(a) Except as otherwise provided in subsection (c) of this section, an investigative or law enforcement officer obtaining the contents of communications, records, or other information under § 10-4A-03, § 10-4A-04, or § 10-4A-05 of this subtitle shall pay to the person or entity assembling or providing the information a fee for reimbursement for costs that are reasonably necessary and that have been directly incurred in searching for, assembling, reproducing, or otherwise providing the information. Reimbursable costs shall include any costs due to necessary disruption of normal operations of any electronic communication service or remote computing service in which the information may be stored.
(b) The amount of the fee authorized under subsection (a) of this section shall be mutually agreed upon by the investigative or law enforcement officer and the person or entity providing the information, or, in the absence of agreement, shall be determined by the court which issued the order for production of the information or the court in which a criminal prosecution relating to the information would be brought, if no court order was issued for production of the information.
(c) The requirement of subsection (a) of this section does not apply with respect to records or other information maintained by a communications common carrier that relate to telephone toll records and telephone listings obtained under § 10-4A-04 of this subtitle. The court may, however, order a payment described in subsection (a) of this section if the court determines the information required is unusually voluminous in nature or otherwise caused an undue burden on the provider.
Structure Maryland Statutes
Courts and Judicial Proceedings
Subtitle 4A - Stored Wire and Electronic Communications and Transactional Records Access
Section 10-4A-01 - Definitions
Section 10-4A-02 - Obtaining, Altering, or Preventing Authorized Access
Section 10-4A-03 - Divulging Contents of Communications Generally
Section 10-4A-04 - Disclosure of Information
Section 10-4A-05 - Backup Copies of Communications
Section 10-4A-06 - Delay in Giving Notices