596 LAWS OF MARYLAND. [CH. 377

power to invest and re-invest such funds, subject to all the
terms, conditions, limitations and restrictions imposed by the
law of Maryland upon domestic life insurance companies in
the making and disposing of their investments; and subject to
like terms, conditions, limitations and restrictions, said trus-
tees shall have full power to hold, purchase, sell, assign,
transfer and dispose of any of the securities and investments
in which any of the funds created herein shall have been in-
vested, as well as the proceeds of said investments and any
moneys belonging to said funds.

(2) The Board of Trustees annually shall allow regular
interest on the mean amount for the preceding year in each
of the funds with the exception of the Expense Fund. The
amounts so allowed shall be due and payable to said funds,
and shall be annually credited thereto by the Board of Trus-
tees from interest and other earnings on the moneys of the
retirement system. Any additional amount required to meet
the interest on the funds of the retirement system shall be
paid by the State, and any excess of earnings over such
amount required shall be deductible from the amounts to be
contributed by the State.

Regular interest shall mean such per centum rate to be
compounded annually as shall be determined by the Board
of Trustees to be equitable, in its judgment, to both the em-
ployees and taxpayers of the State, after taking into con-
sideration the actual interest earnings of the system for the
preceding years and of the probable earnings of the system
to be made in the future. Such rate shall be limited to a
minimum of three per centum and a maximum of four per
centum, with the latter rate applicable during" the first year
after the date of establishment.

(3) The State Treasurer shall be the custodian of the sev-
eral funds. All payments from said funds shall be made by
him or by a Deputy Treasurer, only upon vouchers signed by
two persons designated by the Board of Trustees. A duly
attested copy of a resolution of the Board of Trustees desig-
nating such persons and bearing on its face specimen signa-
tures of such persons shall be filed with the Treasurer as his
authority for making payments upon such vouchers. No
voucher shall be drawn unless it has previously been author-
ized by resolutions of the Board of Trustees.

(4) For the purpose of meeting disbursements for pensions,
annuities, and other payments, there may be kept available
cash, not exceeding ten per centum of the total amount in the
several funds of the retirement system, on deposit in one or
more banks or trust companies in the State of Maryland, or-
ganized under the laws of the State of Maryland, or of the
United States, provided that the sum on deposit in any one