Montgomery County - Department of Health and Human Services - Commission on People with Disabilities

Commission on People with Disabilities

A man who is blind and has a service animal, a young man with Down Syndrome, a person using sign language, a child who uses a wheelchair learning to play baseball, a husband comforting his wife, a man who uses a wheelchair, and several individuals with intellectual disabilities

Patricia Gallalee , Chair • Karen Morgret, Vice-Chair

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ANCHOR

Member Orientation, Attendance and Training Documents

Montgomery County Boards, Committees, and Commissions (BCC) Member Information
- Montgomery County BCC Required Training, Attendance Policy and Pertinent Websites
- Montgomery County BCC Member Information
Maryland Open Meetings Act - Publics' Right to 'Observe' Meeting
- - Maryland Open Meetings Act: The right to “observe” a meeting Section 3-303(a) provides: “Whenever a public body meets in open session, the general public is entitled to attend.” That means that members of the public may attend a meeting and observe it. With one exception pertaining to the closing of a meeting (see Chapter 5), it does not mean that they are entitled to speak. See City of New Carrollton v. Rogers, 287 Md. 56, 72 (1980) (“While the Act does not afford the public any right to participate in the meetings, it does assure the public right to observe the deliberative Chapter 3: Open Meeting Requirement Open Meetings Act Manual (11th ed., October 2022) 3-2 process and the making of decisions by the public body at open meetings.”). So, unless the public body is governed by laws that require the particular public body to receive public comment, the decision of whether to allow members of the public to speak is up to the public body.
  - (“A public body . . . does not violate the Act by failing to provide members of the public with the ability to offer oral comments during a meeting.”); 8 OMCB Opinions 84, 85 (2012).
Montgomery County Commission on People with Disabilities (CPWD) Orientation
- CPWD Orientation Outline - 2023
- CPWD New Member Orientation PowerPoint Presentation - 2022 (PDF)
Facts / Forms
Directories
- Disability Network Directory
- Transportation Network Directory for People with Disabilities and Adults 50+
Montgomery County Government Organization
Legislation - Legal / By-Laws
Commission Information
Mandatory Trainings
- Maryland Open Meetings Act & Parliamentary Procedures Training

Staff

Support to the Commission is provided by:

Betsy Luecking, Community Outreach Manager
Carly Clem, Administrative Specialist I
Email: [email protected]

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