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This Article is known as the “Montgomery County Open Data Act.” (2012 L.M.C., ch. 27, § 1.)
In this Article, the following words and phrases have the following meanings:
Agency means any department or office of the County government.
Data means the final version of digital information.
(a) (i) in a structured, statistical, or alphanumeric form (i.e., list, table, graph, chart, or other non-narrative form) that can be digitally transmitted or processed; or
(ii) in an unstructured, factual, or content form (i.e., fact sheet, memorandum, press release, compliance guidance, manual, or other narrative form) that can be digitally transmitted or processed; and
(b) regularly created or maintained by or on behalf of and owned by an agency that records a file, measurement, transaction, or final decision related to the mission of an agency.
Data does not include any information provided to an agency by another government entity; or any image file, such as a design, drawing, map, photo, or scanned copy of an original document.
Maryland Public Information Act or Act means the Maryland Public Information Act, codified at Sections 10-611 through 10-630 of the State Government Article of the Maryland Code.
Measurement means to quantify any characteristic of an observable event, occurrence, or object by comparison to a reference standard.
Open Data Implementation Plan means a plan developed by the Chief Administrative Officer to implement this Article and as further described in Section 2-158.
Open standard means a technical standard developed and maintained by a voluntary consensus standards body that is available to the public without royalty or fee.
Public data set means data identified as eligible for publication by the Open Data Implementation Plan.
Public data set does not include any portion of a data set that is not subject to disclosure under any Federal or State law, including the Maryland Public Information Act.
Technical standard means:
(a) the common and repeated use of a rule, condition, guideline, or characteristic for any product or related process and production method, and related management systems practice; and
(b) (1) the definition of a term;
(2) classification of a component;
(3) delineation of a procedure;
(4) specification of dimension, material, performance, design, or operation;
(5) measurement of quality and quantity in describing any material, process, product, system, service, or practice;
(6) test method and sampling procedure; or
(7) description of fit and measurement of size or strength.
Transaction means any interaction between an agency and any person related to the mission of an agency.
Voluntary consensus standards body means a domestic or international organization that develops and maintains a technical standard that uses a transparent deliberative process, permits the participation of any party, and achieves general consensus, although not necessarily unanimity, of the participating parties, including a process to attempt to resolve any difference in viewpoint. (2012 L.M.C., ch. 27, § 1.)
(a) The County must make some public data sets available on a single web portal on the Internet within 1 year after this Article takes effect. Every agency must make at least one public data set available to be published on a single web portal within the timeframe prescribed by the Open Data Implementation Plan. The Open Data Implementation Plan must assign and prioritize by subcategories the order in which public data sets should be published. To prioritize public data sets in the Open Data Implementation Plan, the Chief Administrative Officer must consider whether information embodied in the public data set:
(1) can be used to increase agency accountability and responsiveness;
(2) improves public knowledge of the agency and its operations;
(3) furthers the mission of the agency;
(4) creates economic opportunity; or
(5) responds to a need or demand identified by public consultation.
(b) Any published public data set that an agency makes available on the Internet must be accessible through a single web portal that is linked to www.montgomerycountymd.gov or any successor website maintained by, or on behalf of, the County.
(c) A public data set must be made available as specified in technical standards.
(d) A public data set must be published in a format that permits automated processing and must make use of appropriate technology to notify the public of all updates.
(e) Once published, a public data set must be updated as often as is required by the Open Data Implementation Plan.
(f) A published public data set must be made available without any registration or license requirement or restriction on use. However, the County may require a third party providing to the public any public data set, or application utilizing that data set, to explicitly identify the source and version of the public data set and describe any modification made to that data set. In this Section, registration or license requirement or restriction does not include any measure required to:
(1) assure access to a public data set;
(2) protect the single web site housing a public data set from unlawful abuse or an attempt to damage or impair use of the web site; or
(3) analyze the type of data being used to improve service delivery.
(g) A published public data set must be accessible to external search capabilities.
(h) Nothing in this Article prohibits an agency from:
(1) voluntarily disclosing information not otherwise defined as data; or
(2) making voluntarily disclosed information accessible through the single web portal.
(i) The Open Data Implementation Plan must address when and how an agency may change or terminate collection of data or remove the public data set from public access.
(j) The Open Data Implementation Plan must address appropriate staffing to manage the published public data sets. (2012 L.M.C., ch. 27, § 1.)
(a) The Open Data Implementation Plan must address measures to maintain bandwidth availability of the web portal.
(b) The County must conspicuously publish the open data policy in Section 2-156 on the web portal.
(c) The County must implement a mechanism to solicit public feedback and encourage public discussion on open data policies and public data set availability on the web portal.
(d) An agency must consider any request that it receives through the public feedback mechanism to include a particular public data set when making any determination as to priority for public data set inclusion on the single web portal. An agency’s consideration of such a request must defer to the priority assigned to publication by the Open Data Implementation Plan. (2012 L.M.C., ch. 27, § 1.)
(a) A public data set made available on the web portal is provided for informational purposes. The County makes no express or implied warranty as to the completeness, accuracy, content, merchantability, or fitness for any particular purpose or use of any public data set made available on the web portal.
(b) The County is not liable for any deficiency in the completeness, accuracy, content, or fitness for any particular purpose or use of any public data set, or application utilizing the data set, provided by any third party.
(c) This Article and the Open Data Implementation Plan do not create a private right of action to enforce their provisions. Failure to comply with this Article or the Open Data Implementation Plan must not result in liability to the County. (2012 L.M.C., ch. 27, § 1.)
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