(a) The Director must enforce this Chapter, and may:
(1) investigate a violation or a complaint;
(2) refer a complaint or a violation to any federal, state, or local agency with jurisdiction over the complaint;
(3) refer a complaint or a violation to a hearing officer under Section 11-10;
(4) pursue an enforcement action under Section 11-11; or
(5) attempt to conciliate a matter with the parties.
(b) The Director must attempt to conciliate a matter before taking enforcement action. However, when the Director finds that any violation is causing or will cause immediate, substantial, and irreparable injury, or it is otherwise in the public interest, the Director may take immediate enforcement action without first attempting conciliation, including issuing a cease and desist order.
(c) This Section does not prevent any person from exercising any right or seeking any remedy to which that person is otherwise entitled, or from filing any complaint with any other agency or court.
(d) This Section does not prevent the Director from following a different procedure or pursuing a different enforcement action during or after an investigation when the Director finds that doing so will serve the public interest.
(e) The Director may seek the cooperation of any licensing authority and contracting department in County government. (1972 L.M.C., ch. 11, § 1; 1974 L.M.C., ch. 13, § 4; 1993 L.M.C., ch. 25, § 1; 1996 L.M.C., ch. 13, § 1; , § 1; , § 1; , § 1.)
Editor's note— The above section is discussed in Fosler v. Panoramic Design, Ltd., 376 Md. 118, 829 A.2d 271 (2003).
2005 L.M.C., ch. 26, §§ 2 and 3, state:
Sec. 2. Regulations. A regulation which implements a function transferred to the Office of Consumer Protection by this Act continues in effect until otherwise amended or repealed, but any reference to any predecessor department or office must be treated as referring to the Office of Consumer Protection.
Sec. 3. Transition. This act does not invalidate or affect any action taken by the Department of Housing and Community Affairs before this Act took effect. Any responsibility or right granted by law, regulation, contract, or other document, and which is associated with a function transferred by this Act from the Department of Housing and Community Affairs, is transferred to the Office of Consumer Protection.
