For three years, the Maryland Health Benefit Exchange has been conducting illegal meetings as it has awarded millions of dollars in contracts. Only last week did the MHBE release a list of contract awards for th years 2011, 2012 and 2013. (the entries are otherwise undated, so good luck figuring out when these were approved).
The ongoing violations of the Open Meetings Act, Maryland's sunshine statute governing public business may not be deliberate. But it's unquestionable they are consistent and they flout the most elementary requirements in the law. Whenever a cabinet secretary and at least two Maryland Assistant Attorney Generals are this clueless for this long about their legal obligations, it's time for the buck to land in their laps.
In the end the effect is exactly the same as if the board members believed the law does not apply to them.
The article at http://www.myeasternshoremd.com/... details the finding in May by the state's Open Meetings Compliance Board that the MHBE has been too frugal with creating legally required meeting documents and providing in them sufficient detail.
For more background, see Charlie Hayward's excellent articles in online news source Maryland Reporter.com
Maryland Reporter Feb. 14
Maryland Reporter April 9
Maryland Reporter April 10
and Jenna Johnson,
Washington Post, May 21.
Diary to be continued ...