# COMAR Title 04 — Department of General Services

## Subtitle 01 — Office of the Secretary

### Chapter 03 — Petition for Declaratory Ruling

**Authority:** State Government Article, §10-304, Annotated Code of Maryland

**Administrative History:** Effective date: November 9, 1982 (9:22 Md. R. 2196)

#### Regulation .01 Who May File.

*COMAR 04.01.03.01*

Any interested person may file with the Secretary of the Department of General Services a petition for a declaratory ruling with respect to the applicability to any person, property, or state of facts of the laws administered by the Department and regulations set forth in Title 04 of COMAR.

#### Regulation .02 Form.

*COMAR 04.01.03.02*

A. A petition for declaratory ruling shall be filed in writing and clearly marked to indicate that it is being filed pursuant to this regulation. It shall contain a detailed statement of the facts on which the petition is based, shall set forth fully the statutes, regulations, or judicial decisions relevant to the issue, and shall pose the question of whether, and in what manner, the statutes, regulations, or judicial decisions apply to the petitioner under the facts outlined in the petition.

B. In addition, the petition shall contain a statement describing in detail the interest of the petitioner in making the request for the declaratory ruling. This description shall include a statement as to whether the declaratory ruling sought is intended to affect the consequences of any transaction or transactions entered into or contemplated by the petitioner, its vendors, customers, clients, or any person upon whose request or upon whose behalf the declaratory ruling is sought, which are known by the petitioner to be the subject of an inquiry of the Department of General Services and shall contain an explanation of the circumstances surrounding the inquiry, if any.

#### Regulation .03 Consideration and Disposition.

*COMAR 04.01.03.03*

A. The Secretary shall consider the petition and may, at his discretion, issue the declaratory ruling requested. The Secretary may require argument on the petition. Any declaratory ruling issued shall plainly state that it is a declaratory ruling pursuant to this regulation. A written answer from the Secretary or any employee of the Department to an inquiry may not be construed to be a declaratory ruling unless made in conformity with this regulation.

B. As to the petitioner, a declaratory ruling shall be binding upon the Secretary as to any transaction covered thereby, entered into before the date of the declaratory ruling, and any transaction entered into in reliance upon the declaratory ruling unless, after the issuance of the declaratory ruling and before any affected transaction, a change in the legal basis of the declaratory ruling is made by statute, regulation, or judicial decision. With prospective effect only, a declaratory ruling may be revoked, altered, or amended by the Secretary, at any time.

C. The Secretary may publish declaratory rulings of general interest, subject to protection of the identity of the petitioner and any confidential information contained in the petition for declaratory ruling.