Conn. Gen. Stat. § 17a-835b: Interpreting Standards Board. Membership. Duties.

(a) There is established an Interpreting Standards Board. The board shall be comprised of nine members, who shall be appointed not later than October 1, 2025, by the Commissioner of Aging and Disability Services, in consultation with the director of the Bureau of Services for Persons Who are Deaf, Deafblind or Hard of Hearing, in accordance with subsection (b) of this section. Said board shall be located within the bureau at the Department of Aging and Disability Services. The board shall:

(1) Establish (A) education, training and certification requirements for interpreters working in special settings, including community, educational, legal and medical settings, and (B) training needed to provide interpreting services to select populations, including protactile language and tactile language interpreting training to provide such services to deafblind persons and training in interpreting methods to serve non-English speaking persons;

(2) Establish operational standards for organizations and providers supplying interpreting services in these settings and to select populations, including, but not limited to, deafblind persons;

(3) Expand, in consultation with the bureau director, interpreter access to educational, training, internship, apprenticeship, mentorship and credentialing opportunities and promote access to such opportunities to grow the pool of interpreters in the state;

(4) Receive and review complaints concerning noncompliance with state interpreting standards, and, (A) if the board determines an interpreter has violated the interpreter code of professional conduct of a national or state professional interpreter certifying body, file a report with such body, (B) for substantiated complaints involving interpreters for deafblind persons, file a report with the American Association for the DeafBlind, and (C) file a report on all such substantiated complaints with the protection and advocacy organization for persons with disabilities in the state designated pursuant to section 46a-10b; and

(5) Not later than January 1, 2027, make recommendations to the Commissioner of Aging and Disability Services on new interpreter standards, regulations and legislation concerning qualifications of interpreters for persons who are deaf, deafblind or hard of hearing.

(b) The Commissioner of Aging and Disability Services, in consultation with the director of the Bureau of Services for Persons Who are Deaf, Deafblind or Hard of Hearing, shall appoint the membership of the board, in accordance with the provisions of this subsection. All members of the board appointed pursuant to this subsection shall have expressed a willingness to serve on the board and not less than six appointments to the board shall be reflective of the geographic and racial diversity of the state. The board shall consist of the following members:

(1) The president of the Connecticut Association of the Deaf, or the president's designee;

(2) The president of the Connecticut Registry of Interpreters for the Deaf, or the president's designee;

(3) The president of the DeafBlind Association of Connecticut, or the president's designee;

(4) Two interpreter professionals, including one member representing deaf interpreter professionals and one member representing hearing interpreter professionals, each with training appropriate for providing services in a special setting different from the other, including community, educational, legal and medical settings; and

(5) Four consumers of interpreting services, one each representing consumers who are hearing, deaf, deafblind and hard of hearing.

(c) Interpreter professionals and consumers appointed to the board shall, for not less than three years, (1) have been residents of the state, and (2) have experience providing or using interpreting services, interacting with persons who are deaf, deafblind or hard of hearing and familiarity with interpreting issues and professional standards for interpreting. Priority in interpreter professional appointments shall be given to those who, for not less than three years, have been certified or registered interpreters involved in the delivery of interpreting services for deaf, deafblind or hard of hearing persons.

(d) The Commissioner of Aging and Disability Services shall stagger the terms of board members appointed pursuant to subdivisions (4) and (5) of subsection (b) of this section. The commissioner shall initially appoint two interpreter professionals and two consumer board members for a term of three years and the other two consumer board members for a term of two years. Following the initial terms, the commissioner shall appoint board members appointed pursuant to subdivisions (4) and (5) of subsection (b) of this section for terms of two years on a staggered basis.

(e) Board members shall elect a chairperson and such other officers as the board deems advisable at the first meeting of the board, which shall be held not later than November 1, 2025. The board shall meet at least quarterly.

(f) Interpreters and applicants for an interpreter registration card holding different certificates or credentials from recognized national and state interpreter credentialing organizations may apply to the Interpreting Standards Board for review of whether an approved acceptable credential equivalent or substitute, or a waiver from complying with state interpreting standards starting on the date that such waiver may be granted, for a period of time not to exceed three years, as determined by the board. Upon review of the application for a credential equivalent, the Interpreting Standards Board may recommend such substitute credential or waiver to the Commissioner of Aging and Disability Services along with a determination as to within which settings the applicant is qualified to work. The commissioner, in the commissioner's discretion, may grant such substitute credential or waiver.