Bill No.                34-10                        

Concerning: Finance – Public Facilities – Private Projects

Revised:    11/23/2010       Draft No. 3  

Introduced:      May 18, 2010                 

Enacted:         November 23, 2010        

Executive:       December 6, 2010          

Effective:        March 7, 2011                

Sunset Date:  None                             

Ch.   48    , Laws of Mont. Co.    2010    

 

County Council

For Montgomery County, Maryland

 

By: Councilmembers Leventhal, Knapp, and Elrich

 

AN ACT to:

(1)               amend the definition of public facilities to specifically exclude the construction, reconstruction, extension, acquisition, improvement, enlargement, alteration, repair, or modernization of any [[privately owned building or facility]] nonpublic school building;

(2)               amend the definition of public facilities to include the purchase of façade easements;

(3)               prohibit the use of general obligation serial maturity bonds for projects [[that do not meet the definition of public facilities]] under certain circumstances; and

(4)               generally amend the county finance law.

 

By amending

            Montgomery County Code

            Chapter 20, Finance

[[Section]] Sections 20-14 and 20-15

 

 

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]] 20-14 [[is]] and 20-15 are amended as follows:

20-14.  Definition of "public [[facilities]] facility."

          As used in this Chapter, public [[facilities]] facility means:

(a)     The construction, reconstruction, improvement, extension, alteration, repair, purchase, conversion, and modernization of any public school [[buildings]] building or any [[buildings]] building used for public school purposes, [[including any such County-owned building leased to a private entity,]] including the [[sites]] site therefor, the cost of acquiring any such [[buildings]] building or [[sites]] site, any architectural and engineering services, including preparation of any [[plans, drawings and specifications]] plan, drawing, or specification for such [[schools]] school or the conversion or modernization thereof and the development of the grounds, and all customary permanent appurtenances and recreational and pedagogical equipment for such [[schools]] school;

*        *        *

(c)      The construction, reconstruction, extension, acquisition, improvement, enlargement, alteration, repair and modernization of any [[structures]] building or structure that is or will be owned by the County or any building or structure used to house any [[of the functions]] function of [[or for the use of the county]] County government [[or administration]], especially any health [[clinics]] clinic, rescue [[squads]] squad, fire engine [[houses and]] house or police [[stations]] station, [[airports and]] airport or landing [[fields]] field, [[parks and]] park or recreational [[facilities]] facility, or any combination of the foregoing, including the acquisition and development of [[sites therefor]] any site, [[the]] any architectural and engineering services [[incident thereto]], and the acquisition and installation of any necessary [[furnishings]] furnishing, fire fighting and rescue squad equipment, and fixed permanent equipment [[therefor]];

            *          *          *

(g)     The planning, acquisition, construction, improvement, repair, and extension of any water [[systems and facilities]] system or facility and sewerage [[systems and facilities]] system or facility; [[and]]

(h)     The purchase of agricultural easements as defined in Article 3 of Chapter 2B[[.]]; and

(i)      The purchase of façade easements necessary to implement a community revitalization project.

            [[However, public facilities does not include the construction, reconstruction, extension, acquisition, improvement, enlargement, alteration, repair, or modernization of any building or facility owned by a private for-profit or non-profit entity, excluding any fire, rescue, and emergency medical service facility subject to Chapter 21.]]

20-15.  Borrowing money and issuing bonds-Authority.

(a)     [[With regard to]] For any County borrowing authorized by law on the full faith and credit of the County to finance the public facilities defined in [[the preceding section]] Section 20-14, the County must evidence that borrowing or indebtedness by [[the issuance of its]] issuing general obligation serial maturity bonds.  Subject to the terms and conditions in this Section, the County Executive must determine the terms and conditions of any such bonds, the interest payable thereon, and the advertising for their sale.

(b)     [[Any such]] General obligation serial maturity bonds may be issued [[under the authority of this division and]] for the purposes enumerated in [[the preceding section]] Section 20-14 at any time, within the limitations provided by law.  [[Bonds]] Except as provided in subsection (c), bonds must not be used to fund any project that is not a public facility as defined in Section 20-14.

(c)      General obligation serial maturity bonds may be used to fund a project that is not a public facility as defined in Section 20-14 if the Council finds that:

(1)     the facility for which the bonds would be used is an integral part of a facility that would qualify for bonds under this Article;

          (2)     the facility is necessary to serve a public purpose; and

(3)     the recipient of bond funds agrees:

(A)    not to sell, lease, exchange, give away, or otherwise transfer or dispose of any interest in the property that was acquired, constructed, extended, improved, enlarged, altered, repaired, or modernized with bond funds without County approval for 20 years; and

(B)     if the County permits the transfer or disposition of the property, to repay the County the percentage of the proceeds allocable to the bond funds used to acquire, construct, extend, improve, enlarge, alter, repair, or modernize the property.

[[(c)]] (d) [[All]] Any action taken [[pursuant to]] under this Article must be [[taken]] by order of the County Executive.  The County Executive must [[cause]] send a correct copy of every such order to [[be filed with]] the Clerk of the County Council, who must keep a permanent record of [[all of such orders; and certification]] each order.  Certification by the Clerk is evidence of the authenticity of [[any such]] each order.

Approved: