Sec. 19a.01.01.02. Definitions

In this title, the following terms have the meanings indicated:

A. "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.

A-1. "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.

B. "Commission" means the State Ethics Commission.

C. "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.

C-1. “Designated second home” means:

(1) If an individual owns one second home, the individual’s second home; or

(2) If an individual owns more than one second home, any one second home the individual identifies to the Commission as the individual’s designated second home.

D. "Doing business with the State" means being:

(1) A party to any one or any combination of sales, purchases, leases, or contracts to, from, or with the State, or any agency of the State, involving consideration of $5,000 or more on a cumulative basis during the calendar year for which a required statement is to be filed (as of the awarding or execution of a contract or lease, the total then ascertainable consideration thereby committed to be paid, regardless of the period of time over which the payments are to be made, shall be included); or

(2) A registrant; or

(3) Regulated by the executive unit of the official or employee.

E. "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.

F. "Employer" means any person paying or agreeing to pay compensation to another person for services rendered.

G. "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.

H. Executive Unit.

(1) "Executive unit" means a department, agency, commission, board, council, or other body in State government which is established by law but which is not a part of either the legislative branch or the judicial branch.

(2) "Executive unit" includes:

(a) Entities functioning within county jurisdiction, but found as a matter of law to be executive units in State government, including, but not limited to, county boards of elections and community colleges;

(b) Local units of State cabinet departments, such as local departments of social services and (except when specifically excluded by statute) local health departments; and

(c) Any other unit specifically designated by State law as being covered by the Public Ethics Law.

I. "Financial interest" means:

(1) Ownership of any interest as the result of which the owner has received, within the past 3 years, or is presently receiving, or in the future is entitled to receive, more than $1,000 per year; or

(2) Ownership, or the ownership of securities of any kind representing or convertible into ownership, of more than 3 percent of a business entity.

J. "General Assembly" includes any members, committee, or subcommittee of the General Assembly or of the Legislative Policy Committee.

K. Gift.

(1) "Gift" means the transfer of anything of economic value regardless of the form without adequate and lawful consideration.

(2) "Gift" does not include the solicitation, acceptance, receipt, or regulation of contributions as defined in Election Law Article, Annotated Code of Maryland.

K-1. “Home address” means the address of an individual’s:

(1) Principal home; and

(2) Designated second home, if any.

L. "Immediate family" means spouse and dependent children.

M. “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:

(1) An interest held in the capacity of a personal representative, agent, custodian, fiduciary, or trustee, unless the holder has an equitable interest therein;

(2) An interest in a time or demand deposit in a financial institution;

(3) An interest in an insurance or endowment policy or annuity contract under which an insurance company promises to pay a fixed number of dollars either in a lump sum or periodically for life or some other specified period;

(4) A common trust fund or a trust which forms part of a pension or profit sharing plan which has more than 25 participants and which has been determined by the Internal Revenue Service to be a qualified trust under the Internal Revenue Code or a qualified tuition plan established pursuant to Section 529 of the Internal Revenue Code; or

(5) A mutual fund or exchange-traded fund that is publicly traded on a national scale unless the mutual fund or exchange-traded fund is composed primarily of holdings of stocks and interests in a specific sector or area that is regulated by the individual’s governmental unit.

N. “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.

O. "Lobbying" means the performing of any act requiring registration.

P. "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.

Q. Local Official.

(1) "Local official" means any official, officer, or employee of a county, the City of Baltimore, or an incorporated municipality, determined by the governing body of that jurisdiction to be subject to the provisions of General Provisions Article, Title 5, Subtitle 8, Annotated Code of Maryland.

(2) "Local official" does not include an employee or official:

(a) Of the judicial branch; or

(b) In an executive unit as defined in §H of this regulation.

R. "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.

S. "Official" means either a State or a public official.

T. "Person" includes an individual or business entity.

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

U-1. “Principal home” means the sole residential property that an individual occupies as the individual’s primary residence, whether owned or rented by the individual.

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

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

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

Y. "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.

Y-1. “Second home” means a residential property that:

(1) An individual occupies for some portion of the filing year; and

(2) Is not a rental property or a time share.

Z. "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.