State Board of Sign Language Interpreters - Membership and Licensing
HB1192 revises Maryland’s State Board of Sign Language Interpreters and the state’s interpreter licensing framework. The bill expands the Board from 7 to 11 members, changes how members are selected, and adds new categories of representation, including additional licensed interpreters, an interpreter agency representative, members affiliated with entities providing deaf services in educational, legal, or medical settings, and two ex officio nonvoting cabinet designees. It also updates quorum rules, strengthens removal provisions for attendance and misconduct, and requires broader outreach in the nomination process to underrepresented deaf, deafblind, and interpreter communities.
The bill also delays and refines implementation of Maryland’s interpreter licensing system. It extends the deadline for the Board to publish licensing requirements, adjusts the date when interpreters must meet those requirements, changes application documentation rules, and requires the Board to grant waivers for out-of-state licensees when qualifications are substantially equivalent and reciprocity exists. In addition, it directs the Board to study and report on specialty licensure areas before adopting related regulations, including legal, medical, educational, behavioral health, conference, tactile, and other specialized interpreting services. The bill further requires regulations on video remote interpreting, interpreter agency standards, and accommodations for deaf and hard of hearing individuals’ preferences between remote and in-person services, to the extent practicable and consistent with federal disability law.
HB1192 amends provisions in the State Government Article governing the Office of the Deaf and Hard of Hearing and the State Board of Sign Language Interpreters, and it also revises implementation dates in the 2023 interpreter licensing acts (Chapters 269 and 270). It changes board composition, reporting duties, licensing application requirements, waiver authority, and the timeline for statewide licensure compliance, while adding new regulatory and reporting obligations related to specialty interpreting and video remote interpreting. The bill affects sign language interpreters, interpreter agencies, public entities that provide accommodations, and deaf and hard of hearing individuals who rely on interpretation services.
The bill appears to have broad support and little visible opposition. It passed the House 122-0 and the Senate 43-0, indicating unanimous approval in both chambers. The absence of committee transcript material suggests no recorded controversy in the provided context, and the final enactment as Chapter 195 reflects a generally favorable view of the bill’s administrative and implementation changes.
The main policy issues in the bill are not partisan but operational: how to structure the Board, how quickly licensing should be fully implemented, and how to balance standardized licensure with access to services in specialized settings. Potential points of tension include the expanded board membership and representation requirements, the mandate to study specialty licensure before adopting separate standards, and the requirement that public entities accommodate a deaf or hard of hearing individual’s preference for remote versus in-person interpreting to the extent practicable. The bill also addresses reciprocity and waiver standards for out-of-state interpreters, which could matter to applicants and licensing regulators, but no direct opposition is reflected in the available voting record.