WILLIAM DONALD SCHAEFER, Governor                   Ch. 703

(d)  "State agency" means any agency, association, board,
bureau, college, commission, committee, council, foundation,
fund, department, institute, institution, public corporation,
service, trust, university, THE MARYLAND HIGHER EDUCATION LOAN
CORPORATION, or other unit of State government, including any
subunit of these agencies.

(e)  "Unit" means the central collection unit in the
Department of Budget and Fiscal Planning.

44.

(a)  For any debt not excepted by law from the unit's
responsibilities under Title 3, Subtitle 3 of the State Finance
and Procurement Article or otherwise, the unit may certify to the
Comptroller the existence of any debt which has been referred to
it for collection by a State agency pursuant to subsection (b)
and request the Comptroller to withhold any refund to which a
person is entitled by the sum certified. However, a debt may not
be withheld if the State agency or the unit has been advised by
the Attorney General that the validity of the debt is
legitimately in dispute or an alternate means of collection is
pending and believed to be adequate.

(b)  (1) The Department of Budget and Fiscal Planning shall,
by rule or regulation, establish those classes or categories of
debts, including any minimum debt amount, which may be referred
to the unit for withholding.

(2) If more than one State agency is owed money by

the same person then any amount withheld from a refund shall be

applied in the order of referral of the debt by the State
agencies.

(c)  The withholding of a refund authorized by this subtitle
does not preclude use of any other remedy provided by law for the
collection of debts owed to the State of Maryland and this
subtitle shall be liberally construed to effectuate its purposes.
However, this subtitle shall be interpreted in a manner which
does not deprive a person of any rights or defenses that would be
available to that person in defending against a claim of setoff
incident to a judicial proceeding.

Article - Education

18-1003.

(b) To carry out its purpose, the Corporation may:

(1) Lend money under this subtitle, on the terms and
conditions the Board determines, to residents of this State who
have been accepted for enrollment or who are students in good

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