Maryland Code, GENERAL PROVISIONS 5-518
Terms Used In Maryland Code, GENERAL PROVISIONS 5-518
- Allegation: something that someone says happened.
- Complaint: A written statement by the plaintiff stating the wrongs allegedly committed by the defendant.
- Jurisdiction: (1) The legal authority of a court to hear and decide a case. Concurrent jurisdiction exists when two courts have simultaneous responsibility for the same case. (2) The geographic area over which the court has authority to decide cases.
- minor: means an individual under the age of 18 years. See
- Person: includes an individual, receiver, trustee, guardian, personal representative, fiduciary, representative of any kind, corporation, partnership, business trust, statutory trust, limited liability company, firm, association, or other nongovernmental entity. See
- Presiding officer: A majority-party Senator who presides over the Senate and is charged with maintaining order and decorum, recognizing Members to speak, and interpreting the Senate's rules, practices and precedents.
(1) the complaint is frivolous;
(2) the complaint does not allege actions on the part of the accused legislator that provide reason to believe that a violation may have occurred;
(3) the matters alleged are not within the jurisdiction of the Joint Ethics Committee;
(4) the violations alleged were inadvertent, technical, or minor, or have been cured, and, after consideration of all of the circumstances then known, further proceedings would not serve the purposes of this subtitle; or
(5) for other reasons, after consideration of all the circumstances, further proceedings would not serve the purposes of this subtitle.
(b) (1) If a finding is made under subsection (a) of this section, the Joint Ethics Committee shall:
(i) submit a report of its conclusions to the presiding officer or to the membership of the branch of the legislature of which the accused legislator is a member, and the proceedings shall be terminated;
(ii) provide advice or guidance to the accused legislator; or
(iii) provide the accused legislator with an opportunity to cure any minor violation of ethical standards.
(2) (i) Subject to § 5-517 of this subtitle, notice of the Joint Ethics Committee’s action shall be provided to the accused legislator and to any person who filed the complaint.
(ii) On request, the accused legislator may see the complaint and the report.
(c) If no finding is made under subsection (a) of this section, the Joint Ethics Committee shall prepare an allegation summary, based on its examination under subsection (a) of this section, setting forth the alleged facts and the issues then known that merit further proceedings.
(d) After review of a complaint, the Joint Ethics Committee shall provide a statement of its findings to the accused legislator.