(1) The right to a qualified interpreter may not be waived except when:

Terms Used In Washington Code 2.42.150

  • Appointing authority: means the presiding officer or similar official of any court, department, board, commission, agency, licensing authority, or legislative body of the state or of any political subdivision. See Washington Code 2.42.110
  • Impaired person: means a person who, because of a hearing or speech impairment, cannot readily understand or communicate in spoken language; and includes persons who are deaf, deaf and blind, speech impaired, or hard of hearing. See Washington Code 2.42.110
  • person: may be construed to include the United States, this state, or any state or territory, or any public or private corporation or limited liability company, as well as an individual. See Washington Code 1.16.080
  • Qualified interpreter: means a visual language interpreter who is certified by the state or is certified by the registry of interpreters for the deaf to hold the comprehensive skills certificate or both certificates of interpretation and transliteration, or an interpreter who can readily translate statements of speech impaired persons into spoken language. See Washington Code 2.42.110
(a) A hearing impaired person requests a waiver through the use of a qualified interpreter;
(b) The counsel, if any, of the hearing impaired person consents; and
(c) The appointing authority determines that the waiver has been made knowingly, voluntarily, and intelligently.
(2) Waiver of a qualified interpreter shall not preclude the hearing impaired person from claiming his or her right to a qualified interpreter at a later time during the proceeding, program, or activity.