Commissions, Task Forces & Boards
The Secretary of the Maryland Department of Veterans Affairs is assisted and advised on veteran issues by several Commissions. These include: the Maryland Veterans Commission; the Maryland Veterans Home Commission; the War Memorial Commission; and the Maryland Military Monuments Commission.
At times when it becomes necessary to address a particular veteran issue a commission, board or task force is formed to study or evaluate the issue and the findings are reported to the Governor and General Assembly. The reports of these commissions, boards and task forces are then utilized to take necessary actions to resolve that particular veteran issue. An example of one such Board is the Veterans Behavioral Health Advisory Board, which is staffed by MDVA in partnership with the Department of Health and Mental Hygiene. The Board was formed to advise the Governor and General Assembly in matters related to veterans’ access to behavioral health care.
- Maryland Veterans Commission
- Veterans Home Commission
- War Memorial Commission
- Veterans Behavioral Health Advisory Board
- Maryland Military Monuments Commission
- Commission on the Establishment of a Maryland Women in Military Service Monument
Maryland Veterans Commission
Origins of the Maryland Veterans Commission trace to 1924, when the Soldiers' Relief Fund Commission formed to administer a State relief fund for disabled veterans of World War I. The Commission became the Veterans Relief Commission in 1929. It was renamed the Maryland Veterans Commission in 1935. In 1971, the Commission joined the Department of Employment and Social Services, which was renamed the Department of Human Resources in 1975. In 1977, the Commission was made an independent agency. With the Maryland Veterans Home Commission and the War Memorial Commission, the Maryland Veterans Commission became part of the Department of Veterans Affairs in October 1999.
The Commission advises the Secretary on all issues relating to veterans.
Twenty-seven Maryland veterans comprise the Commission. They are appointed to five-year terms by the Governor and the Governor names the Chair.
Read more about the Veterans Commission.
Veterans Home Commission
The Maryland Veterans Home Commission was created in 1975 to provide a home for veterans in Maryland. In 1999, the Commission became part of the Department of Veterans Affairs. The Commission advises the Department on issues relating to the State veterans home. The only veterans home in Maryland is Charlotte Hall Veterans Home in St. Mary's County.
The Commission has fourteen members. Eleven are named to five-year terms by the Governor with Senate advice and consent, three serve ex officio.
Read more about the Home Commission.
War Memorial Commission
Authorization for the War Memorial Commission was enacted in 1924. In 1970, the Commission became part of the Department of General Services. It was transferred to the Department of Veterans Affairs in 1999.
The War Memorial Building and the War Memorial Plaza were erected in 1927 in Baltimore to honor those Marylanders who died in World War I. The War Memorial Building lies directly across from City Hall, and, with the Plaza, was designed by Baltimore architect, Lawrence Hall Fowler.
The Building is open and available for meetings of veterans' groups and patriotic societies, and for civic gatherings. Maintenance costs are shared equally by the State and the City of Baltimore.
The Commission's ten members serve five-year terms. Five are appointed by the Secretary of Veterans Affairs with the Governor's approval, and five by the Mayor of Baltimore.