(a) Except as otherwise provided in this section, an officer, former officer, employee, or former employee of the State, a county, a municipal corporation, or a taxing district may not open for public inspection valuation records, including: (1) assessor notes and medical-related adjustments on residential worksheets or cards; (2) commercial assessment worksheets or cards; and (3) correspondence containing information concerning private appraisals, building costs, rental data, or business volume. (b) (1) The Department shall permit a valuation record to be inspected by: (i) the person whose property is the subject of the valuation record; or (ii) an officer of the State or a county or municipal corporation affected by the valuation record. (2) Valuation records, including rental data or business volume, may be submitted to the Maryland Tax Court as evidence in an appeal under Subtitle 5 of this title. (3) Residential assessment worksheets that list the property description with assigned cost rates and depreciation factors shall be available for inspection as they appear on the Department's website. (4) The Department shall maintain a database, available to the public on the Department's website and searchable by individual property, that relates to the valuation of single-family residential real property in the State and includes for each property: (i) the square footage of the enclosed improvements above ground; (ii) the square footage of the completed improvements below ground; (iii) the number of bathrooms; (iv) the number of garages; and (v) the date of the initial assessment of the most recently completed improvements assessed after July 1, 2000, under § 8-104(c)(1)(iii) of this article. (c) The Department shall provide a copy of assessment worksheets and cards that relate to a real property valuation: (1) to the person whose property is the subject of the valuation if: (i) the value or classification of the property is to be changed for property tax purposes; and (ii) the person requests the worksheets and cards; or (2) except for income and expense statements, to any person who pays property tax, if the person: (i) seeks the worksheets and cards for other comparable property; (ii) has a timely filed and pending appeal under Subtitle 5 of this title regarding the assessment of the person's property; (iii) identifies the comparable property by address; and (iv) pays the reasonable fee that the Department requires for the copy. (d) (1) The Department may adopt regulations establishing reasonable conditions for release of information contained in valuation records that directly relate to descriptions of physical characteristics of and improvements to the land. (2) (i) Except as provided in subparagraph (ii) of this paragraph, a fee may be imposed for providing the information under this subsection. (ii) A fee may not be imposed for providing to the property owner on the Department's website information concerning the calculation of the assessment and description of the property that is the subject of the assessment as required under subsection (c)(1) of this section.
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