There is a State Open Meetings Law Compliance Board.

The Board consists of three members. At least one of the members shall be an attorney admitted to the Maryland Bar. The Governor shall appoint the members with the advice and consent of the Senate. From among the members of the Board, the Governor shall appoint a chair. The term of a member is 3 years. The terms of members are staggered as required by the terms provided for members of the Board on October 1, 2014. At the end of a term, a member continues to serve until a successor is appointed. A member who is appointed after a term has begun serves only for the rest of the term and until a successor is appointed. A member may not serve for more than two consecutive 3–year terms.

A majority of the full authorized membership of the Board is a quorum. The Board shall determine the times and places of its meetings. A member of the Board: may not receive compensation as a member of the Board; but is entitled to reimbursement for expenses under the Standard State Travel Regulations, as provided in the State budget. The Office of the Attorney General shall provide staff for the Board.

The Board shall: receive, review, and, subject to § 3–207 of this subtitle, resolve complaints from any person alleging a violation of this title; and issue a written opinion as to whether a violation has occurred. The Board shall receive and review any complaint alleging a prospective violation of this title as provided under § 3–212 of this subtitle. The Board shall: study ongoing compliance with this title by public bodies; and make recommendations to the General Assembly for improvements in this title. The Board, in conjunction with the Office of the Attorney General and other interested organizations or persons, shall develop and conduct educational programs and distribute educational materials on the requirements of the open meetings law for the staffs and attorneys of: public bodies; the Maryland Municipal League; the Maryland Association of Counties; and the Maryland Association of Boards of Education. On or before October 1 of each year, the Board shall submit an annual report to the Governor and, subject to § 2–1257 of the State Government Article, the General Assembly. The report shall: describe the activities of the Board; describe the opinions of the Board; state the number and nature of complaints filed with the Board and discuss complaints that reasonable notice of a meeting was not given; identify the provisions of this title that the Board has found a public body to have violated and the number of times each provision has been violated; identify each public body that the Board has found to have violated a provision of this title; and recommend any improvements to this title.

Any person may file a written complaint with the Board seeking a written opinion from the Board on the application of this title to the action of a public body covered by this title. The complaint shall: identify the public body that is the subject of the complaint; describe the action of the public body, the date of the action, and the circumstances of the action; and be signed by the complainant.

Except as provided in subsection (c) of this section, on receipt of the written complaint, the Board promptly shall: send the complaint to the public body identified in the complaint; and request that a response to the complaint be sent to the Board. The public body shall file a written response to the complaint within 30 days after it receives the complaint. On request of the Board, the public body shall include with its written response to the complaint a copy of: the notice provided under § 3–302 of this title; any written statement made under § 3–305(d)(2)(ii) of this title; and the minutes and any recording made by the public body under § 3–306 of this title. The Board shall maintain the confidentiality of the minutes and any recording submitted by a public body that are sealed in accordance with § 3–306(c)(3)(ii) of this title. If the public body identified in the complaint no longer exists, the Board promptly shall send the complaint to the official or entity that appointed the public body. The official or entity that appointed the public body shall comply, to the extent feasible, with the requirements of subsection (b) of this section. If a written response is not received within 45 days after the notice is sent, the Board shall decide the case on the facts before the Board.

The Board shall review the complaint and any response. If the information in the complaint and response is sufficient for making a determination, within 30 days after receiving the response the Board shall issue a written opinion as to whether a violation of this title has occurred or will occur. If the Board is unable to reach a determination based on the written submissions before it, the Board may schedule an informal conference to hear from the complainant, the public body, or any other person with relevant information about the subject of the complaint. An informal conference scheduled by the Board is not a contested case within the meaning of § 10–202(d) of the State Government Article. The Board shall issue a written opinion within 30 days after the informal conference. If the Board is unable to render an opinion on a complaint within the time periods specified in subsection (a) or (b) of this section, the Board shall: state in writing the reason for its inability to render an opinion; and issue an opinion as soon as possible but not later than 90 days after the filing of the complaint. An opinion of the Board may state that the Board is unable to resolve the complaint. The Board shall send a copy of the written opinion to the complainant and the affected public body.

The Board may send to any public body in the State any written opinion that will provide the public body with guidance on compliance with this title. On request, the Board shall provide a copy of a written opinion to any person.

The opinions of the Board are advisory only.

Except as provided in § 3–211 of this subtitle, the Board may not require or compel any specific actions by a public body.

This section does not apply to a public body that is: in the Judicial Branch of State government; or subject to governance by rules adopted by the Supreme Court of Maryland. If the Board determines that a violation of this title has occurred: at the next open meeting of the public body after the Board has issued its opinion, a member of the public body shall announce the violation and orally summarize the opinion; and a majority of the members of the public body shall sign a copy of the opinion and return the signed copy to the Board. The public body may not designate its counsel or another representative to provide the announcement and summary. Compliance by a public body or a member of a public body with subsections (b) and (c) of this section: is not an admission to a violation of this title by the public body; and may not be used as evidence in a proceeding conducted in accordance with § 3–401 of this title. If the Board determines that a public body has violated a provision of this title, the Board shall post on the Maryland Open Meetings Act page of the Office of the Attorney General website the name of the public body and the opinion that describes the violation.

On receipt of an oral or written complaint by any person that a meeting required to be open under this title will be closed in violation of this title, the Board, acting through its chair, a designated Board member, or any authorized staff person available to the Board, may contact the public body to determine the nature of the meeting that will be held and the reason for the expected closure of the meeting. When at least two members of the Board conclude that a violation of this title may occur if the closed meeting is held, the person acting for the Board immediately shall inform the public body of the potential violation and any lawful means that are available for conducting its meeting to achieve the purposes of the public body. The person acting for the Board shall inform the person who filed the complaint under subsection (a) of this section of the result of any effort to achieve compliance with this title under subsection (b) of this section. The person acting for the Board shall file a written report with the Board describing the complaint, the effort to achieve compliance, and the results of the effort. The filing of a complaint under subsection (a) of this section and action by a person acting for the Board under subsections (b), (c), and (d) of this section may not prevent or bar the Board from considering and acting on a written complaint filed in accordance with § 3–205 of this subtitle.

This section does not apply to a public body that is: in the Judicial Branch of State government; or subject to governance by rules adopted by the Supreme Court of Maryland. Each public body shall designate at least one individual who is an employee, an officer, or a member of the public body to receive training on the requirements of the open meetings law. Within 90 days after being designated under subsection (b) of this section, an individual shall complete a class on the open meetings law. This subsection applies only to a public body that meets in a closed session on or after October 1, 2017. A public body may not meet in a closed session unless the public body has designated at least one member of the public body to receive training on the requirements of the open meetings law. Except as provided in subparagraph (ii) of this paragraph, at least one individual designated under paragraph (2) of this subsection shall be present at each open meeting of the public body. If an individual designated under paragraph (2) of this subsection cannot be present at an open meeting of the public body, the public body shall complete the Compliance Checklist for Meetings Subject to the Maryland Open Meetings Act developed by the Office of the Attorney General and include the completed checklist in the minutes for the meeting.