Part III – General Administration
Current through 2026-07-17. Source: City of Balt., Md., Ord. 26-129. Published by the Baltimore City Department of Legislative Reference.
Balt., Md., Code art. 8, § 3-16 (2026)
§ 3-16 Forms.LinkCopy Citation
The Ethics Board must prepare and distribute all forms required by <cite data-path="|8">this article</cite>.
History: Ord. 04-795
Balt., Md., Code art. 8, § 3-17 (2026)
§ 3-17 Review of statements and reports.LinkCopy Citation
As required by the Ethics Board from time to time, the Executive Director must:
(1)
review statements and reports filed in accordance with Subtitle 7 {”Financial Disclosure”} and Subtitle 8 {”Lobbying”} of <cite data-path="|8">this article</cite>; and
(2)
notify individuals who submit documents under those subtitles of any omissions or deficiencies.
History: Ord. 04-795
Balt., Md., Code art. 8, § 3-18 (2026)
§ 3-18 Records.LinkCopy Citation
(a)Board to maintain.
The Ethics Board must retain all documents filed with it and all other records of the Board for at least:
(1)
4 years; or
(2)
if longer, the period set by the Archives and Records Management Committee in consultation with the Ethics Board.
(b)Public access.
The Ethics Board must make these documents and other records available for public inspection and copying during regular office hours.
(c)Fees and procedures.
The Ethics Board may charge a reasonable fee for the examination and copying of documents or other records.
History: Ord. 04-795
Balt., Md., Code art. 8, § 3-19 (2026)
§ 3-19 Public awareness.LinkCopy Citation
The Ethics Board must publish and make publicly available information that explains the provisions of <cite data-path="|8">this article</cite>, the duties imposed by it, and the means for enforcing it.
History: Ord. 04-795
Balt., Md., Code art. 8, § 3-20 (2026)
§ 3-20 Training courses.LinkCopy Citation
(a)Board to offer.
The Ethics Board must develop and offer a training course of not less than 2 hours on the requirements of <cite data-path="|8">this article</cite>.
(b)Officials required to take.
(1)
Except as provided in paragraph (2) of this subsection, every official must complete the training course within 6 months of his or her appointment or reappointment to office.
(2)
The training requirements of this subsection do not apply to:
(i)
an official who, within the 3 years preceding his or her appointment or reappointment, completed a training course provided under this section; or
(ii)
an individual who is an official only by virtue of being a board member, unless the board:
(A)
is one of the entities listed in <cite data-path="|8|§7-8">§ 7-8 {“[Disclosures statements] – Agency officials and staff”} of this article</cite>; or
(B)
performs one of the functions described in <cite data-path="|8|§7-9">§ 7-9 {“[Disclosure statements] – Procurement, legislative liaison, and enforcement personnel”} of this article</cite>.
(c)Availability to others.
(1)
After consultation with the Board, an agency head may authorize or require one or more classes of agency employees to attend the training course.
(2)
On request of the agency head, the Board must offer the training course to those employees as soon as practicable.
(3)
The Board must annually notify agency heads of the availability of the training course under this subsection.
(d)Assistance.
The Department of Human Resources must provide the Ethics Board with:
(1)
appropriate facilities for conducting the training course;
(2)
timely notice of the appointment of all officials subject to the training requirements; and
(3)
administrative and other assistance.
History: Ord. 04-795
History: Ord. 04-822
History: Ord. 10-272
History: Ord. 16-585
Balt., Md., Code art. 8, § 3-21 (2026)
§ 3-21 Conflicts affidavit.LinkCopy Citation
(a)Officials to file.
Each official must, within 6 months of his or her initial appointment to office, complete and file with the Ethics Board and with that official’s appointing authority, an affidavit that certifies, under penalties of perjury, that the official:
(1)
has read and understands the provisions of <cite data-path="|8">this article</cite> governing conflicts of interest;
(2)
is not then in violation of those provisions; and
(3)
obligates himself or herself to comply with those provisions in all future activities.
(b)Form.
The affidavit must be in the form that the Ethics Board requires.
History: Ord. 04-795
History: Ord. 17-068
Balt., Md., Code art. 8, § 3-22 (2026)
§ 3-22 Oaths and subpoenas.LinkCopy Citation
(a)In general.
The Ethics Board and Executive Director each may:
(1)
administer oaths; and
(2)
issue subpoenas for the attendance of witnesses to testify or to produce other evidence.
(b)Judicial enforcement.
A subpoena issued under this section may be judicially enforced.
History: Ord. 04-795
Balt., Md., Code art. 8, § 3-23 (2026)
§ 3-23 Filing fees.LinkCopy Citation
(a)In general.
Except as otherwise specified in <cite data-path="|8">this article</cite>, the Ethics Board may charge reasonable filing fees for statements, reports, and other documents filed under <cite data-path="|8">this article</cite>.
(b)No fee for timely disclosure statement.
The Board may not charge a fee for a disclosure statement timely filed under Subtitle 7 {“Financial Disclosure”} of <cite data-path="|8">this article</cite>.
(c)Late fees.
The fees charged may include late fees for any document that is filed after the applicable deadline.
History: Ord. 04-795
History: Ord. 13-180
Balt., Md., Code art. 8, § 3-24 (2026)
§ 3-24 Notices to new appointees.LinkCopy Citation
(a)General – Notice required.
An individual who is appointed to fill a vacancy in a position must be given written notice, in a form approved by the Ethics Board, of the requirements of:
(1)
§ 3-20 {“Training courses”};
(2)
§ 3-21 {“Conflicts affidavit”}; and
(3)
§ 7-12 {“Financial Disclosure: Appointee to vacancy”}.
(b)General – By whom given.
(1)
For Board members and uncompensated appointees of the Mayor, the notice required by subsection (a) of this section must be given by the Mayor or the Mayor’s designee.
(2)
For all other appointees, the notice must be given by the appointee’s agency head or the agency head’s designee.
(c)General – When to be given.
The notice required by subsection (a) of this section must be given within 5 days after the appointment.
(d)General – Notice to be signed.
(1)
To evidence receipt by the appointee and understanding of the appointee’s responsibilities, the notice required by subsection (a) must be signed by both the appointee and the official providing the appointee the notice.
(2)
Within 5 days of signing, a copy of the signed notice required under this subsection must be:
(i)
placed in the appointee’s agency personnel file; and
(ii)
provided to the Ethics Board.
(e)Board members – Special pre-appointment notice.
(1)
An individual who is nominated to fill a vacancy on a City board must also be given written notice, in a form approved by the Ethics Board, of the provisions of <cite data-path="|8|§6-14">§ 6-14 {“Exceptions – New board members”} of this article</cite>.
(2)
The notice required by paragraph (1) of this subsection must be given by the Mayor or the Mayor’s designee at least 14 days before the appointment is to be confirmed.
History: Ord. 04-795
History: Ord. 04-822
History: Ord. 16-585
History: Ord. 19-287
Balt., Md., Code art. 8, § 3-25 (2026)
§ 3-25 Exemptions for boards.LinkCopy Citation
(a)In general.
The Ethics Board may exempt from <cite data-path="|8">this article</cite>, or modify the applicability of <cite data-path="|8">this article</cite> to, a board or 1 or more members of a board if the Ethics Board determines that, because of the nature of the board, the application of <cite data-path="|8">this article</cite> to the board or member:
(1)
would significantly reduce the availability of qualified individuals for public service; and
(2)
is not needed to preserve the purposes of <cite data-path="|8">this article</cite>.
(b)Written request required.
An exemption under this section may be granted only on the written request of the board involved.
History: Ord. 04-795
Balt., Md., Code art. 8, § 3-26 (2026)
§ 3-26 Reports.LinkCopy Citation
The Ethics Board must submit to the Mayor and the City Council:
(1)
an annual report on its activities; and
(2)
as appropriate from time to time, based on its investigations and studies, special reports with recommendations for legislation.
History: Ord. 10-272