S.Amdt. 3252

SA 3252. Mr. KOHL submitted an amendment intended to be proposed to
amendment SA 3192 submitted by Mr. Specter (for himself, Mr. Leahy, and
Mr. Hagel) to the bill S. 2454, to amend the Immigration and
Nationality Act to provide for comprehensive reform and for other
purposes; which was ordered to lie on the table; as follows:

At the appropriate place, insert the following:

TITLE I--STATE COURT INTERPRETER GRANT PROGRAM

SEC. __1. SHORT TITLE.

This title may be cited as the ``State Court Interpreter
Grant Program Act''.

SEC. __2. FINDINGS.

Congress finds that--
(1) the fair administration of justice depends on the
ability of all participants in a courtroom proceeding to
understand that proceeding, regardless of their English
proficiency;
(2) 19 percent of the population of the United States over
5 years of age speaks a language other than English at home;
(3) only qualified court interpreters can ensure that
persons with limited English proficiency comprehend judicial
proceedings in which they are a party;
(4) the knowledge and skills required of a qualified court
interpreter differ substantially from those required in other
interpretation settings, such as social service, medical,
diplomatic, and conference interpreting;
(5) the Federal Government has demonstrated its commitment
to equal administration of justice regardless of English
proficiency;
(6) regulations implementing title VI of the Civil Rights
Act of 1964, as well as the guidance issued by the Department
of Justice pursuant to Executive Order 13166, issued August
11, 2000, clarify that all recipients of Federal financial
assistance, including State courts, are required to take
reasonable steps to provide meaningful access to their
proceedings for persons with limited English proficiency;
(7) 34 States have developed, or are developing, court
interpreting programs;
(8) robust, effective court interpreter programs--
(A) actively recruit skilled individuals to be court
interpreters;
(B) train those individuals in the interpretation of court
proceedings;
(C) develop and use a thorough, systematic certification
process for court interpreters; and
(D) have sufficient funding to ensure that a qualified
interpreter will be available to the court whenever
necessary; and
(9) Federal funding is necessary to--
(A) encourage State courts that do not have court
interpreter programs to develop them;
(B) assist State courts with nascent court interpreter
programs to implement them;
(C) assist State courts with limited court interpreter
programs to enhance them; and
(D) assist State courts with robust court interpreter
programs to make further improvements and share successful
programs with other States.

SEC. __3. STATE COURT INTERPRETER PROGRAM.

(a) Grants Authorized.--
(1) In general.--The Administrator of the Office of Justice
Programs of the Department of Justice (referred to in this
section as the ``Administrator'') shall make grants, in
accordance with such regulations as the Attorney General may
prescribe, to State courts to develop and implement programs
to assist individuals with limited English proficiency to
access and understand State court proceedings in which they
are a party.
(2) Technical assistance.--The Administrator shall
allocate, for each fiscal year, $500,000 of the amount
appropriated pursuant to section 4 to be used to establish a
court interpreter technical assistance program to assist
State courts receiving grants under this title.
(b) Use of Grants.--Grants awarded under subsection (a) may
be used by State courts to--
(1) assess regional language demands;
(2) develop a court interpreter program for the State
courts;
(3) develop, institute, and administer language
certification examinations;
(4) recruit, train, and certify qualified court
interpreters;
(5) pay for salaries, transportation, and technology
necessary to implement the court interpreter program
developed under paragraph (2); and
(6) engage in other related activities, as prescribed by
the Attorney General.
(c) Application.--
(1) In general.--The highest State court of each State
desiring a grant under this section shall submit an
application to the Administrator at such time, in such
manner, and accompanied by such information as the
Administrator may reasonably require.
(2) State courts.--The highest State court of each State
submitting an application under paragraph (1) shall include
in the application--
(A) an identification of each State court in that State
which would receive funds from the grant;
(B) the amount of funds each State court identified under
subparagraph (A) would receive from the grant; and
(C) the procedures the highest State court would use to
directly distribute grant funds to State courts identified
under subparagraph (A).
(d) State Court Allotments.--
(1) Base allotment.--From amounts appropriated for each
fiscal year pursuant to section __4, the Administrator shall
allocate $100,000 to each of the highest State court of each
State, which has an application approved under subsection
(c).
(2) Discretionary allotment.--From amounts appropriated for
each fiscal year pursuant to section __4, the Administrator
shall allocate a total of $5,000,000 to the highest State
court of States that have extraordinary needs that must be
addressed in order to develop, implement, or expand a State
court interpreter program.
(3) Additional allotment.--In addition to the allocations
made under paragraphs (1) and (2), the Administrator shall
allocate to each of the highest State court of each State,
which has an application approved under subsection (c), an
amount equal to the product reached by multiplying--
(A) the unallocated balance of the amount appropriated for
each fiscal year pursuant to section __4; and
(B) the ratio between the number of people over 5 years of
age who speak a language other than English at home in the
State and the number of people over 5 years of age who speak
a language other than English at home in all the States that
receive an allocation under paragraph (1), as those numbers
are determined by the Bureau of the Census.

SEC. __4. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.

There are authorized to be appropriated $15,000,000 for
each of the fiscal years 2007 through 2010 to carry out this
title.
______