Title 21. Individual Tax Preparers — Subtitle 2. State Board of Individual Tax Preparers

The Board consists of eight members of which:

The Governor shall appoint the members with the advice of the Secretary, the Comptroller, and the Attorney General.

Members of the following groups shall be considered for membership on the Board:

a citizen of the United States; and

a resident of the State.

The term of a member is 4 years and begins on July 1.

The terms of members are staggered as required by the terms provided for members of the Board on June 1, 2008.

At the end of a term, a member continues to serve until a successor is appointed and qualifies.

A member who is appointed after a term has begun serves only for the rest of the term and until a successor is appointed and qualifies.

Each member of the Board is eligible for reappointment but may not serve more than two consecutive terms.

The Governor may remove a member for incompetence, misconduct, neglect of duties, or other sufficient cause.

The Governor shall remove a member who ceases to meet the requirements under which the member was appointed, as provided under subsections (a) and (b) of this section.

Except as provided in paragraph (4) of this subsection and subject to paragraph (5) of this subsection, a member shall be considered to have resigned if the member did not attend at least two–thirds of the Board meetings held during any consecutive 12–month period while the member was serving on the Board.

The Governor may waive the member’s resignation and allow the member to continue serving if the member has been unable to attend meetings for reasons satisfactory to the Governor and the reasons are made public.

In accordance with § 8–501 of the State Government Article, the chair shall provide notice to the Governor and the Governor shall appoint a successor.

compensation in accordance with the State budget; and

reimbursement for expenses under the Standard State Travel Regulations, as provided in the State budget.

any bylaw that is necessary to do the business of the Board; and

any regulation to carry out this title.

adopt rules of professional conduct as appropriate to establish a high standard of integrity and dignity for the practice of individual tax preparation;

select and administer examinations;

establish fees;

maintain a list of all authorized individual tax preparers registered by the Board;

maintain a record of its proceedings;

maintain records of all complaints regarding individual tax preparers in the State; and

report to the General Assembly, in accordance with § 2–1257 of the State Government Article.

If the Board concludes that conduct alleged to be in violation of this title will result in harm to a resident of the State, the Board may seek a permanent or temporary injunction with respect to the conduct from the circuit court of the county in which the alleged violation occurs.

In seeking an injunction under this subsection, the Board is not required to:

If the Board seeks an injunction or takes a disciplinary action against an individual for a violation of this title, the Board shall notify the Comptroller within 5 business days after taking the action.

A member of the Board may not be held personally liable for action taken under this subsection in good faith with reasonable grounds.

The Board or its designee may issue a subpoena for the attendance of a witness to testify or the production of evidence in connection with:

If an individual fails to comply with a subpoena issued under this subsection, on petition of the Board, a court of competent jurisdiction may compel compliance with the subpoena.

a registration fee at the time of registration; or

a renewal fee at the time of renewal of registration.

The Board shall pay all fees collected under this section to the State Comptroller.

The Comptroller shall distribute the fees to the Fund.

The Fund is a special, nonlapsing fund that is not subject to § 7–302 of the State Finance and Procurement Article.

The State Treasurer shall hold the Fund separately, and the Comptroller shall account for the Fund.

revenue distributed to the Fund under § 21–207 of this subtitle;

money appropriated in the State budget to the Fund; and

any other money from any other source accepted for the benefit of the Fund.

The State Treasurer shall invest the money of the Fund in the same manner as other State money may be invested.

Any investment earnings of the Fund shall be credited to the General Fund of the State.

shall include a statement of the registration status of the individual who is the subject of the request; and

may include: