Sec. 19a.06.02.03. Qualification of the Trustee

A. For a trust to qualify for certification the trustee shall be independent of and unassociated with the official or employee in both reality and appearance.

B. The trustee:

(1) Shall be a financial institution or an ongoing organization that is generally actively involved in trust management activities;

(2) May not have managerial employees or persons having duties relating to the trust that are partners, joint venturers, employee/consultants or otherwise engaged in business ventures with any interested party;

(3) May not have an employee that is a spouse, parent, child, brother, or sister of any interested party;

(4) May not have any current accounts, loans, or other financial transactions with any interested party;

(5) During the period of the existence of the trust, may not make any institutional political contributions to the official or employee, or have any managerial employee or individual having duties relating to the trust actively involved with any political campaign of any interested party;

(6) May not be subject in any significant way to the ongoing regulatory or contractual authority or control of the official or employee, if the official's or employee's ongoing functions are regulatory or contractual; and

(7) Shall comply, initially and as a continuing matter, with the procedural requirements set forth in COMAR 19A.06.03.