Ombudsman’s List of Readily Available Documents & Proactive Disclosure Policy

Pursuant to § 4-104 of the General Provisions Article of Maryland’s Annotated Code, the Office of the Public Access Ombudsman provides the following policy of proactive disclosure:

It is the Ombudsman’s policy to publish via the Office’s website all records that the Ombudsman believes may be of interest to the public and that are fully disclosable under the law.  These records include, but are not limited to, the documents and material already posted on the Ombudsman’s website, such as:

• Program statistical and narrative reports published by the Office.
• Official publications of the Office, such as those that may be mandated by the Maryland General Assembly or other legal authority.
• Training materials and educational resources related to the Maryland Public Information Act produced by the Office.
• Records retention schedules of the Office.
• Regulations adopted by the Office.
• Testimony by the Office before the General Assembly.

The following types of documents are published by the Office of the Public Access Ombudsman, and are available on the Ombudsman’s website, free of charge, and without need of a formal PIA request:

• Notice Concerning Ombudsman Operations Due to COVID-19 Virus  04/08/20
• Interpretive regulations elaborating our office’s policies and procedures. 06/17/19
• Maryland Register Listing of Final Regulations. 06/17/19

Published Reports of the Office of the Public Access Ombudsman

• Final Report on the PIA,  a report published jointly by the Ombudsman and the PIA Compliance Board. 12/27/19
• 2019 Report on the Public Information Act: Preliminary Findings and Recommendations .  11/6/19
• Agency Survey data from 2019 Research Report on the Public Information Act. Available from cloud drive and immediately available upon request.  
• Report Concerning the Howard County Public School System’s Handling of Requests Under the Public Information Act, (Dec. 30, 2016), issued pursuant to H.B. 1105.

Statistical Program Reports

• Report on Ombudsman Activities: Since Inception 06/30/23.
• FY2023 Public Access Ombudsman Annual Report 06/30/23
• FY2022 Public Access Ombudsman Annual Report 06/30/22
• FY2021 Public Access Ombudsman Annual Report 06/30/21
• Calendar year 2020 Public Access Ombudsman Annual Report 12/31/20
• FY2020 Public Access Ombudsman Annual Report 06/30/2020
• Calendar year 2019 Public Access Ombudsman Annual Report 12/31/19
• Calendar year 2018 Public Access Ombudsman Annual Report. 12/31/18
• Calendar year 2017 Public Access Ombudsman Annual Report. 12/31/17
• Calendar year 2016 Public Access Ombudsman Annual Report. 12/31/16

Published Comments of the Office of the Public Access Ombudsman

• Comments of the Ombudsman. An appendix to the PIA Compliance Board 5th Annual report published in September 2020.
• Comments of the Ombudsman. An appendix to the PIA Compliance Board 4th Annual Report published in September 2019.
• Comments of the Ombudsman. An appendix to the PIA Compliance Board 3rd Annual Report. 09/2018.
• Fee Estimates, Flat Fees and Waiver of Fees. Office of the Public Defender, Post Conviction Newsletter, Spring 2018.
• Advice for your MPIA Request from the Public Access Ombudsman, Office of the Public Defender, Post-Conviction Newsletter, Winter 2017.
• Comments of the Ombudsman to the Office of the Attorney General for their Report of the Office of the Attorney General on the Implementation of the Public Information Act. September 22, 2017.
• Comments of the Ombudsman. An appendix to the PIA Compliance Board 2nd Annual Report 09/19/2017.

Open Matters – Blog Posts

• 02/12/2021 – The Ombudsman and members of the PIA Compliance Board unanimously support HB 183 
• 12/28/20 – Discretionary Exemption Series: Investigative Records Exemption
• 7/30/20 – New Court Rules Govern Access to Judicial Records
• 7/9/20 – What Criminal Records Can I Get Under the PIA?
• 5/28/20 – Update on Agency Practices During the Pandemic. 
• 4/06/20 – Importance of Accurate PIA Custodian Contact Information
• 3/23/20 – Ombudsman’s PIA Guidance During COVID-19 State of Emergency
• 2/14/20 – Ombudsman and members of the PIA Compliance Board unanimously support HB 502/SB590
• 1/7/20 – MSA – Records Management and the Public Information Act
• 8/14/2019 – Highlights From The PIA Compliance Board’s Opinions
• 8/01/2019 – Ombudsman and PIACB Seeking Comments on Research Project
• 7/12/19 – Where are My Records?
• 7/3/19 – Assessing Fees for PIA Requests. 
• 6/18/19 – Public Access Ombudsman Adopts Regulations. 
• 4/15/19 – Tips for Agency Transparency in the PIA Process.
• 3/29/19 – Proposed Regulations Noticed – Ombudsman Operations.
• 3/15/19 – Let the Sun Shine In: Maryland Public Access Ombudsman.
• 01/28/2019 – Proactive Disclosure Saves Time and Money, and It’s the Law
• 11/20/2018 – PIA Technology Solutions: Maryland Insurance Administration’s PIA Web-Portal. 
• 11/01/2018 – 2018 Recommendations to the General Assembly. 
• 09/26/2018 – PIA Technology Solutions: HCPSS – Transparency in Public Schools. 
• 07/13/2018 – Privacy Beyond the Grave: Does the PIA Protect the Personnel Records of a Departed Employee? 
• 06/18/2018 – Why Am I Being Charged? A Q&A Breakdown of Fees Agencies Charge for Maryland PIA Requests. 
• 03/29/2018 – Innovative Approach to Case Management Aids Anne Arundel’s Compliance with the PIA. 
• 09/26/2017 – Down the Rabbit Hole: What is a Maryland Public Information Act (PIA) Request? 
• 09/11/2017 – What Makes a Successful PIA Mediation? 

Tip Sheets

• Tips for Submitting and Responding to a PIA Request.
• Tips for Participating in a PIA Mediation.
• Ombudsman’s Basics
• Confidentiality of Ombudsman Mediations

PIA Training Materials

Utilized by the Office of the Public Access Ombudsman in Presentations During the past calendar year in 2018. The following documents are published by the Office of the Public Access Ombudsman, and are immediately available upon request.

Video of PIA Training conducted by the Ombudsman with Judge Carey at MML Academy for Excellence in Local Government Conference on 10/9/20. Published with the permission of MML. Note. The Academy cannot give course credit for those who did not participate in the live version. PIA Part I,  PIA Part II 11/4/20

2019

• Town of Boonsboro, and surrounding Municipalities, 2/7/19
• Wicomico County State’s Attorney’s Office, 4/5/19
• Prince George’s County Law Office, 4/25/19
• Harford County State’s Attorney’s Office, 6/7/19
• Bowie State Police and town clerk, 6/11/19
• Jessup Correctional Institution, Veterans of JCI, 7/10/19

2018

• American Association of Law Librarians, 2018 Annual Meeting, July 14-17, 2018
• Department of Health, October 9, 2018 (Boards), and November 30, 2018 (New Employees)
• City of Greenbelt, October 18, 2018
• Maryland Association of Counties, November 14, 2018

Record Management Documents

• Office of the Public Access Ombudsman Record Retention Schedule – immediately available upon request.
  • Date: 01/23/2017
  • Archives Location: 01/66/13/088/S00
  • Schedule No: 2810
  • MSA Citation: S1468-3980
• Certificates of Destruction. Prepared Pursuant to Record Retention Schedules
  • 12/20/2018 
• Records Officer Designee pursuant to the Annotated Code of Maryland Article 10, section 610.
  • 9/4/18 Letter – immediately available upon request.

Additional PIA Resources

• Office of the Attorney General’s PIA Manual, including Appendix J – Custodian List, Published July 2022
• PIACB Annual Reports 
  • 2023
  • 2022
  • 2021
  • 2020
  • 2019
  • 2018
  • 2017
  • 2016