Sec. 14.03.05.20. Review of the Denial of Public Information Act Requests

A. Request for Review.

(1) If a written application is denied by the custodian for a reason other than the record is temporarily unavailable, the applicant may, within 30 days after receipt of the notice of the denial, request administrative review of the denial, as described in §A(2) of this regulation.

(2) An applicant shall request administrative review of denial of application for information by filing a written request within 30 days of the denial with the Chairperson of the Commission on Human Relations.

(3) In the written request for review, the applicant shall:

(a) State their name;

(b) Sign the request;

(c) Identify, by brief description, the record sought; and

(d) Include a copy of the writing from the custodian denying the request.

(4) The chairperson shall issue the final decision of the Commission within 60 days of the request for review, unless the applicant requests a hearing as described in §A(5) of this regulation.

(5) Request for Administrative Hearing.

(a) If the applicant requests a hearing, the hearing shall be conducted by an administrative law judge designated by the chairperson.

(b) The hearing shall be governed by the Commission's rules of procedure pursuant to COMAR 14.03.01.11G.

(c) After the hearing, the administrative law judge shall prepare a recommended decision for the chairperson.

(d) The chairperson shall issue the final decision of the Commission within 60 days of the date of the hearing.

(6) Request for Judicial Enforcement. If the applicant chooses not to request administrative review under §A(1) of this regulation, the applicant may file an action for judicial enforcement under State Government Article, §10-623, Annotated Code of Maryland, without exhausting that administrative remedy, as provided by State Government Article, §§10-622 and 10-623, Annotated Code of Maryland.

B. Disclosure Against Public Interest.

(1) If, in the opinion of the Executive Director, disclosure of a public record that is otherwise required to be disclosed under the Act would do substantial injury to the public interest, the Executive Director may temporarily deny the request in writing and apply within 10 working days of the denial to the appropriate court for an order permitting continued denial or restriction of access.

(2) Notice of an application filed with the circuit court shall be served on the applicant in the manner that is provided for service of process by the Maryland Rules of Procedure.

C. Fees.

(1) The custodian shall provide copies, printouts, or photographs only upon payment of the applicable fee by the applicant.

(2) The fees to be charged for any copies, printouts, or photographs shall be established by the Executive Director.

(3) If the custodian is unable to copy a record within the Commission, the custodian shall make arrangements for the prompt reproduction of the record at public or private facilities outside the Commission.

(4) In a case as described in §C(3) of this regulation, the custodian shall either collect from the applicant a fee to cover the actual cost of reproduction or direct the applicant to pay the cost of reproduction directly to the facility making the copy.

(5) Before copying a record, the custodian shall estimate the cost of reproduction and either obtain the agreement of the applicant to pay the costs or demand prepayment of any estimated fee before reproducing the record.

(6) The official custodian may charge reasonable fees for an official's or employee's time expended searching for requested records or for any time expended preparing records for inspection and copying, except for the first 2 hours of official or employee time that is needed to respond to a request for information.

(7) Fee Waiver or Reduction.

(a) Upon request, the official custodian may waive or reduce any fee charged pursuant to this section if the custodian determines that the waiver or reduction is in the public interest.

(b) The custodian shall consider, among other relevant factors, the ability of the applicant to pay the costs or fee.

(8) If the applicant requests that copies be mailed or delivered to the applicant, the custodian may charge the applicant for the costs of postage or delivery to the applicant.

D. Time of Inspection. An applicant may inspect any public record that the applicant is entitled to inspect during the normal working hours of the Commission.

E. Place of Inspection. The place of inspection shall be the place where the document is located unless the custodian, after taking into account the applicant's expressed wish, determines another place of inspection is more suitable and convenient.