Mayor Brandon M. Scott Announces Oversight and Transparency Package
Proposed Legislative Actions Provide Roadmap to Address OIG Access Concerns, Strengthen Baltimore’s Oversight Structure
BALTIMORE, MD (Wednesday, May 13, 2026) — Today, Mayor Brandon M. Scott announced a comprehensive oversight and transparency proposal to strengthen residents’ trust in City government, reaffirm the City’s commitment to good governance and accountability, and address concerns about the effectiveness and trustworthiness of Baltimore’s Office of the Inspector General.
“Baltimoreans deserve an oversight system they can trust — one that’s responsive to residents, has the authority and information necessary to ensure accountability, and follows State and local law,” said Mayor Brandon M. Scott. “Frankly, our current system does not meet those standards. But we are confident that this legislative package will provide a path forward to establish stronger oversight that adheres to State law while ensuring the OIG has the information they need to do their important work.”
Given ongoing litigation and public discussion regarding the Office of the Inspector General (OIG), it is critical that Baltimoreans have faith in the City’s oversight and transparency structure. This proposal calls for several legislative actions to clarify the OIG’s oversight processes while ensuring compliance with current state law, amend the Maryland Public Information Act (MPIA) to exempt the OIG for nearly all categories of information, and provide adequate oversight of all OIGs across the state.
Mayor Scott’s proposal includes four specific steps:
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Step 1 (Immediate): Pass local legislation to clarify processes under current state law.
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Step 2 (Immediate): Conduct an independent examination of the SideStep pilot program.
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Step 3 (2027 State Legislative Session): Advocate for state legislation amending the MPIA to carve out Inspectors General and establishing statewide IG oversight.
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Step 4 (2027-2028): Advocate for a City Charter amendment to update the OIG oversight structure once state law has changed.
A full description of the proposals can be found below. A fact sheet about the proposal can be found here.
Local Legislation
Mayor Scott is proposing legislation will take immediate steps at the local level to improve OIG workflow and establish a clearer process for document access under the parameters of current state law. This legislation will be crafted in City Code in order to implement it as quickly as possible.
This legislation will:
- Confirm the OIG’s position as part of the City of Baltimore legal entity.
- Establish a new “audit trail” system to outline the process for the OIG’s investigatory requests, implementing MPIA-required redactions, and document sharing protocols.
- Establish a designated legal representative position to ensure OIG compliance with the MPIA and represent the OIG during disputes about redactions or document accessibility if necessary. This staff-member will be selected by the City Solicitor and approved by the OIG Advisory Board, but once established, will be firewalled from the rest of the Law Department.
- Outline conflict resolution process that is currently available utilizing the existing pathways available to resolve disputes about redactions or other MPIA-related issues, including the administrative process, the Public Access Ombudsman, and direct judicial review.
- Require the OIG Advisory Board to conduct quarterly performance and status reviews of the OIG’s investigatory work, in addition to their current annual report.
Independent SideStep Investigation
Mayor Scott called for a renewed, wholly independent examination of the SideStep program, a limited pilot program of the Mayor’s Office of Neighborhood Safety and Engagement (MONSE), which was active from 2022-2024. The goal of this independent examination is to conduct a thorough and neutral investigation free from politicization.
A team from Baker Tilly, a global firm that provides forensic accounting and legal services, is in the process of being engaged for a forensic review.
If this independent examination confirms the OIG’s findings regarding fraudulent invoices, the City will utilize every tool at its disposal to recoup those funds and take action against those who perpetrated fraud against the City.
State Legislation
To address the main legal hurdle and establish consistency across jurisdictions, Mayor Scott will support two changes to state law during the 2027 Maryland General Assembly: amending the MPIA to give local Inspectors General access to unredacted information, and pursuing companion legislation to establish a centralized oversight framework to standardize the work of inspectors general across local jurisdictions.
Mayor Scott will support amendments to the MPIA that do the following:
- Provide a statewide carve out that allows inspectors general to access information currently protected from disclosure by the MPIA, while reiterating that oversight officials and their staff are still required to safeguard protected information and subject to the penalties for violating the MPIA. Publicly released reports would still adhere to requirements under the MPIA.
- Clarify that the OIG still accesses documents through a municipality’s IT department, but there will be no requirement for redacting information during investigations that is protected from disclosure under the MPIA.
- Maintain protection of certain information from disclosure, including information protected by the attorney client privilege and attorney work product to preserve the confidentiality of communications between officials acting in their capacity and their attorneys when seeking legal advice.
Mayor Scott will support companion legislation to establish a centralized oversight framework to standardize the work of inspectors general across local jurisdictions, which does the following:
- Establish a statewide oversight body that governs the work of inspectors general across the state, authorizing the oversight body to oversee a complaint reporting and appeals process to adjudicate potential issues or abuses of power by the OIG.
- Require the oversight body to publish a Maryland-specific code of conduct and professional responsibilities to guide the work of IGs across the state and provide a benchmark for the adjudication of potential misconduct.
- Mandate that all jurisdictions with an applicable position establish a local oversight board that meets certain requirements, following precedents set by other state laws like the Maryland Police Accountability Act.
- Require inspectors general, their staff, or similar officials responsible for oversight to attend annual professional development training on data protection and handling sensitive protected information in their possession.
Charter Amendment
If these changes to state law are passed as described, Mayor Scott will support additional changes to the City’s Charter to improve the Office of the Inspector General and ensure the City’s oversight structure complies with the updated state law.
This amendment would potentially:
- Amend the local IG Advisory Board makeup, selection process, and oversight authority to comply with the state law requirements.
- Codify the OIG Advisory Board’s quarterly performance review of the OIG’s investigations.
- Further outline the investigatory process to ensure it is clear and transparent, including an investigatory “request” system and audit trail.
- Amend the IG requirements for clarity and consistency with updated local and state law.
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