Regulatory Comment Letter - Maryland

COMMENTS ON MARYLAND PROPOSED REGULATION

Filing Gate

Use this form only after reading the complete Maryland Register notice and proposed text. Md. Code, State Gov't § 10-112(a) requires the notice to state the proposal's purpose and estimated economic impact, satisfy the small-business requirements of § 2-1505.2, and provide a comment opportunity. The notice may schedule a public hearing or instead provide a telephone number and an address for comments. The notice—not this form—controls the deadline, recipient, and permitted submission methods.

Date: [________________________________]

To: [RULEMAKING CONTACT]

Agency: [________________________________]

Submission method/address: [________________________________]

Re: Comments on [TITLE OF PROPOSAL], COMAR [CITATION]

Maryland Register citation: [VOLUME] Md. Reg. [PAGE] ([DATE])

Dear [RULEMAKING CONTACT]:

[COMMENTER LEGAL NAME] submits these comments on the proposed regulation identified above. These comments are submitted by the deadline and method stated in the Maryland Register notice.

1. Commenter and Affected Interest

1. Commenter is a [Maryland resident / business / nonprofit / trade association / local government / other] located at [address].

2. Commenter's relevant activities are [describe operations, license, program participation, regulated conduct, or other interest].

3. The proposal would affect Commenter by [identify the cost, duty, benefit, procedure, license, reporting requirement, or other direct effect].

4. [NAME AND TITLE] is authorized to submit these comments for Commenter.

2. Requested Action

Commenter asks the Agency to:

1. [Adopt / revise / withdraw] proposed COMAR [citation];
2. Replace [quoted proposed language] with [exact replacement language];
3. Address the evidence in Exhibits [____]; and
4. [Take another action within the Agency's authority].

3. Enabling Authority and Notice

The notice cites [STATUTE AND SECTION] as authority for the proposal. That provision authorizes the Agency to [quote or accurately summarize the delegated authority].

Commenter submits that proposed COMAR [citation]:

☐ Fits the cited authority because [________________________________].

☐ Should be narrowed because [compare the proposal with the statutory delegation].

☐ Relies on a subject, issue, study, or affected group that the notice does not clearly identify. The omission and its practical effect are [________________________________].

Section 10-112(a)(3) requires the notice to include a statement of purpose, specified economic-impact information, and a comment opportunity. Identify the precise statutory or notice-language issue and explain how it affects informed participation. Do not use federal rulemaking labels as a substitute for Maryland's text.

4. Section-by-Section Comments

Comment 1 — [Short descriptive heading]

The proposal states: "[quote the proposed text]".

Commenter recommends: "[provide replacement text]".

The revision is warranted because [enabling authority, factual evidence, technical feasibility, administrative effect, unintended consequence, or other grounded reason]. Supporting material appears at Exhibit [____], page [____].

Comment 2 — [Short descriptive heading]

The proposal states: "[quote the proposed text]".

Commenter recommends: "[provide replacement text]".

The revision is warranted because [________________________________].

5. Economic-Impact Evidence

Section 10-112(a)(3)(i) requires the notice to state the estimated economic impact on State and local government revenues and expenditures and on affected groups. Supply documented estimates that the Agency can reproduce.

Key assumptions: [wage rates, affected units, frequency, implementation period, data source, and uncertainty range].

Commenter asks the Agency to use [alternative assumption, method, or estimate] because [________________________________].

6. Small-Business Analysis — Optional

Complete this section only when small-business impacts are relevant. Under § 2-1505.2(a), a small business is an independently owned and operated, nondominant business entity, including affiliates, with 50 or fewer full-time employees.

☐ Commenter meets that definition.

☐ Commenter represents or supplies evidence concerning affected small businesses.

Section 2-1505.2 requires an economic-impact-analysis rating for each covered Executive Branch proposal. A meaningful small-business impact calls for a complete written analysis or, if the preparer cannot provide one, a written explanation identifying the impact in general terms. The analysis addresses appropriate factors including goods-and-services costs, workforce effects, housing costs, production and marketing efficiency, capital investment, taxation, competition, economic development, and consumer choice.

If the Agency estimated a significant small-business impact, § 10-110(c)(3) requires a prepublication website posting and comment opportunity, notice through an electronic registry, and a plain-English compliance guide. Commenter asks the Agency to address [posting, notice, guide, or substantive small-business concern] as follows: [________________________________].

Section 2-1505.2(j) provides that the presence, absence, or content of an economic-impact-analysis rating or analysis does not affect the validity of the regulation. Do not state that an alleged analysis defect alone automatically invalidates the rule.

7. Substantive Revision and Procedural Requests

Section 10-113 provides that if the Agency changes proposed text so that any part differs substantively from the text previously published in the Maryland Register, the Agency may not adopt it unless the regulation is proposed anew under §§ 10-111 and 10-112. Commenter submits that the following requested or anticipated change would be substantive: [identify text and explain].

Commenter requests that the Agency:

1. Confirm receipt of this submission at [email];
2. If the Agency makes a substantive change, follow § 10-113's proposal-anew process;
3. Make public rulemaking materials available at [requested webpage or location], to the extent required or permitted by applicable law; and
4. [State another request grounded in the notice, enabling act, or agency rule].

Do not demand an automatic 60-day supplemental comment period. Do not request a public hearing unless the Maryland Register notice, the agency's enabling act, or an agency-specific rule supplies the procedure. Section 10-112(a) allows the notice to provide a hearing or instead a telephone number and address for comments; it does not make every individual comment a hearing request.

8. Conclusion

For the reasons above, Commenter asks the Agency to [adopt, revise, or withdraw specified provisions] and use the exact revisions stated in Sections [____].

Please direct questions concerning this submission to [name, title, telephone, and email].

Respectfully submitted,

Signature: ______________________________

[Name]

[Title / organization]

[Address]

[Telephone / email]

Exhibit List

Filing Checklist

☐ Read the complete Maryland Register notice and proposed text

☐ Confirmed the proposal type and any agency-specific procedure

☐ Verified the agency's enabling statute and cited the precise delegation

☐ Confirmed the deadline, recipient, address, and permitted submission method

☐ Checked whether the notice offers a hearing, telephone comments, written comments, or multiple methods

☐ Removed unsupported federal terminology, ex parte language, and generic litigation reservations

☐ Supported factual and economic claims with exhibits and reproducible calculations

☐ Supplied exact replacement text where possible

☐ Retained proof of timely submission and receipt

Current Maryland Rulemaking Notes

• Section 10-112(a) does not state a universal minimum public-comment period. Use the deadline and method in the Maryland Register notice.
• A notice may schedule a public hearing or provide a telephone number and address for comments. A generic individual hearing demand is not created by § 10-112.
• Under § 10-113, a substantive change to the published text requires the proposal-anew process; avoid importing the federal “logical outgrowth” label.
• Maryland's small-business framework uses the specific rating and analysis process in § 2-1505.2 and, for an estimated significant impact, the prepublication steps in § 10-110(c)(3). It is not a generic federal-style “no significant impact” certification.
• Do not add ex parte disclosures, an automatic supplemental period, or a judicial-review route without separate authority applicable to the agency, proposal, and commenter.

Official Sources

• Md. Code, State Gov't § 10-110: https://mgaleg.maryland.gov/mgawebsite/Laws/StatuteText?article=gsg&section=10-110&enactments=false
• Md. Code, State Gov't § 10-112: https://mgaleg.maryland.gov/mgawebsite/Laws/StatuteText?article=gsg&section=10-112&enactments=false
• Md. Code, State Gov't § 10-113: https://mgaleg.maryland.gov/mgawebsite/Laws/StatuteText?article=gsg&section=10-113&enactments=false
• Md. Code, State Gov't § 2-1505.2: https://mgaleg.maryland.gov/mgawebsite/Laws/StatuteText?article=gsg&section=2-1505.2&enactments=false