SB 645

State Board of Sign Language Interpreters - Membership and Licensing

Sponsor: Nancy J. King (District 39)Committee: Education, Energy, and the EnvironmentSubject: State Government - Agencies, Offices, and OfficialsStatus: Approved by the Governor - Chapter 196 (as of Sep 4, 2026)

What this bill does

Official synopsis

Expanding the membership of and altering the quorum requirements for the State Board of Sign Language Interpreters; requiring the nomination process to include outreach to underrepresented deaf, deafblind, and interpreter communities; authorizing the Governor to remove certain members of the Board under certain circumstances; altering the date, from July 1, 2024, to July 1, 2027, by which the Board must establish certain licensing requirements and by which sign language interpreters must meet certain licensing requirements; etc.

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Testimony (42)

MGA witness list

FAV 14FavorableFWA 19Favorable with amendmentsUNF 8UnfavorableINFO 1Information only

Position	Witness	Organization	Testimony
FAV	Halliburton, Diamon	Governor's Office of the Deaf and Hard of Hearing	Position only
FAV	Halliburton, Diamon	Governor's Office of the Deaf and Hard of Hearing	Written (PDF)
FAV	Mathias, Sam	Maryland Association of Boards of Education	Written (PDF)
FAV	Blackfield, Anne	Maryland Department of Disabilities (MDOD)	Written (PDF)
FAV	Fulginiti, Andrew	Maryland Department of Labor	Written (PDF)
FAV	Whitaker, Jakelobbyist	Maryland Hospital Association	Oral + Written (PDF)
FAV	Woodward, Anzer Nikki	Maryland State Education Association	Written (PDF)
FAV	Goldstein, Laura	Montgomery County Counseling Center	Position only
FAV	Cano, Christopherlobbyist	SEIU Local 500	Oral + Written (PDF)
FAV	Tilburg, Will	University of Maryland Medical System	Written (PDF)
FAV	Clark, Andy	Individual	Written (PDF)
FAV	King, Senator Nancy	Individual	Written (PDF)
FAV	Senator King, Senator Kinglegislator	Individual	Oral
FAV	Senator King, Senator Kinglegislator	Individual	Oral
UNF	Millios, William	Maryland Association of the Deaf	Oral
UNF	C. Boykins, PCRID Vice President	Potomac Chapter RID	Oral + Written (PDF)
UNF	Dittmer, Emily	Potomac Chapter RID	Written (PDF)
UNF	Abdilah, Shelby	Potomac Chapter of the Registry of Interpreters for the Deaf	Oral + Written (PDF)
UNF	Delahoussaye, Blaise	Individual	Written (PDF)
UNF	Hedberg, Karl Ulf	Individual	Written (PDF)
UNF	Rosenthal, Lore	Individual	Written (PDF)
UNF	Weinstock, Robert	Individual	Written (PDF)
FWA	Wilson, Grace	Anne Arundel County Public Schools	Written (PDF)
FWA	Howard County, Staff	Board of Education of Howard County	Written (PDF)
FWA	Dier, Hannah	Governor's Office	Oral
FWA	DeBerry, Usherla	Governors Office of the Deaf and Hard of Hearing	Written (PDF)
FWA	Gyamfi, Laura	Governor’s Office	Oral
FWA	Witten, Jenniferlobbyist	LifeBridge Health	Written (PDF)
FWA	Mathias, Sam	Maryland Association of Boards of Education	Oral
FWA	MDAD President, MDAD President	Maryland Association of the Deaf	Written (PDF)
FWA	Whitaker, Jakelobbyist	Maryland Hospital Association	Oral + Written (PDF)
FWA	Woodward, Anzer Nikki	Maryland State Education Association	Oral + Written (PDF)
FWA	Ursprung, Patricia	Montgomery County Board of Education	Written (PDF)
FWA	Fannon, Mary Patlobbyist	PSSAM	Position only
FWA	Tilburg, Will	University of Maryland Medical System	Oral + Written (PDF)
FWA	Alianiello, David	Individual	Written (PDF)
FWA	Clark, Andy	Individual	Written (PDF)
FWA	Fannon, Mary Patlobbyist	Individual	Oral
FWA	King, Senator Nancy	Individual	Written (PDF)
FWA	Leffler, Jacob	Individual	Oral
FWA	Morales, Michelle	Individual	Written (PDF)
INFO	Pelz, Suzanne	Individual	Written (PDF)