wa-law.org > bill > 2025-26 > HB 2032 > Original Bill
For interpreter services procured under RCW 39.26.300:
The contracting department shall, either directly or through contracts with third parties, ensure that language access providers are fully compensated within 30 days of submission of a complete and valid invoice or other appropriate record to the department or contracted third party regarding the provision of spoken language interpreter services;
The contracting department may not recoup any funds paid to a language access provider or otherwise bill a language access provider for spoken language interpreter services on the basis of a subsequent determination that a public assistance applicant or recipient, injured worker, or crime victim is ineligible for benefits under Title 51 or 74 RCW;
The contracting department may not limit the daily amount of time for which language access providers may be paid for provision of spoken language interpreter services;
The contracting department may not require language access providers, as a condition of providing spoken language interpreter services, to register with any database or registry which publishes their personal contact information online; and
The contracting department shall adopt rules for:
Providing compensation to a language access provider in the event an appointment for which a language access provider has been scheduled to provide services is canceled or the injured worker or crime victim fails to appear; and
Providing a language access provider with a mileage reimbursement for distance traveled for a scheduled appointment to provide services, which must be at least the business standard mileage rate determined by the internal revenue service.
If the contracting department pays a language access provider less than the amounts to which such language access provider is entitled under this section, it is liable to the language access provider for the full amount due to such language access provider under this section, less any amount actually paid to such language access provider by the department, plus reasonable attorneys' fees and costs, as may be allowed by the court.
For the purposes of this section:
"Contracting department" refers to any department authorized to purchase interpreter services or otherwise purchasing such services under RCW 39.26.300 including, but not limited to, the department of labor and industries, the department of social and health services, the department of children, youth, and families, the department of enterprise services, or the health care authority.
"Language access provider" has the same meaning as provided in RCW 41.56.030.