St. Mary’s commissioners approve submitting revised ethics ordinance draft to State Ethics Commission

The Saint Mary’s County Board of County Commissioners authorized staff Tuesday to submit a draft of the county’s revised public ethics ordinance to the State Ethics Commission for review.

The draft ordinance, prepared by the county attorney’s office and the local Ethics Commission, is a hybrid of two model ordinances the State Ethics Commission circulated; it is intended to bring the county into compliance with provisions of Senate Bill 315 concerning financial disclosure and conflict‑of‑interest rules. Elizabeth Long, vice chair of the Saint Mary’s County Ethics Commission, attended the meeting and commissioners praised the commission’s line‑by‑line review of the draft.

Commissioners were clear the board is not being asked to adopt a final ordinance at this meeting; staff sought authority to submit the draft to the State Ethics Commission for review so the state could comment. The board will have another opportunity to review and adopt a final ordinance after state feedback.

Motion and outcome: Commissioner [name on transcript] moved to direct staff to submit the draft revised public ethics ordinance; the motion was seconded. The board approved the motion; one commissioner recorded an abstention.

Why it matters: Senate Bill 315 requires counties to update local ordinances to meet minimum state standards for conflicts and financial disclosures. Commissioners and staff noted the state model could make consistency across counties easier to interpret but said local boards retain the ability to adopt rules that are more restrictive than state minimums.

Next steps: Staff will submit the draft to the State Ethics Commission, receive any comments, and return with a revised ordinance for the board’s formal consideration and possible adoption.