--- type: "Bill" title: "Courts: interpreters." description: "(1) The California Constitution provides that a person unable to understand English who is charged with a crime has the right to an interpreter throughout the proceedings. Existing statutory law requires, in any civil or criminal action, as specified, a sign language interpreter to be appointed for a party or witness who is deaf or hearing-impaired and generally requires the payment of these court interpreters' fees to be a charge against the court." jurisdiction: "us/states/ca" legislature: "California Legislature" session: "20132014" identifier: "AB 1657" citation: "California AB 1657 (20132014)" classification: ["bill"] subjects: ["Courts: interpreters."] status: "enacted" primary_sponsors: ["Gomez"] version_count: 7 action_count: 31 vote_count: 8 first_action: "2014-02-11" last_action: "2014-09-28" source: "openstates" source_identifier: "ocd-bill/1838384b-afdd-4235-a242-5a25601ff191" source_url: "http://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/billNavClient.xhtml?bill_id=201320140AB1657" source_hash: "1b6fe260e3d3ccc1f3499f5eaeceed569855a3583f4cac0a429fdddfad8e05a2" vintage: "2026-07-01" source_snapshot: "https://data.openstates.org/daily/2026-07-01/public.pgdump" retrieved_at: "2026-07-06" confidence: "reported" tags: ["legislation", "bill", "us-ca"] --- # California AB 1657 (20132014) — Courts: interpreters. (1) The California Constitution provides that a person unable to understand English who is charged with a crime has the right to an interpreter throughout the proceedings. Existing statutory law requires, in any civil or criminal action, as specified, a sign language interpreter to be appointed for a party or witness who is deaf or hearing-impaired and generally requires the payment of these court interpreters' fees to be a charge against the court. ## Version chain The bill's text revisions, in order — the diff chain from filing to enrollment. 1. **02/11/14 - Introduced** (filed) — [source](https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/billPdf.xhtml?bill_id=201320140AB1657&version=20130AB165799INT) 2. **04/29/14 - Amended Assembly** (committee substitute) — [source](https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/billPdf.xhtml?bill_id=201320140AB1657&version=20130AB165798AMD) 3. **06/15/14 - Amended Senate** (committee substitute) — [source](https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/billPdf.xhtml?bill_id=201320140AB1657&version=20130AB165797AMD) 4. **08/21/14 - Amended Senate** (committee substitute) — [source](https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/billPdf.xhtml?bill_id=201320140AB1657&version=20130AB165796AMD) 5. **09/28/14 - Chaptered** (committee substitute) — [source](https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/billPdf.xhtml?bill_id=201320140AB1657&version=20130AB165794CHP) 6. **AB1657** (committee substitute) — [source](http://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/billNavClient.xhtml?bill_id=201320140AB1657) 7. **09/04/14 - Enrolled** (enrolled) — [source](https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/billPdf.xhtml?bill_id=201320140AB1657&version=20130AB165795ENR) ## Votes - Placed on Appropriations Suspense file. — **7–0** (pass) · upper - Do pass, to Consent Calendar. — **17–0** (pass) · lower - Special Consent #19 AB1657 Gomez By Correa — **36–0** (pass) · upper - AB 1657 GOMEZ Concurrence in Senate Amendments — **78–0** (pass) · lower - Do pass, but re-refer to the Committee on Appropriations Recommend Consent. — **7–0** (pass) · upper - Do pass. — **5–0** (pass) · upper - Do pass as amended and be re-referred to the Committee on Appropriations. — **10–0** (pass) · lower - AB 1657 GOMEZ Assembly Third Reading — **75–0** (pass) · lower ## Sponsors - Gomez — primary (person) - Chau — principal coauthor (person) ## Timeline The legislative action history — every referral, reading, and vote. - **2014-02-11** Read first time. To print. `reading-1` - **2014-02-12** From printer. May be heard in committee March 14. - **2014-02-20** Referred to Com. on JUD. `referral-committee` - **2014-04-01** In committee: Hearing postponed by committee. - **2014-04-28** From committee: Do pass as amended and re-refer to Com. on APPR. (Ayes 10. Noes 0.) (April 22). `committee-passage-favorable, committee-passage, amendment-passage` - **2014-04-29** Read second time and amended. `reading-2, reading-1, amendment-passage` - **2014-04-30** Re-referred to Com. on APPR. `referral-committee` - **2014-05-07** From committee: Do pass. To consent calendar. (Ayes 17. Noes 0.) (May 7). `committee-passage-favorable, committee-passage` - **2014-05-08** Read second time. Ordered to consent calendar. `reading-2, reading-1` - **2014-05-15** From consent calendar. - **2014-05-15** Ordered to third reading. - **2014-05-19** Read third time. Passed. Ordered to the Senate. (Ayes 75. Noes 0. Page 5022.) `reading-3, reading-1, passage` - **2014-05-19** In Senate. Read first time. To Com. on RLS. for assignment. `reading-1` - **2014-05-28** Referred to Com. on JUD. `referral-committee` - **2014-06-10** In committee: Set, first hearing. Hearing canceled at the request of author. - **2014-06-15** From committee chair, with author's amendments: Amend, and re-refer to committee. Read second time, amended, and re-referred to Com. on JUD. `amendment-introduction, amendment-passage, reading-2, reading-1, referral-committee` - **2014-06-25** From committee: Do pass and re-refer to Com. on APPR. with recommendation: to consent calendar. (Ayes 7. Noes 0.) (June 24). Re-referred to Com. on APPR. `committee-passage-favorable, referral-committee, committee-passage` - **2014-08-04** In committee: Placed on APPR. suspense file. - **2014-08-14** From committee: Do pass. (Ayes 5. Noes 0.) (August 14). `committee-passage-favorable, committee-passage` - **2014-08-18** Read second time. Ordered to third reading. `reading-2, reading-1` - **2014-08-21** Read third time and amended. Ordered to second reading. `reading-3, reading-1, amendment-passage` - **2014-08-22** Read second time. Ordered to third reading. `reading-2, reading-1` - **2014-08-26** Ordered to special consent calendar. - **2014-08-27** Ordered to third reading. - **2014-08-27** Read third time. Passed. Ordered to the Assembly. (Ayes 36. Noes 0. Page 4901.). `reading-3, reading-1, passage` - **2014-08-27** In Assembly. Concurrence in Senate amendments pending. May be considered on or after August 29 pursuant to Assembly Rule 77. - **2014-08-28** Assembly Rule 77 suspended. (Ayes 55. Noes 24. Page 6646.) - **2014-08-28** Senate amendments concurred in. To Engrossing and Enrolling. (Ayes 78. Noes 0. Page 6658.). `committee-passage-favorable, amendment-passage` - **2014-09-10** Enrolled and presented to the Governor at 4 p.m. - **2014-09-28** Approved by the Governor. `executive-signature` - **2014-09-28** Chaptered by Secretary of State - Chapter 721, Statutes of 2014. ## Source OpenStates / OpenCivicData bulk snapshot [2026-07-01](https://data.openstates.org/daily/2026-07-01/public.pgdump); origin `ocd-bill/1838384b-afdd-4235-a242-5a25601ff191`. Confidence: reported (aggregated from official California legislature records).