Disclosure

They have bickered over their backgrounds, their political allegiances and who is the bigger “insider.” Now, the two candidates seeking the Democratic nomination for Maryland's most competitive congressional contest this year are battling over who is the most -- and least -- transparent.  The latest shot came this week from businessman John Delaney who pointed out that his opponent, State Sen. Rob Garagiola, failed to note his income as...

A Baltimore County councilman did not disclose his outside employment over the past several years, including his work with a painting and drywall company that has a $3.1 million contract at a new high school being built in his district. Councilman John Olszewski Sr., a Dundalk Democrat, only recently revealed in required disclosure forms that he has employment outside his elected post, filing amended reports going back to 2009. Council members and other county officials must report any outside jobs on annual reports so that the public can examine whether they have conflicts of interest.

Paula Deen's disclosure that she has type 2 Diabetes has triggered some harsh reactions. For years, Deen has featured high-calorie Southern foods in her cookbooks and on television. Some  folks are riled by the fact that that she was doing it while aware of her own diabetes, a disease that has been linked to a poor diets and excess weight. And they poked at Deen for aligning her new webste with Victoza, a diabetes medicine made by Novo Nordisk. Fellow celebrity chef Anthony Bourdain -- who has famously called Deen "the most dangerous person in America" -- issued a veiled tweet that did not mention her name, but was taken by many to refer to her. It said: "Thinking of getting into the leg-breaking business, so I can profitably sell crutches later.

Details of financial transactions by members of Congress and thousands of high-level federal workers were supposed to be posted online last month for anyone in the world to see — a key step, supporters of the move said, toward greater transparency in government. What happened instead was President Barack Obama signed a law that once again made the financial information of public employees — useful for identifying insider trading or conflicts of interest — difficult to find.

A special committee on ethics reform set up by Senate President Thomas V. Mike Miller will propose legislation that would put the financial disclosure forms of legislators and top state officials online next year and eliminate a requirement that filers be told the names of people who examine those statements. Sen. Jamie Raskin, chairman of the special committee, said the legislation has the bipartisan backing of all members of the panel. Currently, a person who wants to look at disclosure forms — which are public documents — must go to the State Ethics Commission office in Annapolis and fill out a form giving name and address.

Back in January, the Supreme Court opened up the floodgates for corporate spending on elections in the landmark Citizens United decision, overturning a century's worth of federal and state laws designed to limit the power of corporations to use their influence to buy elections. Then, on Election Day, Maryland voters got a sneak preview of how the new ruling will affect our elections in the coming years. In the highly contested 1st Congressional District race, outside groups, including some who accept unlimited money from individuals and corporations, flooded the mailboxes and airwaves.

Rep. Chris Van Hollen called a federal court ruling allowing tax-exempt groups to conceal the identies of their donors “a blow against transparency in the funding of political campaigns.” The U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia on Tuesday reversed a lower court ruling that directed such groups, which are spending millions of dollars on campaign advertising this election season, to name their donors. “The Court of Appeals' decision today will keep the American people, for the time being, in the dark about who is attempting to influence their vote with secret money,” Van Hollen said in a statement.

Comptroller Peter Franchot urged Gov. Martin O'Malley and the General Assembly Tuesday to move to a system of immediate online disclosure of political donations and spending -- contending it would improve the transparency of government in Maryland. Franchot, who is widely considered a likely candidate for governor in 2014, told a Constitution Day gathering at Goucher College that last month's special legislative session on gambling expansion exposed the flaws in the current campaign finance system.

The payments and "VIP trips" given to a Maryland cardiologist by Abbott Laboratories for parties and consulting work — disclosed in a federal report released Monday — are just what new legislation and industry guidelines are supposed to curtail, lawmakers said. But some industry analysts say the revamped rules aren't strong enough. "There's absolutely no [meaningful] regulation," said Eric G. Campbell, an associate professor at Harvard Medical School who studies health policy.

Lawmakers of both parties congratulated themselves on the overwhelming bipartisan passage of a law that bars members of Congress from insider trading. But with key provisions of the STOCK Act due to take effect this summer, another group that falls under its requirements is raising objections. Beginning Aug. 31, agencies will be required to make the personal financial details of top-level government managers, along with information about spouses and dependent children, available to the public online.

Dr. Joshua Zimmerberg says he's careful not to publicly disclose any personal information that could be of use to identity thieves. But soon, he might not have any choice but to have his finances published on the Internet for the world to see. Zimmerberg, a researcher and manager at the National Institutes of Health in Bethesda, is one of 28,000 federal employees in the executive branch who come under last year's Stop Trading on Congressional Knowledge...

A panel established by the General Assembly to recommend changes to Maryland's campaign finance laws is urging lawmakers to adopt sweeping reforms to ensure the public knows where election money is coming from and how it is being use to influence their votes. In a report to lawmakers, the Commission to Study Campaign Finance Law said the Assembly should close loopholes that have allowed donors to funnel large sums into campaigns with little chance voters will know before Election Day. As a trade-off, the commission also recommended that the legislature raise Maryland's limits on how much donors can contribute to reflect two decades of inflation.

Before entering into serious talks with the Big Ten, Maryland president Wallace D. Loh signed a non-disclosure agreement pledging to keep details out of public view. Such agreements are not uncommon these days as schools negotiate to switch conferences. But Tom McMillen, a member of the Board of Regents and former Maryland basketball star, said in an interview that he's concerned that confidentiality agreements squelch public debate that is appropriate and necessary before schools make such big decisions.

Developers and shopping-center owners have contributed more than $225,000 to efforts to challenge zoning decisions in Baltimore County through referendums, financial disclosure forms show. Contributors to the drive include firms tied to developers Howard Brown and the Cordish Cos., as well as those that run the Garrison Forest Plaza in Owings Mills and Green Spring Station in Lutherville. The backers have paid political firms, lawyers and others in hopes of putting land-use issues in two districts on the 2014 ballot, according to the documents filed Friday with the county elections board.

  A panel set up by the General Assembly to study Maryland's campaign finance laws plans to recommend a series of measures that would force outside interests that advertise in Maryland political campaigns or ballot issues to disclose their spending more fully and quickly. As it edged toward a final consensus on a report, the Commission to Study Campaign Finance Law reached consensus that the legislature should apply to all elections and referendum campaigns a standard it adopted requiring so-called "independent expenditure committees" to report spending of $10,000 or more within 48 hours of doing so. That requirement has let the media track, through filings with the State Board of Elections, the spending of millions of dollars by such companies as MGM Resorts International and Penn National Gaming on the current gambling referendum.

Rep. Chris Van Hollen called a federal court ruling allowing tax-exempt groups to conceal the identies of their donors “a blow against transparency in the funding of political campaigns.” The U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia on Tuesday reversed a lower court ruling that directed such groups, which are spending millions of dollars on campaign advertising this election season, to name their donors. “The Court of Appeals' decision today will keep the American people, for the time being, in the dark about who is attempting to influence their vote with secret money,” Van Hollen said in a statement.

As the Baltimore County Council prepares to take up an ethics reform package proposed by County Executive Kevin Kamenetz, some members say they're wary of a measure that would make it easy for anyone to access their financial disclosure forms. Kamenetz wants to post elected officials' forms online starting in May, a key part of the legislation. Open-government advocates say such disclosure lets citizens easily examine potential conflicts of interest. Now, anyone who wants to see a Baltimore County official's form must go to Towson to pick up a copy of the document.

Four months after the seller disclosure law went into effect, there is still confusion among buyers, sellers, their agents and even their lawyers.The legislation, which the General Assembly passed last year, was designed to hold sellers responsible if they knowingly sell a home with an inconspicuous but serious defect. The law, which applies to residential property resales, requires sellers to give prospective buyers a written disclosure form describing their property's condition. Or, sellers may sign a disclaimer sheet that says they sell the property "as is," with no explanation of hidden problems the buyer may find later.

Comptroller Peter Franchot urged Gov. Martin O'Malley and the General Assembly Tuesday to move to a system of immediate online disclosure of political donations and spending -- contending it would improve the transparency of government in Maryland. Franchot, who is widely considered a likely candidate for governor in 2014, told a Constitution Day gathering at Goucher College that last month's special legislative session on gambling expansion exposed the flaws in the current campaign finance system.

Further cementing his reputation as an outsider in Democratic politics, Comptroller Peter Franchot urged Gov.Martin O'Malley, legislative leaders and rank-and-file lawmakers Wednesday to voluntarily disclose any political donations they've received from "national gambling interests" since their last campaign finance reports were filed. In a letter to O'Malley, House Speaker Michael E. Buschand Senate President Thomas V. Mike Miller, Franchot said he would "respectfully encourage" such disclosure as the General Assembly prepares to meet in a special session Thursday to consider an expansion of casino gambling in Maryland.