HARRY HUGHES, Governor

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(c)  The State Treasurer shall hold and the State
Comptroller shall account for the fund. The fund shall be
invested and reinvested in the same manner as other State funds.
Any investment earnings of the fund shall be paid into the
General Fund of the State.

(d)  The State may appropriate to the fund, in the State
budget, all or part of the moneys received as repayments of
principal or interest on all loans. The appropriation may be
increased by budget amendment. [The amount of repayments so
appropriated for the purpose of making loans may not exceed
$12,000,000 annually.] The State may not appropriate repayments
of principal and interest to the program to the extent that loans
expected to be made with moneys appropriated would cause the
total principal amount of loans outstanding to exceed
$100,000,000.

(e)  Money that is received as repayments of principal or
interest on the loans and that is not appropriated in the State
budget shall be:

(1)  Credited to the Annuity Bond Fund, to be used to
pay the principal of or interest on moneys borrowed by the State
and appropriated to the program; or

(2)  Paid into the General Fund of the State, to
reimburse the State for administrative and other costs of the
program previously paid from the fund.

(f)  Prepayments of principal of a loan may be used to make
additional loans under the program. Any moneys not so used within
12 months from the date of the receipt of such prepayment shall
be applied as provided in subsection (e).

(g)  On or before December 31 of each year, the Department
shall report to the Governor and, subject to § 2-1312 of the
State Government Article, to the General Assembly the financial
status of the program and a summary of its operations for the
preceding fiscal year.

SECTION 2. AND BE IT FURTHER ENACTED, That, for fiscal
years 1987 and 1988 only, the Secretary of Economic and Community
Development shall establish a rental allowance program.
Notwithstanding any other provision of law, the Department of
Economic and Community Development is authorized to make grants
as provided in this section.

(a)  The Department shall administer a pilot program of
financial assistance to lower income households by providing
fixed monthly rental allowance payments to eligible households.

(b)  The Secretary of Economic and Community Development
shall establish: