Bill: HB 3374, 85(R) - 2017
Committee
House Licensing & Administrative Procedures
Vote Recommendation
Vote Recommendation |
Economic Freedom |
Property Rights |
Personal Responsibility |
Limited Government |
Individual Liberty |
No |
Negative |
Neutral |
Neutral |
Negative |
Negative |
Author(s)
John Kuempel
Bill Caption
Relating to the registration and regulation of
certain communication access realtime translation providers; imposing a civil
penalty; authorizing fees.
Fiscal Notes
Estimated Two-year Net Impact to General Revenue Related Funds for HB3374, Committee Report 1st House, Substituted: a positive impact of $10,269 through the biennium ending August 31, 2019.
The bill would make no appropriation but could provide the legal basis for an appropriation of funds to implement the provisions of the bill.
Bill Analysis
This bill would amend the Government Code to allow a person to engage in the practice of communication access realtime translation if the person obtains a certificate of registration. The office of court administration would establish the training, educational, and experience requirements. The commission would also establish and maintain a registry of communication access realtime translation (CART) providers and have the authority to impose fees for obtaining and renewing certificates of registration. Finally, a violation under this bill would constitute a civil penalty between $50 and $2,000 per day.
Vote Recommendation Notes
Currently, the act of real-time speech to text translation does not require certification. This bill violates our free market, individual liberty, and limited government principles by creating a certification requirement and registry of certified CART providers. By creating a certification process individuals are forced to spend more time complying with government mandates rather than business related activities making it more difficult to earn a living. It is not the proper role of the state to increase its regulatory footprint by regulating this profession. For these reasons, we oppose HB 3374.