Office of the Deaf and Hard of Hearing and Maryland Advisory Council on Deaf and Hard of Hearing - Renaming
HB0439 renames Maryland’s Office of the Deaf and Hard of Hearing as the Office of the Deaf, Deafblind, and Hard of Hearing, and renames the related Maryland Advisory Council to include deafblind individuals in its title. The bill also updates statutory references throughout the Education, Health – General, Human Services, State Government, State Personnel and Pensions, and Transportation articles to reflect the new agency name and terminology.
Beyond the name change, the bill expands the advisory council’s membership structure to explicitly include a representative from the Department of Disabilities and revises related references in other boards and programs so the new office title is used consistently across state law. It includes standard transition language preserving the validity of existing actions, appointments, records, and obligations, and provides that the renamed office is the successor to the former office.
The bill amends multiple sections of the Maryland Code to replace references to the Office of the Deaf and Hard of Hearing with the Office of the Deaf, Deafblind, and Hard of Hearing, and to update the Maryland Advisory Council on Deaf and Hard of Hearing accordingly. It also changes the subtitle heading in the State Government article and revises cross-references in several state boards and programs that include the office or its director. The practical effect is largely administrative and conforming, but it also formally recognizes deafblind Marylanders in the office’s name and advisory structure.
The available record suggests the bill was noncontroversial and broadly accepted. It was enacted as Chapter 655 and approved by the Governor, with no committee transcripts or recorded votes provided indicating opposition or significant debate. The overall tone appears supportive of updating state terminology to be more inclusive and accurate.
No notable substantive contention is reflected in the provided materials. The bill appears to have been treated as a nomenclature-and-conforming-changes measure rather than a policy overhaul. The only identifiable policy-related adjustment is the addition of deafblind representation in the office and council titles and the inclusion of a Department of Disabilities representative on the advisory council, but no opposition or competing viewpoints are shown in the record provided.