<?xml version='1.0' encoding='utf-8'?>
<subtitle article="gsg" title_number="8" subtitle_number="5" title_name="Organization of Executive Branch" subtitle_name="Special Education Ombudsman">
  <section article="gsg" article_name="State Government" number="8-501" title_number="8" title_name="Organization of Executive Branch" subtitle_number="5" subtitle_name="Special Education Ombudsman">
    <level label="a">
      <text>A member of a State board or commission appointed by the Governor who fails to attend at least 50% of the meetings of the board or commission during any consecutive 12-month period shall be considered to have resigned.</text>
    </level>
    <level label="b">
      <text>Not later than January 15 of the year following the end of the 12-month period the chairman of the board or commission shall forward to the Governor:</text>
      <level label="1">
        <text>the name of the individual considered to have resigned; and</text>
      </level>
      <level label="2">
        <text>a statement describing the individual’s history of attendance during the period.</text>
      </level>
    </level>
    <level label="c">
      <text>Except as provided in subsection (d) of this section, after receiving the chairman’s statement the Governor shall appoint a successor for the remainder of the term of the individual.</text>
    </level>
    <level label="d">
      <text>If the individual has been unable to attend meetings for reasons satisfactory to the Governor, the Governor may waive the resignation if the reasons are made public.</text>
    </level>
  </section>
  <section article="gsg" article_name="State Government" number="8-502" title_number="8" title_name="Organization of Executive Branch" subtitle_number="5" subtitle_name="Special Education Ombudsman">
    <level label="a">
      <level label="1">
        <text>A member of a State board or commission shall be suspended without pay from participation in the activities of the board or commission if the member is convicted of or enters a plea of nolo contendere to any crime that:</text>
        <level label="i">
          <text>is a felony; or</text>
        </level>
        <level label="ii">
          <text>is a misdemeanor related to the member’s public duties and responsibilities and involves moral turpitude for which the penalty may be incarceration in any penal institution.</text>
        </level>
      </level>
      <level label="2">
        <text>The suspension shall continue during any period of appeal of the conviction.</text>
      </level>
      <level label="3">
        <text>If the conviction becomes final, the member shall be removed from the office and the office shall be deemed vacant.</text>
      </level>
    </level>
    <level label="b">
      <text>If the conviction of the member is reversed or otherwise vacated:</text>
      <level label="1">
        <text>the member shall be reinstated to the office for the remainder, if any, of the term of office during which the member was so suspended or removed; and</text>
      </level>
      <level label="2">
        <text>all pay and benefits shall be restored from the date of the suspension or removal.</text>
      </level>
    </level>
  </section>
  <section article="gsg" article_name="State Government" number="8-503" title_number="8" title_name="Organization of Executive Branch" subtitle_number="5" subtitle_name="Special Education Ombudsman">
    <text>The official letterhead stationery of each department, agency, or instrumentality of the State shall include the telephone number of the individual public office that uses the stationery.</text>
  </section>
  <section article="gsg" article_name="State Government" number="8-504" title_number="8" title_name="Organization of Executive Branch" subtitle_number="5" subtitle_name="Special Education Ombudsman">
    <level label="a">
      <level label="1">
        <text>In this section the following words have the meanings indicated.</text>
      </level>
      <level label="2">
        <text>“Department” means a principal department of the Executive Branch of State government.</text>
      </level>
      <level label="3">
        <text>“Independent unit” means a unit in the Executive Branch of State government that is not in a department.</text>
      </level>
      <level label="4">
        <text>“Mask” means to redact from public view those portions of a public record that contain personal information, without permanently altering the original public record.</text>
      </level>
      <level label="5">
        <text>“Official custodian” means an officer or employee of the State who, whether or not the officer or employee has physical custody and control of a public record, is responsible for keeping the public record.</text>
      </level>
      <level label="6">
        <text>“Person in interest” means:</text>
        <level label="i">
          <text>an individual that is the subject of personal information contained in a public record or a designee of the individual; or</text>
        </level>
        <level label="ii">
          <text>if the individual has a legal disability, the parent or legal representative of the individual.</text>
        </level>
      </level>
      <level label="7">
        <text>“Personal information” means an individual’s:</text>
        <level label="i">
          <text>Social Security number; or</text>
        </level>
        <level label="ii">
          <text>driver’s license number.</text>
        </level>
      </level>
      <level label="8">
        <level label="i">
          <text>“Public record” means the original or any copy of any documentary material that:</text>
          <level label="1">
            <text>is made by a unit or instrumentality of the State government or received by the unit in connection with the transaction of public business; and</text>
          </level>
          <level label="2">
            <text>is in any form, including:</text>
          </level>
          <level label="A">
            <text>a card;</text>
          </level>
          <level label="B">
            <text>a computerized record;</text>
          </level>
          <level label="C">
            <text>correspondence;</text>
          </level>
          <level label="D">
            <text>a drawing;</text>
          </level>
          <level label="E">
            <text>film or microfilm;</text>
          </level>
          <level label="F">
            <text>a form;</text>
          </level>
          <level label="G">
            <text>a map;</text>
          </level>
          <level label="H">
            <text>a photograph or photostat;</text>
          </level>
          <level label="I">
            <text>a recording; or</text>
          </level>
          <level label="J">
            <text>a tape.</text>
          </level>
        </level>
        <level label="ii">
          <text>“Public record” includes a document that lists the salary of an employee of a unit or instrumentality of the State government.</text>
        </level>
        <level label="iii">
          <text>“Public record” does not include a digital photographic image or signature of an individual, or the actual stored data thereof, recorded by the Motor Vehicle Administration.</text>
        </level>
      </level>
      <level label="9">
        <text>“Publicly post or display” means to intentionally make available to the public.</text>
      </level>
    </level>
    <level label="b">
      <text>Except as otherwise provided by law, on or after June 1, 2010, a department or an independent unit, to the extent practicable, may not publicly post or display on an Internet website maintained or paid for by the department or independent unit an individual’s personal information.</text>
    </level>
    <level label="c">
      <level label="1">
        <text>A person in interest may request an official custodian to mask personal information in the Internet version of a public record.</text>
      </level>
      <level label="2">
        <text>A request made in accordance with this subsection shall:</text>
        <level label="i">
          <text>be in writing; and</text>
        </level>
        <level label="ii">
          <text>provide an adequate description of the public record including a name and address or type and location of the public record.</text>
        </level>
      </level>
      <level label="3">
        <text>Within 30 days after receiving a request under this section, an official custodian shall:</text>
        <level label="i">
          <text>mask the personal information in the Internet version of the record; and</text>
        </level>
        <level label="ii">
          <text>give the person in interest written notice of the action taken.</text>
        </level>
      </level>
      <level label="4">
        <text>This subsection does not apply to a public record after 72 years from the date it was made or received by a unit or instrumentality of the State government.</text>
      </level>
    </level>
  </section>
  <section article="gsg" article_name="State Government" number="8-505" title_number="8" title_name="Organization of Executive Branch" subtitle_number="5" subtitle_name="Special Education Ombudsman">
    <text>No board or commission in control of a unit in the Executive Branch of the State government may finally adopt a resolution or regulation at a meeting not open to the public.</text>
  </section>
  <section article="gsg" article_name="State Government" number="8-506" title_number="8" title_name="Organization of Executive Branch" subtitle_number="5" subtitle_name="Special Education Ombudsman">
    <level label="a">
      <level label="1">
        <text>In this section the following words have the meanings indicated.</text>
      </level>
      <level label="2">
        <text>“Department” means a principal department established under § 8–201 of this title.</text>
      </level>
      <level label="3">
        <text>“Independent unit” means a unit in the Executive Branch of State government that is not a department.</text>
      </level>
    </level>
    <level label="b">
      <text>On or before October 1, 2024, each department and independent unit shall:</text>
      <level label="1">
        <text>create a catalog of each type of permit, license, or certificate that it issues; and</text>
      </level>
      <level label="2">
        <text>submit the catalog required under item (1) of this subsection to the Governor.</text>
      </level>
    </level>
    <level label="c">
      <text>A catalog created under subsection (b) of this section shall include:</text>
      <level label="1">
        <text>a description of each permit, license, or certificate;</text>
      </level>
      <level label="2">
        <text>the term for which each issued permit, license, or certificate is valid;</text>
      </level>
      <level label="3">
        <text>the statutory and regulatory authority that:</text>
        <level label="i">
          <text>authorizes or requires the department or independent unit to issue the permit, license, or certificate; and</text>
        </level>
        <level label="ii">
          <text>establishes a timeline within which a department or independent unit must process and issue the permit, license, or certificate, if any;</text>
        </level>
      </level>
      <level label="4">
        <text>the method and process used by the department or independent unit to accept applications for each permit, license, or certificate, including a list of:</text>
        <level label="i">
          <text>prior significant updates to the method and process; and</text>
        </level>
        <level label="ii">
          <text>the current information technology system used, and any remaining associated tasks still performed manually with the system;</text>
        </level>
      </level>
      <level label="5">
        <text>an estimate of the length of time to:</text>
        <level label="i">
          <text>determine if an application is complete; and</text>
        </level>
        <level label="ii">
          <text>make a final determination to issue, waive, or deny the permit, license, or certificate;</text>
        </level>
      </level>
      <level label="6">
        <text>the application fee charged for each permit, license, or certificate and how the revenue collected from application fees is allocated;</text>
      </level>
      <level label="7">
        <text>any statutory or regulatory authority that may impact an applicant’s ability to receive a permit, license, or certificate based on the criminal history of the applicant;</text>
      </level>
      <level label="8">
        <text>an analysis and any recommendations by the department or independent unit on the appropriate length of time to promptly process completed applications for each permit, license, or certificate and factors impeding the timely processing of each permit, license, or certificate; and</text>
      </level>
      <level label="9">
        <text>statutory or regulatory changes and resources that could expedite the processing timeline.</text>
      </level>
    </level>
    <level label="d">
      <text>On or before December 1, 2024, each department and independent unit shall post on its website an interim description, to the extent practicable, of the application process for each permit, license, or certificate it issues, including:</text>
      <level label="1">
        <text>any updates to the application process in the preceding 12–month period; and</text>
      </level>
      <level label="2">
        <text>the time to process each application type.</text>
      </level>
    </level>
    <level label="e">
      <text>On or before October 1, 2025, and each year thereafter, each department and independent unit shall post on its website a completed update of the information required under subsection (d) of this section applicable to the immediately preceding 12–month period.</text>
    </level>
  </section>
</subtitle>