1. The Court Administrator shall, with the advice of the committee established pursuant to NRS 1.530, adopt regulations which, subject to the availability of funding, establish a program for the certification or registration of court interpreters for persons with limited English proficiency who are witnesses, defendants and litigants.

2. The regulations established pursuant to subsection 1 must set forth:

(a) The specific languages for which court interpreters may obtain certification or registration, based upon the need for interpreters of those languages.

(b) Any examination and the qualifications which are required for:

(1) Certification or registration; and

(2) Renewal of the certification or registration.

(c) The circumstances under which the Court Administrator will deny, suspend or refuse to renew a certificate or registration.

(d) The circumstances under which the Court Administrator will take disciplinary action against a certified or registered court interpreter.

(e) The circumstances under which a court or juvenile court must proceed if a certified or registered interpreter is not available.

(f) Except as otherwise provided in NRS 50.050, the rate and source of the compensation to be paid for services provided by a certified or registered court interpreter.

3. An application for a certificate or registration as a court interpreter pursuant to subsection 1 must include the social security number of the applicant.

4. Every applicant for certification or registration as a court interpreter pursuant to subsection 1 must submit with his or her application:

(a) A complete set of his or her fingerprints; and

(b) Written permission authorizing the Court Administrator to forward the fingerprints to the Central Repository for Nevada Records of Criminal History for its initial report on the criminal history of the applicant and for reports thereafter upon renewal of the certification or registration, and for submission to the Federal Bureau of Investigation for its report on the criminal history of the applicant.

5. Except as otherwise provided by a specific regulation of the Court Administrator, it is grounds for disciplinary action for a certified or registered court interpreter to act as interpreter in any action in which:

(a) The spouse of the court interpreter is a party;

(b) A party or witness is otherwise related to the court interpreter;

(c) The court interpreter is biased for or against one of the parties; or

(d) The court interpreter otherwise has an interest in the outcome of the proceeding.

6. As used in this section, “person with limited English proficiency” means a person who speaks a language other than English and who cannot readily understand or communicate in the English language.

(Added to NRS by 1995, 801; A 1997, 2033; 2013, 1459; 2017, 354, 1141)