(1) "Appointing authority" means the presiding officer or similar official of any court, board, commission, agency, or licensing or law enforcement authority of the state.

(2) "Assistive listening device" means an amplification system that operates in conjunction with a hearing aid to increase the volume of sounds for the hearing aid only.

(3) "Auxiliary services" means those aids and services that assist in effective communication with a person who is deaf, hard of hearing, or deafblind, including:

(a) The services of a qualified interpreter;

(b) The provision of a qualified communication access realtime translation (CART) reporter;

(c) The provision of an assistive listening device; or

(d) The acquisition or modification of equipment or devices to assist in effective communication with a person who is deaf, hard of hearing, or deafblind.

(4) "Commission" means the Colorado commission for the deaf, hard of hearing, and deafblind in the department of human services created in section 26-21-104.

(5) "Communication access realtime translation (CART) reporter" means a word-for-word speech-to-text translation service for the deaf, hard of hearing, or deafblind.

(6) "Deaf, hard of hearing, or deafblind" means a person who has a functional hearing loss of sufficient severity to prevent aural comprehension, even with the assistance of hearing aids.

(7) "Effective communication" means those methods of communication that are individualized and culturally appropriate to a person who is deaf, hard of hearing, or deafblind so that he or she can easily access all auditory information.

(8) "Qualified interpreter" means a person who has a valid certification of competency accepted by the commission and includes, but is not limited to, oral interpreters, sign language interpreters, and intermediary interpreters.

(9) "State court system" means the system of courts, or any part thereof, established pursuant to articles 1 to 9 of this title 13 and article VI of the state constitution. "State court system" does not include the municipal courts or any part thereof.