In all matters in which interests of the State of Maryland are involved, the Attorney General and assistant attorneys general represent the State. This includes litigation in the Court of Appeals, the Court of Special Appeals, the Circuit Courts, and the District Court of Maryland, as well as the Supreme Court of the United States, the United States Court of Appeals, and the United States District Court. Administrative rules and regulations promulgated by most State officers or agencies must be submitted to the Attorney General for review before they may become effective. The Office of the Attorney General also reviews legislation passed by the General Assembly; enforces the State's antitrust, consumer protection and securities laws; prosecutes Medicaid provider fraud; monitors residential juvenile facilities; and conducts criminal prosecutions and appeals.
ORIGIN & FUNCTIONS. In Maryland, the office of Attorney General was established by the Constitution of 1776 (sec. 48). The office was abolished by Constitutional amendment in 1817, (Chapter 247, Acts of 1816, ratified 1817). The General Assembly in 1818 recreated the office by statute (Chapter 146, Acts of 1817).
The Attorney General appoints the Public Access Ombudsman to a four-year term (Code General Provisions Article, secs. 4-1B-01 through 4-1B-04).
The Chief Deputy Attorney General oversees the General Assembly Counsel, and seven divisions: Civil Litigation; Contract Litigation; Educational Affairs; Health Decisions Policy; Opinions and Advice; and Public Finance. The Chief Deputy Attorney General also is responsible for Administration, Civil Rights, the Juvenile Justice Monitoring Unit, Legislative Affairs, Professional Development and Planning, the Tobacco Enforcement Unit, and assistant attorneys general assigned to certain State government agencies.
The Attorney General serves as legal counsel to the Governor, the General Assembly, the Judiciary, and to all State agencies, except the State Ethics Commission, ...
Franchises. Under the Franchise Registration and Disclosure Law, any person or company intending to offer or sell franchises within Maryland or to Maryland residents must register the offering with the Division (Code Business Regulation Article, secs. 14-201 through 14-233).
Appointed by the Attorney General with Senate advice and consent, the People's Insurance Counsel must be an attorney-at-law of the State, have expertise in the insurance business, and may not have an official relationship with or pecuniary interest in an insurer (Code State Government Article, secs. 6-301 through 6-308).
For assistance with a dispute between a requester and an agency, please contact the Public Access Ombudsman by email at [email protected] or by phone at (410) 576-6560. See this form for guidance regarding the information that should appear in the request.
Examples include: Denial of a request for waiver of fees. Withholding of records based on an asserted exemption. Timeliness of the custodian’s response.
You will be contacted by the Office of the Ombudsman within a few days once you submit a complaint, depending on the Ombudsman’s workload. Depending on the amount of details you include, you may be asked for additional information before the Ombudsman can contact the person or agency that is the subject of your complaint. Once the Ombudsman has spoken with both of you, the length of time to resolve your dispute depends on the cooperation of the requester and the records custodian and on the Ombudsman’s caseload.
A request for assistance from the Ombudsman should include the initial request for information, the response, the dates of each, and a description of the dispute involved. See the intake form for details of the submission.
There is no central location from which to request public records. Instead, a request should go to the agency that has responsibility for the record (s) you seek. The Public Information Act Representatives list located in the List of Custodians shows the contact person for each government agency. If you do not know what agency has the records you seek, you may review the Maryland Manual on the Maryland Archives website, check agency websites directly, or contact your local library for assistance from the reference staff to identify the agency that has the particular type of record.
No. Because the role of the Ombudsman is to serve as a mediator, there is no decision made by the Ombudsman and, therefore, no ability to file an appeal from the outcome of the mediation process.
What does the word "Ombudsman mean? The term ombudsman (om-budz-man) is Scandinavian in origin. In the United States, it has come to mean "advocate".
The term ombudsman (om-budz-man) is Scandinavian in origin. In the United States, it has come to mean "advocate". Begun in 1972 as a demonstration program, the Ombudsman Program today exists in all states, the District of Columba, Puerto Rico, and Guam, under the authorization of the Older Americans Act. Each sate has an Office of the State ...
Ombudsman can be volunteers or paid employees that are independent of any conflict of interest with a long-term care facility. Services are free and confidential.