EXPLANATION: CAPITALS INDICATE MAT TER ADDED TO EXISTIN G LAW.
[Brackets] indicate matter deleted from existing law.
Underlining indicates amendments to bill.
Strike out indicates matter stricken from the bill by amendment or deleted from the law by
amendment.
*sb0623*
SENATE BILL 623
B3 5lr2893
CF HB 561
By: Senator Bailey
Introduced and read first time: January 25, 2025
Assigned to: Budget and Taxation
Committee Report: Favorable
Senate action: Adopted
Read second time: February 21, 2025
CHAPTER ______
AN ACT concerning 1
St. Mary’s County – Public Facilities Bond 2
FOR the purpose of authorizing and empowering the County Commissioners of St. Mary’s 3
County, from time to time, to borrow not more than $71,000,000 in order to finance 4
the construction, improvement, or development of certain public facilities in St. 5
Mary’s County, as herein defined, and to effect such borrowing by the issuance and 6
sale at public or private sale of its general obligation bonds in like par amount; 7
empowering the County to fix and determine, by resolution, the form, tenor, interest 8
rate or rates or method of determining the same, terms, conditions, maturities, and 9
all other details incident to the issuance and sale of the bonds; empowering the 10
County to issue refunding bonds for the purchase or redemption of bonds in advance 11
of maturity; empowering and directing the County to levy, impose, and collect, 12
annually, ad valorem taxes in rate and amount sufficient to provide funds for the 13
payment of the maturing principal of and interest on the bonds; exempting the bonds 14
and refunding bonds and the interest thereon and any income derived therefrom 15
from all State, county, municipal, and other taxation in the State of Maryland; 16
providing that nothing in this Act shall prevent the County from authorizing the 17
issuance and sale of bonds the interest on which is not excludable from gross income 18
for federal income tax purposes; and generally relating to the issuance and sale of 19
such bonds. 20
SECTION 1. BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF MARYLAND, 21
That, as used herein, the term “County” means the body politic and corporate of the State 22
of Maryland known as the County Commissioners of St. Mary’s County, and the term 23
“construction, improvement, or development of public facilities” means the acquisition, 24 2 SENATE BILL 623
alteration, construction, reconstruction, enlargement, equipping, expansion, extension, 1
improvement, rehabilitation, renovation, upgrading, and repair of public buildings and 2
facilities and public works projects, including, but not limited to, public works projects such 3
as highways, roads, bridges and storm drains, public school buildings and facilities, boating 4
facilities, shore erosion and other marine property, landfills, and recycling facilities, public 5
operational buildings and facilities such as buildings and facilities for County 6
administrative use, capital improvements to the Wicomico Shores Taxing District, County 7
athletic facilities, the community college, community swimming pools, public safety, health 8
and social services, libraries, commuter air service facilities, refuse disposal buildings and 9
facilities, and parks and recreation buildings and facilities, together with the costs of 10
acquiring land or interests in land as well as any related architectural, financial, legal, 11
planning, or engineering services. 12
SECTION 2. AND BE IT FURTHER ENACTED, Th at the County is hereby 13
authorized to finance any part or all of the costs of the public facilities described in Section 14
1 of this Act, and to borrow money and incur indebtedness for that purpose, at one time or 15
from time to time, in an amount not exceeding, in the aggregate, $71,000,000, and to 16
evidence such borrowing by the issuance and sale upon its full faith and credit of general 17
obligation bonds in like par amount, which may be issued at one time or from time to time, 18
in one or more groups or series, as the County may determine. 19
SECTION 3. AND BE IT FURTHER ENACTED, That the bonds shall be issued in 20
accordance with a resolution of the County, which shall describe generally the construction, 21
improvement, or development of public facilities for which the proceeds of the bond sale are 22
intended and the amount needed for those purposes. The County shall have and is hereby 23
granted full and complete authority and discretion in the resolution to fix and determine 24
with respect to the bonds of any issue: the designation, date of issue, denomination or 25
denominations, form or forms, and tenor of the bonds which, without limitation, may be 26
issued in registered form within the meaning of § 19–204 of the Local Government Article 27
of the Annotated Code of Maryland, as amended; the rate or rates of interest payable 28
thereon, or the method of determining the same, which may include a variable rate; the 29
date or dates and amount or amounts of maturity, which need not be in equal par amounts 30
or in consecutive annual installments, provided only that no bond of any issue shall mature 31
later than 30 years from the date of its issue; the manner of selling the bonds, which may 32
be at either public or private sale, for such price or prices as may be determined to be in 33
the best interests of St. Mary’s County; the manner of executing and sealing the bonds, 34
which may be by facsimile; the terms and conditions, if any, under which bonds may be 35
tendered for payment or purchase prior to their stated maturity; the terms or conditions, if 36
any, under which bonds may or shall be redeemed prior to their stated maturity; the place 37
or places of payment of the principal of and the interest on the bonds, which may be at any 38
bank or trust company within or without the State of Maryland; covenants relating to 39
compliance with applicable requirements of federal income tax law, including (without 40
limitation) covenants regarding the payment of rebate or penalties in lieu of rebate; 41
covenants relating to compliance with applicable requirements of federal or state securities 42
laws; and generally all matters incident to the terms, conditions, issuance, sale, and 43
delivery thereof. 44
SENATE BILL 623 3
The bonds may be made redeemable before maturity, at the option of the County, at 1
such price or prices and under such terms and conditions as may be fixed by the County 2
prior to the issuance of the bonds, either in the resolution or in a bond order pursuant to 3
the bond resolution. The bonds may be issued in registered form and provision may be made 4
for the registration of the principal only. In case any officer whose signature appears on 5
any bond ceases to be such officer before the delivery thereof, such signature shall 6
nevertheless be valid and sufficient for all purposes as if he had remained in office until 7
such delivery. The bonds and the issuance and sale thereof shall be exempt from the 8
provisions of §§ 19–205 and 19–206 of the Local Government Article of the Annotated Code 9
of Maryland, as amended. 10
The County may enter into agreements with agents, banks, fiduciaries, insurers, or 11
others for the purpose of enhancing the marketability of any security for the bonds and for 12
the purpose of securing any tender option that may be granted to holders of the bonds, all 13
as may be determined and presented in the aforesaid resolution, which may (but need not) 14
state as security for the performance by the County of any monetary obligations under such 15
agreements the same security given by the County to bondholders for the performance by 16
the County of its monetary obligations under the bonds. 17
If the County determines in the resolution to offer any of the bonds by solicitation of 18
competitive bids at public sale, the resolution shall fix the terms and conditions of the public 19
sale and shall adopt a form of notice of sale, which shall outline the terms and conditions, 20
and a form of advertisement, which shall be published in one or more daily or weekly 21
newspapers having a general circulation in the County and which may also be published in 22
one or more journals having a circulation primarily among banks and investment bankers. 23
At least one publication of the advertisement shall be made not less than 10 days before 24
the sale of the bonds. 25
Upon delivery of any bonds to the purchaser or purchasers, payment therefor shall 26
be made to the Treasurer of St. Mary’s County or such other official of St. Mary’s County 27
as may be designated to receive such payment in a resolution passed by the County before 28
such delivery. 29
SECTION 4. AND BE IT FURTHER ENACTED, That the net proceeds of the sale 30
of bonds shall be used and applied exclusively and solely for the acquisition, construction, 31
improvement, or development of public facilities for which the bonds are sold. If the 32
amounts borrowed shall prove inadequate to finance the projects described in the 33
resolution, the County may issue additional bonds with the limitations hereof for the 34
purpose of evidencing the borrowing of additional funds for such financing, provided the 35
resolution authorizing the sale of additional bonds shall so recite, but if the net proceeds of 36
the sale of any issue of bonds exceed the amount needed to finance the projects described 37
in the resolution, the excess funds so borrowed and not expended shall be applied to the 38
payment of the next principal maturity of the bonds or to the redemption of any part of the 39
bonds which have been made redeemable or to the purchase and cancellation of bonds, 40
unless the County shall adopt a resolution allocating the excess funds to the acquisition, 41
construction, improvement, or development of other public facilities, as defined and within 42
the limits set forth in this Act. 43 4 SENATE BILL 623
SECTION 5. AND BE IT FURTHER ENACTED, That the bonds hereby authorized 1
shall constitute, and they shall so recite, an irrevocable pledge of the full faith and credit 2
and unlimited taxing power of the County to the payment of the maturing principal of and 3
interest on the bonds as and when they become payable. In each and every fiscal year that 4
any of the bonds are outstanding, the County shall levy or cause to be levied ad valorem 5
taxes upon all the assessable property within the corporate limits of the County in rate and 6
amount sufficient to provide for or assure the payment, when due, of the principal of and 7
interest on all the bonds maturing in each such fiscal year and, in the event the proceeds 8
from the taxes so levied in any such fiscal year shall prove inadequate for such payment, 9
additional taxes shall be levied in the succeeding fiscal year to make up any such deficiency. 10
The County may apply to the payment of the principal of and interest on any bonds issued 11
hereunder any funds received by it from the State of Maryland, the United States of 12
America, any agency or instrumentality thereof, or from any other source, if such funds are 13
granted for the purpose of assisting the County in financing the acquisition, construction, 14
improvement, or development of the public facilities defined in this Act and, to the extent 15
of any such funds received or receivable in any fiscal year, the taxes that are required to be 16
levied under this Act may be reduced accordingly. 17
SECTION 6. AND BE IT FURTHER ENACTED, That the County is further 18
authorized and empowered, at any time and from time to time, to issue its bonds in the 19
manner hereinabove described for the purpose of refunding, by payment at maturity or 20
upon purchase or redemption, any bonds issued hereunder. The validity of any such 21
refunding bonds shall in no way be dependent upon or related to the validity or invalidity 22
of the obligations so refunded. The powers herein granted with respect to the issuance of 23
bonds shall be applicable to the issuance of refunding bonds. Such refunding bonds may be 24
issued by the County in such an amount as shall be necessary for the purpose of providing 25
it with funds to pay any of its outstanding bonds issued hereunder at maturity, for the 26
purpose of providing it with funds to purchase in the open market any of its outstanding 27
bonds issued hereunder, prior to the maturity thereof, or for the purpose of providing it 28
with funds for the redemption prior to maturity of any outstanding bonds issued hereunder 29
which are, by their terms, redeemable, for the purpose of providing it with funds to pay 30
interest on any outstanding bonds issued hereunder prior to their payment at maturity of 31
purchase or redemption in advance of maturity, or for the purpose of providing it with funds 32
to pay any redemption or purchase premium in connection with the refunding of any of its 33
outstanding bonds issued hereunder. The proceeds of the sale of any such refunding bonds 34
shall be segregated and set apart by the County as a separate trust fund to be used solely 35
for the purpose of paying the purchase or redemption prices of the bonds to be refunded. 36
SECTION 7. AND BE IT FURTHER ENACTED, That the County may, prior to the 37
preparation of definitive bonds, issue interim certificates or temporary bonds, exchangeable 38
for definitive bonds when such bonds have been executed and are available for such 39
delivery, provided, however, that any such interim certificates or temporary bonds shall be 40
issued in all respects subject to the restrictions and requirements set forth in this Act. The 41
County may, by appropriate resolution, provide for the replacement of any bonds issued 42
hereunder which shall have become mutilated or lost or destroyed upon such conditions 43
and after receiving such indemnity as the County may require. 44 SENATE BILL 623 5
SECTION 8. AND BE IT FURTHER ENACTED, That any and all obligations issued 1
pursuant to the authority of this Act, their transfer, the interest payable thereon, and any 2
income derived therefrom in the hands of the holders thereof from time to time (including 3
any profit made in the sale thereof) shall be and are hereby declared to be at all times 4
exempt from State, county, municipal, or other taxation of every kind and nature 5
whatsoever within the State of Maryland. Nothing in this Act shall prevent the County 6
from authorizing the issuance and sale of bonds the interest on which is not excludable 7
from gross income for federal income tax purposes. 8
SECTION 9. AND BE IT FURTHER ENACTED, That the authority to borrow 9
money and issue bonds conferred on the County by this Act shall be deemed to provide an 10
additional and alternative authority for borrowing money and shall be regarded as 11
supplemental and additional to powers conferred upon the County by other laws and shall 12
not be regarded as in derogation of any power now existing; and all Acts of the General 13
Assembly of Maryland heretofore passed authorizing the County to borrow money are 14
hereby continued to the extent that the powers contained in such Acts have not been 15
exercised, and nothing contained in this Act may be construed to impair, in any way, the 16
validity of any bonds that may have been issued by the County under the authority of any 17
said Acts, and the validity of the bonds is hereby ratified, confirmed, and approved. This 18
Act, being necessary for the welfare of the inhabitants of St. Mary’s County, shall be 19
liberally construed to effect the purposes hereof. All Acts and parts of Acts inconsistent 20
with the provisions of this Act are hereby repealed to the extent of such inconsistency. 21
SECTION 10. AND BE IT FURTHER ENACTED, That this Act shall take effect 22
June 1, 2025. 23
Approved:
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Governor.
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President of the Senate.
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Speaker of the House of Delegates.