[HISTORY: Adopted 1970, ch. 708, § 1 (Ch. 53, Art.
I, of the 1990 Code of Public Local Laws). Amendments noted where
applicable.]
This article applies to any legislative or administrative body
of Cecil County or any subdivision thereof, including any board, commission,
authority, council, agency, committee, or other organization supported
in whole or in part by public funds, or authorized to spend public
funds, and also includes subcommittees or other subordinate groups
of these bodies.
Except as otherwise provided by law or specified in this article,
all meetings of bodies subject to this article at which there is a
collective decision by a majority of the members of the body, or an
actual vote by a majority of the members of the body upon a motion,
proposed resolution, order or ordinance shall be open to the public.
The following are exempted from the provisions of this article:
A.
Grand and petit juries.
B.
Parole and pardon boards.
C.
Investigatory files compiled for law enforcement purposes except
to the extent available by law to a party other than an agency.
D.
Personnel and medical files and similar files the disclosure of which
would constitute an unwarranted invasion of personal privacy.
E.
Trade secrets and commercial or financial information obtained from
a person and privileged or confidential.
F.
Other bodies and records specifically exempted from disclosure by
statute.
G.
Volunteer fire companies.
Except as otherwise provided by law or in this article, all
records of meetings held by bodies subject to this article, and all
public records maintained or kept by any public or governmental body,
board, commission or agency within Cecil County supported in whole
or in part by public funds, shall be open for inspection and copying
at the applicant's expense, and with reasonable comforts and
facilities. If the record is in active use or in storage and, therefore,
not available at the time a citizen asks to examine it, the custodian
shall certify this fact in writing to the applicant and set a date
and hour within a reasonable time at which the record will be available
for the exercise of the right given by this article.
Any member of a body who willfully participates in any meeting
which violates this article, knowing the meeting to constitute such
a violation, or any person who withholds records knowing such withholding
of records constitutes a violation, is guilty of a misdemeanor punishable
upon conviction by a fine of not more than $500.
