Laws and Regulations
What Virginia Code Says
The Code of Virginia establishes all of the laws or statutes for the Commonwealth of Virginia. Many people know that the Code sets up criminal law but don't think about the other kinds of laws that are included. There are a number of parts of the Code that relate to persons who are deaf or hard of hearing. This page includes the following Code sections:
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[ About the VDDHH Advisory Board ]
[ Powers and Duties of the Advisory Board ]
[ Appointment of the Director ]
[ Definitions of Deaf and Hard of Hearing ]
[ Powers and Duties of the Agency ]
[ VDDHH Interpreter Services, including Quality Assurance Screening ]
[ Interpreter Services in Courts and Other State-related situations ]
[ About Telecommunications Relay in Virginia ]
[ Special License Plates ]
[ Visual Smoke Detectors ]
The following sections in the Code of Virginia establish the structure and authority for the Virginia Department for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing, including the agency’s Advisory Board and the scope of programs and services.
§ 51.5-106. (Effective October 1, 2002) Board established; appointment, terms and qualifications of members; meetings; chairman.
There is hereby continued an Advisory Board, hereinafter referred to as the Board, for the Department for the Deaf and Hard-of-Hearing.
The Board shall be composed of nine members appointed by the Governor as follows:
Four representatives of deafness-oriented professions concerned with the health, education, rehabilitation, mental health and welfare of the deaf and hard-of-hearing; four citizens who are deaf or hard-of-hearing; and one member who is a parent of a child who is deaf or hard-of-hearing. Appointments shall be for terms of four years. No person shall be eligible to serve more than two successive terms, except that a person appointed to fill a vacancy may serve two additional successive four-year terms. The Board shall meet at the call of the Chairman, who shall be selected by the Board from among its membership, but no less than four times a year.
(1984, c. 670, § 63.1-85.1:1; 2002, c. 747.)
§ 51.5-107. (Effective October 1, 2002) Powers and duties of Board.
The Board shall have the following powers and duties:
- To ensure the development of long-range programs and plans provided by the state and local governments for Virginians who are deaf or hard-of-hearing;
- To review and comment on all budgets and requests for appropriations for the Department prior to their submission to the Secretary of Health and Human Resources and the Governor and on all applications for federal funds; and
- To advise the Governor, Secretary of Health and Human Resources, Director and the General Assembly on matters related to Virginians who are deaf or hard-of-hearing. (1984, c. 670, § 63.1-85.1:3; 2002, c. 747.)
§ 51.5-108. (Effective October 1, 2002) Department for the Deaf and Hard-of-Hearing continued.
The Department for the Deaf and Hard-of-Hearing is continued. The Department shall be in the executive branch of the state government and shall be assigned to the Secretary of Health and Human Resources.
(1984, c. 670, § 63.1-85.1:2; 1985, c. 447; 2002, c. 747.)
§ 51.5-109. (Effective October 1, 2002) Director; appointment; compensation; qualifications.
The Governor shall appoint a Director of the Department who shall serve at the pleasure of the Governor and shall be paid such compensation as the Governor may fix.
The Director may be either a person who is deaf or hard-of-hearing or one with normal hearing, but shall be a trained professional who is experienced in problems of the deaf and hard-of-hearing and skilled in the use of manual communication, commonly referred to as sign language.
(1972, c. 543, § 63.1-85.2; 1978, c. 603; 1983, c. 440; 1984, c. 670; 2002, c. 747.)
§ 51.5-110. (Effective October 1, 2002) Powers and duties of Director.
- The Director shall have the following duties and powers:
- To supervise the administration of the Department;
- To prepare, approve, and submit all requests for appropriations and be responsible for all expenditures pursuant to appropriations;
- To employ such personnel as may be required to carry out the purposes of this chapter;
- To make and enter into all contracts and agreements necessary or incidental to the performance of the Department's duties and the execution of its powers under this chapter, including, but not limited to, contracts with the United States, other states, and agencies and governmental subdivisions of Virginia; and
- To accept grants from the United States government and agencies and instrumentalities thereof and any other source. To these ends, the Director shall have the power to comply with such conditions and execute such agreements as may be necessary, convenient or desirable.
- To effectuate the purposes of this chapter, the Director may request from any department, division, board, commission or other agency and the same shall provide such information, assistance and cooperation as will enable the Director properly to exercise his powers and perform his duties hereunder.
(1983, c. 440, § 63.1-85.2:1; 1984, c. 670; 1985, c. 397; 2002, c. 747.)
§ 51.5-111. (Effective October 1, 2002) Persons who are deaf or hard-of-hearing defined and categorized.
For the purposes of this chapter, persons who are deaf or hard-of-hearing include those who experience hearing losses that range from a mild hearing loss to a profound hearing loss. They are categorized as follows:
- Persons who are deaf are those whose hearing is totally impaired or whose hearing, with or without amplification, is so seriously impaired that the primary means of receiving spoken communication is through visual input such as lip-reading, sign language, finger spelling, reading or writing.
- Persons who are hard-of-hearing are those whose hearing is impaired to an extent that makes hearing difficult but does not preclude the understanding of spoken communication through the ear alone, with or without a hearing aid.
(1984, c. 670, § 63.1-85.3:1; 2002, c. 747.)
§ 51.5-112. (Effective October 1, 2002) Powers and duties of Department.
The Department shall have the following powers and duties:
- To develop a program to inform persons who are deaf or hard-of-hearing and the public of opportunities available for persons who are deaf or hard-of-hearing to fulfill their needs and solve certain problems through existing state and local services and to make available such other information as would be of value to families, professionals and other citizens working or involved in the deafness field;
- To promote a framework for consultation and cooperation among the state agencies and institutions serving persons who are deaf or hard-of-hearing;
- To aid in the provision of technical assistance and training within the Commonwealth in order to support efforts to initiate or improve programs and services for persons who are deaf or hard-of-hearing;
- To evaluate state programs that deliver services to persons who are deaf or hard-of-hearing to determine their effectiveness and to make recommendations to the appropriate government officials concerning the future financial support and continuation of such programs and the establishment of the new ones;
- To monitor state programs delivering services to persons who are deaf or hard-of-hearing to determine the extent to which services promised or mandated are delivered;
- To make appropriate recommendations for legislative changes to the Governor and General Assembly and to follow and evaluate federal legislation having a potential impact upon persons who are deaf or hard-of-hearing who live in the Commonwealth;
- To cooperate with schools for the deaf as provided in Chapter 19 (§ 22.1-346 et seq.) of Title 22.1 insofar as may be practicable;
- To operate a program of technology assistance and services to encourage independence of persons who are deaf, hard-of-hearing, or speech impaired, including the distribution of devices for the deaf and support of message relay services, through grants, contracts and other means, including a sliding fee scale where appropriate; and
- To adopt such regulations, consistent with this chapter, as may be necessary to carry out the purpose and intent of this chapter and other laws of the Commonwealth administered by the Director or the Department. Such regulations shall be binding on all officers, agents, and employees engaged in implementing the provisions of this chapter. (1972, c. 543, § 63.1-85.4; 1977, c. 668; 1983, c. 440; 1984, cc. 670, 734; 1988, c. 93; 1996, c. 471; 2002, c. 747.)
§ 51.5-113. (Effective October 1, 2002) Statewide interpreter service.
The Department is authorized to establish, maintain and coordinate a statewide service to provide courts, state and local legislative bodies and agencies, both public and private, and persons who are deaf or hard-of-hearing who request the same with qualified interpreters for persons who are deaf or hard-of-hearing out of such funds as may be appropriated to the Department for these purposes.
Those courts and state and local agencies that have funds designated to employ qualified interpreters shall pay for the actual cost of such interpreter. The Department is further authorized to establish and maintain lists of qualified interpreters for persons who are deaf or hard-of-hearing to be available to the courts, state and local legislative bodies and agencies, both public and private, and to persons who are deaf or hard-of-hearing.
The Department is authorized to charge a reasonable fee for the administration of quality assurance screening of interpreters. Such fees shall be applied to the costs of administering the statewide interpreter service.
For purposes of this section, a qualified interpreter shall be one who holds at least one of the following credentials:
- Certification from any national organization whose certification process has been recognized by the Department for the Deaf and Hard-of-Hearing; or
- . A current screening level awarded by the Virginia Quality Assurance Screening Program of the Department for the Deaf and Hard-of-Hearing; or
- A screening level or recognized evaluation from any other state when (i) the credentials meet the minimum requirements of Virginia Quality Assurance Screening and (ii) the credentials are valid and current in the state issued.
(1978, c. 603, § 63.1-85.4:1; 1984, c. 670; 1990, c. 192; 1992, c. 614; 2002, c. 747.)
§ 51.5-114. (Effective October 1, 2002) Gifts and donations; disposition of moneys received.
The Department is authorized to receive such gifts and donations, either from public or private sources, as may be offered unconditionally or under such conditions as in the judgment of the Department are proper and consistent with this chapter. All moneys received as gifts or donations or state appropriations shall be deposited in the state treasury to be used by the Department to defray expenses in performing its duties. A full report of all gifts and donations accepted, together with the names of the donors and the respective amounts contributed by each, and all disbursements there from, shall be submitted annually to the Governor by the Department.
(1972, c. 543, § 63.1-85.7; 1984, c. 670; 2002, c. 747.)
The following sections of the Code are about interpreter services in different situations:
§ 37.1-67.5. Same; interpreters for deaf persons in commitment or certification proceedings.
In any proceeding pursuant to § 37.1-65.1 or §§ 37.1-67.1 through 37.1-67.4 in which a deaf person is alleged to be mentally retarded or mentally ill, an interpreter for such deaf person shall be appointed by the justice of the court in which such proceeding is pending from a list of qualified interpreters provided by the Department for the Deaf and Hard-of-Hearing. Such interpreter shall be compensated as provided for in § 37.1-89.
(1976, c. 671; 1979, c. 204.)
§ 37.1-89. Fees and expenses.
Any special justice as defined in § 37.1-88 and any district court substitute judge who presides over hearings pursuant to the provisions of §§ 37.1-67.1 through 37.1-67.4 shall receive a fee of eighty-six dollars and twenty-five cents for each commitment hearing and his necessary mileage. Any special justice and any district court substitute judge who presides over a hearing shall receive a fee of forty-three dollars and twenty-five cents for each certification hearing and each order under § 37.1-134.21 ruling on competency or treatment and his necessary mileage.
Every physician, psychologist or other mental health professional, or interpreter for the deaf appointed pursuant to § 37.1-67.5 who is not regularly employed by the Commonwealth of Virginia who is required to serve as a witness or as an interpreter for the Commonwealth in any proceeding under this chapter shall receive a fee of seventy-five dollars and his necessary expenses for each commitment hearing in which he serves. Every physician, psychologist or other mental health professional, or interpreter for the deaf appointed pursuant to § 37.1-67.5 who is not regularly employed by the Commonwealth and who is required to serve as a witness or as an interpreter for the Commonwealth in any proceeding under this chapter shall receive a fee of forty-three dollars and twenty-five cents and necessary expenses for each certification hearing in which he serves. Other witnesses regularly summoned before a judge under the provisions of this chapter shall receive such compensation for their attendance and mileage as is allowed witnesses summoned to testify before grand juries. Every attorney appointed under § 37.1-65.1 or §§ 37.1-67.1 through 37.1-67.4 shall receive a fee of seventy-five dollars and his necessary expenses for each commitment hearing. Every attorney appointed shall receive a fee of forty-three dollars and twenty-five cents and his necessary expenses for each certification hearing and each proceeding under § 37.1-134.21.
Except as hereinafter provided, all expenses incurred, including the fees, attendance and mileage aforesaid, shall be paid by the Commonwealth. Any such fees, costs and expenses incurred in connection with an examination or hearing for an admission pursuant to § 37.1-65.1 or §§ 37.1-67.1 through 37.1-67.4 in carrying out the provisions of this chapter or in connection with a proceeding under § 37.1-134.21, when paid by the Commonwealth, shall be recoverable by the Commonwealth from the person who is the subject of the examination, hearing or proceeding, or from his estate. Such collection or recovery may be undertaken by the Department. All such fees, costs and expenses, if collected or recovered by the Department, shall be refunded to the Commonwealth. No such fees or costs shall be recovered, however, from the person who is the subject of the examination or his estate when no good cause for his admission exists or when the recovery would create an undue financial hardship.
(Code 1950, § 37-75; 1950, pp. 906, 1596; 1954, c. 194; 1956, c. 445; 1958, c. 346; 1962, c. 20; 1964, c. 640; 1968, c. 477; 1970, c. 673; 1975, c. 197; 1976, cc. 374, 459, 671; 1977, c. 674; 1979, c. 204; 1982, c. 454; 1989, c. 591; 1991, c. 86; 1995, c. 844; 1996, c. 893; 1997, c. 921; 1998, c. 455.)
§ 8.01-384.1. Interpreters for deaf in civil proceedings.
In any civil proceeding in which a speech-impaired or hearing-impaired person is a party or witness, the court may appoint a qualified interpreter to assist such person in the proceeding. The court shall appoint an interpreter for any speech-impaired or hearing-impaired person who requests this assistance.
Interpreters for the deaf in these proceedings shall be procured through the Department for the Deaf and Hard-of-Hearing.
Any person who is eligible for an interpreter pursuant to this section may waive the use of an interpreter appointed by the court for all or a portion of the proceedings. A person who waives his right to an interpreter may provide his own interpreter at his own expense without regard to whether the interpreter is qualified under this section.
The compensation of interpreters appointed pursuant to this section shall be fixed by the court and paid from the general fund of the state treasury or may, in the discretion of the court, be assessed as a part of the cost of the proceedings.
The provisions of this section shall apply in both circuit courts and district courts.
(1982, c. 444.)
§ 8.01-400.1. Privileged communications by interpreters for the deaf.
Whenever a deaf person communicates through an interpreter to any person under such circumstances that the communication would be privileged, and such person could not be compelled to testify as to the communications, this privilege shall also apply to the interpreter.
(1978, c. 601.)
§ 8.01-406. Interpreters; recording testimony of deaf witness.
Interpreters shall be sworn truly so to do. In any judicial proceeding, the judge on his own motion or on the motion of a party to the proceeding may order all of the testimony of a deaf individual and the interpretation thereof to be visually electronically recorded for use in verification of the official transcript of the proceedings.
(Code 1950, § 8-295; 1977, c. 617; 1978, c. 601.)
§ 8.01-44.3. Divulgence of communications by qualified interpreters and communications assistants.
If the content of any communication which is facilitated for compensation in the professional capacity of a qualified interpreter, as defined in § 51.5-113, or in the professional capacity of any communications assistant employed by the statewide dual party relay service established under Article 5 (§ 56-484.4 et seq.) of Chapter 15 of Title 56, is divulged by such interpreter or assistant, any such party to the communication aggrieved by such divulgence may recover from such interpreter or assistant the greater of (i) actual damages sustained, together with costs and reasonable attorneys' fees, or (ii) $100. No such recovery shall be permitted if the interpreter or assistant and the parties to the communication have agreed that the interpreter or assistant may divulge the content of the communication.
(1992, c. 614.)
These sections are about Telecommunications Relay Service in Virginia:
§ 56-484.4. Definitions.
As used in this article, unless the context otherwise requires, the term:
"Department" means the Department for the Deaf and Hard-of-Hearing.
"Operation" means those functions reasonably and directly necessary for the provision of telecommunications relay service, including contract procurement and administration, and public education and information regarding such service.
"Telecommunications relay service" means a facility whereby a person who has a hearing or speech disability using a text telephone and a person using a conventional telephone device can communicate with each other via telephone.
"Telephone company" means a certificated local exchange telephone company which owns, manages, or controls any plant or equipment or any part of a plant or equipment within the Commonwealth for the conveyance of telephone messages, either directly or indirectly.
"Voice carry over" means technology that will enable a deaf or hard-of-hearing person with good speech to use his voice, instead of the text telephone, to communicate back to the hearing person.
(1990, c. 465; 1992, c. 549; 1996, c. 68.)
§ 56-484.5. Provision of service; minimum standards.
The Department, with the assistance of the Commission, shall be responsible for the provision and operation of telecommunications relay service for all text telephones within the Commonwealth. Such service shall include at a minimum:
- Twenty-four-hour-a-day, seven-day-a-week statewide access with no limitations or restrictions that are not applicable to voice users of the telephone network;
- An answer rate that ensures that at least eighty-five percent of the incoming calls are operator-answered within twenty seconds and at least ninety-nine percent of incoming calls answered within sixty seconds;
- Technological advances, including the capability of voice carry over; and
- . Adequate facilities and personnel to ensure that calls are interpreted accurately; notwithstanding this provision, unless miscommunication on a call is caused by the willful misconduct of the telecommunications relay service provider, liability of the telecommunications relay service provider shall be limited to the charges imposed on users for the call.
(1990, c. 465; 1992, c. 549; 1996, c. 68.)
§ 56-484.6. Funding.
- All costs associated with the establishment and operation of the telecommunications relay service, including but not limited to personnel costs incurred by the Department for administering the service, shall be funded through an assessment made by the Commission to telephone companies and any money transferred from the Department as provided for in subsection C of this section. The Commission shall consider market share, revenue, number of customers, and any other factors the Commission considers relevant in fairly apportioning such costs among the companies; such assessments, when appropriate, may be zero. The assessments shall be based on projected costs and special interim assessments may be made if actual costs exceed projections. No assessment shall be made and no funds shall be expended to support any activities which are not reasonably and directly necessary for the operation of the telecommunications relay service as defined herein.
- In order to defray the assessments referred to in subsection A of this section, the Commission shall authorize such rate surcharges as it deems reasonable. Each telephone company shall be allowed a commission, as determined by the Commission not to exceed three percent of the surcharge, to cover the costs associated with the collection of the surcharge.
- The Department shall transfer any funds received from the National Exchange Carrier Association, or other funding sources for purposes of operating telecommunications relay services, to the Commission for costs associated with telecommunications relay service.
(1990, c. 465; 1992, c. 549; 1996, c. 68.)
This section is about special license plates for persons who are deaf or hard of hearing:
§ 46.2-732. Special license plates and decals for the deaf; fees.
On receipt of an application, the Commissioner shall issue appropriately designed license plates to deaf persons. For purposes of this section, a deaf person shall be defined as a person who cannot hear and understand normal speech. The fee for these license plates shall be as provided in § 46.2-694.
The Commissioner shall also issue to any deaf person a removable decal, to be used on any passenger car, pickup or panel truck operated by such person. The decals shall be of a design determined by the Commissioner and shall be displayed in a manner determined by the Superintendent of State Police. A reasonable fee to be determined by the Commissioner shall be charged each person issued a decal under this section, but no fee shall be charged any person exempted from fees by § 46.2-739.
It shall be unlawful for any person who is not a person described in this section to willfully and falsely represent himself as having the qualifications to obtain the special plates or decal.
The provisions of subdivisions 1 and 2 of subsection B of § 46.2-725 shall not apply to license plates issued under this section.
(1979, c. 74, § 46.1-104.2; 1989, c. 727; 1995, c. 747.)
The Code has specific language about smoke detectors in rental properties, multi-family dwellings and dormitories:
§ 36-99.5. Smoke detectors for the deaf and hearing-impaired.
Smoke detectors providing an effective intensity of not less than 100 candela to warn a deaf or hearing-impaired individual shall be provided, upon request by the occupant to the landlord or proprietor, to any deaf or hearing-impaired occupant of any of the following occupancies, regardless of when constructed:
- All dormitory buildings arranged for the shelter and sleeping accommodations of more than twenty individuals;
- All multiple-family dwellings having more than two dwelling units, including all dormitories, boarding and lodging houses arranged for shelter and sleeping accommodations of more than five individuals; or
- All buildings arranged for use of one-family or two-family dwelling units.
A tenant shall be responsible for the maintenance and operation of the smoke detector in the tenant's unit.
A hotel or motel shall have available no fewer than one such smoke detector for each seventy units or portion thereof, except that this requirement shall not apply to any hotel or motel with fewer than thirty-five units. The proprietor of the hotel or motel shall post in a conspicuous place at the registration desk or counter a permanent sign stating the availability of smoke detectors for the hearing-impaired. Visual detectors shall be provided for all meeting rooms for which an advance request has been made.
The proprietor or landlord may require a refundable deposit for a smoke detector, not to exceed the original cost or replacement cost, whichever is greater, of the smoke detector. Rental fees shall not be increased as compensation for this requirement.
Landlords shall notify hearing-impaired tenants of the availability of special smoke detectors; however, no landlord shall be civilly or criminally liable for failure to so notify. New tenants shall be asked, in writing, at the time of rental, whether visual smoke detectors will be needed.
Failure to comply with the provisions of this section within a reasonable time shall be punishable as a Class 3 misdemeanor.
This law shall have no effect upon existing local law or regulation which exceeds the provisions prescribed herein.
(1984, c. 753; 1988, c. 183.)
