Bill Summary – FastDemocracy

HB 176
                      Department of Legislative Services
                              Maryland General Assembly
                                    2020 Session
                           FISCAL AND POLICY NOTE
                                 Third Reader
House Bill 176              (St. Mary's County Delegation)
Health and Government Operations        Education, Health, and Environmental Affairs
                St. Mary's County Open Meetings Act - Closed Sessions
This bill authorizes a public agency meeting or a staff meeting of a public agency in
St. Mary’s County to conduct a closed session to (1) consider the investment of public
funds; (2) consult with counsel to obtain legal advice; or (3) discuss cybersecurity, under
specified circumstances.
                                    Fiscal Summary
State Effect: None.
Local Effect: The bill is procedural in nature and does not directly affect St. Mary’s
County finances.
Small Business Effect: None.
                                         Analysis
Bill Summary: A public agency meeting or staff meeting may be conducted in a closed
session to discuss cybersecurity if the public body determines that public discussion would
constitute a risk to:
      security assessments or deployments relating to information resources technology;
      network security information, including information that is (1) related to passwords,
       personal identification numbers, access codes, encryption, or other components of
       the security system of a governmental entity; (2) collected, assembled, or
       maintained by or for a governmental entity to prevent, detect, or investigate criminal
       activity; or (3) related to an assessment, made by or for a governmental entity or
       maintained by a governmental entity, of the vulnerability of a network to criminal
       activity; or
      deployments or implementation of security personnel, critical infrastructure, or
       security devices.
Current Law: “Public agency,” as it applies to the St. Mary’s County Open Meetings
Act, means a governmental unit of St. Mary’s County, including an advisory or
quasi-judicial agency, that is supported in any part by public money or authorized to spend
public money and includes the St. Mary’s County Board of Education. “Public agency”
does not include a jury, a law enforcement agency, or the judicial branch.
“Public agency meeting” means the convening quorum of the constituent membership of a
public agency to deliberate or act on a matter under the supervision, control, jurisdiction,
or advisory power of the public agency. “Staff meeting” means a meeting of three or more
staff members of one or more public agencies.
St. Mary’s County Open Meetings Act
Under the St. Mary’s County Open Meetings Act, as codified under State law, a (1) staff
meeting or (2) public agency meeting at which official action is taken must be open to the
public except as otherwise specified. “Official action” means a phase of the process in
which a public agency makes a decision or recommendation, including receipt of
information and deliberation.
A public agency meeting or staff meeting may be conducted in a closed session only under
specified circumstances, including (1) specified personnel matters; (2) to engage in
collective bargaining; (3) to discuss the distribution of police forces to cope with public
safety emergencies; (4) to discuss cost estimates for capital projects to be subsequently
placed through the bidding process; (5) for meetings of the St. Mary’s Board of Education,
to discuss specific students, families, or personnel under specified circumstances; or
(6) when State law or federal regulation otherwise prohibit a meeting open to the public,
among other things.
A closed session must be announced in advance at a meeting that is open to the public. The
announcement must include the nature of the business of the closed session, and the closed
session must be limited to the described matters. The minutes of the next open session must
include the justification for holding the closed session, the names of those in attendance,
and the times the meeting begins and ends. An ordinance, resolution, rule, regulation, or
decision may not be adopted in closed session.
HB 176/ Page 2
Background: The exceptions to open meeting requirements established under the bill are
identical to existing exceptions under Maryland’s Open Meetings Act (OMA). Under
OMA, a public body may meet in closed session only under specified circumstances,
including to consider the investment of public funds, consult with counsel to obtain legal
advice, and discuss cybersecurity under specified conditions identical to those set forth
under the bill.
Under OMA, a public body may not meet in closed session unless at least one member of
the body has been designated to receive training on the requirements of the open meetings
law. If a designated individual cannot be present at an open meeting at which the public
body votes to hold a closed session, the body must complete a specified compliance
checklist developed by the Office of the Attorney General and include the checklist in the
meeting minutes.
                               Additional Information
Prior Introductions: None.
Designated Cross File: None.
Information Source(s): St. Mary’s County; Department of Legislative Services
Fiscal Note History:     First Reader - February 14, 2020
af/mcr                   Third Reader - March 1, 2020
Analysis by: Elizabeth J. Allison                     Direct Inquiries to:
                                                      (410) 946-5510
                                                      (301) 970-5510
HB 176/ Page 3
Statutes affected: 
Text - First - St. Mary's County Open Meetings Act - Closed Sessions: 9-501 Local Government, 9-512 Local Government
Text - Third - St. Mary's County Open Meetings Act - Closed Sessions: 9-501 Local Government, 9-512 Local Government