776

LAWS OF MARYLAND

Ch. 49

(a)  After an ordinance or resolution has been adopted
by the legislative body of the municipality or county,
specifying the proposed undertaking, the amount of money to
be borrowed and the maximum rate of interest to be paid, a
municipality or county, notwithstanding the provisions of
any charter and without in any event pledging its full faith
and credit in support of a loan, is fully enabled and
empowered to borrow money and when the county is the
mortgagor execute a mortgage as security for the purpose of
defraying the cost of acquiring or constructing any
industrial project approved by the Authority. The ordinance
or resolution shall be administrative in nature and not
subject to any referendum. The ordinance or resolution
shall further provide that the funds borrowed by the county
or municipality shall be utilized in connection with a bona
fide industrial project pursuant to the provisions of this
subtitle, as evidenced by a letter of intent or similar
agreement between the prospective * industrial project
applicant and the municipality or county borrowing the
money. Any industrial project acquired by a municipality or
county under this subheading is not a capital project of the
municipality or county, notwithstanding the provisions of
any charter. A municipality or county may participate fully
in the provisions of this subheading, for its general
purposes. Nothing in this section shall be construed to
authorize any municipality or county to acquire any
industrial project by eminent domain. If a municipality or
county has previously acquired all or any part of an
industrial project and incurred costs relating thereto
pursuant to legal authority conferred upon it other than by
this subheading, then that public body may fully participate
in the provisions of this subheading as regards that
project. In that event, the provisions of this subheading
relating to acquisition by the public body shall be deemed
to have been complied with, and the public body may be
reimbursed for its previously incurred costs of the project
from the proceeds of the mortgage funds.

(b)  If a county or municipality participates as
borrower in accordance with the provisions of subsection
(a), the interest payable on the principal of the loan shall
be and remain exempt from income taxation by the State of
Maryland and by the several counties and municipalities of
this State.

(c)  When the municipality or county is mortgagor, such
a municipality or county may agree with any lessee of any
facility acquired hereunder, that at the time the principal
and interest on the mortgage have been paid in full, the
lessee may purchase or otherwise acquire the facility
procured by the county or municipality with the proceeds of
the mortgage funds. The consideration for the conveyance or
an acquisition may be nominal, and any such contractual
obligation by such municipality or county shall not be
subject to any limitation otherwise imposed by law requiring
advertising of such property for any specific period of time
or sale thereof to the highest bidder.