Baltimore County ACC considers quicker rules, cites need to meet opinion deadlines

The Baltimore County Administrative Charging Committee on July 10 reviewed proposed amendments to its rules of procedure intended to bring the committee into compliance with recent statutory changes and to reduce delays in issuing formal opinions.

The Chair opened the meeting, completed roll call and the committee adopted minutes from its July 1 meeting. The Chair then turned the discussion to staff, who outlined three principal changes: replace a fixed 3-day written notice requirement for additional meetings with a "reasonable notice" standard (staff said the committee would "ideally" provide 24 hours' notice), update timelines tied to complaint rescission to reflect recent statutory changes, and remove a provision requiring delivery of amended rules to the county council together with the existing 30-day public-notice adoption delay.

Staff said the proposed changes are aimed at helping the committee meet statutory deadlines for issuing formal opinions while allowing counsel to complete legal sufficiency review. "Ideally, we will have 24 hours notice at minimum," the staff member said, describing the change as a means to allow the committee to convene quickly when statutory or operational needs require it. Staff also described a provisional approach: post the draft on the county website after legal review, start a 30-day public-notice clock, and—absent substantive public feedback—finalize the amendments after the August meeting so the committee can begin operating under the revised rules in September.

Committee members pressed staff on transparency and the justification for shortening notification timelines. One member said they wanted to "protect the committee from accusations [of] lack of transparency," asking whether a shorter window could be misread by the public. Staff responded that public comment opportunities remain at every meeting, that drafts will be posted on the county website, and that citizens can email or speak during public comment on any proposed change.

The committee also discussed a practical timing problem: the committee must issue certain formal opinions within a five-day deadline after meetings, and staff said a strict 3-day notice rule for special sessions could force a choice between issuing opinions before legal sufficiency review is complete or missing the statutory deadline. Staff framed the amendments as procedural fixes to reduce that conflict and to allow timely compliance with statute.

Later in the meeting the Chair moved that the committee enter closed session "to review files and compliance with Maryland Code, Public Safety §3-104(h), and discuss investigations pertaining to actual or possible criminal [matters]." The motion carried and the committee moved into closed session. On returning to open session at 12:05 p.m., the committee scheduled a special virtual session for July 15, 2026 at noon to continue investigative-file review and then adjourned.

The committee set its next regular meeting for Aug. 7, 2026 at noon in Room 118 and via Webex. Staff said once the legal reviewer completes a formal sufficiency check, the draft amendments will be posted to the county website to start the public-notice period.