1989 legislative PRIORITIES FOR THE BLIND
THE 1989 SESSION OF THE MARYLAND GENERAL ASSEMBLY
The 1989 legislative season is a busy one for the NFB of Maryland. We are seeking help from the General Assembly in five areas. Two of these areas concern the Governor's proposed budget. We want the Maryland General Assembly to approve the funding for construction of a new building for the Maryland State Library for the Blind and Physically Handicapped. We are also reminding officials that the Library needs more staff. Expanded staff positions should include a secretary, a children's librarian, a full time volunteer coordinator and additional professional librarians.
The NFB of Maryland is asking the General Assembly to cut that portion of the BISM budget designated for the training program until BISM initiates a program that will enable blind persons to seek competitive employment. (see article on page 1.)
The three issues are: education of blind children, HB 379 (property tax exemption for blind vendors on
state-owned equipment), and HB 366 (pedestrian rights). These concerns are outlined in the following fact sheets. Please write to your delegates and senators to ask them to support these measures.
EDUCATION OF BLIND CHILDREN PROPOSED ACTION
The Maryland General Assembly should request that the Maryland State Department of Education include in COMAR 13A.0l.05 (Programs for Handicapped Children) specific descriptions of reading skills and travel instructions to be offered to blind students.
The Administrative, Executive, and Legislative Review Committee should hold hearings on COMAR 13A.0l.05 (Programs for Handicapped Children) to ensure that blind students receive adequate special education services.
BACKGROUND
The Maryland State Department of Education is seeking public comment on Comar 13a.0501, Programs for Handicapped Children. By Executive Order 01.01.1986.01 (requiring the Maryland State Department of Education to review all of its regulations), these regulations are being revised to ensure compliance with federal law, to remove archaic language, and to clarify the meanings of these rules.
The National Federation of the Blind of Maryland finds two serious omissions in the proposed regulations.
- In the definition of "special education," the alternative reading and writing techniques for blind students are not listed. Blind and visually impaired students need an array of alternative techniques to achieve literacy. These techniques include: Braille reading and writing, typing, using recorded books, using readers, etc. Many blind students graduate from high school as functional illiterates because the local education agency assumed that they did not need this specialized training.
In the section on related services, mobility services are not described. There is no consistency in the quality of mobility services offered to blind students. Some local education agencies provide no training. Others merely teach the student how to get around in the immediate environment. A few local education agencies transport students to a variety of sites so that they can learn how to navigate on escalators, buses, and subways. Every blind student needs all of these learning experiences.
Listing and clarification of literacy and mobility skills and services for blind students is necessary because the needs of blind students differ from the needs of other handicapped students, they are frequently not provided, and parents often do
not know enough to ask for them. Even when parents request these instructional services, local education agencies often refuse to comply.
During the past few years, the National Federation of the Blind of Maryland has expressed these concerns to the Maryland State Department of Education. To date, the Department of Education refuses to listen and has not taken action. The blind children of Maryland need your help.
MARYLAND BLIND VENDORS PROPOSED ACTION
The Maryland General Assembly should amend the Property Tax Article to exempt managers in the Maryland Blind Vending Program from trader licenses, restaurant licenses, and property taxes on state-owned property.
BACKGROUND
The Randolph-Sheppard Vending Program for the Blind provides employment for 85 blind men and women in Maryland. Blind vendors operate their own businesses on federal, state, and municipal facilities, such as the Legislative Services Building and the Senate Office Building. They operate everything from small newspaper and candy stands to full-service cafeterias.
In Maryland, the Maryland State Department of Education, Division of Vocational Rehabilitation is responsible for the operation of the Randolph-Sheppard Vending Program for the Blind. The Maryland State Department of Education owns all of the equipment that vendors use to operate their businesses.
During the past few years, confusion has developed among state officials on the issue of property taxes owed by blind vendors on state-owned equipment. This confusion began when some of the blind vendors were told to obtain trader's licenses. When the Property Tax Assessment Office saw these licenses, it automatically assessed the blind vendors. However, the blind vendors correctly argued that one state agency can not tax another state agency's property, and have refused to pay these taxes. Clarification in the tax code is necessary to avoid this bureaucratic confusion.
Trader and restaurant licenses are primarily licenses which initiate the taxing process. Since property taxes should be exempted for blind vendors, there is also no reason to initiate the taxing process by requiring these licenses.
The National Federation of the Blind of Maryland urges you to put into law what is already common practice. Amending the Property Tax Article of the annotated code of Maryland to exempt blind vendors from paying property tax on state-owned equipment will not cause any loss of revenue to the state. It will merely end an argument between state agencies. Blind vendors should not
be harassed to pay property taxes on equipment that belongs to the State of Maryland.
PEDESTRIAN SAFETY PROPOSED ACTION
The Maryland General Assembly should amend the Transportation Article and the White Cane Law granting all pedestrians the right-of-way at all intersections.
BACKGROUND
The automobile is the most popular form of transportation in the United States. Pedestrians are a forgotten minority in today's society. statistics demonstrate that pedestrians need greater protection. The U.S. Department of Transportation estimates that 50% of the motor vehicle fatalities in urban areas are pedestrian, and that 20% of the motor vehicle fatalities nationwide are pedestrian.
Laws protecting pedestrians vary from state to state. Most states make provisions in their laws for blind pedestrians.
These laws recognize that blind persons are capable travelers, guarantee our right to access on the streets and highways, and caution drivers to look for blind pedestrians. In Maryland, these provisions are found in Section 25-11 of the Transportation Article and Section 33E of the Maryland White Cane Law (Article 30). Drivers must yield the right-of-way to blind pedestrians if they are in regulated or unregulated crosswalks.
Under current laws, however, when a blind pedestrian is struck by a vehicle, investigating law enforcement officials must place the burden of proof on the location of the blind person relative to the crosswalk, rather than on the driver's actions and judgement. Since crosswalks are designated by painted lines, it is easy for a blind person to inadvertently step outside the crosswalk, thus relinquishing his protection under the White Cane Law and the Transportation Article.
In 1987, two blind persons were struck and killed by a driver of an automobile in Montgomery County. The driver could not be charged with a violation of the transportation Article or the White Cane Law because the blind victims were not within the boundaries of the crosswalk. In spite of witnesses claims of extremely poor judgement exercised by the driver, the driver merely received a $40 fine for negligence.
In 1987, the Governor's Task Force on the White Cane Law concluded that blind pedestrians do not require a greater degree of protection under the law than do sighted pedestrians. It recommended amending the traffic laws to ensure the right-of-way to all pedestrians at all intersections. Since blind persons can determine that they are at an intersection, adopting this change will eliminate the blind persons's need to guess at the precise location of the crosswalk.
The National Federation of the Blind of Maryland urges you to extend the right-of-way to all pedestrians. Pedestrians deserve the same right to have access to the streets and highways as those who travel in vehicles. Both drivers and pedestrians should exercise proper caution and assume equal liability. If an accident occurs, blind pedestrians will have the same opportunity to claim damages as any other pedestrian. Each case will be judged on its merit. We must eliminate the ambiguity in the law and the assumption that the blind pedestrian is at fault in every accident.