The Board of Commissioners adopted a county ethics ordinance requiring additional disclosures from county candidates, elected officials, and certain county employees.

The ordinance requires candidates, elected officials, and certain county employees to disclose interests in real property and in corporations.

Additionally, the ordinance amends lobbyist reporting from monthly to bi-annual reporting.

The ethics ordinance was needed to bring Carroll County in compliance with state ethics requirements.

The Carroll County Board of County Commissioners voted 4-1 to move forward with a new ethics ordinance.

The ordinance was originally developed in 2014 after the Maryland General Assembly passed a bill in 2010 requiring all counties, municipalities, and boards of election to pass ethics ordinances.

Carroll is the only county in the state not yet in compliance.

The ethics ordinance would apply to candidates beginning with the 2018 elections. The ordinance will be discussed next at a public hearing on February 27.

The Board of Commissioners will consider adopting a new county ethics ordinance requiring additional disclosures from county candidates, elected officials, and certain county employees. In 2010, the Maryland General Assembly passed legislation mandating local governments to adopt ethics laws at least as stringent as the state’s laws.

The Maryland State Ethics Commission approved the county’s proposed ordinance during its Feb. 27 meeting.

County Attorney Tim Burke will review the ordinance with commissioners in mid-May. It is then the responsibility of the commissioners to submit the ordinance for public review and to vote on whether to adopt it.