372                                   LAWS OF MARYLAND                          [CH. 138

568F.

(a)   Loans made to any voluntary non-profit hospitals under the
provisions of this subheading and with the use of funds made avail-
able by the State of Maryland shall be made on the express agree-
ment, contract and understanding that the loans, together with in-
terest payments thereon, are to be repaid in full to the State over
a period not in excess of forty (40) years from the time the loan
funds are paid out to the hospital. At such time as a loan is made
pursuant to the provisions of this subheading, the applicant and the
State of Maryland shall enter into a written agreement, wherein
the terms and conditions of the loan shall be set forth in full, and
said agreement shall be placed upon the land records of the political
subdivision within which the applicant's hospital is, or is to be lo-
cated, and said recorded agreement shall serve as a lien upon the
property and improvements, and shall constitute notice of the obli-
gation and its priority over any creditors who thereafter may loan
funds to the said hospital or applicant. Should the applicant or the
hospital thereafter cease to be a voluntary non-profit hospital, then
upon the happening of that event, the full amount of the unpaid
loan shall immediately become due and payable.

(b)   A hospital which is granted a loan under the provisions of
this subheading shall repay the loan with interest. The rate of in-
terest applicable to any loan shall be established by the Board of
Public Works at the time the loan funds are granted. This rate of
interest shall be that rate as declared by the Board of Public Works
which at that time is applicable to general credit obligations of the
State then being issued, plus an additional rate of interest equal to
one-eighth of one per cent.

(c)   A loan shall not be made under this subheading or from any
State funds if the amount of the loan would exceed sixty percent of
the cost of the hospital facilities for which a loan is required, includ-
ing equipment; and a loan shall not be made under this subheading
or from any State funds if the amount of that loan, plus all other
grants or loans available from the State, a political subdivision, or
an agency of the Federal government, exceeds 70% of the total cost
of the facilities, including equipment, for which application is made.

568G.

(a) For the purpose of this subheading and of the other provi-
sions of this Act, the term "applicant" or "voluntary non-profit hos-
pital" means a hospital located within this State, said hospital being,
in fact, operated for general medical and surgical treatment, and
maintained and operated as a non-profit institution by some non-
public person, association, corporation, or other agency, or a non-
profit corporation organized for the purpose of constructing or
acquiring such a hospital.

Sec. 8. And be it further enacted, That this Act shall take effect
July 1, 1964.

Approved April 7, 1964.