ADMINISTRATIVE HISTORY

Pursuant to provisions in the Public Ethics Law (Article 40A, Title 6, of the Annotated Code of Maryland), the Maryland State Ethics Commission in September 1981 published in the Maryland Register and subsequently distributed a set of criteria and examples of model laws to guide local jurisdictions in the formulation of local ethics regulations. One of the first Maryland counties to comply with the law, Montgomery County drafted an ethics ordinance under Chapter 19A of the Montgomery County Code. The County Council enacted the law on July 7, 1982, and submitted it to the State Ethics Commission for review. The County Council approved the minor amendments needed to conform to state guidelines, and the new law became effective on January 1, 1983. This law established an Ethics Commission to formulate policies, rule on conflicts of interest, receive and investigate complaints, offer advisory opinions, decide who must file financial disclosure statements, register lobbyists and collect relevant information from them, and generally administer its provisions.

County Executive Charles Gilchrist appointed the first five-member commission. John Harman was the first chairman, and Clyde Sorrell of the County Attorney's Office served as legal counsel. Because the commissioners served on a part-time basis without compensation and met approximately every two to four weeks, Mr. Sorrell was charged with day-to-day supervision of the Commission's activities and staff.

The Commission was later enlarged to seven members, of whom only four could be members of the same political party. Russell I. Brown was appointed chairman upon the resignation of Mr. Harman in 1984. One of the new Commission's first acts was to develop policies and procedures to ensure compliance with the law, and to disseminate them to County employees and the general public. However, the Commission devoted most of its time to considering requests for waivers from ethics prohibitions and outside employment, and to providing advice and opinions on ethical questions. The bulk of its activities was concentrated on requests for approval of outside employment by County employees, both in formulating and revising policies, and in rendering judgments on hundreds of specific cases.

PROCESSING PROCEDURES

General processing procedures consisted of discarding duplicates, unnecessary binders, and routine transmittals. Oversized documents and photographs were removed from the original location in their assigned series and placed in separate containers. Separation sheets were inserted in the original location within the folder to indicate the new location of any records placed elsewhere.

Preservation copying of newspaper clippings was performed whenever feasible. Records in folders were arranged, unless otherwise indicated, in forward chronological order, with undated records appearing at the end of the folder.

Because these are the records of Clyde Sorrell, legal counsel to the Commission, most were duplicates and confidential in nature. According to Section A-31 of Chapter 19 of the Montgomery County Code, the Commission must retain records for four years, and then may discard them. In order to safeguard the confidentiality of the information contained in the records, only policy and procedure records, general interpretations and guidance, and historically significant material relating to the establishment and development of the Commission were retained. The majority of confidential material was disposed of in accordance with the practices of the County Ethics Commission, which retains the record copies of all its transactions. However, some items containing confidential information, such as minutes, original documents addressed to Mr. Sorrell, and those with handwritten notes, were retained.

PROVENANCE

These are the records of Clyde Sorrell of the County Attorney's Office, and were transferred from the Montgomery County Records Center in 1998.

SCOPE AND CONTENT NOTE

The records of the Montgomery County Ethics Commission comprise 1 cubic foot of material from the files of Clyde Sorrell of the County Attorney's Office, who served as legal counsel during the earliest years of the Commission and supervised its activities on a day-to-day basis. The records span the years 1978 to 1986, with bulk dates of 1983 to 1985, and document the establishment and evolution of the Commission as it sought to provide guidance for and address in a consistent manner ethical concerns and conduct. Materials include correspondence, reports, minutes, agendas, resolutions, statements, appointments, brochures, clippings, forms, press releases, and notes. Because most are duplicates of records still held by the Ethics Commission and are confidential in nature, only policy and procedure records, general interpretations and guidance, and historically significant material relating to the establishment and development of the Commission are included. Minutes, original documents addressed to Mr. Sorrell, and items with handwritten notes are restricted because they contain confidential information.

The records contain several drafts of policy and procedure statements, comments on them by County department heads and other concerned individuals, and a December 1984 synopsis for County employees. Records also include material from the Commission's predecessor, the Public Disclosure Advisory Board, and other background material generated in the years before the law was enacted. These items illustrate the ethical concerns of County officials and residents that led to the passage of an ethics ordinance, as well as early attempts to address those concerns.

These records are arranged in alphabetical order by folder title.

Background Material, 1978-1981

Background Material, 1982

Civil Actions, 1984-1985

Correspondence, 1981-1982

Correspondence, 1983

Correspondence, 1983 RESTRICTED

Correspondence, 1984

Correspondence, 1985

Correspondence, 1985 RESTRICTED

Handbook, Draft, 1984

Hearing on Policies and Procedures, 1985

Legislation/Regulations, 1982-1985

Meeting, April 12, 1983

Meeting, April 26, 1983

Meeting, April 26, 1983 RESTRICTED

Meeting, May 10, 1983

Meeting, July 26, 1983 RESTRICTED

Meeting, November 14, 1983

Meeting, December 12, 1983

Meeting, January 9, 1984

Meeting, January 9, 1984 RESTRICTED

Meeting, March 12, 1984

Meeting, April 2, 1984

Meeting, April 18, 1984

Meeting, April 18, 1984 RESTRICTED

Meeting, May 7, 1984

Meeting, June 4, 1984

Meeting, June 4, 1984 RESTRICTED

Meeting, July 2, 1984

Meeting, September 17, 1984

Meeting, October 1, 1984

Meeting, January 14, 1985

Meeting, February 5, 1985

Meeting, April 1, 1985

Meeting, April 1, 1985 RESTRICTED

Meeting, May 30, 1985

Meeting, July 1985 RESTRICTED

Meeting, August 1985

Meeting, November 4, 1985

Meeting, November 4, 1985 RESTRICTED

Meeting, January 13, 1986

Minutes, 1983-1985 RESTRICTED

Procedures, 1984-1985

State Ethics Commission Opinions, 1979-1983