The advisory opinion provisions of this chapter apply to officials and employees of State government, including: Officials and employees in the Executive Branch and all employees of the Legislative and Judicial Branches; Members of the General Assembly as to matters concerning the application to them of the financial disclosure provisions of General Provisions Article, Title 5, Subtitle 6, Annotated Code of Maryland; and Local personnel in State offices covered by the Public Ethics Law. These procedures also apply to: Candidates for office as elected State officials; and Persons subject to the lobbying disclosure provisions of General Provisions Article, Title 5, Subtitle 7, Annotated Code of Maryland. Advisory opinion procedures may also be applied, when appropriate at the Commission's discretion, to provide advice or interpretation regarding exemption requests or other aspects of the local government provisions of General Provisions Article, Title 5, Subtitle 8, Annotated Code of Maryland. Any official or employee or other person identified in Regulation .01 may request an advisory opinion concerning application to the requester of the provisions of the Public Ethics Law, or, as to members of the General Assembly, General Provisions Article, Title 5, Subtitle 6, Annotated Code of Maryland. The Commission shall accept and process these advisory opinion requests in accordance with the procedures set forth in this chapter. Advisory opinions may be requested by an official or employee of the State as to matters covered by the Public Ethics Law concerning another official or employee under the requester’s supervision. These requests shall be accepted and processed by the Commission in accordance with this chapter. Any other person may request an advisory opinion as to subject matters or individuals subject to the Public Ethics Law and the Commission's jurisdiction as set forth in Regulation .01 of this chapter. These requests may be considered by the Commission in its discretion as deemed appropriate. It shall be the general practice of the Commission to consider advisory opinion requests dealing with nonspeculative fact situations and to render opinions having prospective application. If an opinion request requires consideration of past behavior or events, the Commission may consider the request in the context of a preliminary inquiry pursuant to COMAR 19A.01.03.03. All requests for advisory opinions shall be in writing addressed to the State Ethics Commission at the Commission’s offices. The request shall include the signature, address, and telephone number of the requestor and shall set forth the facts and circumstances giving rise to the request. Each advisory opinion request accepted for processing pursuant to Regulation .02 of this chapter shall be acknowledged by the Commission staff. The acknowledgement shall set forth the right of the subject to protection of his identity pursuant to General Provisions Article, §5-303, Annotated Code of Maryland, and also the right of any person to be represented by counsel in connection with any aspect of the advisory opinion review process. When the request is from a person other than the official or employee whose conduct is the subject of the request, the person who is the subject of the request shall, if his identity is ascertainable, be provided with a copy of the request and the acknowledgement letter. Informal Advice. When an advisory opinion request presents facts and raises issues that have been addressed in a previously issued opinion of the Commission, the Commission staff may transmit the prior opinion as an expedited informal response to the opinion request. If the person who receives an informal response pursuant to §B(1) of this regulation believes that facts or law peculiar to the request are contrary to the existing opinion, then further formal or informal review by the Commission may be requested. When formal review is requested pursuant to §B(2) of this regulation, the Commission may, based on the available information: Schedule the request for review as set forth in §§C—E of this regulation, and Regulation .06; or Concur in the staff advice. If the staff advice provided pursuant to §B(1) of this regulation is affirmed, then it, with the prior opinion, shall be the final opinion of the Commission. The Commission may also provide informal advice when there is no prior staff advice or, when, based on the facts of the particular situation, formal advice is not required. When an informal determination is made, the procedures set forth in §§C—E of this regulation and Regulation .06 do not apply. Materials and documents relating to informal advice shall be treated as advisory opinion materials for purposes of the information provisions set forth in COMAR 19A.01.01.04. The Commission staff shall review the information set forth in the request and obtain other reasonably obtainable facts which allow the Commission to evaluate the conduct or activity in relation to the substantive provisions of the Public Ethics Law. Advisory opinion requests shall be considered by the Commission at a meeting conducted in accordance with COMAR 19A.01.01.03. The person whose conduct is the subject of the request shall appear at the Commission meeting considering the request unless their attendance is determined not to be necessary to resolution of the issue, and may be represented by legal counsel in connection with the appearance. The Commission may also request the attendance of the requestor or of any other person who can provide information relevant to its determination. Any person directly involved in the advisory opinion request may be represented by counsel at any and all stages of the proceeding. Advice in response to an opinion request shall be provided within 60 days of receipt of the request (or more promptly if circumstances require it). Each opinion shall be committed to writing and be dated, and shall contain the names of all members of the Commission present at the meeting at which the opinion request was decided and who subscribed to the opinion. The name of any dissenter to an opinion shall be separately noted. Each advisory opinion shall be written, to the extent possible, so as to prevent disclosure of the identity of the subject of the opinion. Advisory opinions shall be filed with the Division of State Documents for publication in the Maryland Register, and mailed to the requestor, the subject, and to other interested persons, as determined in the discretion of the Commission or the Executive Director of the Commission. The opinion rendered is binding on the Commission in any subsequent investigation or complaint proceeding concerning the officer or employee or other person who sought the opinion or who was the subject of the opinion and who acted in reliance on it in good faith, unless material facts were omitted or mis-stated by the person in the request for an advisory opinion or in statements made to the Commission concerning the situation under advisement. General Provisions Article, Title 5, Subtitle 3, Annotated Code of Maryland Effective date: March 20, 1981 (8:6 Md. R. 562) Regulation .01 amended effective January 20, 1992 (19:1 Md. R. 34) Regulation .02A, B amended effective January 16, 2017 (44:1 Md. R. 12) Regulation .04 amended effective January 20, 1992 (19:1 Md. R. 34); August 8, 2011 (38:16 Md. R. 946) Regulation .05B amended effective January 16, 2017 (44:1 Md. R. 12) Regulation .05B and D amended effective January 20, 1992 (19:1 Md. R. 34)