved the bill to the point where the ATA Advocacy Committee can support it. For this reason, we oppose AB 432 and encourage ATA members to contact their legislators to encourage them to oppose it, too.
The amended bill, which you can read here, seeks to create an additional pathway for aspiring court interpreters to obtain full-time employment in California’s courts. This is a worthy goal, but the bill continues to ignore the issues underlying the perceived shortage of qualified interpreters in California, namely below-market-rate compensation, insufficient state test sittings, and a lack of grants for existing training programs.
Click here to read our original post about AB 432
On Thursday, July 13, 2023, ATA President Madalena Sánchez Zampaulo sent a letter to the California Senate Judiciary Committee, on behalf of the ATA Advocacy Committee, urging legislators to oppose the bill.
Take Action, Make an Impact
We encourage all ATA members in California to contact your state senators now to tell them why this bill will not work for you, for your colleagues, or for our judicial system.
Explain that this bill will likely threaten court interpreters’ livelihoods across the state and affect language access for LEP individuals.
Provide alternative solutions to the perceived shortage of certified and registered interpreters to staff the courts:
- Much-needed increase in salaries
- More frequent oral exam sittings
- Grants for existing, recognized, and vetted training courses for aspiring interpreters
Click here to find out who your senator is and use the templates in our first call to action to write to their office, call their staffers, and set up a meeting to talk about your work, your challenges, and how this bill will do little to solve them. This is especially true if your senator serves on the Senate Judiciary Committee.