Director reports growth in licensees and complaints; commission adopts interpreter exam rule changes, advances court reporting study

The commission heard an annual report from the commission director outlining licensing and compliance trends and approved proposed rule changes to the court interpreter examination and related fees.

Directors report: The director told commissioners the licensing rolls include 7,622 licensees and certificate holders under the commissions jurisdiction, a 16.5% increase since 2020. Staff attributed much of that overall growth to an approximately 30% increase in process servers, the commissions largest single group by count. The director said court reporters and court interpreters also rose: court reporters are now about 2,300 and interpreters about 495, both up roughly 8% since 2020.

The director said the commission administers or oversees several exams (interpreters, guardianship, shorthand reporter exams) and processes continuing education approvals each biennium. The director noted a more-than-100% increase in complaints since 2020, again driven largely by process servers, and an 82% increase in complaints against court reporters tied largely to appellate courts concerns about timely records. The director emphasized that a complaint file does not necessarily indicate a sustained violation and credited investigators for careful review; of 144 resolved complaints in the last fiscal year, staff recorded disciplinary action in 24% of those resolutions.

Operational and legislative changes: The director described background work to improve the licensing system (vendor coordination), exploring university partnerships to support exam administration, and an annual audit of criminal-history processes with DPS. The director also said recent legislation required changes to what licensee information remains on the public website; staff executed rapid changes with the vendor to remove certain information to protect private data.

Alzheimers training and court reporting study: The director reported an agreement with Alzheimers Texas to record a one-hour dementia training required by recent legislation for guardians of certain adults; recording starts soon and the training will be posted next year. On the court reporting study required by the legislature, staff said the commission is negotiating with a state university to assist OCA; commissioners and staff emphasized avoiding conflicts of interest (for example, selecting a university that does not operate a court reporting training program) and building a broad stakeholder group that includes judges, court reporter organizations, reporting companies, attorneys, county leaders and the public.

Interpreter exam rule and fee modifications: Staff proposed two related items (C and D) to increase the supply of qualified court interpreters. Under the proposed change, candidates could take the three-part interpreter exam over a two-year period and receive credit for any passed segment for two years, rather than being required to pass all three parts in a single sitting. The fee structure was proposed to change from a single $300 charge to $100 per exam part. The commission moved, seconded and voted to accept and adopt the modifications and to recommend the rule change to the Supreme Court. Staff said further advice and pretest preparation recommendations would return in the spring.

Votes at a glance: the commission approved (1) the administrative dismissal block of complaints as presented, (2) proposed modifications C and D to interpreter examination rules and fees, and (3) other routine items listed on the agenda. The transcript records voice votes with "aye" and no recorded opposing votes for these items; a formal roll call was not included in the excerpt provided.

The chair closed with scheduling and adjournment. The commission set its next regular meeting for Friday, 2026-02-06 as announced on the record.