Expedited Bill No.            32-10            

Concerning: Administration – Public Libraries – Payments to Municipalities             

Revised:    4/27/2010        Draft No. 2  

Introduced:      May 4, 2010                   

Enacted:         May 20, 2010                 

Executive:       May 29, 2010                 

Effective:        July 1, 2010                   

Sunset Date:  June 30, 2012                

Ch.   23    , Laws of Mont. Co.    2010    

County Council

For Montgomery County, Maryland

By: Health and Human Services Committee

AN EXPEDITED ACT to:

(1) authorize the County to pay to certain municipalities that support or operate a free public library an amount determined in the operating budget or Council resolution; and

(2) generally amend the county law related to the payment of the County library tax to certain municipalities.

By amending

            Montgomery County Code

            Chapter 2, Administration

Section 2-53

Boldface Heading or defined term.

Underlining Added to existing law by original bill.

[Single boldface brackets] Deleted from existing law by original bill.

Double underlining Added by amendment.

[[Double boldface brackets]] Deleted from existing law or the bill by amendment.

*   *   *                                                  Existing law unaffected by bill.

The County Council for Montgomery County, Maryland approves the following Act:

Sec. 1.  Section 2-53 is amended as follows:

2-53. Annual payment of county library tax to certain municipalities.

(a)     If the governing body of any municipality in the County which supports or operates a free public library on December 31, 1997 does not transfer that library into the County system, the Director of Finance must pay annually to the governing body of that municipality for library purposes, as soon after the beginning of each fiscal year as possible[,]:

(1)     an amount which would be realized if that portion of the general County ad valorem tax rate on real and personal property attributable to the appropriation for the Department of Public Libraries for that fiscal year were levied against the assessed value, on the preceding County date of finality, of the real and personal property in that municipality; or

(2)     a lower amount approved in the annual operating budget or a Council resolution.

For the purposes of this subsection, the amount of the appropriation for the Department of Public Libraries in any fiscal year includes the estimated amount of the payment to that municipality in that fiscal year. The amount of payment to any municipality must not exceed in any given fiscal year the amount of revenue derived from taxes levied by that municipality for library purposes for the preceding fiscal year.

(b)     If the governing body of a library supported by a municipality indicates a desire to transfer all or part of the library facilities owned by it into the County public library system, the Director of Public Libraries must negotiate for that transfer as provided in this Article.

Sec. 2.  Expedited Effective Date.

          The Council declares that this legislation is necessary for the immediate protection of the public interest.  Section 2-53, as amended by Section 1 of this Act, takes effect on July 1, 2010.

Sec. 3.  Sunset.

The amendments inserted in Section 2-53 in Section 1 expire after June 30, 2012.

Approved: