These regulations set out the procedures for the filing of requests with any of the agencies, boards, commissions, councils, corporations, authorities, trusts, and divisions within the Department of Housing and Community Development for the inspection or copying of records under State Government Article, §§10-611—10-630, Annotated Code of Maryland. It is the policy of the Department to facilitate public access to the records of the Department, when this access is allowed by law, by minimizing costs and time delays to persons requesting information. In accordance with this policy, the Department will provide for the free flow of information to the public, whenever possible, without recourse to the procedures set forth in this chapter. In this chapter, the following terms have the meanings indicated. Terms Defined. “Act” means State Government Article, §§10-611—10-630, Annotated Code of Maryland. “Applicant” means any person requesting disclosure of public records. “Department” means the Department of Housing and Community Development, and any of the agencies, boards, commissions, corporations, authorities, trusts, or divisions included within the Department of Housing and Community Development under Article 83B, §1-204, Annotated Code of Maryland. “Custodian” means the head of an organizational unit of the Department having personal custody and control of public records of that organizational unit of the Department “Official custodian” means the Secretary of Housing and Community Development, or the Secretary's designee, who is responsible for the maintenance, care, and keeping of the public records of the Department. Unless otherwise provided by law, the Secretary, or the Secretary's designee, is the official custodian of the Department's records. “Public records” has the meaning stated in State Government Article, §10-611(g), Annotated Code of Maryland. “Secretary” means the Secretary of Housing and Community Development. “Working day” means each day except Saturdays, Sundays, and State holidays between the hours of 8:30 a.m. and 4:45 p.m. A person may request to inspect or copy any public record that is in the custody and control of the Department and which, under the provisions of the Act, the Department is required to make available to the public. The custodian may make public records available for inspection or copying, or both, by an applicant without a written request except as set forth below. Written requests shall be required in all instances when the public records requested may contain information relating to any of the following: Adoption records; Welfare records; Letters of reference; Circulation records; Gifts; Retirement records; Personnel records; Hospital records; Student records; Medical and psychological information; Sociological information; Commercial information; Public employee information; Financial information; Security of an information system; Licensing records; Interagency and intra-agency documents; Examinations; Research projects; Appraisals of real property; Information concerning investigations; Information which may cause substantial injury to the public interest; Privileged or confidential information; or Information protected by state or federal law, court rule, or court order. A custodian may require a written request for other public records if in the custodian's discretion the request will facilitate the response to the request for records. A written request shall contain the applicant's name and address, be signed by the applicant, and shall reasonably identify by brief description the record sought. A written request for a record in the custody and control of the Department shall be addressed to the official custodian. The official custodian shall promptly direct the request to the custodian of the record. If the custodian decides to grant a written request for inspection, he shall produce the record for inspection immediately or within a reasonable period, not to exceed 30 days from the date of receipt of the request when that period of time is needed to retrieve the information. If the custodian decides to deny the written request, he shall do so within 30 days of receipt of the written request and immediately upon deciding to deny the request, shall notify the applicant of the denial. Any reasonably severable portion of a record shall be provided after deletion of those portions which may be withheld from disclosure. Within 10 working days of the denial, the custodian shall give the applicant a written statement that gives the reasons and legal authority for the denial and contains a notice of the remedies for review of the denial. If a requested public record is not in the custody or control of the person to whom written application is made, that person shall, within 10 working days of the receipt of the request, so notify the applicant. If that person knows the name of the custodian of the record or the location or possible location of the record, this information shall also be given to the applicant. With the consent of the applicant, any time limit imposed by §§A—C may be extended for an additional period not to exceed 30 days. The custodian, unless prohibited by law, may notify a person who could be adversely affected by a disclosure of a record to the applicant who has made a request for inspection or copying of the record. The custodian may consider the views of the person before deciding whether to disclose the record to the applicant. If the requested record has been destroyed or lost, the custodian to whom the application is made shall notify the applicant of this fact within 10 working days of receipt of the request, and shall explain in the response the reasons why the record cannot be produced. If the written request is denied by the custodian, the applicant may request an administrative hearing on the denial within 30 days after receipt of the notification of the written denial. If a hearing is requested by the applicant, the hearing shall be conducted by a hearing officer designated by the Secretary and the hearing shall be governed by COMAR 05.01.01. After the hearing the hearing officer shall prepare a recommended decision which shall be submitted to the Secretary. The Secretary shall issue the final decision of the Department. If the administrative hearing results in a total or partial denial of the written request, the applicant may file an appropriate action in the circuit court under §10-623 of the Act. The applicant may file an action for judicial enforcement under §10-623 of the Act without exhausting the administrative remedy of §A, above. If, in the opinion of the Secretary, disclosure of any public record which is otherwise required to be disclosed under the Act would do substantial injury to the public interest, the Secretary may temporarily deny the request in writing, and apply within 10 working days of the denial to the appropriate circuit court for an order permitting the Secretary to continue to deny or restrict the disclosure. Notice of the application filed with the circuit court shall be served upon the applicant in the same manner provided for service of process by the Maryland Rules of Procedure. The Department may charge reasonable fees in accordance with the following fee schedule: Copies. The fee for each copy is 25 cents per page when reproduction can be made by a photocopying machine within the Department. When records are not amenable to photocopying (for example, punch cards, magnetic tapes, blueprints and microfilm), the fee for reproducing the record will be based on the actual cost of reproduction. Certification of Copies. When a person requests that a copy of a record be certified as a true copy of the original public record, an additional cost of $1 per page will be charged. Searching or Record Preparation. There is no charge for the first 2 hours that are needed to search for a public record and prepare it for inspection. The custodian may charge a reasonable fee for time that an official or employee of the Department spends to search for records, or prepare records for inspection and copying. A charge may not be made when the amount of the fee is $1 or less. Notwithstanding §A above, if the fees for copies, printouts, photographs, or certified copies of any record are specifically prescribed by a law other than the Act or this regulation the specific fee contained in that law shall determine the amount charged for that record. If the custodian is unable to copy a record within the Department, the custodian shall make arrangements for the prompt reproduction of the record at public or private facilities outside the Department. The custodian shall either collect from the applicant a fee which is sufficient to pay the actual cost of reproduction or direct the applicant to pay the cost of reproduction directly to the facility making the copy. Before searching for, preparing, or copying a record, the custodian shall estimate the cost of searching for, preparing and copying the record and obtain the agreement of the applicant that the cost shall be paid. The custodian may demand pre-payment of any estimated fee before searching for, preparing and copying the record. If such a payment is required, the time limitations contained elsewhere in these regulations may not commence until the payment is made. Upon request the official custodian may waive or reduce any fee charged pursuant to this regulation if the custodian determines that the waiver or reduction is in the public interest. The official custodian shall consider, among other relevant factors, the ability of the applicant to pay the cost or fee. If the applicant requests that copies be mailed or delivered to the applicant, the custodian may charge the applicant for the cost of postage or delivery to the applicant. An applicant may inspect any public record which he is entitled to inspect during the normal working hours of the Department. The place of inspection shall be the place where the document is located unless the custodian determines that another place of inspection is more suitable. State Government Article, §§10-613 and 10-621, Annotated Code of Maryland Effective date: January 7, 1982 (8:26 Md. R. 2105) Regulations .01, .07, .11, .12D, .13, .14, and .15 amended and .09 repealed effective June 18, 1984 (11:12 Md. R. 1062) Chapter recodified from COMAR 05.04.03 to COMAR 05.01.02 Regulation .01 amended effective November 14, 1988 (15:23 Md. R. 2656) Regulation .02 amended effective April 5, 1999 (26:7 Md. R. 536) Regulation .02D amended effective November 14, 1988 (15:23 Md. R. 2656) Regulation .04 amended effective November 14, 1988 (15:23 Md. R. 2656) Regulation .06 amended effective November 14, 1988 (15:23 Md. R. 2656) Regulation .07B amended effective November 14, 1988 (15:23 Md. R. 2656) Regulation .10 repealed effective November 14, 1988 (15:23 Md. R. 2656) Regulation .12A amended effective November 14, 1988 (15:23 Md. R. 2656) Regulation .14A amended effective November 14, 1988 (15:23 Md. R. 2656) Regulation .14A, D amended effective December 24, 2012 (39:25 Md. R. 1610)