Maryland Governor - Executive and Administrative Departments Section 14-104

      (a)      In order further to accomplish the legislative policy of this subtitle, in addition to whatever other powers it may have and notwithstanding any limitation of law, any public body may issue and sell its bonds, as its limited obligations and not upon its faith and credit or pledge of its taxing power, at any time and from time to time, for the purposes of financing or refinancing any costs of the acquisition of 1 or more facilities for 1 or more facility users or of refunding outstanding bonds, including the necessary expenses of preparing, printing, selling, and issuing those bonds, the funding of reserves, and the payment of interest with respect to financing such acquisition in such amounts, or for such period, as the public body deems reasonable. Bonds issued by an authority shall be deemed to be issued on behalf of the public body that created the authority. Bonds issued by the Maryland Industrial Development Financing Authority shall be issued on behalf of the State and shall be issued in accordance with the requirements of the Maryland Industrial Development Financing Authority Act.

      (b)      A public body may accomplish the acquisition of 1 or more facilities from the proceeds of the sale of its bonds by 1 or more of the following methods:

            (1)      By leasing them to 1 or more facility users under a lease;

            (2)      By selling them to 1 or more facility users under a sale agreement;

            (3)      By lending proceeds of the sale of bonds to 1 or more facility users under a loan agreement to be used to finance or refinance 1 or more facilities; or

            (4)      In such other manner as the public body deems appropriate to accomplish the purposes of this subtitle.

      (c)      In the event 1 or more facilities are to be leased to 1 or more facility users, the lease may provide that at the time the principal of and interest on the bonds (or so much thereof as may be applicable to the particular facility user) are paid in full, the facility user may or shall purchase or otherwise acquire whatever facilities were acquired with the proceeds of the bonds. In such event, the consideration for the conveyance or acquisition may be set at a nominal figure.

      (d)      To implement the authority conferred upon it by this subtitle to issue bonds, the legislative body of any county or municipality, the board of directors of any authority, or the Maryland Industrial Development Financing Authority, may adopt a resolution pursuant to which it shall:

            (1)      Specify and describe the facility or facilities;

            (2)      Generally describe the public purpose to be served and the financing or refinancing transaction to be accomplished under this subtitle;

            (3)      Specify the maximum principal amount of the bonds that may be issued; and

            (4)      Impose any terms or conditions on the issuance and sale of the bonds it deems appropriate. Except in a county or municipality that does not have a publicly elected chief executive officer, the resolution shall be subject to the approval of the chief executive officer.

      (e)      The legislative body of any county or municipality, the board of directors of any authority, or the Maryland Industrial Development Financing Authority, by resolution, may itself specify and prescribe, or may authorize:

            (1)      Its finance board, by resolution; or

            (2)      Its chief executive officer, by executive order or otherwise; or

            (3)      Any other appropriate administrative officer, by order or otherwise with the approval of its chief executive officer, to specify, prescribe, determine, provide for or approve such matters, details, forms, documents, or procedures as the legislative body, board of directors, or the Maryland Industrial Development Financing Authority deems appropriate to the authorization, sale, security, issuance, delivery, or payment of or for the bonds, including, without limitation, creation of security for the bonds and provision for the administration of bond issues such as trust or other agreements with banks or trust companies regarding any countersignature or delivery of bonds or security for bonds. The resolution or trust agreement may contain a pledge or assignment of revenues to be received in connection with the financing or refinancing of a facility and the lien of the pledge or assignment shall be valid and binding against any person having a claim of any kind against the public body, irrespective of whether the person has notice. No resolution, trust agreement, lease, sale agreement, loan agreement, or other instrument adopted or entered into by a public body under this subtitle need be filed or recorded except in the records of the public body, regardless of any contrary provision of public general or public local law. The chief executive officer or administrative officer acting pursuant to a resolution of a legislative body shall exercise any authority granted the officer in order to accomplish the legislative policy of this subtitle and the public purposes of the resolution as declared by the legislative body, subject to the limitations set forth in this subtitle and any limitations prescribed by the legislative body by resolution.

      (f)      The resolution adopted pursuant to this section is administrative in nature, is not subject to procedures required for legislative acts, and is not subject to referendum. It is the declared legislative intent that this subtitle is self-executing and fully authorizes and enables any county, municipality, authority, or the Maryland Industrial Development Financing Authority, to issue and sell bonds as its limited obligations and not upon its faith and credit at any time and from time to time for the purpose of financing any costs of the acquisition of 1 or more facilities, and notwithstanding any other statutory or charter provision, no further charter amendment, enabling legislation, ordinance, bill, or other similar action need be taken by the legislative body of any county or municipality, by the board of directors of any authority, or by the Maryland Industrial Development Financing Authority to implement the authority hereby conferred, other than the adoption of such administrative resolution.

      (g)      This subtitle shall not be construed to authorize any county or municipality to acquire any facility by eminent domain.

      (h)      In any suit, action, or proceeding involving the validity or enforceability of any bond issued under this subtitle or any security therefor, any finding by the legislative body of the county or municipality, by the board of directors of any authority, or by the Maryland Industrial Development Financing Authority as to the public purpose of any action taken under this subtitle and the appropriateness of those actions to serve the public purpose shall be conclusive.

      (i)      As an alternative to the procedures for the issuance of bonds authorized by this subtitle, any municipality, by charter amendment adopted pursuant to Article 23A of this Code, or any charter county, by charter amendment adopted pursuant to Article XI-A of the Constitution of Maryland, may provide for the issuance of revenue bonds on such terms and conditions as it may deem necessary or appropriate to enable it to achieve the legislative policy of this subtitle.