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St. Mary's County Pag 3 of 9 B. Engaging in activities having the express purpose of soliciting others to c mmunicate with a St. Mary's County official or employee with the intent to influence y official action of that official or employee. "Official and/or employee° means any person elected [o, appointed to or empbyed by St. Mary's County or any St. Mary's County agency, board, commission or similar entity, whether or not paid n whole or in part with St. Mary's County funds, and whether or not compensated. "Person" includes an individual or business entity. "Volunteer Member" means any member of any board or commission who se es without compensation or who is paid only a nominal sum or is reimbursed only for actual and necessa expenses approved by the appropriate county official. SECTION 4. - ADMINISTRATION A. There shall be a St. Mary's County Ethics Commission which shall consist of five O members appointed by the Board of County Commissioners. The Commission members shall b appointed for staggered terms of three (3) years. The Commission shall select its Chairman in ly of each yeaz by majority vote. A member shall serve until a successor has been app inted. The Commission, upon request, shall be assisted in carrying out its responsibilities by he County Attomey or such other counsel as the County Commis sioners may from time to time a point. B. This Commission shall be the advisory body responsible for interpreting this Ord nance and advising persons subject to it as to its application. C. The Commission shall be responsible for hearing and deciding any conQlaint filed r garding an alleged violation of this Ordinance. D. The Commission shall be the custodian of all statements, registrations, reports and omplaints submitted in accordance with this Ordinance. E The Commission shall be responsible for conducting information and educatio programs regarding the purpose and implementation of this Ordinance. F. Persons governed by this Ordinance may request the Commission for an adviso opinion conceming its application to them. The Commission shall respond within a reasonable time to the requests, provided that interpretations based on the facts are provided or reasonably vailable to it. The Commission may, in its discretion, also respond to such requests from p rsons not specifically governed by this Ordinance. Copies of the responses shall be made avai ble to the public in accordance with and subject to any applicable state or county law regar ing public records. Information which may identify the person who is the subject of the opini n shall be deleted to the fullest extent possible from advisory opinions. G. Persons may file, under oath, a written signed complaint with the Commission lleging a violation of any of the provisions of this Ordinance. Also, the Commission, on its o n motioq may issue complaints alleging violations of the Ordinance. Upon receipt of a com laint, after reviewing the allegations, the Commission may: 1. Dismiss the complaint if deemed plainly frivolous or if the facts alleged do not indicate a violation of the Ordinance. 2 Conduct an investigation into the allegations of the complaint or refer the comp aint to the County Attomey or other legal counsel for investigation and report. Counsel sh 11 refer the evidence collected to the Commission for its disposition. 3. Based upon the Commission's investigation or the investigation and report of c unsel, the Commission may, if appropriate, proceed as follows: a. Dismiss the complaint. b. Notify the Complainant and the Respondent that if any action is taken by the espondent to cure the violation or violations within a time period specified by Clommission regulations, the complaint may be dismissed if such dismissal is not cont ry to the purposes of the Ordinance. c. If not dismissed pursuant to (a) or (b), the Commission shall hold a hear~ng on the complaint. I H. Review. 1. The Respondent may be represented by counsel, and the proceeding shall be c accordance with regulations goveming hearings as adopted by the Commission. m 169