PENNSYLVANIA — A bill introduced by state Rep. Jim Haddock aimed at addressing the shortage of American Sign Language (ASL) interpreters in Pennsylvania was approved Monday by the House Labor and Industry Committee.
The legislation, known as the Sign Language Interpreter and Transliterator State Registration Act, was originally passed in 2004, creating a system for certifying qualified ASL interpreters. However, according to Haddock, the law hasn’t kept pace with changes in the profession over the last two decades.
“After the COVID-19 pandemic, we lost many ASL interpreters, and the testing system changes have made it difficult to replace them with qualified professionals,” said Haddock, D-Luzerne/Lackawanna, who serves on the House Labor and Industry Committee.
Haddock explained that the bill comes after months of discussions with key stakeholders and aims to ensure that Pennsylvanians who are deaf, deaf-blind, or hard of hearing have access to qualified interpreters.
The bill, House Bill 2566, will now move to the full House of Representatives for further consideration.