Proposed Regulations Noticed – Ombudsman Operations

The Office of the Public Access Ombudsman (“Office”) would like to inform you of the interpretive regulations it has proposed to govern the Office’s operations. We invite you to review the proposed regulations in the current issue of the Maryland Register at the following link, http://www.dsd.state.md.us/MDR/4607/Assembled.htm#_Toc4491557, and submit any comments by April 29, 2019.

The Office was created in 2015 to “make reasonable attempts to resolve disputes between applicants and custodians relating to requests for public records” under the Public Information Act (“PIA”). Md. Code Ann., General Provisions (“GP”), § 4-1B-04(a). The statute does not specify any particular dispute-resolution process, but does ensure the independence of the Office and the confidential and voluntary nature of the program. The proposed regulations are an outgrowth of the Office’s institutional and programmatic experience during its three-year history, and are intended to clarify and explain the Office’s role and processes within the existing statutory framework. It is hoped that the regulations will better manage the expectations of parties who interact with the Office, and will make the Ombudsman’s mediation work more efficient and intelligible.

You may send comments or questions to Janice Clark, Administrative Officer, Office of the Public Access Ombudsman, by email: pia.ombuds@oag.state.md.us; by mail: 200 St. Paul Place, 25th Floor, Baltimore, MD 21202; by phone: 410-576-7033; or by fax: 410-576-7004.  We look forward to hearing from you.