(a)    The Council shall promote the policy established under § 10–1502 of this subtitle by:

(1)    providing guidance and policy recommendations and when appropriate recommend legislation and regulations for:

(i)    procedures, standards, and other deliverables for open data, including for open data portals;

(ii)    promotion, advertising, and marketing of open data; and

(iii)    best practices for sharing open data while taking into account privacy and security concerns;

(2)    coordinating the appropriate staff at each State entity for the development, maintenance, and use of open data and open data portals;

(3)    (i)    identifying the collective cost of operating and investing in open data and funding mechanisms to support open data; and

(ii)    advising the Governor and General Assembly on budget matters related to open data;

(4)    inviting and encouraging local entities and the legislative and judicial branches to:

(i)    use open data portals established by State entities;

(ii)    create their own open data portals; and

(iii)    adopt policies consistent with the policy established under § 10–1502 of this subtitle;

(5)    establishing a plan for providing all open data to the public at no cost;

(6)    advocating for sound records management and data preservation practices; and

(7)    making recommendations to ensure that the purchase of new data processing devices, systems, and software by the State includes a review of compliance with the open data policy established under § 10–1502 of this subtitle and interoperability with current technology used by the State.

(b)    On or before January 10 of each year, the Council shall report to the Governor and the General Assembly, in accordance with § 2–1257 of this article, on the activities of the Council for the previous year and any recommendations for legislation.