Chapter 01. General Provisions

The purpose of these regulations is to set forth the procedures under which the State Ethics Commission will implement the Maryland Public Ethics Law (General Provisions Article, Title 5, Annotated Code of Maryland) as to persons and entities within its jurisdiction pursuant to General Provisions Article, §5-104, Annotated Code of Maryland.

The regulations apply to officials and employees of State government as set forth below:

The regulations apply to candidates for office as State officials.

The regulations apply to persons subject to the lobbying disclosure provisions of General Provisions Article, Title 5, Subtitle 7, Annotated Code of Maryland.

The regulations apply to county and municipal governments and to local school systems, to the extent that they deal with model provisions, review of local and school system laws and regulations, requests for exemption pursuant to General Provisions Article, §5-209, Annotated Code of Maryland, and General Provisions Article, Title 5, Subtitle 8, and provision of Commission advice regarding these matters. They do not directly affect officials and employees solely of local jurisdictions or school systems who are properly included within local and school systems ethics provisions.

“Board” or “commission” means a board, commission, council, or any other executive unit, however denominated, comprised of two or more appointed members, all of whom serve on the board or commission on a part-time basis.

“Business” or “business entity” means any corporation, general or limited partnership, sole proprietorship (including a private consulting operation), joint venture, unincorporated association or firm, institution, trust, foundation or other organization, whether or not operated for profit.

“Commission” means the State Ethics Commission.

“Compensation” means any money or thing of value regardless of form received or to be received by any individual subject to this title from an employer for service rendered. For purposes of General Provisions Article, Title 5, Subtitle 7, Annotated Code of Maryland, if lobbying is only a portion of a person's employment, compensation means a prorated amount based on the time devoted to lobbying compared to the time devoted to other employment duties. For reporting purposes, a prorated amount shall be labeled as such.

“Designated second home” means:

“Doing business with the State” means being:

“Employee” or “State employee” means any person, other than a State or public official, employed by an executive unit or the legislative branch or in the judicial branch of State government.

“Employer” means any person paying or agreeing to pay compensation to another person for services rendered.

“Executive action” means any act taken by a State or public official or employee of the executive branch, for which the executive branch is responsible.

Executive Unit.

“Financial interest” means:

“General Assembly” includes any members, committee, or subcommittee of the General Assembly or of the Legislative Policy Committee.

Gift.

“Home address” means the address of an individual’s:

“Immediate family” means spouse and dependent children.

“Interest” means any legal or equitable economic interest, whether or not subject to an encumbrance or a condition, which was owned or held, in whole or in part, jointly or severally, directly or indirectly. For purposes of General Provision Article, Title 5, Subtitle 6, “interest” applies to interests held at any time during the calendar year for which a required statement is to be filed. “Interest” does not include:

“Legislative action” means introduction, sponsorship, consideration, debate, amendment, passage, defeat, approval, veto, or any other official action or nonaction on any bill, resolution, amendment, nomination, appointment, report, or any other matter pending or proposed in a committee or subcommittee in either house of the General Assembly, any matter which is within the official jurisdiction of the General Assembly, the Legislative Policy Committee or any committee or subcommittee thereof, any legislative bill pending or presented to the Governor for signature or veto, or testimony or other advocacy in an official capacity as a member of the General Assembly before a unit of State or local government.

“Lobbying” means the performing of any act requiring registration.

“Lobbyist” means any person who, within a reporting period, in the presence of any official or employee in the legislative or executive branch has communicated with that official or employee for the purpose of influencing any legislative action, and who, for that purpose and exclusive of the personal travel or subsistence expenses of that person or representative of that person, either incurs expenses of $100 or more or receives $500 or more as compensation, or any person who expends a cumulative value of $100 or more during a reporting period on one or more officials or employees in the executive branch for meals, beverages, special events, or gifts in connection with or with the purpose of influencing executive action.

Local Official.

“Member of household” means a person's spouse, child, ward, financially dependent parent, or other relative who shares the person's legal residence, or a person's child, ward, parent, or other relative over whose financial affairs the person has legal or actual control.

“Official” means either a State or a public official.

“Person” includes an individual or business entity.

“Political contribution” means contributions as that term is defined in Article 33, §1-1, Annotated Code of Maryland.

“Principal home” means the sole residential property that an individual occupies as the individual’s primary residence, whether owned or rented by the individual.

“Public Ethics Law” means the Maryland Public Ethics Law as set forth in General Provisions Article, Title 5, Annotated Code of Maryland.

“Public official” has the meaning stated in General Provisions Article, §5-101(ff), Annotated Code of Maryland.

“Quasi-governmental entity” means an entity that is created by state statute, that performs a public function, and that is supported in whole or in part by the state but is managed privately.

“Registrant” means any person required to register pursuant to General Provisions Article, §5-702(a), Annotated Code of Maryland.

“Respondent” means an official, a candidate for office, an employee, or a person subject to General Provisions Article, Title 5, Subtitle 7, Annotated Code of Maryland, who is the subject of a complaint before the Commission, pursuant to COMAR 19A.01.03.

“Second home” means a residential property that:

“State official” means a member or member-elect of the General Assembly, a judge or judge-elect of a court created by Article IV, Section 1 of the Constitution and a person defined in Rule 11 of Maryland Rule No. 1232, or a constitutional officer or officer-elect in an executive unit of the State government. State official also means a person holding office as State's attorney, clerk of the circuit court for each county or of a court of the Supreme Bench of Baltimore City, register of wills, and sheriff.

General.

Except as set forth in §§C and D of this regulation, the Commission shall meet in open session in accordance with the provisions of the Open Meetings Law, General Provisions Article, Title 3, Annotated Code of Maryland. The Commission shall provide notice of its meetings and take and maintain minutes of its meetings in accordance with General Provisions Article, §§3-302 and 3-306, Annotated Code of Maryland.

In addition to the exemptions to the open meetings requirement set forth in General Provisions Article, §3-305, Annotated Code of Maryland, the Commission may meet in closed session to consider an advisory opinion request under COMAR 19A.01.02 to the extent that consideration of the request would necessarily lead to identification of the subject of the request, and where the subject has not waived the right to protection of his identity afforded by General Provisions Article, §5-303, Annotated Code of Maryland.

In addition to the provision of §C of this regulation, the Commission shall meet in closed session whenever it is considering a complaint being processed in accordance with COMAR 19A.01.03, until a final Commission determination is made regarding disposition of the complaint.

Except as set forth in §§C—E, of this regulation, records of the Commission shall be maintained and made available for public inspection and copying in accordance with the provisions of the Maryland Public Information Law, General Provisions Article, §§4-101—4-601, Annotated Code of Maryland.

The records of the Commission shall be maintained at the Commission’s offices. The Commission’s normal business hours are Monday through Friday (except State holidays), 8:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., and hours for public inspection and copying of records are 9:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. on normal business days.

Commission records pertaining to advisory opinion requests and informal advice considered in accordance with COMAR 19A.01.02 may not be disclosed, to the extent that they include facts, discussion, or other material that would reveal the identity of the person who is the subject of the opinion, and the subject of the opinion has not waived the right to protection of the subject’s identity. Advisory opinion request and informal advice records shall be treated as set forth in General Provisions Article, Subtitle 3, Annotated Code of Maryland.

All Commission records pertaining to a complaint considered in accordance with COMAR 19A.01.03 shall be treated confidentially and not disclosed to any person except as set forth in General Provisions Article, §5-407, Annotated Code of Maryland, and COMAR 19A.01.03.02B. Investigatory records pertaining to preliminary inquiries initiated by the Commission pursuant to COMAR 19A.01.03.03 are privileged and shall also be treated confidentially.

Except as set forth in §§F and G of this regulation, financial disclosure statements filed by officials and candidates for office as State officials pursuant to General Provisions Article, Title 5, Subtitle 6, Annotated Code of Maryland, may be examined by the public only in person at the Commission’s offices as set forth in §B of this regulation. Any person examining these statements shall record his name, home address, and the name of the person whose disclosure is examined or copied. This record of examination shall be forwarded upon request to the person whose disclosure statement was so examined and copied.

The Commission will not provide public access to a portion of a statement that is filed after January 1, 2019 that includes an individual’s principal home address, designated second home address, or both, that is identified by the individual as the individual’s home address.

The Commission will not provide public access to information related to consideration received that is reported under General Provisions Article, §5-607(j), Annotated Code of Maryland.

Subject to §F of this regulation, for statements filed on or after January 1, 2019, the Commission will make freely available to the public on the Internet, through an online registration program, a financial disclosure statement filed pursuant to General Provisions Article §5-601(a) and a preliminary disclosure that is filed pursuant to General Provisions Article §5-602(c) that is filed by a State official, a candidate for office as a State official, or a Secretary of a principal department of the Executive Branch.

Except to confirm or deny the existence of a document or to disclose the name and limited identifying information, Commission staff will not disclose over the telephone any information contained in financial disclosure statements filed pursuant to General Provisions Article, Title 5, Subtitle 6, Annotated Code of Maryland.

Copying Fees.