Welcome to our new "Updates" page.

The board met at the MEGA conference with educational interpreters on July 11, 2007 and one of the suggestions at that meeting was to have a page on the website that updated the public about changes that affect the licensure law and rules and regulations.  We hope this page will help you become better informed about our profession!

August 21, 2009
The following Board actions were taken at the regularly scheduled quarterly Board meeting.

I.   Motion 2009-10 Steven Hammerdinger made a motion to accept the Minutes for the May 22, 2009, Board meeting as corrected. Melvin Walker seconded the motion. The motion passed unanimously.
II.   The Oath of Office was administered by Paula "Scout" McCaleb to new Board member, Florence Vance.
III.   Motion 2009-11 Florence Vance made a motion to approve an extension for Glenn Austin based on his request. Patricia Smartt seconded the motion. Voting aye was Patricia Smartt, Melvin Walker, and Florence Vance. Voting nay was Steve Hammerdinger. The motion passed.

May 22, 2009

The following board actions were taken at the regularly scheduled quarterly Board meeting.

I.                    Motion 2009-08  Lisa Gould made a motion to accept the Minutes for the February 20, 2009, Board meeting as written.  Lori Pituk seconded the motion.  The motion passed unanimously. 

II.                 Motion 2009-09 Steve Hammerdinger made a motion to approve an exemption for Shannon Reese based on her request.  Lisa Gould seconded the motion.  The motion was passed unanimously.

February 20, 2009

The following board actions were taken at the regularly scheduled quarterly Board Meeting.

I.                    Motion 2009-01 Lori Pituk made a motion to accept the Minutes for the November 2008 Board Meeting as corrected.  Janice Hawkins seconded the motion.  The motion passed unanimously.

II.                 Motion 2009-02 Lori Pituk nominated Patricia Sheets as Chair.  The nomination was accepted by acclamation.

III.               Motion 2009-03 Judith Gilliam nominated Lori Pituk as Vice Chair.  The nomination was accepted by acclamation.

IV.              Motion 2009-4 Janice Hawkins nominated Melvin Walker as Secretary.  The nomination was accepted by acclamation.

V.                 Motion 2009-5 Judith Gilliam made a motion to proceed with the change of fees, to increase the fees for Licensure to $175.00 and for Permit and educational permit to $125.00 as follows in the Rules and Regulations: 

488-X-1-.02               Fees.

(1)                   Nonrefundable fees are as follows:

(a)     Application fee:  $35.00
(b)     Initial and Renewal fee for Licenses:          $50.00175.00
(c)     Initial and Renewal fee for Permits:            $125.00

(cd)  Returned check fee: $25.00
(de)  Late fee assessed on applications postmarked after March 15th :         $10.00
(ef)   Replacement of License or Permit:                        $7.00
(fg)   Upgrading of Educational Permit to Renewable Permit or Permit to License:   No charge
(gh)  Roster fee:  $35.00 

Authors: Belinda Montgomery, Charlene Crump
Statutory Authority: Code of Ala. 1975, §34-16-4.
History: New Rule: Filed June 11, 2002; effective July 16, 2002.  Revised:  Filed December 17, 2008; Effective:  February 24, 2009

Janice Hawkins seconded the motion.  The motion was passed unanimously.

VI.              Motion 2009-6 Janice Hawkins made a motion to state that a public hearing was held on adoption of the proposed rules and regulations. Comments were made in support of raising fees as necessary to fund the Board and to be consistent with fees of other states.  One argument was made in opposition to the raised fees because it was suggested that the fees were not consistent with the alleged license fees for the various Alabama Department of Education employees. The Board overruled the latter view because licensing regulations of Department of Education over non-interpreters are not analogous to Board authority over Interpreters and Transliterators. Lori Pituk seconded the motion. The motion was passed unanimously. 

VII.            Motion 2009-7 Lori Pituk mad a motion to accept Sheri Cates request for a one year exemption.  Janice Hawkins seconded the motion.   Voting in favor was Janice Hawkins; voting in opposition was Judith Gilliam, Lori Pituk, and Lisa Gould; The motion failed.

November 11, 2008

The substantial board action taken at this meeting is listed below.  The complete Minutes are posted under the Calendar page on this web site.

Motion 2008-45  Cynthia Frey made a motion to increase the fees for Licensure to $175.00 and for Permit and Educational Permit to $125.  Pattie Sheets seconded the motion.  The motion passed by majority vote (two members abstained:  Janice Hawkins and Judith Gilliam). 

May 23, 2008

The following board actions were taken at the regularly scheduled quarterly Board Meeting on May 23, 2008. 

Motion 2008-35  Lisa Gould made a motion to accept the Minutes for the February 22, 2008 Board Meeting as written.  Judith Gilliam seconded the motion.  The motion passed unanimously.

Motion 2008-36 – Cynthia Frey made a motion to give Carlos Grant an exemption based on documentation received for six months dated retroactive on March 14, 2008 and expiring on September 14, 2008.  Judith Gilliam seconded the motion. The Chair called for a vote from the Board and the motion passed unanimously.

Motion 2008-37 – Lori Pituk made a motion for an Exemption Committee of three to be established to review requests for exemptions.  The motion was seconded by Lisa Gould and passed unanimously.

Motion 2008-38 – Cynthia Frey made a motion to authorize the Exemption Committee to act on requests for Exemption under the guidelines of the Rules and Regulations in between Board meetings and that any requests granted would only be extended until the next Board meeting date and at that time, the entire Board will review the exemption request.  Patti Sheets seconded motion.  The Chair called for a vote from the Board and the motion passed unanimously.

Motion 2008-39 – Cynthia Frey made a motion to have an ALBIT Representative on the AAD Board as requested by AAD.  Lisa Gould seconded the motion.  The Chair called for a vote from the Board: Voting aye:  Cynthia Frey, Lisa Gould, Judith Gilliam, Lori Pituk, and Melvin Walker; Voting nay:  Patti Sheets.  The motion passes.

Motion 2008-40 – Judith Gilliam made a motion for the Chairman to send a letter to request to be on the PSC’s next available meeting agenda to discuss the funding agreement.  Lisa Gould seconded the motion and the motion passed unanimously.

Motion 2008-41 – Patti Sheets made a motion to exempt the four individuals:  Florence D. Vance, Amelia J. England, Mona Ivey, and Sam Feibelman who have requested exemptions with the stipulation for a one year exemption and only for the VR settings and at the end of the year documentation in training will be required for future exemption requests.  Lori Pituk seconded the motion and the motion passed unanimously. 

February 22, 2008

The Alabama Licensure Board met at the Board office in Montgomery at 1:00 PM as advertised on the Secretary of State’s Website.  The first meeting of each year includes the election of new officers.  The officers for the 2008 calendar year are:  Melvin Walker, Chair; Judith Gilliam, Vice-Chair; and Lisa Gould, Secretary. The following motions were made and passed during the meeting:

Motion 2008-01:  The minutes from the November 2007 meeting were passed.

Motion 2008-02:  A motion to accept the updates to the ALBIT Rules and Regulations as reviewed was made and passed.  The changes being made are as follows:

488-X-1-.04 – Initial License

Section 2 – c- 2 – NAD certificate of membership card denoting applicant possesses NAD level V or IV.  This line is being deleted and the reason is that the line above that sentence states that a person shall submit “Current RID certified membership card” and since NAD certified interpreters were required to become members of RID then their RID membership card will indicate their NAD certification level.

488-C-1-.05 – Renewal of License

Section c-2 NAD certificate or membership card denoting applicant possesses NAD Level V or IV.  This line is being deleted for the same reason as the Initial License above.

488-X-1-.06 – Initial (1^st Application) Permit

Section b-4 three letters of recommendation from three (3) licensed interpreters attesting to skill level of applicant.

This line is being edited to read:

Board approved recommendation forms from three (3) licensed interpreters attesting to skill level of applicant.

The rationale for this is that he board as adopted a required recommendation form that is currently posted on the website.

Section c-3 Documentation applicant has passed either the RID generalist exam or the Jacksonville State University Interpreter Knowledge Skills Assessment.

This line is being edited to read:

Documentation applicant has passed either an RID approved ethics exam or the Jacksonville State University Interpreter Knowledge Skills Assessment.

The rationale for this is that RID accepts the NAD ethics exam for NAD certified interpreters as well as the EIPA ethics exam for EIPA certified interpreters and lists these people as “certified members”.  The board felt that it was appropriate for the ALBIT to recognize exams consistently with the RID.

Section 5. Documentation of earning 2.0, board approved, CEUs within the previous 12 month cycle ending March 15^th of year of application.

This line is being deleted and the rationale is that since this is the “1^st Application” a person could have taken an ethics exam and performance exam and be applying for this permit without participating in any continuing education workshops or classes. The CEU requirement really relates to the “Renewal” process.

488-X-1-.07    Renewal of Permits

Sections c and d are being deleted.

The rationale is that this is a permit renewal and you should not have to present documentation of passing an ethics or performance exam since you have already done that on the 1^st application.

 488-x-1-.09     Exemptions

Section 1 and a are being deleted.

This section states that Although Certified Deaf Interpreters (CDI) must comply with License requirements, other Deaf Interpreters or Transliterators will be exempt.

We will restate the exemptions outlined in the law for this area.

488-X-1-.12    Reinstatement of License

Section 1-c Plus a late fee.  of $10.00 is being deleted.

Rationale:  The amount is listed in the fee schedule at the beginning of the Rules and Regulations and there is no reason to restate the cost through out the Rules and Regs.

The sentence right below Section 1-c shows the license cycle as being March 15^th to March 14^th.  This will be changed to March 16^th to March 15^th because the law states that the cycle year ends on March 15^th.

Section 2-c the amount of $10.00 will be deleted for the same reason as Section 1-c above.

488-X-1-.13    Reinstatement of Permit

Section 1-c delete the amount of $10.00 for the same reason stated for the dollar amounts listed in section 488-X-1-.12

Section 2-c delete the amount of $10.00 for the same reason stated for the dollar amounts listed in section 488-X-1-.12

Motion 2008-03:  Motion was made and passed to adopt the new REQUIRED Non Renewable Provisional Permit Form.

Rationale:  Traditionally licensed interpreters have written letters of recommendation that varied tremendously.  There was no way to evaluate the skill level of the person applying or to know if that person would realistically be prepared to move to the next step in a one year period.  The new form requires specific information that will be consistent with all applicants.

Motion 2008-04:  A motion was made and passed by the PR committee to purchase promotional items up to the amount of $1000.00.  The ALBIT will attend various conferences and meetings and distribute pens, pencils, and bumper stickers that promote using licensed and permitted interpreters. 

There was discussion at this board meeting about interpreters who are certified by the NAD but did not become members of the RID.  There was a cut off date that if these members did not join RID their certification became null and void.  That time period has long since passed.  When reviewing the Alabama Code of Alabama, Alabama Licensure Law, Section 34-16-5, in the second paragraph labeled letter (b), there is a requirement stating a person to provide proof of “current nationally recognized certification at a professional level.”  Our administrator’s office will verify that all licensed interpreters are listed as “Certified” members of the RID when renewal applications are submitted.  If you are not listed as being “Certified” with the RID then a letter will be sent to you requesting verification that you are a “Certified” member of the RID.  If you can not provide such information your license will not be renewed. 

November 2, 2007 

The Alabama Licensure Board for Interpreters and Transliterators met at the board office in Montgomery at 1:00 pm as advertised on the Secretary of State’s Website.  The following motions were made and passed during this meeting. 

Motion 2007-24: A motion was made and passed that changes Section 48-X-1-.11 of the Rules and Regulations.  In section 1 “To report a person who is practicing interpreting without an Alabama license or permit” will be deleted.  The rationale for this is that the way the rule exists currently if a report is made a full investigation must be done before a person can be contacted.  By deleting this line the board administrator can send a letter to anyone who is allegedly practicing the profession of Interpreting without a license or permit and explain to them the requirements of the state law. This letter may suffice in resolving this issue without performing a complete investigation.

Motion 2007-25:  A motion was made and passed that adds an Appendicies I Forms list to the Rules and Regulations.  The board administrator explained that this was standard practice and that most boards have their forms listed in the Rules and Regulations. 

Motion 2007-26:  A motion was made and passed to list only the required information on the roster (listed on the website) which would be first and last name of the interpreter, the license or permit number, and the expiration date of the license or permit. 

The board will at some point in 2008 send out a survey to all licensed and permitted interpreters to see if there is an interest in adding contact information.

September 7, 2007

There was a public hearing held at 1:00 PM today at the board office in Montgomery.  There were two people who were present and spoke in favor of the proposed changes to the Rules and Regulations.  There was no one present to speak against the proposed changes and the board did not receive any letters or emails relating to this topic.  With this being said the motion carried.  The new rule will go into effect on October 30, 2007.  The new rule states that “CEUs must consist of at least 1.5 out of 2 CEU’s in Professional Studies.”  This new rule allows the ALBIT to be more consistent with the RID on the ratio between Professional and General Studies.

 July 11, 2007

 The ALBIT board meeting was held at the Battle House Hotel in Mobile, Alabama. Cynthia Frey, ALBIT Board Member representing Educational Interpreters, had suggested to the board that we meet at the MEGA conference to allow educational interpreters an opportunity to be a part of the Board process.  A short meeting was held with no new motions being made or passed, other than approving the minutes from the last meeting, and the floor was opened for welcomed comments from those in attendance.  This was a great opportunity for the Board to hear concerns and comments from Interpreters who, because of their work obligations, are normally not able to attend meetings.  The idea of this “Updates” page came from this meeting in Mobile. 

 April 27, 2007

The ALBIT board meeting was held at the board office beginning at 1:00 PM on this date.  There were committee meetings held earlier in the day beginning at 10:00 AM.  The public are welcome to attend any and all meetings that the board has.  Motions that were made and passed during this meeting include:

Motion 2007-15: Motion was made for ALBIT to send the Chair to participate in the RFP process of establishing an Interpreter Training Program in Alabama.

Motion 2007-16: Motion was made to accept the Rules of Order and Disaster Recovery Plan as presented.  With the realization of Hurricane Katrina all state boards have been required to come up with a recovery plan to ensure the security of confidential files. 

Motion 2007-17: Motion was made to change CEU to CEP.  The reasoning for this is that when the board discusses the Continuing Education Program there is an old habit of referring to it as CEU but this motion helps keep the record straight allowing us to recognize the program itself which is outlined in the Rules and Regulations.

Motion 2007-18: Motion was made for the Rules and Regulations to reflect that anyone renewing permits must have 1.5 out of 2 CEU’s in professional studies.  The reasoning behind this is that all interpreters can learn and grow through professional training relating to interpreting.  This change will allow interpreters to focus on training that directly relates to the profession of interpreting.