By Adam Pagnucco.
The Maryland Public Information Act (MPIA) is the principal tool contained in state law to help the public obtain state and local records. The act does not grant unfettered access, however, as it contains many exceptions to disclosure and allows governments to charge fees to requesters. If you have ever filed an MPIA request, you may have encountered redactions or even outright refusals to forward records, even if fees were not an obstacle.
Now it turns out that county inspectors general may face the same obstacles to disclosure as the rest of us.
In an unusual joint statement, the leaders of inspector general offices in Baltimore City and Montgomery, Baltimore and Howard counties decry a recent advice letter from the state’s Office of Attorney General holding that their offices are subject to the same MPIA exceptions that apply to the public. The mission of these offices under county laws is to root out fraud, waste and abuse in their governments. It’s easy to foresee county leaders citing MPIA exceptions to thwart inspectors general from conducting effective investigations, thereby hiding corruption.
As a result, the inspectors general are asking the General Assembly to amend the MPIA to prevent governments from using the law’s exceptions to withhold records from them. It will be interesting to see how such a proposal proceeds in Annapolis, especially if any county governments choose to oppose it.
The statement from the inspectors general is reprinted below.
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Local Inspectors General Respond to OAG Advice Letter on MPIA
As the leaders of four local offices of inspector general who work on behalf of 2.8 million Marylanders, we write to express our profound concern regarding a recent advice letter from the Office of the Attorney General of Maryland (OAG) regarding the Maryland Public Information Act (MPIA) applicability to local inspector general offices. This letter has the potential to incapacitate our offices and diminish our ability to root out fraud, waste and abuse in our respective local governments.
The MPIA governs public access to governmental records. The MPIA contains mandatory exceptions, under which the custodian of those records must deny public access to certain records. Such records include those that are routinely used in our work, including employee personnel files and financial information. On February 3, 2026, the OAG issued an advice letter opining that the MPIA and its mandatory exceptions apply to local inspectors general in the exact same way they apply to the public; regardless of local laws granting inspectors general full access to government records.
Fundamental to our work is having unrestricted access to all relevant records held by our local jurisdictions. Those records are critical to our ability to fully and capably investigate allegations of fraud, waste, abuse, and misconduct, as required by local laws. As a result of the OAG’s letter, such records could be withheld from us in whole or redacted to the point that they are essentially rendered useless from an evidentiary standpoint. To be clear, once such records are in our possession, we have now, and have always had, the same responsibility as our employers – to not disclose to the public records that are otherwise protected.
We are asking the Maryland General Assembly to pass legislation that amends the MPIA to create an exemption for local inspectors general. We propose the following language be added to the MPIA:
GP 4-301(c). Access by Local Inspectors General. Notwithstanding the required denials in Parts II and III of this subtitle, a custodian shall provide a public record to an inspector general where the inspector general is authorized by local law to demand the public record, the inspector general requires access to the public record to perform its duties, and any redisclosure by the inspector general is limited by the Act.
We believe amending the MPIA, to include the above language, would eliminate any confusion and affirmatively provide inspectors general with the access necessary to perform our legally required duties. Furthermore, it would reinforce the State’s commitment to transparency and integrity at all levels of government, which is consistent with the mission of our respective offices.
Megan Davey Limarzi
Inspector General
Montgomery County
Isabel Mercedes Cumming
Inspector General
Baltimore City
Steve Quisenberry
Deputy Inspector General
Baltimore County
Kelly Madigan
Inspector General
Howard County