A: Our system of representative government depends, in part, on citizens maintaining the highest trust in their officials and employees. The people have a right to have public officials and employees who are impartial and use independent judgment. The confidence and trust of the people erodes when the conduct of County business is subject to improper influence or even the appearance of improper influence. To guard against improper influence, the Montgomery County Public Ethics Law has been enacted.

The Montgomery County Public Ethics Law sets comprehensive standards for the conduct of County business and requires employees in designated positions to disclose information about their financial affairs in sworn statements/forms. The information, once disclosed, becomes available for review by Directors and/or the Chief Administrative Officer, the Ethics Commission, or, in a defined number of cases, the public, depending on the type of disclosure required for each designated position.

Designated positions are listed in the Public Ethics Law itself; in Executive Regulation 27-07 on Financial Disclosure Statements; and in County Council Resolution 16-467, Designation of Legislative Branch Employees to File Financial Disclosure Statements. In addition to identifying the positions whose incumbents are required to disclose, the law and regulations also define the type of disclosure each designated position is required to make. There are three types of disclosure - Public Disclosure, Confidential Disclosure, and Confidential with Limited Public Disclosure.

A: A memorandum from the Chief Administrative Officer has been distributed to each County department/agency which in turn notified each required filer employed in or associated with the respective departments. Notification was made by letter or by email during the week of March 19, 2008. If you recieved this notification you are required to file. The notice provides details about accessing this Financial Disclosure On-line Filing System for new and return filers.

A:If a public employee does not file a financial disclosure statement when required to under Section 19A-32, the Chief Administrative Officer (for employees in the Executive branch) or the County Council Staff Director (for employees in the legislative branch) may impose disciplinary action against that employee, up to and including dismissal. A member of a board, commission, or committee may be removed from membership.

Before an employee is removed for failing to file a financial disclosure statement, the County Attorney must give the employee 30 days notice of the proposed removal. The Chief Administrative Officer and the Council staff director must not remove an employee if the employee files the required financial disclosure statement within the time specified in the notice. This section does not apply to elected public employees.

A: Since the County's Public Ethics Law requires certain public employees and volunteers to disclose information about their financial affairs, the Financial Disclosure On-line Filing System has been created to provide a tool for helping them comply with the law. The purpose of the tool is to make the filing of Financial Disclosure Statements and their administration as efficient and effective as possible.

A: The Filing System works in the following manner:

• The filing system is internet based. You use your web browser software to interact with it. All Financial Disclosure Statements will be filed electronically. If you do not have access to a computer, one will be made available to you. Please call Ethics Commission at (240) 777-6670 to make arrangements.
• The system is hosted on eMontgomery servers at the following Internet address: www.montgomerycountymd.gov/financialdisclosure/

A: County Employees - This application uses Single Sign On functionality, therefore, if you have been assigned a county userid, you will access this system by entering the same county userid and password that you use in your daily work. PLEASE NOTE: This is a non-mainframe userid & password.

Other Filers - If you are a member of a Board, Committee, Commission or Outside Agency, you will be assigned a userid and an initial password. You will be required to change your password the first time you log onto the system. You will need your userid and password each time you log in to the system. As with any password, it should be easily remembered by you, but not easily determined by others. You should safeguard your password. The purpose of this procedure is to protect your financial information.

A: The system is designed to save the data you enter. You must click the Save/Update button at the bottom of each individual section.

Use of browser navigation arrows will NOT result in the saving of your data as you move between sections!

Those not specifically authorized to see your data will not have access to it. Once your data has been reviewed and approved, it will be retained on file as is/approved for a period of six years. Next year, or should you have need to update your form, a copy will be made available to you to revise/update/add an addendum and resubmit for review and approval.

A: To submit your form click the "Submit Finalized Form" button on the summary page. Be sure to complete each section before submitting.

A: For feedback on the policy and substance of the Financial Disclosure System, you should direct your comments to the Ethics Commission Staff at 240 777-6670 or e-mail to financial.disclosure@montgomerycountymd.gov.

A: Several steps have been taken to ensure information security:

• only authenticated and authorized individuals are able to use Single Sign On and access the application
• access to the application is encrypted using 128bit 3DES
• through Single Sign On and workflow management, individuals are only able to access their own data and the data of their personnel

A: As good security rules state, the County employs a multi-tier approach to security:

• the servers hosting this application are behind industry-standard firewalls
• the County utilizes intrusion detection, intrusion prevention, and log correlation products which assist us in identifying unauthorized access
• security audits and system lockdown/patching occur on a regular basis

A: Since the DTS Security Team was formed in September 2002, we have not had a known incident of data theft or unauthorized disclosure of sensitive data.

A: The system has an automated session time out every 30 minutes. To avoid the system log out, be sure to enter and save data within the 30 minute allotment.

A: Once data is saved, it appears in a summary section at the top of the reporting form. To view the data once again, simply choose the 'select' link and the data will be filled into the reporting form once again. To return it to the summary section, select update at the bottom of the reporting form.

A: In order for green check marks to appear, filer must indicate they have information to report, fill in the information, and select the 'section complete' button at the top of the reporting form

A: Commas and dollar signs are not valid characters and should not be used when entering actual values.

A: We find that many of these types of errors occur when using Netscape as a browser. We have found that the statement is best viewed using Internet Explorer 6.0.

A: Enhancements have been made to the application that will allow you to complete one disclosure statement that will be forwarded to the appropriate reviewer(s) from your submission.

A: The system will automatically determine if a filer needs to file a confidential, public or limited public disclosure based on the position in which a filer serves.

A: A new cover (front) page was added to the statement. This page contains links to every section. Every section must be viewed as there are specific instructions for each section. If you select 'yes' at the bottom of the instruction page, you will be directed to a reporting form. A 'copy data from previous year' button is located at the top of the reporting form. If you have data available from last year, selecting this button will populate the data into a summary section located at the top of the form. To view each item, simply choose the 'select' link and review your data. To return the data to the summary section, choose update at the bottom of the reporting form.

A: Once a statement is submitted, it is sent to the department reviewer (generally a department director) for review. Once the reviewer completes the review, the statement is forwarded to the Ethics Commission for storage.

A. Is an insurance settlement a source of income?
Yes. This falls within the definition of an economic interest. But an economic interest does not include "an interest in an insurance policy, endowment policy, or annuity contract under which an insurance company promises to pay a fixed number of dollars, whether in a lump sum or periodically for life or some other specified period."

B. Is an inheritance a source of income?
Yes. This falls within the definition of an economic interest.

C. Do I have to report income from a certificate of deposit?
No, an economic interest does not include an interest in a time deposit (for example, Certificate of Deposit) or demand deposit (for example, savings account in a financial institution) or in a money market fund with assets of at least $10,000,000.

D. Do I have to report a 529 college savings plan?
Yes. This falls within the definition of an economic interest. But an economic interest does not include (1) an interest in a common trust fund or a trust that forms part of a pension plan or profit sharing plan that (a) has more than 25 participants; and (b) the Internal Revenue Service has determined qualifies as a trust under Sections 401 and 501 of the Internal Revenue Code or (2) an interest in a deferred compensation plan that (a) has more than 25 participants; and (b) the Internal Revenue Service has determined qualifies under Section 457 of the Internal Revenue Code.

A: No. The financial disclosure form requires the filer to report certain interests and debts held by a relative. The form also requires the filer to list each member of the filer's immediate family who was employed in any capacity by a County agency during the reporting period. The definitions of relative and immediate family include a filer's domestic partner if the partner is receiving County benefits. A domestic partner is a person who meets the definition of a domestic partner set out in § 33-22 of the County Code. The definition requires, among other things, a same-sex relationship.

A: Yes, under certain circumstances. A gift from a relative is subject to the same criteria applicable to a gift from any person (i.e., you must report the gift if the person (1) is registered, or is required to register, as a lobbyist on a matter that is or could be considered by the County agency with which the filer is affiliated; (2) does business with a County agency with which the filer is affiliated; or (3) owns or operates a business that is regulated by the County agency with which the filer is affiliated). A gift from a relative is also subject to the same exclusions (e.g., gift under $50).

A: Yes, if (1) the entity is a "business" and (2) if it does business with a County agency; is regulated by a County agency; has an office in the County; or has, as far as you know, an interest in any real estate located in the County. A home owner's association or a PTA will probably meet the definition of the term "business," which is broadly defined as any for profit or non profit enterprise, including a corporation, general or limited partnership, sole proprietorship, joint venture, association, firm, institute, trust or foundation. Business does not include a County agency, but includes an independent fire department or rescue squad.You must report an office even if you did not receive any compensation for serving in the office.

A: Yes, unless the payments are made to a relative. For example, a filer would not have to report child support payments as a debt if a court ordered the filer to begin making payments to a spouse before a divorce is finalized. Or, the child might in the custody of another relative (the filer's parents).

A: No. In fact, the ethics law provides that the County prosecutes cases where the Ethics Commission finds reasonable cause to believe that an ethics violation has occurred. State law does requires the County to provide for its employees a legal defense in any civil action that alleges damages resulting from tortious acts or omissions committed by an employee within the scope of employment and without actual malice.

A: An asset received from a decedent's estate is a gift and the filer must report it to the extent required in section 5 (generally, a filer need not report a gift unless the giver is a lobbyist, does business with the filer's agency, or owns/operates a business regulated by the filer's agency).

Depending upon the nature of the asset, a filer may also have to report an asset received from a decedent's estate under another section of the form as an economic interest. For example, depending on its location, a filer must report ownership of real property under section 1. Similarly, a filer must report ownership of stocks and bonds under section 3. The filer must treat the asset as an economic interest after the decedent dies, even if the estate has not yet distributed that asset, because the filer has an equitable economic interest in a known asset once the decedent dies. For example, if the decedent dies in 2003, but the estate does not distribute the asset until 2004, the filer must still report receipt of a known asset in 2003.

A: Compensation for acting as the personal representative (an administrator or an executor) for an estate is a source of income that a filer must report under section 4. You need not report the contents of the estate.

A: You each file a confidential financial disclosure form limited to activities and interests related to your particular board. Thus:

Telecommunications Advisory Committee (limited by § 8A-31(e): Members are subject to Chapter 19A, except that financial disclosure statements are confidential and limited to communications-related activities and interests)

Montgomery Community Television (limited by § 8A-32(c)(3): A community access organization must require that each officer, director, and executive director file a confidential financial disclosure statement in accordance with Chapter 19A with respect to all communications-related activities and interests)

Arts and Humanities Council (limited by § 5A-4(d): The Arts and Humanities Council must require each officer and director, and the executive director to file a confidential financial disclosure statement under Chapter 19A covering all activities and interests related to arts and humanities organizations, programs, or funding. Each officer and director, and the executive director of the Arts and Humanities Council is a public employee under Sections 19A-11 and 19A-14 for any matter in which the person participates for the Council. The Council must adopt and apply policies and procedures to ensure that its actions are fair, unbiased, and non-partisan.)

(a) Findings and purpose. The County has a longstanding policy, in law and practice, against employment discrimination based on sexual orientation. The County believes it is unfair to treat employees differently based solely on whether the employee's partner is legally recognized as a spouse.

The County finds that many private and public employers provide or plan to provide benefits for the domestic partners of their employees. Providing domestic partner benefits will significantly enhance the County's ability to recruit and retain highly qualified employees and will promote employee loyalty and workplace diversity.

(b) General rule. Any benefit the County provides for the spouse (including "widow" or other equivalent term) of a County employee or the spouse's dependents must be provided, in the same manner and to the same extent, for the domestic partner of a County employee and the partner's dependents, respectively. Benefits provided to an employee's domestic partner or partner's dependent must include benefits equivalent to those available for an employee's spouse or spouse's dependent under the Consolidated Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act of 1985 (COBRA), the federal Family and Medical Leave Act, and other federal laws that apply to County employment benefits.

(c) Requirements for domestic partnership. To establish a domestic partnership, the employee and the employee's partner must either:

(1) satisfy all of the following requirements:
	(A) be the same sex, unless the employee is a member of the police bargaining unit; (B) share a close personal relationship and be responsible for each other's welfare; (C) have shared the same legal residence for at least 12 months; (D) be at least 18 years old; (E) have voluntarily consented to the relationship, without fraud or duress; (F) not be married to, or in a domestic partnership with, any other person; (G) not be related by blood or affinity in a way that would disqualify them from marriage under State law if the employee and partner were (or, for members of the police bargaining unit, are) opposite sexes; (H) be legally competent to contract; and (I) share sufficient financial and legal obligations to satisfy subsection (d)(2); or
(2) legally register the domestic partnership, if:
	(A) a domestic partnership registration system exists in the jurisdiction where the employee resides; and (B) the Director of Human Resources determines that the legal requirements for registration are substantially similar to the requirements of this Section.

(d) Evidence of domestic partnership. The employee must provide, in a form acceptable to the Office of Human Resources, the following:

(1) either:
	(A) an affidavit signed by both the employee and the employee's partner under penalty of perjury declaring that they satisfy the requirements of subsection (c)(1); or (B) an official copy of the domestic partnership registration described in subsection (c)(2); and
(2) evidence that the employee and partner share items described in at least 2 of the following subparagraphs:
	(A) a joint housing lease, mortgage, or deed; (B) joint ownership of a motor vehicle; (C) a joint checking or credit account; (D) designation of the partner as a primary beneficiary of the employee's life insurance, retirement benefits, or residuary estate under a will; or (E) designation of the partner as holding a durable power of attorney for health care decisions regarding the employee. This paragraph does not apply to a qualified, registered domestic partnership under subsection (c)(2).

(e) Termination of domestic partnership. An employee must notify the Director of Human Resources within 30 days after:

(1) termination of the domestic partnership by death or dissolution; or

(2) any other change in circumstances that disqualifies the relationship as a domestic partnership under this Section. When the domestic partnership ends, the Director must terminate or continue any benefit in the same manner and to the same extent that the County terminates or continues, respectively, the benefit for a former spouse in equivalent circumstances (such as dissolution of a partnership and divorce).

(f) Application to retirees. In this Section, "employee" includes both active and retired employees. (1999 L.M.C., ch. 30, § 2; 2001 L.M.C., ch. 21, § 1.)

Editor's note-Section 33-22 was interpreted, quoted, and the validity of the section was upheld in Tyma v. Montgomery County, 369 Md. 497, 801 A.2d 148 (2002).