public records training schedule

Public Records Training Schedule

       Four training sessions aimed at improving compliance with Maryland’s Public Information Act by government officials began this month at sites around the state.
      The programs are a direct result of Access Maryland, the public records audit conducted last summer by MDDC Press Association member newspapers that found requests for public records are honored only about 50 percent of the time.
      Subsequently, the following training sessions were developed in a cooperative effort among the state attorney general’s office, the Maryland Association of Counties, the Maryland Municipal League and MDDC:
      • Dec. 8, Hunt Valley Inn, Hunt Valley, 1 to 4:30 p.m.
      • Dec. 11, Frostburg State College, Lane Center, 8:30 a.m. to noon
      • Dec. 13, Sailwinds Park, Cambridge, 8:30 a.m. to noon
      • Jan. 4, Commissioners Meeting Room, Charles Co. Government Office, LaPlata, 8:30 a.m. to noon.
      Three editors from the MDDC FOI Subcommittee, which conducted the records audit, will participate as panelists at the training sessions. They are Tom Marquardt, managing editor of The Capital, Dec. 8 & 13 sessions; Mike Powell, managing editor of The Frederick News-Post, Dec. 11; and Jim Lee, editor of the Carroll County Times, Jan. 4.