BLAIR LEE III, Acting Governor

289 1

custody and control of the person to whom WRITTEN
application is made but are [in active use or in storage]
NOT IMMEDIATELY AVAILABLE, [and therefore not available at
the time an applicant asks to examine them,] the custodian
shall, [forthwith] WITHIN TEN WORKING DAYS OF THE RECEIPT OF
THE REQUEST, notify the applicant of this fact and shall set
forth a date and hour within a reasonable time at which time
the record will be available for the exercise of the right
given by this article.

[(d) All written documents presented to the County
Commissioners of Harford County shall be open and available
to the press and to the public of Harford County. The
attorney for the county and the county director of public
information shall disclose the contents of any document
publicly presented to either of them upon the demand of any
citizen of Harford County.

(e)] (D) In Charles County, except for records kept
by officials, agencies, or departments of the State of
Maryland, public information shall be regulated by § 6 of
this article.

3.

(a)    The custodian of any public records shall allow
any person the right of inspection of such records or any
portion thereof except on one or more of the following
grounds or as provided in subsection (b) or (c) of this
section:

(i) Such inspection would be contrary to any
State statute;

(ii) Such inspection would be contrary to any
federal statute or regulation issued thereunder having the
force and effect of law; [or]

(iii) Such inspection is prohibited by rules
promulgated by the Court of Appeals, or by the order of any
court of record[.]; OR

(IV) SUCH PUBLIC RECORDS ARE PRIVILEGED OR
CONFIDENTIAL BY LAW.

(b)    The custodian may deny the right of inspection of
the following records OR APPROPRIATE PORTIONS THEREOF,
unless otherwise provided by law, [on the ground that] IF
disclosure to the applicant would be contrary to the public
interest[;]:

(i) Records of investigations conducted by, or
of intelligence information or security procedures of, any
sheriff, county attorney, city attorney, STATE'S ATTORNEY,
the Attorney General, police department, or any
investigatory files compiled for any other law-enforcement,
JUDICIAL, CORRECTIONAL, or prosecution purposes[;], BUT THE
RIGHT OF A PERSON OF IN INTEREST TO INSPECT THE RECORDS MAY