Annapolis lawmakers introduce bill to clarify right of inspectors general to obtain documents
The bipartisan effort faces a tight timeframe as the crossover date for legislation (going from the House to the Senate) ends on March 23 and the session concludes on April 13
Above: House members Ryan Nawrocki (R, Baltimore County) and Vaughn Scott (D Montgomery County) are sponsoring the “Inspector General Access of Public Records” bill.
Amid efforts by Baltimore Mayor Brandon Scott to restrict access to documents for the city’s watchdog, two state lawmakers have introduced legislation to clarify that inspectors general are not subject to Maryland Public Information Act (MPIA) restrictions when conducting official investigations.
Delegates Vaughn Stewart (D, Montgomery County) and Ryan Nawrocki (R, Baltimore County ) introduced the bipartisan legislation, saying that offices set up to root out waste, fraud and abuse in local government must have proper latitude to do so.
“Government accountability shouldn’t depend on the agency being investigated giving permission,” Nawrocki said in a social media post about the bill yesterday.
“Inspectors general don’t work for the agencies they investigate – they work for the public,” Stewart said in a joint news release with Nawrocki.
The bill (HB 1620) comes after the law departments in both Baltimore City and Montgomery County blocked access to government records by inspectors general, asserting that they must follow the same Maryland Public Information Act (MPIA) procedures – and exceptions regarding financial and personnel records – as outside requestors.
“As a result, records historically available to investigators were withheld, hindering an active investigation,” the legislators noted.
Scott imposed such restrictions on Baltimore Inspector General Isabel Mercedes Cumming in January as well as restricted her office’s access to city records that have been available to her since she was installed as IG in 2018.
Earlier this week, Cumming filed a lawsuit against the mayor demanding the city comply with a previous subpoena for records from the Mayor’s Office of Neighborhood Engagement and Safety (MONSE). The law department had redacted more than 200 pages of these records, citing its interpretation of an advisory letter recently issued by a staffer at the Maryland Attorney General’s Office.
Cumming has gained support from three fellow inspectors general and the MDDC Press Association. Both have called for the Maryland General Assembly to promptly pass legislation clarifying the right of city and county inspector general offices to government documents while investigating complaints of abuse or fraud.
Text of HB 1620, Inspector General Access of Public Records, here.