# State Government (GSG)

## Title 7. Secretary of State

### Subtitle 2. Division of State Documents

#### Section 7-201

(a) In this subtitle the following words have the meanings indicated.

(b) "Administrator" means the Administrator of the Division.

(c) "Code of Maryland Regulations" means the Code of Maryland Regulations and its permanent supplements.

(d) "Committee" means the Joint Committee on Administrative, Executive, and Legislative Review.

(e) "Division" means the Division of State Documents.

(f) "Executive order" has the meaning stated in Sec. 3-401 of this article.

(g) "Register" means the Maryland Register.

(h) "Regulation" has the meaning stated in Sec. 10-101 of this article, unless the context clearly requires otherwise.

(i)

  (1) "Unit" means an officer or unit in the Executive Branch of the State government that is authorized by law to adopt regulations or to adjudicate contested cases.

  (2) "Unit" does not include a board of license commissioners.

#### Section 7-202

There is a Division of State Documents in the Office of the Secretary of State.

#### Section 7-203

(a) The head of the Division is the Administrator, who shall be appointed by the Governor.

(b)

  (1) The Administrator holds office during good behavior.

  (2) Subject to the hearing requirements of this subsection, the Governor may remove the Administrator for inefficiency, neglect of duty, or misconduct in office.

  (3) Before the Governor removes the Administrator, the Governor shall:

    (i) prepare written charges; and

    (ii) give the Administrator a copy of the charges and an opportunity for public hearing.

  (4) Notice of the hearing shall be given to the Administrator at least 10 days before the hearing.

  (5) The Administrator may be represented at the hearing by counsel.

(c) The Administrator exercises the powers and performs the duties under this subtitle and Title 10, Subtitle 1 of this article subject to the general supervision of the Secretary of State.

#### Section 7-204

(a) The Division shall compile and edit:

  (1) the Code of Maryland Regulations; and

  (2) as a temporary supplement, the Maryland Register.

(b) Subject to the limitations in this subtitle, the Administrator is responsible for the publication and distribution of the Code of Maryland Regulations and the Register.

#### Section 7-205

(a) Except as otherwise provided by law, the Code of Maryland Regulations shall contain the text of:

  (1) each executive order that is generally permanent in nature;

  (2) each regulation;

  (3) each document that the General Assembly requires to be published with a regulation; and

  (4) unless otherwise privileged, each other document that the Committee permits to be published in the Code of Maryland Regulations.

(b)

  (1) At least once each year, the Division shall integrate into the Code of Maryland Regulations each document that:

    (i) is required to be included in the Code of Maryland Regulations; and

    (ii) has not previously been integrated or included in the Code of Maryland Regulations.

  (2) This integration may be carried out by:

    (i) publication of looseleaf pages for insertion in the Code of Maryland Regulations; or

    (ii) other appropriate permanent supplements to the Code of Maryland Regulations.

(c)

  (1) Each part of the Code of Maryland Regulations and each issue of its permanent supplements shall contain a certification of the Administrator that the part or issue includes all of the documents that are effective and have been codified, as of the date set by the Administrator.

  (2) Each issue of the permanent supplements shall contain its issue date, which shall be its date of deposit in the United States mail. This date shall appear prominently on the first page.

(d)

  (1) If the Committee permits a unit to publish a document in the Code of Maryland Regulations and publication otherwise would not be required, the Committee may require the unit to reimburse the Division for the cost of the publication.

  (2) The Division shall bill for and collect the reimbursement.

#### Section 7-206

(a) An issue of the Register shall contain:

  (1) on the first page:

    (i) the closing date and hour of the issue; and

    (ii) the issue date, which shall be the date of deposit in the United States mail and shall appear prominently;

  (2) the text of each of the following documents that has been submitted to the Division before the closing date and hour and has not been published previously:

    (i) during each session of the General Assembly:

      (1) a synopsis of each bill that is introduced; and

      (2) a synopsis of each bill that is enacted;

    (ii) unless posted promptly on the website of the Maryland Judiciary:

      (1) each proposed rule of court that the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of Maryland directs to be published;

      (2) each rule of court that the Supreme Court of Maryland adopts or permits to be adopted;

      (3) the hearing calendar of the Supreme Court of Maryland;

      (4) each administrative order or memorandum of the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of Maryland or of the Administrative Office of the Courts that the Chief Justice directs to be published;

      (5) the hearing calendar of the Appellate Court of Maryland; and

      (6) each administrative regulation that the Chief Judge of the District Court adopts;

    (iii) each executive order;

    (iv) each designation of an official State agency under a federal program;

    (v) except for notaries public and special police, a list of gubernatorial appointments that states:

      (1) the office;

      (2) the name of the appointee;

      (3) the county where the appointee resides;

      (4) the effective date of appointment;

      (5) the term of office; and

      (6) the salary;

    (vi) for a proposed regulation:

      (1) the notice of the proposed adoption of the regulation; and

      (2) the text of the proposed regulation;

    (vii) each notice of a public hearing that a unit issues;

    (viii) unless otherwise exempted, each other document that is required by law to be published in the Code of Maryland Regulations;

    (ix) each other document that is required to be published in the Register;

    (x) each notice or other document issued by an agency of a county or municipal government that the Committee permits to be published in the Register; and

    (xi) unless otherwise privileged, each other document that the Committee permits to be published in the Register;

  (3) a table of contents; and

  (4) an index to each title of the Code of Maryland Regulations that a document in the issue affects.

(b)

  (1) Each issue of the Register shall contain a certification of the Administrator that the issue contains all of the documents that have been submitted to the Division as of the closing date and hour of the issue.

  (2) The certification of the Administrator in the Register is conclusive evidence of this fact.

(c)

  (1) If the Committee permits a unit or an agency of a county or municipal government to publish a document in the Register and publication otherwise would not be required, the Committee may require the unit or agency to reimburse the Division for the cost of the publication.

  (2) The Division shall bill for and collect the reimbursement.

#### Section 7-206.2

(a) The Division may arrange for databases derived from publications issued by the Division to be made available to the public for direct online searching by contracting with third-party or value-added resellers.

(b) Notwithstanding any other provision of law, the Division shall make available to the public, at no cost, direct online searching of:

  (1) the Code of Maryland Regulations (COMAR);

  (2) at least the 15 most recent issues of the Maryland Register; and

  (3) any other material the Division determines to be in the public interest.

(c) The receipt of any material made available to the public under the terms of subsection (b) of this section shall be preceded by a legend stating that:

"The information you are about to receive is made available for personal use only. By proceeding beyond this point you agree that you will not use the information for any prohibited commercial purpose, as defined in Sec. 7-206.2(e) of the State Government Article, including, by way of example and not in limitation, the downloading of this information for resale in any other electronic or printed form.".

(d) The legend referenced in subsection (c) of this section shall be presented to the recipient in a manner that affords the recipient an opportunity to refuse to access the material.

(e)

  (1) In this subsection, "prohibited commercial purpose" includes any use that involves the resale or other compensated transfer of information made available under subsection (b) of this section.

  (2) "Prohibited commercial purpose" does not include the incorporation of portions of information made available under subsection (b) of this section into documents commenting upon or advising persons of the legal effect of that information, even though the person incorporating the information may be compensated for the comments or advice.

  (3) Data or material obtained under subsection (b) of this section may not be used for any prohibited commercial purpose.

(f) A person who violates subsection (e) of this section is subject to a fine not exceeding $1,000 for each violation.

#### Section 7-207

(a)

  (1) Unless the Committee provides otherwise, the Code of Maryland Regulations and the Register may not reprint any text from:

    (i) the Annotated Code of Maryland;

    (ii) the Session Laws;

    (iii) the United States Code;

    (iv) the United States Statutes at Large;

    (v) the Code of Federal Regulations;

    (vi) the Federal Register; or

    (vii) any other generally available publication that the Administrator specifies.

  (2) State statutes as described under paragraph (1)(i) and (ii) of this subsection need not be incorporated by reference.

  (3)

    (i) Federal laws as described under paragraph (1)(iii), (iv), (v), and (vi) of this subsection may be incorporated by reference.

    (ii) Federal law incorporated by reference after October 1, 2005, shall be identified by using the phrase "incorporated by reference".

    (iii) The unit incorporating federal law may:

      (1) incorporate only a specified version of that law by specifying a date; or

      (2) incorporate future versions of that law by using the phrase "as amended".

  (4)

    (i) Other publications as described in paragraph (1)(vii) of this subsection may be incorporated by reference by:

      (1) satisfying the requirements of Sec. 23-303 of the Education Article, except as determined by the Administrator; and

      (2) complying with Title 10, Subtitle 1 of this article and with other requirements specified by the Administrator.

    (ii) Incorporated documents shall be identified by using the phrase "incorporated by reference".

    (iii) The incorporation shall specify an edition number, year, or other specific indication of the version being adopted.

    (iv) Prospective incorporation is not permitted for this category of document.

    (v) Agency generated documents have the additional requirement of providing the Division with an electronic version ready for publication on the Division website as required by Sec. 7-206.2 of this subtitle.

(b)

  (1) If the Administrator determines that publication would be in the public interest, nothing in this section prohibits the Administrator from publishing factual information concerning:

    (i) documents published or to be published in the Code of Maryland Regulations and the Register; or

    (ii) the Code of Maryland Regulations and the Register.

  (2) Notwithstanding any other provision of this subtitle or Title 10, Subtitle 1 of this article, the Code of Maryland Regulations and the Register may not include news material or a press release, speech, or other comment.

#### Section 7-208

(a) The Administrator may include in the Code of Maryland Regulations and the Register annotations of judicial decisions and other explanatory materials that relate to a document in the Code of Maryland Regulations or the Register.

(b) The Administrator may prepare the annotations or obtain them by contract.

#### Section 7-209

With the consent of the Attorney General, the Administrator may remove from the Code of Maryland Regulations:

(1) a provision of a regulation that a court of final appeal has declared to be unconstitutional; or

(2) a regulation if the unit that adopted the regulation has been abolished and the regulation does not transfer to a successor.

#### Section 7-210

(a) Except as otherwise provided in this section, an issue of the Register complying with the requirements of Sec. 7-206 of this subtitle shall be published at least once every 2 weeks.

(b)

  (1)

    (i) To avoid a conflict with a State or national holiday, with the approval of the Committee, the Administrator may alter the publication date of an issue of the Register by not more than 3 days.

    (ii) At least 30 days before a change of publication date occurs, the Administrator shall publish, as appropriate, notice of the change in the Register.

  (2) The Committee may provide for more frequent publication of all or any part of the Register.

(c)

  (1) An index shall be published at least quarterly for the Register.

  (2) For the Register, the last index for a calendar year shall be a cumulative index of that publication for that year.

(d) A supplement to the index to the Code of Maryland Regulations or a new index shall be published at least once a year.

#### Section 7-211

(a) Subject to the conditions that the Board of Public Works sets, the Administrator shall contract for the prompt printing and distribution of the Code of Maryland Regulations, including its permanent supplements, and the Register.

(b) The contract shall provide for a typographical arrangement that permits a unit or court to obtain, at reasonable cost, pamphlet reprints of the regulations of the unit or the rules of court that are published in the Code of Maryland Regulations.

#### Section 7-212

(a)

  (1) The Administrator may adopt a codification system and set editorial standards for the Code of Maryland Regulations and the Register, including a numbering system and captions or tag lines.

  (2) The numbering system, captions, or tag lines are not part of the official text of a document.

(b) Except for rules of court, each document that is submitted for publication in the Code of Maryland Regulations and the Register shall conform to the codification system and editorial standards.

(c) After consultation with the unit that adopted a regulation, the Administrator may conform a regulation or other document to the codification system and editorial standards.

#### Section 7-213

(a) Except as provided in subsections (b) and (c) of this section and Sec. 3-405(b) of this article, each document to be published in the Code of Maryland Regulations or the Register shall be submitted to the Administrator, who:

  (1) for 1 year after the publication of the document, shall keep and permit inspection of the document; and

  (2) then shall deliver the document to the State Archives.

(b)

  (1) The Clerk of the Supreme Court of Maryland shall submit to the Administrator:

    (i) each rule of court that the Supreme Court of Maryland adopts or permits to be adopted; and

    (ii) each administrative order or memorandum of the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of Maryland or the Administrative Office of the Courts that the Chief Justice directs to be published.

  (2) The Chief Clerk of the District Court shall submit to the Administrator each administrative regulation that the Chief Judge of the District Court adopts.

(c) The Administrator may require that any document required or permitted to be published in the Register be submitted electronically or on paper, or both.

#### Section 7-214

(a) This subtitle does not affect any other requirement as to notice, including a time that is specifically set for the publication of the notice.

(b)

  (1) A unit shall submit a notice that sets a date for a hearing or meeting or for the termination of the opportunity to be heard in time for publication in an issue of the Register that will be published:

    (i) on or before the date set by law for publication of the notice; or

    (ii) if the date for publication is not set by law, at least 15 days before the date for the hearing or meeting or for the termination of the opportunity to be heard.

  (2) As to a notice that paragraph (1)(ii) of this subsection governs, publication of the notice less than 15 days before the date for a hearing or meeting or the termination of the opportunity to be heard does not prejudice the effectiveness of the notice, if notice of less than 15 days is reasonable.

  (3) Unless notice by publication is insufficient in law, a notice that sets a date for a hearing or meeting or for the termination of the opportunity to be heard and that is submitted as required by this subsection constitutes, on publication, notice to:

    (i) each person who resides in the State; or

    (ii) each person who holds an interest in property in the State.

(c) Publication of a notice as required by this subtitle and as required by any other provision of the Code are both necessary to constitute full compliance with law.

#### Section 7-215

The Administrator may require a unit to reimburse the Division for the cost of a publication of a document in an issue of the Register if the unit submits, withdraws, or changes the document after the closing date and hour of that issue.

#### Section 7-216

(a)

  (1) The Committee shall adopt guidelines for the Administrator to:

    (i) sell a subscription list for any publication of the Division; and

    (ii) set the price for:

      (1) a copy of or a subscription to the Code of Maryland Regulations and the Register; and

      (2) a copy of a database or other computer readable information on magnetic tape or some other electronic media.

  (2) The Committee may allow:

    (i) a volume discount; and

    (ii) the free, reciprocal exchange of publications by the State and other jurisdictions.

(b) A copy of the Code of Maryland Regulations and the Register shall be available to the public at the price set under this section.

(c) The Administrator shall provide, without charge:

  (1) to each member of the General Assembly each issue of the Register;

  (2) to the Enoch Pratt Library and the Thurgood Marshall State Law Library, 1 copy of:

    (i) the Code of Maryland Regulations;

    (ii) each issue of the permanent supplements to the Code of Maryland Regulations; and

    (iii) each issue of the Register; and

  (3) to a judge of a State court except the orphans' court, 1 copy of:

    (i) the current Code of Maryland Regulations; and

    (ii) each issue of the Register that the judge requests.

(d) Unless authorized by the Committee, the Administrator may not allow public access to a document that is to be included in the Register earlier than the date immediately following the issue date of the Register in which the document is published.

#### Section 7-216.1

(a) There is a special fund in the Division of State Documents.

(b) The purpose of the fund is to pay the costs of publishing and distributing the products of the Division.

(c) The Administrator of the Division shall administer the fund.

(d)

  (1) The fund is a special, nonlapsing fund that is not subject to Sec. 7-302 of the State Finance and Procurement Article.

  (2) The Treasurer shall hold the fund separately and the Comptroller shall account for the fund.

(e) The fund consists of revenue received by the Division in payment of its products.

(f) The fund may be used only for the expenses of production and distribution of its products and to support the operations of the Division.

(g)

  (1) The Treasurer shall invest the money in the fund in the same manner as other State money may be invested.

  (2) Any investment earnings in the fund shall be credited to the General Fund of the State.

(h) Expenditures from the fund may be made only in accordance with the State budget.

(i) Money expended from the fund for the production and distribution of the Division's products is supplemental to and is not intended to take the place of funding that otherwise would be appropriated for the production and distribution of the Division's products.

#### Section 7-217

(a) The official text of a document is:

  (1) until incorporation in the Code of Maryland Regulations, the text of the document in the most recent form in the Register; or

  (2) after incorporation in the Code of Maryland Regulations, the text of the document in the most recent form in the Code of Maryland Regulations.

(b) Notwithstanding any discrepancy between the official text and any other text of a document, the official text is the only valid and enforceable text.

#### Section 7-218

(a) Subject to subsection (b) of this section, the Administrator shall correct an error in the official text of a document in the Code of Maryland Regulations or the Register by:

  (1) inclusion of the correction in an errata list in the Register; or

  (2) publication of a corrected form of the affected part of the document in the Code of Maryland Regulations or the Register.

(b)

  (1) An error that is made in publication of a document under this subtitle and that changes the legal effect of a provision of the document invalidates only:

    (i) that provision; and

    (ii) any other provision of the document that then is so incomplete that it cannot be carried out in accordance with the purpose of the document.

  (2) If the error changes the legal effect of a proposed or adopted regulation, the regulation shall be published anew as provided in Sec. 10-112 of this article.

#### Section 7-219

Unless notice by publication is insufficient in law or unless otherwise specifically provided by law, publication of a document under this subtitle gives a person who is subject to or affected by the document notice of the contents of the document.

#### Section 7-220

Publication of a document in the Code of Maryland Regulations or the Register creates a rebuttable presumption that:

(1) the document:

  (i) was issued, prescribed, repealed, or adopted properly; and

  (ii) if the document is a regulation, was approved as to legality by the Attorney General; and

(2) the requirements of this subtitle and of Sec.Sec. 10-111(a), 10-112 through 10-117, and 10-129 of this article have been met.

#### Section 7-221

The provisions of a document in the Code of Maryland Regulations and the Register are severable, unless the document expressly states otherwise.

#### Section 7-222

A rule of court, administrative memorandum of a court, administrative order of a court, or administrative regulation of the Chief Judge of the District Court in the Code of Maryland Regulations or the Register has the effective date set in the document.

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Md. Code Ann., State Gov't (as displayed at mgaleg.maryland.gov, October 16, 2026)