ANNAPOLIS, Md. (WBFF) — Who gets access to information for investigations of government agencies remains an unanswered question in Annapolis as lawmakers mull a proposal to exempt government watchdogs from the regular public information act.
The effort, which has bipartisan support and has been introduced in both the House and Senate, would make sure inspectors general have access to information and documents necessary for investigations. The legislation comes after inspectors general in several justifications in Maryland have been denied access by various agencies, citing the Maryland Public Information Act, MPIA.
“I have been able to access the information that I need to do my job since I was first appointed in 2019,” Montgomery County Inspector General Megan Davey Limarzi said. “Only recently, in early 2026, was I, for the first time, denied a record that we had requested for an investigation, and the basis for the denial that was cited was the Maryland Public Information Act.”
Limarzi said the records denial was for a type of record that her team had “routinely requested in the past and received.”
“So it really was just all of a sudden this came at us, and it is definitely something that is going to inhibit our ability to do a thorough job when we are conducting investigations if we continually run up against the MPIA,” she explained.
Montgomery County isn’t an outlier. Baltimore City Inspector General Isabel Cumming has been battling access to information for months as well. Cumming said she requested financial documents and what she received were hundreds of redacted documents.
In the Senate, the OIG access legislation is stalled the Rules Committee, and with Crossover Day quickly approaching on Monday, the watchdogs are concerned the legislation won’t make it.
“We’re still working on this issue,” Senate President Bill Ferguson said Friday when asked by FOX45 News about the legislation. “I think a full exemption of MPIA is probably an unlikely result here.”
Ferguson said conversations are still underway to determine “what is the appropriate role of an inspector general” in terms of information access. There will be some information that’s readily accessible without asking, Ferguson said, but then some information should be accessible “upon request.”
“And then there’s likely some information that is, available through subpoena,” he added.
In Baltimore though, subpoenas are going unanswered. Inspector General Cumming issued a subpoena amid her SideStep investigation, but that went unanswered. Since then, she’s filed a lawsuit against City Hall to gain access.
Mayor Brandon Scott previously told FOX45 News Cumming’s subpoena power “is really for [the] outside.”
“The other agencies provide documentation to the inspector general, probably on a daily basis,” he said. “We’re going to continue to do that as we always have. But what we are not going to do, even if she wants us to do it, is give her information that we cannot give her based on state law.”
Senate President Ferguson said he “feels confident that we’ll get through this,” though he didn’t provide specifics about what the final version may look like.
Protecting sensitive information remains a priority for lawmakers, according to Ferguson, which appears to be the concern for a full MPIA exemption. However, Limarzi and Cumming both explained they have had the same access for years and understand the importance of keeping information confidential when necessary.
Notably, in Cumming’s latest report, she noted that it was an employee of the Mayor’s Office of Neighborhood Safety and Engagement who leaked confidential juvenile information to a relative. That person no longer works for the city, according to Mayor Scott.
Without the exemption, Limarzi noted investigations won’t be complete, which goes against the intent of the job.
“Being fair and being complete is the most important thing what we do. And you have to make sure that you’ve checked all the boxes, you’ve come and you’ve looked at it from every angle, because the work we do affects people’s lives sometimes,” she said. “And it’s really important that we do it right and we do it well, and we do it in a balanced, approachable way. You have to have the records to do that.”
In Baltimore City, voters were the ones who enshrined the independence of the Office of Inspector General, and without the tools to do full investigations, Cumming said she won’t be able to fulfill the will of the people.
“We are the public’s watchdog. We are the public, and the public has voted for us,” Cumming said. “So, for the first time, I am asking the public for help. Please call your legislators.”
Follow Political Reporter Mikenzie Frost on X and Facebook. Send tips to mbfrost@sbgtv.com.
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