DIVISION ON DEAFNESS FUND H.B. 5029 (H-2) & 5672 (S-1): FLOOR SUMMARY
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House Bill 5029 (Substitute H-2 as reported without amendment)
House Bill 5672 (Substitute S-1 as reported by the Committee of the Whole)
Sponsor: Representative Dudley Spade
House Committee: Regulatory Reform
Senate Committee: Economic Development and Regulatory Reform

CONTENT

House Bill 5029 (H-2) would amend the Deaf Persons' Interpreters Act to require that money received under Sections 8c and 8e of the Act be deposited into the Division on Deafness Fund established in the Division of Deafness Act, and spent as described in that Act. Money deposited into the Fund under the bill would have to be spent to cover costs associated with the Division on Deaf and Hard of Hearing.

(Section 8c requires that a State certification be issued to a person who is certified through, and is in good standing with, the National Registry of Interpreters for the Deaf upon that person's filing an application and submitting a $30 application fee.


Under Section 8e, a person who is a qualified interpreter, upon presenting national certification credentials and without examination, must pay a $30 application fee, which also fulfills the initial certification requirement. The Division must collect a $30 annual renewal fee for issuing State certification credentials for all qualified interpreters. The Division also must collect a $125 examination fee from each Michigan resident applying to take an examination for certification and a $175 examination fee from out-of-State applicants.)


House Bill 5672 (S-1) would amend the Division of Deafness Act to require the Division to receive and forward to the State Treasurer for deposit in the Division on Deafness Fund money received under Sections 8c and 8e of the Deaf Persons' Interpreters Act.


Currently, revenue in the Fund must be spent only for the implementation of the Division of Deafness Act. Under the bill, revenue in the Fund also would have to be spent to cover costs associated with the Division (as provided in House Bill 5029 (H-2)).


House Bill 5029 (H-2) is tie-barred to House Bill 5672. House Bill 5672 (S-1) is tie-barred to Senate Bill 484. (Senate Bill 484, as passed by the Senate, would amend the Deaf Persons' Interpreters Act to create the "Interpreters' Standards Fund", for the deposit of money received under Sections 8c and 8e.)


Proposed MCL 393.508f (H.B. 5029) Legislative Analyst: Patrick Affholter
MCL 408.208 (H.B. 5672)

FISCAL IMPACT
The bills would require the deposit of deaf interpreters' certification and examination fees into the existing Division on Deafness Fund, thereby allowing unspent revenue to carry forward.


Certification and examination fees paid by interpreters for the deaf or hard of hearing support the Division on Deaf and Hard of Hearing within the Commission on Disability Concerns, paying a portion of the costs of administering the certification program. The interpreter fees, established by Public Act 23 of 2007, are shown in Table 1 below:


Table 1

Schedule of Interpreter Fees
Type of Fee Amount
Application fee $30
Examination fee (resident) $125
Examination fee (nonresident) $175
Renewal fee $30

For FY 2008-09, the fees generated approximately $9,000 in revenue. The line item for the Commission on Disability Concerns includes expenditure authority of $90,000 in FY 2009-10 for this fee revenue. The current revenue, however, is considerably below the appropriated amount and is insufficient to cover the cost of the interpreters program. Costs in excess of fee revenue are paid from the line item for the Commission on Disability Concerns. In FY 2009-10, the year-to-date appropriation for the Commission is $1,157,000, including $392,700 General Fund/General Purpose revenue.


Date Completed: 4-14-10 Fiscal Analyst: Elizabeth Pratt Maria Tyszkiewicz

Analysis was prepared by nonpartisan Senate staff for use by the Senate in its deliberations and does not constitute an official statement of legislative intent. hb5029&5672/0910