Title 01 — Subtitle 02. Secretary of State

Whenever the Secretary notifies a person that the Secretary has taken action which may adversely affect that person or that person's ability to engage in solicitation, the Secretary shall notify the person affected in writing of the right to request a hearing and of the method of making the request.

This written notice shall:

Upon receipt of a request for accommodation, the Secretary of State’s Office shall provide a qualified interpreter during the proceeding in which the party, witness, or representative is participating.

An interpreter shall take an oath or affirmation that the interpreter will accurately interpret the proceedings.

If a party, witness, or representative requests an accommodation, the Office shall provide a reasonable accommodation as required by the Americans with Disabilities Act.

The rules of evidence in all hearings held pursuant to the Act or these regulations shall be those set forth in State Government Article, Title 10, Subtitle 2, Annotated Code of Maryland.

Any party may submit evidence, examine and cross-examine witnesses, file objections and motions, and present oral argument. When a party is represented by counsel, the submission of evidence, examination and cross-examination of witnesses, filing of objections and motions, and presentation of oral argument shall be done solely by counsel.

The Secretary, or the Secretary's designee, may examine any witness called by any party. The Secretary, or the Secretary's designee, may call as a witness any person in attendance at the hearing.

Subject to the requirements of Regulation .10C of this chapter, the petitioner shall have the right to call as a witness any employee of the Secretary whose action or inaction the petitioner is contesting. If the Secretary or the Secretary's counsel introduces as evidence documents filed by the petitioner or documents resulting from an investigation or other sources, the petitioner shall have the right to examine the documents and the person who prepared them, if that person prepared the documents at the request of the Secretary.

It is withdrawn by the petitioner or the petitioner's counsel in writing;

The petitioner dies, dissolves, or otherwise terminates the petitioner's activities; or

It is abandoned.

Every final decision rendered by the Secretary shall be in writing and shall be accompanied by findings of fact and conclusions of law.

The findings of fact shall consist of a concise statement of the conclusions upon each contested issue of fact.

The Secretary shall mail to each party or each party's counsel a copy of the decision and accompanying findings and conclusions within 30 days of the hearing.

“Bona fide religious organization” means an organization established for religious purposes or an organization which serves religion by the fostering of religion, including the moral and ethical aspects of a particular faith.

“Bona fide religious organization” includes an organization whose members or congregation are the primary source of revenue and whose purpose is an integral part of the membership's or congregation's mission.

An organization shall advise its members of the amount, if any, of the membership fees, dues, fines, or assessments which the Internal Revenue Service does not consider tax deductible as a contribution.

An organization shall advise each purchaser or contributor of the amount, if any, of the contribution which the Internal Revenue Service does not consider tax deductible.

A person shall establish a system of internal accounting controls which will provide reasonable assurance that all transactions have been properly executed and recorded.

If an audit is required, the audit shall be made in accordance with generally accepted auditing standards and in conformity with generally accepted accounting principles applied on a basis consistent with that of the preceding period.

The governing board of an organization may not permit the commingling of the organization's assets with those of any other person without establishing and maintaining adequate accounting controls over the ownership and use of the assets.

Identify to the extent possible persons who have not registered and are subject to the provisions of the Act;

Send to those identified the necessary forms and instructions and with instructions on how to access a copy of the Act and regulations; and

Advise the person not in compliance of the person's unlawful solicitation and note that a failure to register may result in the institution of enforcement proceedings by the Secretary of State or Attorney General as set forth in §6-205 of the Act.

Program services expenses are activities which the organization was created to conduct and which form the basis for the organization's tax-exempt status. Each major program service shall be distinguishable from all other program services, and shall include activities, the costs of which can be practicably segregated and accounted for in the records of the organization.

Examples of program services expenses include, but are not limited to, the following:

The expenses of public education materials and activities, which include a specific appeal for financial support, may be jointly allocated with other functions according to the Financial Accounting Standard Board's Statement of Position 98-2 and any subsequent accounting guidance.

Management and general expenses are the expenses which are not directly identifiable with any of the organization's program service activities or fund-raising activities but are indispensable to the conduct of each of them and to an organization's existence. They include expenditures for the overall direction of the organization, general record keeping, business management, general board activities, and related purposes.

Examples of management and general expenses include, but are not limited to, the following:

If the chief officer or any member of his staff spends a portion of his time directly supervising fund raising or program service activities, his salary and expenses shall be prorated among those activities. If the chief officer or any member of his staff spends all of his time supervising the overall direction of the organization, his salary and expenses shall be management and general expense.

Direct supervision of program services and of fund raising shall be allocated to those activities and not to the management and general activities.

Fund-raising expenses are the expenses of those activities of which the intent and purpose is an appeal for financial support or the solicitation of funds. They include expenditures for activities that constitute an integral and inseparable part of an appeal for financial support.

Examples of fund-raising expenses include, but are not limited to, the following:

An organization shall allocate to fund-raising expenses an appropriate portion of the salaries of regular staff members who devote time to record keeping relating to fund-raising activities whether during a campaign period or other period of solicitation.

Be in writing;

State the name, address, and telephone number of the complainant;

State to the extent possible the nature of the alleged violation, the date of occurrence, and the name of each person involved;

Include to the extent possible any materials distributed by the alleged violator; and

Include any other information which the complainant believes useful to sustaining the complaint.

Whether the unrestricted resources of the organization were used in accordance with its purposes as stated in its charter, its bylaws, and the actions of its governing board;

Whether restricted gifts or grants have been properly segregated and used in accordance with the restrictions or designations imposed by the donor or grantor;

Whether all restricted funds are reported clearly as such;

Whether the organization is in compliance with agreements between the organization and its affiliated State agency, particularly as they relate to money due the State agency from the private foundation;

Whether the organization’s expenditures and activities are in compliance with the Internal Revenue Code, the Maryland Solicitations Act under Business Regulation Article, Title 6, Annotated Code of Maryland, and other federal, State, and local laws governing financial matters;

Whether securities owned by the organization are in existence and adequately accounted for;

Whether purchases and sales of securities were properly authorized;

Whether investment income and gains or losses have been recorded in the appropriate fund;

Whether adequate internal controls are in place to provide reasonable satisfaction that the amounts reported as contributions are not materially misstated;

Whether adequate internal controls are in place to provide reasonable satisfaction that expenditures are properly classified; and

Whether grants by the organization have been authorized by the governing board and procedures have been established to ascertain whether the grants made have been expended for their intended purposes.

The Secretary of State shall review the auditor's recommendations and determine whether:

The Secretary of State may take one or more of the following actions based on the auditor's report or recommendations:

Be in writing;

Explain the cause or causes of the charitable organization’s late filing; and

To the extent such late filing was reasonably preventable, explain what has been or will be done to prevent future late filings.

Whether the charitable organization has submitted all required outstanding annual reports to the Secretary of State;

Whether the charitable organization’s registration history includes previous late filings;

Whether the charitable organization already paid some of the late fee;

Whether the charitable organization previously asked for and was granted a late fee waiver or suspension; and

Whether the charitable organization has the ability to pay the late fee.

“Act” means the provisions of State Government Article, §§10-611—10-628, Annotated Code of Maryland.

“Applicant” means a person or governmental unit that asks to inspect a public record.

“Office” means the Office of the Secretary of State.

“Office custodian”, or “custodian”, means the Secretary of State or the Secretary's designee who has physical custody and control of a public record.

“Official custodian” means the Secretary of State.

Public Record.

“Secretary” means the Secretary of State of Maryland.

“Working day” means every day except Saturdays, Sundays, and holidays, between the hours of 9 a.m. and 5 p.m.

“Written documents” means all books, papers, maps, photographs, cards, tapes, recordings, computerized records, or other documentary materials, regardless of physical form or characteristics.

The charge for each copy is 30 cents per page. However, when records are not susceptible to photocopying (for example, punch cards, magnetic tapes, blueprints, and microfilm), the charge for reproducing the record will be determined on a case-by-case basis at actual cost.

Charges may also be made for all postage and other mailing costs.

The Secretary may provide lists of public information in the records maintained by the Office to those persons who request them but may not provide a notary public list under this section for the purpose of telephone solicitation.

The Secretary shall charge a reasonable fee, not less than the cost of producing the list and not less than 5 cents per entry, for any list furnished under this section.

The Secretary may charge a reduced fee to persons requesting a list for governmental or not-for-profit purposes.

A person furnished any information under this section may not distribute or otherwise use the information for any purpose other than that for which it was furnished.

“Bona fide charitable organization” or “charitable organization” means a nonprofit organization that:

“Bona fide charitable organization” or “charitable organization” does not include a political party, political committee, or political club.

“Person” means any individual or any partnership, firm, association, corporation, or other entity.

“Raffle” means:

“Real property” means:

Obtain any applicable license or permit to conduct a raffle from the political subdivision of this State in which the real property to be raffled is located;

At least 10 business days before the charitable organization advertises the raffle or sells any chance, file a disclosure statement with the Secretary of State on the form provided by the Secretary of State for that purpose; and

Before the submission of a disclosure statement for any raffle in a calendar year, satisfy the requirements of this chapter for all prior raffles in the calendar year.

The name and address of the charitable organization that is conducting the raffle;

The address of the real property to be raffled and a brief description of that property;

The date and time the charitable organization will select the winner of the raffle, and the location of the drawing;

The amount of consideration to be paid for each chance;

A good faith estimate of the current fair market value of the property to be raffled and, if applicable, a photocopy of the appraisal required by Regulation .04B of this chapter;

The amount and nature of all liens or encumbrances on the property, if any, that will remain the responsibility of the winner on transfer of the property to the winner;

A good faith estimate of the amount of the closing costs, if any, that the winner will have to pay to acquire title to the property;

The name, business and home addresses, and business and home telephone numbers of an authorized representative of the charitable organization conducting the raffle;

A photocopy of all agreements between the charitable organization and the party that sold or is selling the real property to the charitable organization, which shall evidence the charitable organization's title to the real property and reflect the purchase price paid or to be paid by the charitable organization for that property;

A photocopy or sample of the chance tickets to be sold; and

The conditions, if any, under which the charitable organization reserves the right to cancel the raffle, together with a description of the method by which the charitable organization will refund the purchase price paid for any chances bought before cancellation.

The name and Maryland address of the organization that is conducting the raffle;

The address of the real property to be raffled and a brief description of that property;

The date and time the organization will select the winner of the raffle, and the location of the drawing;

The amount of consideration paid for the chance;

A notice to the purchaser that a complete disclosure statement regarding the raffle is available, on request and at no cost, from the charitable organization;

A notice that the winner is responsible for any liens, encumbrances, closing costs, and applicable taxes unless otherwise provided in the disclosure statement; and

If needed, a notice that, if the raffle is cancelled, a percentage of the price of a chance may be retained by the charitable organization for administrative costs.

The charitable organization shall provide each purchaser of a chance, on request and at no cost to the purchaser, a copy of the disclosure statement filed with the Secretary of State.

Before the transfer of title to the raffle winner, the charitable organization shall provide the winner with a copy of the disclosure statement and obtain a signed acknowledgment of its receipt from the winner.

A copy of the signed acknowledgment shall be filed with the Secretary of State and retained by the charitable organization for a minimum of 3 years after the winner acknowledges receipt of the disclosure statement.

The disclosure statement provided to any purchaser of a chance and to the raffle winner shall include a statement that the disclosure statement has been placed on file with the Secretary of State of Maryland.

“Acknowledgment” means a declaration by an individual before a notarial officer that:

“Affirmation” means a solemn statement of truth, made under penalty of perjury before a notary public.

“Communication technology” means an electronic device or process that:

Notarial Act.

“Notarize” means to perform a notarial act with respect to a record.

“Notarization” means the act of notarizing.

“Oath” means a sworn solemn statement of truth made under penalty of perjury by an individual who believes in and appeals to a Divine Being to evidence the seriousness of the individual's actions or words.

“Original notarial act” means the completion of a single notarial act involving one record.

“Remote notarial act” means a notarial act performed by a notary public for a remotely located individual using communication technology.

“Remote online notary vendor” is a company that provides communication technology primarily used to facilitate a notarial act for a remotely located individual and the technology offered by the vendor includes identity proofing and credential analysis that the notary public may use when required by law to identify a remotely located individual.

“Remotely located individual” means an individual who is not in the physical presence of the notary public who performs a notarial act.

“Verification on oath or affirmation” means a declaration made by an individual on oath or affirmation before a notarial officer that a statement in a record is true or that a remotely located individual has the identity claimed.

$8 for the performance of a notarial act; or

$30 for the performance of a remote notarial act.

The vendor shall be incorporated to do business in the United States of America;

The vendor shall be a company based in the United States of America that has been lawfully operating in the United States of America for at least 3 years;

All encryption and decryption services provided by the remote online notary vendor shall occur in the United States of America; and

The vendor shall utilize commercially reasonable practices, procedures, and technology consistent with or better than the practices, procedures, and technology generally used by other vendors engaged in offering remote notarization services.

Allow the notary to securely identify the remotely located individual by personal knowledge or satisfactory evidence as described in State Government Article, §18-214(a)(1)(i)—(iii), Annotated Code of Maryland;

Allow for the retention of audio-visual recordings created under State Government Article, §18-214(a)(3), Annotated Code of Maryland, for at least 10 years; and

Ensure that the notary public has access to the audio-visual recordings of their notarial acts.

Provide training to the Maryland notary public on how to use the remote online notary vendor’s technology; and

Check with the Office of the Secretary of State or the Office’s website to confirm that a notary public is in good standing:

Notify the Office of the Secretary of State in writing of their intent to perform remote notarial acts using a form prescribed by the Office of the Secretary of State for this purpose before they may perform remote notarial acts;

If the notary public intends to perform remote notarial acts using a remote online notary vendor:

If the notary public intends to perform remote notarial acts without identifying remotely located individuals through identity proofing and credential analysis the notary public shall submit a form used by the Office of the Secretary of State for this purpose and acknowledge that the notary public must have personal knowledge under State Government Article, §18–206(a), Annotated Code of Maryland of the identity of the remotely located individual or have satisfactory evidence of the identity of the remotely located individual by verification on oath or affirmation from a credible witness appearing before and identified by the notary public under State Government Article, §18–206(b), Annotated Code of Maryland or as a remotely located individual under this section.

Use technology that can make an audio-visual record of the entire physical location of the notarial act and all persons physically present for the remote notarial act;

Require all persons physically present with the remotely located individual for the remote notarial act to identify themselves and their role in the transaction;

Charge no more than the allowed fee for a notarial act under State Government Article, §18–214, Annotated Code of Maryland, as set forth in Regulation .02F of this chapter; and

Create and retain an audio-visual recording of each performance of a remote notarial act for a minimum of 10 years.

Failure to adequately identify a signer under the standards set forth in State Government Article, §18-206(a) or (b), Annotated Code of Maryland;

Failure to properly execute a certificate of a notarial act in accordance with State Government Article, §18-215, Annotated Code of Maryland;

Charging a fee for notarial services higher than allowable by Regulation .02 of this chapter;

Failure to maintain an accurate record of notarial acts in a journal as required by State Government Article, §18-219, Annotated Code of Maryland; and

Performing a remote notarial act before notifying the Secretary of State as required by Regulation .07A(1)—(3) of this chapter and State Government Article, §18-214(e), Annotated Code of Maryland.

A list of Maryland notaries public and applicants who have completed a course of study and examination including the date or dates of the course and examination or examinations, as well as methods used to identify the notary public or applicant;

The provider shall transmit applicant data in a timeframe as established by the Secretary of State’s Office using a secure and mutually agreeable format; and

The provider shall ensure that all course and examination data is accurate and valid prior to its secure, electronic transmission to the Secretary of State’s Office.

Allow a survivor of threatened, attempted, or actual domestic violence, sexual assault, stalking, harassment, or human trafficking to have a State or local government agency and private entities use a substitute address in place of an actual address;

Enable State and local agencies to respond to requests for public records without disclosing the location of a survivor of threatened, attempted, or actual domestic violence, sexual assault, stalking, harassment, or human trafficking;

Enable interagency cooperation in providing address confidentiality for survivors of threatened, attempted, or actual domestic violence, sexual assault, stalking, harassment, or human trafficking; and

Enable a Program participant to use an address designated by the Secretary as a substitute address.

“Application assistant” means an employee or volunteer:

“Authorization card” means the card issued by the Secretary to a participant.

“Bona fide religious organization” has the meaning stated in COMAR 01.02.04.01.

“Notice of ACP Participation” means the form prescribed by the Secretary in accordance with State Government Article, §7-311(c)(1), Annotated Code of Maryland, to identify an individual as a participant, request the use of the participant’s substitute address, and prohibit disclosure of a participant’s identity information.

“Participant” means an individual designated by the Secretary to participate in the Program.

“Program” means the Address Confidentiality Program established under Title 7, Subtitle 3, Annotated Code of Maryland.

“Real Property ACP Notice” means the form prescribed by the Secretary in accordance with Real Property Article, §3-115, Annotated Code of Maryland, to request the shielding of real property records.

“Religious, medical, or other professional” means an individual:

“Secretary” means the Secretary of State of Maryland, or the Secretary's designee.

Application form; and

Checklist of understanding.

Be recommended by a federal, State, or local governmental agency or a domestic violence, sexual assault, stalking, or human trafficking prevention or assistance program, or certify that the individual is a religious, medical, or other professional actively providing services to survivors of domestic violence, sexual assault, stalking, harassment, or human trafficking;

Complete the training provided by the Secretary;

Agree to comply with the statutes and regulations governing the Program; and

Complete and sign the application assistant agreement form.

The participant's name;

The authorization number;

The substitute mailing address;

The participant's signature;

The expiration date;

The phone number of the Program; and

A list of the Program requirements for the purposes of a notification under State Government Article, §7-311(c)(1), Annotated Code of Maryland.

A participant may request that a State or local agency or any person use the substitute address designated by the Secretary as the participant’s address.

The participant shall show the participant's authorization card to the agency employee responsible for the record or to any person and request use of the substitute address.

Agency personnel or any person:

The agency shall accept the substitute address unless there is a waiver granted for a specific participant by the Secretary.

Agency personnel or any person:

A current and valid authorization card presented to agency personnel or any person shall be acceptable as a form to put an agency or a person on notice of Program participation in accordance with State Government Article, §7-311, Annotated Code of Maryland.

A copy of the participant's current authorization card or a statement that the card was lost or destroyed; and

A completed renewal form provided by the Secretary, which shall require all of the information described in Regulation .03 of this chapter.

Be on a form provided by the Secretary;

Include a copy of the participant's authorization card; and

Be accompanied by sufficient evidence of the change.

The participant is no longer eligible for Program participation; or

The Secretary determines that a participant’s actual address is readily accessible to the general public and the participant does not intend to relocate within 30 days to an address unknown to the abuser and not readily accessible to the general public.

Their address became known or publicly available through no fault of their own, and they were otherwise in compliance with Program rules and regulations;

They have relocated to an address that is unknown to the abuser and not readily accessible to the general public; and

They meet all other eligibility requirements under Regulation .03 of this chapter.

Identification of the statutory, regulatory, or administrative requirements that demonstrate the agency's bona fide purpose for the use of the actual address of a participant;

Identification of the specific participant for which the waiver is requested;

Identification of the individuals and agencies that will have access to the record;

The name and telephone number of an individual to contact regarding the request; and

An explanation of how the agency's acceptance of a substitute address will prevent the agency from meeting its obligations under the statute or regulation listed in §B(1) of this regulation.

Notify the participant of the waiver request; and

Inform the participant of the agency requesting the waiver and the reasons for the request.

In person on the participant; or

By mail on the Secretary.

Notify the participant; and

Forward process by mail to the participant.

Notice of ACP Participation;

Current and valid authorization card;

A copy of the welcome letter issued to the participant on designation as a participant; or

Written communication from the Secretary identifying an individual as a participant.

Full legal name of the participant;

Participant’s ACP number;

Substitute address designated by the Secretary as the participant’s address;

Program requirements in accordance with State Government Article, §7-311(c)(1), Annotated Code of Maryland;

Telephone number of the Program; and

Signature of the participant.

Person to whom the address is disclosed also lives, works, or goes to school at the disclosed address; or

Participant has provided written consent to the disclosure of the participant’s name, home address, work address, or school address for the purpose for which the disclosure will be made.

Notice of ACP Participation in accordance with State Government Article, §7-311(c)(1), Annotated Code of Maryland; and

Real Property ACP Notice required under Real Property Article, §3-115(b)(2), Annotated Code of Maryland.

Attorney;

Realtor;

Mortgage broker;

Lender;

Title company; and

Home owner’s association.

Appropriate county finance office; and

Clerk of the circuit court.

State and local agencies shall follow the established procedure in accordance with Real Property Article, §§3-115 and 3-117, Annotated Code of Maryland; and

A clerk of the circuit court shall provide a copy of any Real Property ACP Notice received under Real Property Article, §3-115, Annotated Code of Maryland, to both the:

Except as provided in Real Property Article, §3-116(b) and (c), Annotated Code of Maryland, a clerk of the circuit court and any State or local agency that receives a Real Property ACP Notice under Real Property Article, §3-115, Annotated Code of Maryland, may not disclose the participant’s identity information in conjunction with the property identified in the Notice.

A participant’s identity information may be disclosed in conjunction with a property identified in a Real Property ACP Notice if:

Prohibition on disclosure shall continue until:

The name, title, address, and affiliated organization, if applicable, of the individual requesting the disclosure;

The individual’s purpose for requesting the disclosure;

The individual’s relationship, if any, to the participant;

A legal description of the property subject to the title examination;

A statement that any information disclosed to the individual shall be treated as confidential and shall be used and disclosed only for the purpose identified in the request;

The individual’s signature; and

Any other information required by the Secretary to respond to the request.

The Secretary confirms that the property subject to the title examination is the property identified in the Real Property ACP Notice of a current participant;

The Secretary determines that the request is for the purpose of performing a bona fide title examination; and

The Secretary determines that the request is by a current participant for the participant’s own real property records as identified in the Real Property ACP Notice.