Baltimore County administrator orders legal review of Human Relations Commission, vows training and limited budget support

DeAndrea Walker, Baltimore County's county administrative officer, told the Human Relations Commission on the evening of the meeting that she has asked the county's Office of Law to review the commission's founding bill and bylaws, which date to 1963, after finding inconsistent articles and missing institutional records. Walker said the review will determine whether the commission has the legal framework and support to exercise powers such as holding public hearings, issuing subpoenas or imposing sanctions.

Walker said staff turnover over the past year left gaps in institutional memory. "When Ramona left and Savitra left, there's no documents," she said, noting minutes, bylaws and the commission handbook are incomplete or missing. To protect both the commission and the county, Walker said the Office of Law will analyze Articles 3, 11 and 29 and the bill that created the commission to identify conflicting language and corrective steps.

She said the county will pursue a two-step approach: an initial comparison of Baltimore County's commission structure with peer jurisdictions and then, if needed, hiring a consultant and working closely with the Office of Law to correct inconsistencies. Walker told commissioners she expects an initial analysis within 30 days but cautioned that any bill to change the commission's enabling language could take a minimum of 60 days to process.

While the legal review proceeds, Walker said the commission will continue to accept complaints. "We're still gonna take in the complaints," she said, "but we're gonna partner with areas that have experts in those complaint areas to get them to advise on ruling on those complaints along with the commission." She framed the change as protective: the goal is to ensure rulings have a legal standing and reduce county liability.

On funding and operations, Walker said DEI and human resources budgets are subject to council approval and cannot be informally reallocated. She said county practice generally does not put more than $5,000 into any board or commission budget, but pledged in-kind support from county services (printing and staff assistance) and encouraged the commission to submit formal budget requests by January for FY27 consideration. "If you would like for the county to give you all a budget, you should submit a budget to me by the month of January," she said.

Commissioners asked about training and reliance on outside sources. Commissioner Shah asked who had been reviewing complaints and whether commissioners would receive training before adjudicating cases; Walker and representatives from the Office of Law said training is necessary and the county will cover training costs. Commissioners also raised concerns about using AI tools for legal interpretation; Walker and a county attorney present warned that models such as ChatGPT are not a reliable authority for legal determinations.

Walker also noted personnel changes and appointments: two commissioners resigned since the prior meeting, leaving four vacancies; several appointments expire Dec. 31, 2025, and staff are coordinating reappointments and new fills with the appointments office. She committed to meeting with the commission every two weeks while the review proceeds and to bringing the county attorney or his staff to future meetings for legal support.

The commission did not take formal legislative action at the meeting; it approved the meeting agenda and prior minutes by voice votes earlier in the session. The next in-person meeting was announced for Wednesday, Dec. 10 at 6 p.m. in Towson.