(a) When warranted by the size of the caseload or length of required hearings, the chair of the Commission may designate 3 members of the Commission, one of whom must be a tenant member, one of whom must be a landlord member and one of whom must be a public at large member, to sit as a panel to conduct a hearing on any complaint or appeal pending before the Commission. The chair must designate one panel member to serve as panel chair. Depending on the extent to which panels are used, the chair of the Commission must rotate panel membership among members of the Commission.
(b) If a Commission panel hears a matter, any panel member must not participate in the final decision if the member has not attended each session of the hearing. All official action by the panel must be taken by the vote of not less than 2 members of the panel. If a Commission member's term expires while the member serves on a hearing panel, that member may continue to participate in the panel until the panel has rendered a final decision.
(c) Except as otherwise provided in this Section, the provisions of this Chapter pertaining to the conduct of hearings before the Commission apply to hearings conducted by Commission panels.
(d) Decisions of a Commission panel are final and may be appealed to the Circuit Court as if they were decisions of the full Commission.
(e) If a Commission panel is unable to decide any complaint or appeal pending before it due to a tie vote resulting from the failure of any panel member to vote, the complaint or appeal must be referred to the entire Commission for the Commission's decision, based on the record established before the Commission panel, without further hearing. (1979 L.M.C., ch. 5, § 2; 2000 L.M.C., ch. 32, § 1.)
Editor's note—In Kant v. Montgomery County, 139 Md. App. 157, 774 A.2d 1229 (2001), reversed and remanded, 365 Md. 269, 778 A.2d 384 (2001), the Court explained that, although Montg. Co. Code § 29-14A (currently § 29-14) does not provide appellate jurisdiction for an appeal to the Court of Special Appeals, Montg. Co. Code §§ 2A-2 and 2A-11 provide appellate jurisdiction.
Section 29-14, formerly § 29-14A, was renumbered and amended pursuant to 2000 L.M.C., ch. 32, § 1.