Section 5-709 - Disclosure of records and information. - Maryland Statutes

§ 5-709. Disclosure of records and information.
 

(a)  Confidential records.- All information and records acquired by the State Team or by a local team, in the exercise of its purpose and duties under this subtitle, are confidential, exempt from disclosure under Title 10, Subtitle 6 of the State Government Article, and may only be disclosed as necessary to carry out the team's duties and purposes. 

(b)  Statistical records.- Statistical compilations of data that do not contain any information that would permit the identification of any person to be ascertained are public records. 

(c)  Team reports.- Reports of the State Team and of a local team that do not contain any information that would permit the identification of any person to be ascertained are public information. 

(d)  Meeting disclosures.- Except as necessary to carry out a team's purpose and duties, members of a team and persons attending a team meeting may not disclose what transpired at a meeting that is not public under § 5-708 of this subtitle or any information the disclosure of which is prohibited by this section. 

(e)  Testimony.- Members of a team, persons attending a team meeting, and persons who present information to a team may not be questioned in any civil or criminal proceeding regarding information presented in or opinions formed as a result of a meeting. This subsection does not prohibit a person from testifying to information obtained independently of the team or that is public information. 

(f)  Discovery.-  

(1) Except as provided in paragraph (2) of this subsection, information, documents, and records of the State Team or of a local team are not subject to subpoena, discovery, or introduction into evidence in any civil or criminal proceeding. 

(2) Information, documents, and records otherwise available from other sources are not immune from subpoena, discovery, or introduction into evidence through those sources solely because they were presented during proceedings of the team or are maintained by a team. 

(g)  Penalties.- Violation of this section is a misdemeanor and is punishable by a fine not exceeding $500 or imprisonment not exceeding 90 days or both. 
 

[1999, chs. 355, 356; 2004, ch. 25, § 6.]