Maryland Department of Transportation Policy No.: MDOT 060

Original Date: October 2, 1979 Effective Date: November 3, 2015

Revised: November 3, 2015

Date Printed: November 25, 2024

Approved by: ________________________________________ Date: ______________

   Secretary

Public Information Act Requests

Purpose

The purpose of this Policy is to:

Re-establish a Public Information Act (PIA) request process by which all MDOT Transportation Business Units (TBU) may release certain information to the public and comply with all applicable State statutory and regulatory requirements;
Assign responsibilities and timelines to respond to PIA requests;
Establish a process to recover costs to protect the integrity of the Transportation Trust Fund (TTF) and authorize appropriate and reasonable fees for searching, compiling, and reproducing documents; and
Define certain terms within the context of PIA requests.

Scope

This Policy is applicable to all MDOT employees and supersedes any Transportation Business Unit (TBU) procedures or processes related to PIAs. This Policy rescinds all previous Release of Public Records and Public Information Act requests policies.

Responsible Party:

Deputy Secretary of Policy, Planning, and Enterprise Services

Policy Statement

MDOT’s policy is to comply both in letter and spirit to the Public Information Act as delineated in the General Provisions Article, § 4-101 et seq., Annotated Code of Maryland.
MDOT may only maintain information about a person if it is relevant and necessary to accomplish its purpose and which is authorized by statute, executive order of the Governor, judicial rule, or other legislative mandate.
All persons are entitled to information regarding the affairs of government and official acts of those who represent them as public officials and employees.
Maryland law identifies the “Official Custodian” as the official or employee responsible for maintaining the public record, whether or not that person has physical custody and control of the record. MDOT regulations further provide that the Official Custodian is whomever the Secretary appoints in “the Departmental headquarters elements, the administrations, and the various Departmental boards and commissions.” For the purposes of this Policy, the following individuals are designated as MDOT PIA Custodians:
1. The Secretary’s Office (TSO): Deputy Secretary of Policy, Planning, and Enterprise Services;
2. Maryland Port Administration (MPA): Deputy Executive Director
3. Maryland Transit Administration (MTA): Administrator
4. Motor Vehicle Administration (MVA): Administrator
5. Maryland Aviation Administration (MAA) Executive Director/CEO
6. State Highway Administration (SHA): Administrator
7. Maryland Transportation Authority (MDTA): Executive Director
This MDOT Policy shall authorize all PIA request process requirements including PIA Representative and Coordinator roles and responsibilities; TBU responsibilities; available records designations; response times; denials, partial denials, and remedies; fee schedule; Compliance Board; appeals; and administrative reviews.

Definitions

For the purposes of this Policy, the following words have the following meanings:

Administration means the Transportation Business Units, which is defined below.
Applicant means any person requesting the disclosure of public records. This may include citizens, corporations, associations, public interest groups, private individuals, the media, universities, and governmental units.
Enterprise means MDOT including all TBUs.
MDOT PIA Coordinator means the individual designated to track and coordinate all PIA requests throughout MDOT.
PIA Custodian means the “Official Custodian” as outlined in Section I.
PIA Representative means the individual that members of the public can contact to request public records from that unit or TBU.
PIA Coordinator means the individual designated to track and coordinate all PIA requests for their TBU.
Public Records means an original or copy of any documentary material in any form, to include written materials, books, photographs, photocopies, films, microfilms, records, tapes, computerized records, maps and drawings created or received by MDOT in connection with the transaction of public business.
Transportation Business Unit (TBU) means The Secretary’s Office (TSO), Maryland Aviation Administration (MAA), Maryland Port Administration (MPA), Maryland Transit Administration (MTA), Motor Vehicle Administration (MVA), State Highway Administration (SHA), or Maryland Transportation Authority (MDTA).