1. A. If the Agency custodian determines that a requested record no longer exists, then the Agency shall notify the applicant of that determination:

   1. (1) Immediately, if the custodian reached that determination on initial review of the application; or
   2. (2) Promptly after completing a search for potentially responsive public records and not more than 30 days after receiving the application.

2. B. If the Agency custodian decides to deny all or part of an applicant’s request on any basis other than the requested public record’s non-existence, the custodian shall within 10 working days give the applicant a written statement that provides:

   1. (1) The reasons, including the legal authority, for the denial;

   2. (2) For applications denied as contrary to the public interest under General Provisions Article, §4-343, Annotated Code of Maryland:

      1. (a) A brief explanation of why the denial is necessary; and
      2. (b) An explanation of why redacting information would not address the reasons for the denial;

   3. (3) For applications denied as misdirected to an individual who is not the custodian:

      1. (a) The name of the public record’s custodian, if known; and
      2. (b) The public record’s actual or possible location, if known;
   4. (4) A brief description of any undisclosed public record or category of public records that will not disclose the protected information but will enable the applicant to assess the applicability of the legal authority for the denial; and
   5. (5) Notice of the remedies under the Act for review of the denial.
3. C. If the Agency custodian denies an applicant’s request in part, the custodian shall allow inspection of any part of the record that is subject to inspection.

4. D. Any time limit imposed under this regulation:

   1. (1) May be extended by not more than 30 days with the consent of the applicant; and
   2. (2) Shall be extended pending resolution of any dispute that the applicant has referred to the Public Access Ombudsman.
5. E. A custodian may not ignore an application to inspect public records on the ground that the application was intended for purposes of harassment.

Authority: General Provisions Article, §§4-101—4-601; State Personnel and Pensions Article, §§21-110, 21-123, 21-128, 21-504, and 30-208;
Annotated Code of Maryland

Effective date: January 1, 1996 (22:26 Md. R. 2031)

Effective January 1, 1996, all of Title 22 was repealed and completely new regulations adopted. Codification and organization of the title were also completely changed. Consequently, the administrative histories of the revised Title 22 do not reflect regulatory activity before January 1, 1996. Refer to the old version of Title 22 or contact the Maryland State Archives for assistance.

Regulation .05G amended effective April 26, 2004 (31:8 Md. R. 647)

Regulations .01—.16 repealed and new Regulations .01—.12 adopted effective February 11, 2019 (46:3 Md. R. 108)