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---
type: "Bill"
title: "COURT INTERPRETERS-CIVIL CASES"
description: "Amends the Foreign Language Court Interpreter Act. Provides that whenever any person is party or witness in a civil action in this State, the court shall, upon its own motion or that of a party, determine whether the person is capable of understanding the English language and is capable of expressing himself or herself in the English language so as to be understood directly by counsel, court, or jury. Provides that if the court finds the person incapable of so understanding or so expressing himself or herself, the court shall appoint an interpreter for the person whom he or she can understand and who can understand him or her. Provides that the interpreter shall be sworn to truly interpret or translate all questions propounded or answers given as directed by the court. Provides that the court shall determine a reasonable fee for all interpreter services, which shall be paid out of the general county funds. Provides that \"interpreter\" includes a sign language interpreter."
jurisdiction: "us/states/il"
legislature: "Illinois General Assembly"
session: "99th"
identifier: "HB 3620"
citation: "Illinois HB 3620 (99th)"
classification: ["bill"]
subjects: []
status: "enacted"
primary_sponsors: []
version_count: 3
action_count: 45
vote_count: 2
first_action: "2015-02-26"
last_action: "2015-07-24"
source: "openstates"
source_identifier: "ocd-bill/c5466e2e-a775-454b-9c87-b184f30a390c"
source_url: "http://ilga.gov/legislation/BillStatus.asp?DocNum=3620&GAID=13&DocTypeID=HB&LegId=89814&SessionID=88&GA=99"
source_hash: "8fc3fdaff626ef95dc10333c86018d6dc31b283f277139d3f126bc4c74f8ffeb"
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-il"]
---
# Illinois HB 3620 (99th) — COURT INTERPRETERS-CIVIL CASES
Amends the Foreign Language Court Interpreter Act. Provides that whenever any person is party or witness in a civil action in this State, the court shall, upon its own motion or that of a party, determine whether the person is capable of understanding the English language and is capable of expressing himself or herself in the English language so as to be understood directly by counsel, court, or jury. Provides that if the court finds the person incapable of so understanding or so expressing himself or herself, the court shall appoint an interpreter for the person whom he or she can understand and who can understand him or her. Provides that the interpreter shall be sworn to truly interpret or translate all questions propounded or answers given as directed by the court. Provides that the court shall determine a reasonable fee for all interpreter services, which shall be paid out of the general county funds. Provides that "interpreter" includes a sign language interpreter.
## Version chain
The bill's text revisions, in order — the diff chain from filing to enrollment.
1. **Introduced** (filed) — [source](http://ilga.gov/legislation/fulltext.asp?DocName=09900HB3620&GA=99&SessionId=88&DocTypeId=HB&LegID=89814&DocNum=3620&GAID=13&Session=&print=true)
2. **Engrossed** (committee substitute) — [source](http://ilga.gov/legislation/fulltext.asp?DocName=09900HB3620eng&GA=99&SessionId=88&DocTypeId=HB&LegID=89814&DocNum=3620&GAID=13&Session=&print=true)
3. **Enrolled** (enrolled) — [source](http://ilga.gov/legislation/fulltext.asp?DocName=09900HB3620enr&GA=99&SessionId=88&DocTypeId=HB&LegID=89814&DocNum=3620&GAID=13&Session=&print=true)
## Votes
- Third Reading — **541** (pass) · upper
- Third Reading — **1016** (pass) · lower
## Sponsors
- Antonio Muñoz — cosponsor (person)
- Cynthia Soto — primary (person)
- Don Harmon — cosponsor (person)
## Timeline
The legislative action history — every referral, reading, and vote.
- **2015-02-26** Filed with the Clerk by Rep. Cynthia Soto `filing`
- **2015-02-26** First Reading `reading-1`
- **2015-02-26** Referred to Rules Committee `referral-committee`
- **2015-03-10** Assigned to Judiciary - Civil Committee `referral-committee`
- **2015-03-20** House Committee Amendment No. 1 Filed with Clerk by Rep. Cynthia Soto `amendment-introduction`
- **2015-03-20** House Committee Amendment No. 1 Referred to Rules Committee `referral-committee`
- **2015-03-23** House Committee Amendment No. 1 Rules Refers to Judiciary - Civil Committee
- **2015-03-25** House Committee Amendment No. 1 Adopted in Judiciary - Civil Committee; by Voice Vote `amendment-passage`
- **2015-03-25** Do Pass as Amended / Short Debate Judiciary - Civil Committee; 010-000-000 `committee-passage`
- **2015-03-25** Placed on Calendar 2nd Reading - Short Debate
- **2015-04-17** House Floor Amendment No. 2 Filed with Clerk by Rep. Cynthia Soto `amendment-introduction`
- **2015-04-17** House Floor Amendment No. 2 Referred to Rules Committee `referral-committee`
- **2015-04-20** House Floor Amendment No. 2 Rules Refers to Judiciary - Civil Committee
- **2015-04-20** House Floor Amendment No. 3 Filed with Clerk by Rep. Cynthia Soto `amendment-introduction`
- **2015-04-20** House Floor Amendment No. 3 Referred to Rules Committee `referral-committee`
- **2015-04-21** House Floor Amendment No. 2 Recommends Be Adopted Judiciary - Civil Committee; 006-004-000 `committee-passage-favorable`
- **2015-04-21** House Floor Amendment No. 3 Recommends Be Adopted Rules Committee; 004-000-000 `committee-passage-favorable`
- **2015-04-22** House Floor Amendment No. 4 Filed with Clerk by Rep. Cynthia Soto `amendment-introduction`
- **2015-04-22** House Floor Amendment No. 4 Referred to Rules Committee `referral-committee`
- **2015-04-22** Second Reading - Short Debate `reading-2`
- **2015-04-22** Held on Calendar Order of Second Reading - Short Debate `reading-2`
- **2015-04-23** House Floor Amendment No. 4 Recommends Be Adopted Rules Committee; 003-000-000 `committee-passage-favorable`
- **2015-04-23** House Floor Amendment No. 2 Withdrawn by Rep. Cynthia Soto
- **2015-04-23** House Floor Amendment No. 3 Withdrawn by Rep. Cynthia Soto
- **2015-04-23** House Floor Amendment No. 4 Adopted `amendment-passage`
- **2015-04-23** Placed on Calendar Order of 3rd Reading - Short Debate
- **2015-04-24** Third Reading - Short Debate - Passed 101-006-000 `reading-3, passage`
- **2015-04-28** Arrive in Senate `introduction`
- **2015-04-28** Placed on Calendar Order of First Reading April 29, 2015 `reading-1`
- **2015-04-29** Chief Senate Sponsor Sen. Iris Y. Martinez
- **2015-04-29** First Reading `reading-1`
- **2015-04-29** Referred to Assignments `referral-committee`
- **2015-05-06** Assigned to Judiciary `referral-committee`
- **2015-05-13** Do Pass Judiciary; 010-000-000 `committee-passage`
- **2015-05-13** Placed on Calendar Order of 2nd Reading May 14, 2015
- **2015-05-14** Added as Alternate Co-Sponsor Sen. Don Harmon
- **2015-05-18** Second Reading `reading-2`
- **2015-05-18** Placed on Calendar Order of 3rd Reading May 19, 2015
- **2015-05-19** Added as Alternate Co-Sponsor Sen. Antonio Muñoz
- **2015-05-19** Third Reading - Passed; 054-001-000 `reading-3, passage`
- **2015-05-19** Passed Both Houses
- **2015-06-17** Sent to the Governor `executive-receipt`
- **2015-07-24** Governor Approved `executive-signature`
- **2015-07-24** Effective Date January 1, 2016
- **2015-07-24** Public Act . . . . . . . . . 99-0133 `became-law`
## Source
OpenStates / OpenCivicData bulk snapshot [2026-07-01](https://data.openstates.org/daily/2026-07-01/public.pgdump); origin `ocd-bill/c5466e2e-a775-454b-9c87-b184f30a390c`. Confidence: reported (aggregated from official Illinois legislature records).