This chapter may be cited as the Montgomery County Public Ethics Law.

(a) Our system of representative government depends in part on the people maintaining the highest trust in their officials and employees. The people have a right to public officials and employees who are impartial and use independent judgment. (b) The confidence and trust of the people erodes when the conduct of County business is subject to improper influence or even the appearance of improper influence. (c) To guard against improper influence, the Council enacts this public ethics law. This law sets comprehensive standards for the conduct of County business and requires public employees to disclose information about their financial affairs. (d) The Council intends that this Chapter, except in the context of imposing criminal sanctions, be liberally construed to accomplish the policy goals of this Chapter. The Council also intends that this Chapter meet the requirement under state law that the County adopt legislation that is similar to the state public ethics law.

If any other County statute or regulation relating to conflicts of interest, financial disclosure, or lobbying disclosure is more stringent than this law, the more stringent provision applies.

Unless the context clearly indicates otherwise, the following words have the following meanings: (a) Agency or County agency means: (1) any department, principal office, or office of the executive or legislative branch of County government; (2) any board, commission, committee, task force, or similar body appointed by the County Executive or County Council; (3) the Revenue Authority, the Housing Opportunities Commission, and the Board of License Commissioners; (4) each independent fire department or rescue squad that receives funds from the County or uses property owned by the County; and (5) any other public body if the Commission finds that: (A) the public body is subject to the County's legislative authority to enact an ethics law; and (B) the policies articulated in section 19A-2 would be significantly furthered by the application of this Chapter to the public body. (b) Business means any for-profit or non-profit enterprise, including a corporation, general or limited partnership, sole proprietorship, joint venture, association, firm, institute, trust, or foundation. Business does not include a County agency, but includes an independent fire department or rescue squad. (c) Commission means the Montgomery County Ethics Commission, established under Section 19A-5. (d) Compensation means any money or thing or value, regardless of form, including the sale or delivery of tangible or intangible property, that an employer pays or agrees to pay for services rendered. (e) Doing business with means: (1) being a party with a County agency to a transaction that involves at least $1,000 during a year; (2) negotiating a transaction with a County agency that involves at least $1,000 during a year; or (3) submitting a bid or proposal to a County agency for a transaction that involves at least $1,000 during a year. (f) Employer means any person who pays or agrees to pay compensation for services rendered. (g) Employment or employ means engaging in an activity for compensation, including the active sale or promotion for sale of intellectual property produced by the public employee, such as books, newspaper, magazine, or journal articles, videos, crafts, and artwork. (h) Gift means the transfer of anything of economic value, regardless of form, without an exchange of consideration of at least equal value. Gift does not include a transfer regulated by state or federal law governing political campaigns or elections. (i) Immediate family means spouse and dependent children. A child is a dependent if the child may be claimed as a dependent for federal income tax purposes. For a public employee, immediate family also includes the employee’s domestic partner if the partner is receiving County benefits. (j) Interest or economic interest means any source of income or any other legal or equitable economic interest, whether or not the interest is subject to an encumbrance or a condition, which is owned or held in whole or in part, jointly or severally, and directly or indirectly. Interest does not include: (1) an interest in a time deposit or demand deposit in a financial institution or in a money market fund with assets of at least $10,000,000; (2) an interest in an insurance policy, endowment policy, or annuity contract under which an insurance company promises to pay a fixed number of dollars either in a lump sum or periodically for life or some other specified period; (3) an interest in a deferred compensation plan that: (A) has more than 25 participants; and (B) the Internal Revenue Service has determined qualifies under section 457 of the Internal Revenue Code; (4) an interest in a common trust fund or a trust that forms part of a pension plan or profit-sharing plan that: (A) has more than 25 participants; and (B) the Internal Revenue Service has determined to be a qualified trust or college savings plan under the Internal Revenue Code; or (5) an interest in a mutual fund, exchange-traded fund, closed-end fund, or unit investment trust that: (A) has more than 25 participants; (B) is regulated by the Securities and Exchange Commission; and (C) the investor does not control the purchase or sale of the individual securities held by the fund. (k) Lobbying means any attempt to influence any legislative, executive, or administrative action by a County agency. (l) Lobbyist means any individual or organization who spends money or is compensated to influence legislative, executive, or administrative action by a County agency. (m) Public employee means: (1) the County Executive and each member of the County Council; (2) any person employed by a County agency, including the director of the agency; (3) any person appointed by the County Executive or County Council to a board, commission, committee, task force, or similar body, whether or not: (A) the person is compensated for serving on the body; or (B) the body is permanent or temporary; (4) any member of the Revenue Authority, the Housing Opportunities Commission, or the Board of License Commissioners; and (5) any other person providing services without compensation to a County agency if that person: (A) exercises any responsibility for government-funded programs, procurement, or contract administration for an agency; or (B) has access to confidential information of an agency that relates to government-funded programs, procurement, or contract administration. (n) Relative means: (1) the public employee's siblings, parents, grandparents, children, grandchildren; (2) the public employee's spouse, or domestic partner receiving County benefits, and the spouse's or partner's siblings, parents, grandparents, children, grandchildren; and (3) the spouses of these relatives. (o) Restricted donor means a person or business that: (1) is registered or must register as a lobbyist under Section 19A-21; (2) does business with the County agency with which the public employee is affiliated; (3) is engaged in an activity regulated or controlled by the County agency with which the public employee is affiliated; (4) has a financial interest that may be substantially and materially affected in a manner distinguishable from the public generally by the performance or nonperformance of the public employee’s duties; or (5) is an association, or any entity acting on behalf of an association, that is engaged only in representing counties or municipal corporations. (p) Quasi-governmental entity means an entity that: (1) is created by the State of Maryland or County law; (2) performs a public function; and (3) is supported in whole or in part by the State of Maryland but is managed privately. (q) Year means calendar year.