Carroll County - Public Facilities Bond

EXPLANATION: CAPITALS INDICATE MATTER ADDED TO EXISTING LAW.
[Brackets] indicate matter deleted from existing law.
Underlining indicates amendments to bill.
Strike out indicates matter stricken from the bill by amendment or deleted from the law by
amendment.
*hb0927*

HOUSE BILL 927
B3 6lr1559
HB 833/25 – APP CF SB 448
By: Carroll County Delegation
Introduced and read first time: February 5, 2026
Assigned to: Appropriations
Committee Report: Favorable
House action: Adopted
Read second time: March 8, 2026

CHAPTER ______

AN ACT concerning 1

Carroll County – Public Facilities Bond 2

FOR the purpose of authorizing and empowering the County Commissioners of Carroll 3
County, from time to time, to borrow not more than $27,000,000 in order to finance 4
the construction, improvement, or development of certain public facilities in Carroll 5
County, including water and sewer projects, to finance loans for fire or 6
emergency–related equipment, buildings, and other facilities of volunteer fire 7
departments in the County, and to effect such borrowing by the issuance and sale at 8
public or private sale of its general obligation bonds in like par amount; empowering 9
the County to fix and determine, by resolution, the form, tenor, interest rate or rates 10
or method of determining the same, terms, conditions, maturities, and all other 11
details incident to the is suance and sale of the bonds; empowering the County to 12
issue refunding bonds for the purchase or redemption of bonds in advance of 13
maturity; providing that such borrowing may be undertaken by the County in the 14
form of installment purchase obligations execu ted and delivered by the County for 15
the purpose of acquiring agricultural land and woodland preservation easements; 16
empowering and directing the County to levy, impose, and collect, annually, ad 17
valorem taxes in rate and amount sufficient to provide funds for the payment of the 18
maturing principal of and interest on the bonds; exempting the bonds and refunding 19
bonds and the interest thereon and any income derived therefrom from all State, 20
County, municipal, and other taxation in the State of Maryland; provid ing that 21
nothing in this Act shall prevent the County from authorizing the issuance and sale 22
of bonds the interest on which is not excludable from gross income for federal income 23
tax purposes; and generally relating to the issuance and sale of such bonds. 24

2 HOUSE BILL 927

SECTION 1. BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF MARYLAND, 1
That, as used herein, the term “County” means the body politic and corporate of the State 2
of Maryland known as the County Commissioners of Carroll County, and the term 3
“construction, improve ment, or development of public facilities” means the acquisition, 4
alteration, construction, reconstruction, enlargement, equipping, expansion, extension, 5
improvement, rehabilitation, renovation, upgrading, and repair of public buildings and 6
facilities and public works projects, including, but not limited to, public works projects such 7
as roads, bridges and storm drains, public school buildings and facilities, landfills, Carroll 8
Community College buildings and facilities, public operational buildings and facilities such 9
as buildings and facilities for County administrative use, public safety, health and social 10
services, libraries, refuse disposal buildings and facilities, water and sewer infrastructure 11
facilities, easements or similar or related rights in land that restrict the use of agricultural 12
land or woodland to maintain the character of the land as agricultural land or woodland, 13
and parks and recreation buildings and facilities, together with the costs of acquiring land 14
or interests in land as well as an y related architectural, financial, legal, planning, or 15
engineering services. 16

SECTION 2. AND BE IT FURTHER ENACTED, That the County is hereby 17
authorized to finance any part or all of the costs of the construction, improvements, or 18
development of public facilities described in Section 1 of this Act, to make loans to each and 19
every volunteer fire department in the County upon such terms and conditions as may be 20
determined by the County for the purpose of financing certain fire or emergency –related 21
equipment, buildings, or other facilities of volunteer fire departments, and to borrow money 22
and incur indebtedness for those purposes, at one time or from time to time, in an amount 23
not exceeding, in the aggregate, $27,000,000 and to evidence such borrowing by the 24
issuance and sale upon its full faith and credit of general obligation bonds in like par 25
amount, which may be issued at one time or from time to time, in one or more groups or 26
series, as the County may determine. 27

SECTION 3. AND BE IT FURTHER ENACTED, Th at the bonds shall be issued in 28
accordance with a resolution of the County, which shall describe generally the construction, 29
improvement, or development of public facilities, including water and sewer projects, the 30
fire or emergency –related equipment, buil dings, or other facilities of volunteer fire 31
departments in the County for which the proceeds of the bond sale are intended and the 32
amount needed for those purposes. The County shall have and is hereby granted full and 33
complete authority and discretion in the resolution to fix and determine with respect to the 34
bonds of any issue: the designation, date of issue, denomination or denominations, form or 35
forms, and tenor of the bonds which, without limitation, may be issued in registered form 36
within the meaning of § 19–204 of the Local Government Article, as amended; the rate or 37
rates of interest payable thereon, or the method of determining the same, which may 38
include a variable rate; the date or dates and amount or amounts of maturity, which need 39
not be in equa l par amounts or in consecutive annual installments, provided only that no 40
bond of any issue shall mature later than 30 years from the date of its issue; the manner of 41
selling the bonds, which may be at either public or private sale, for such price or pric es as 42
may be determined to be for the best interests of Carroll County; the manner of executing 43
and sealing the bonds, which may be by facsimile; the terms and conditions of any loans 44
made to volunteer fire departments; the terms and conditions, if any, un der which bonds 45
HOUSE BILL 927 3

may be tendered for payment or purchase prior to their stated maturity; the terms or 1
conditions, if any, under which bonds may or shall be redeemed prior to their stated 2
maturity; the place or places of payment of the principal of and the i nterest on the bonds, 3
which may be at any bank or trust company within or without the State of Maryland; 4
covenants relating to compliance with applicable requirements of federal income tax law, 5
including (without limitation) covenants regarding the payment of rebate or penalties in 6
lieu of rebate; covenants relating to compliance with applicable requirements of federal or 7
State securities laws; and generally all matters incident to the terms, conditions, issuance, 8
sale, and delivery thereof. 9

The bonds may be made redeemable before maturity, at the option of the County, at 10
such price or prices and under such terms and conditions as may be fixed by the County 11
prior to the issuance of the bonds, either in the resolution or in subsequent resolutions. The 12
bonds may be issued in registered form, and provision may be made for the registration of 13
the principal only. In case any officer whose signature appears on any bond ceases to be 14
such officer before the delivery thereof, such signature shall nevertheless be val id and 15
sufficient for all purposes as if the officer had remained in office until such delivery. The 16
bonds and the issuance and sale thereof shall be exempt from the provisions of §§ 19 –205 17
and 19–206 of the Local Government Article, as amended. 18

The borrowing authorized by this Act may also be undertaken by the County in the 19
form of installment purchase obligations executed and delivered by the County for the 20
purpose of acquiring easements or similar or related rights in land that restrict the use of 21
agricultural land or woodland to maintain the character of the land as agricultural or 22
woodland. The form of installment purchase obligations, the manner of accomplishing the 23
acquisition of easements, which may be the direct exchange of installment purchase 24
obligations for easement, and all matters incident to the execution and delivery of the 25
installment purchase obligations and acquisition of the easements by the County shall be 26
determined in the resolution. Except where the provisions of this Act would be inapplicable 27
to installment purchase obligations, the term “bonds” used in this Act shall include 28
installment purchase obligations and matters pertaining to the bonds under this Act, such 29
as the security for the payment of the bonds, the exemption of the bonds from State, County, 30
municipal, or other taxation, and authorization to issue refunding bonds and the limitation 31
on the aggregate principal amount of bonds authorized for issuance, shall be applicable to 32
installment purchase obligations. 33

The County may enter into agreements with agents, banks, fiduciaries, insurers, or 34
others for the purpose of enhancing the marketability of any security for the bonds and for 35
the purpose of securing any tender option that may be granted to holders of the bonds, all 36
as may be determined and presented in the aforesaid resolution, which may (but need not) 37
state as security for the performance by the County of any monetary obligations under such 38
agreements the same security given by the County to bondholders for the performa nce by 39
the County of its monetary obligations under the bonds. 40

If the County determines in the resolution to offer any of the bonds by solicitation of 41
competitive bids at public sale, the resolution shall fix the terms and conditions of the public 42
sale and shall adopt a form of notice of sale, which shall outline the terms and conditions, 43
4 HOUSE BILL 927

and a form of advertisement, which shall be published in one or more daily or weekly 1
newspapers having a general circulation in the County and which may also be published in 2
one or more journals having a circulation primarily among banks and investment bankers. 3
At least one publication of the advertisement shall be made not less than 10 days before 4
the sale of the bonds. 5

Upon delivery of any bonds to the purchaser or pu rchasers, payment therefor shall 6
be made to the Comptroller of Carroll County or such other official of Carroll County as 7
may be designated to receive such payment in a resolution passed by the County before 8
such delivery. 9

SECTION 4. AND BE IT FURTHER EN ACTED, That the net proceeds of the sale 10
of bonds shall be used and applied exclusively and solely for the acquisition, construction, 11
improvement, or development of public facilities, including water and sewer projects, to 12
make loans to volunteer fire depa rtments for the financing of fire or emergency –related 13
equipment, buildings, or other facilities of volunteer fire departments in the County for 14
which the bonds are sold. If the amounts borrowed shall prove inadequate to finance the 15
projects described in t he resolution, the County may issue additional bonds with the 16
limitations hereof for the purpose of evidencing the borrowing of additional funds for such 17
financing, provided the resolution authorizing the sale of additional bonds shall so recite, 18
but if the net proceeds of the sale of any issue of bonds exceed the amount needed to finance 19
the projects described in the resolution, the excess funds so borrowed and not expended 20
shall be applied to the payment of the next principal maturity of the bonds or to t he 21
redemption of any part of the bonds which have been made redeemable or to the purchase 22
and cancellation of bonds, unless the County shall adopt a resolution allocating the excess 23
funds to the acquisition, construction, improvement, or development of oth er public 24
facilities, including water and sewer projects, or to the making of loans for fire or 25
emergency–related equipment, buildings, or other facilities of volunteer fire departments 26
in the County, as defined and within the limits set forth in this Act. 27

SECTION 5. AND BE IT FURTHER ENACTED, That the bonds hereby authorized 28
shall constitute, and they shall so recite, an irrevocable pledge of the full faith and credit 29
and unlimited taxing power of the County to the payment of the maturing principal of and 30
interest on the bonds as and when they become payable. In each and every fiscal year that 31
any of the bonds are outstanding, the County shall levy or cause to be levied ad valorem 32
taxes upon all the assessable property within the corporate limits of the County in rate and 33
amount sufficient to provide for or assure the payment, when due, of the principal of and 34
interest on all the bonds maturing in each such fiscal year and, in the event the proceeds 35
from the taxes so levied in any such fiscal year shall prove inadequate for such payment, 36
additional taxes shall be levied in the succeeding fiscal year to make up any such deficiency. 37
The County may apply to the payment of the principal of and interest on any bonds issued 38
hereunder any funds received by it as loan repayments from volunteer fire departments 39
and any funds received by it from the State of Maryland, the United States of America, any 40
agency or instrumentality thereof, or from any other source, if such funds are granted for 41
the purpose of assisting the County in financing the acquisition, construction, 42
improvement, or development of the public facilities defined in this Act, including the water 43
and sewer projects or the making of loans for the aforementioned fire or emergency–related 44
HOUSE BILL 927 5

equipment, buildings, or other facilities for volunteer fire departments in the County and, 1
to the extent of any such funds received or receivable in any fiscal year, the taxes that are 2
required to be levied may be reduced accordingly. 3

SECTION 6. AND BE IT FURTHER ENACT ED, That the County is further 4
authorized and empowered, at any time and from time to time, to issue its bonds in the 5
manner herein above described for the purpose of refunding, by payment at maturity or 6
upon purchase or redemption, any bonds issued hereun der. The validity of any such 7
refunding bonds shall in no way be dependent upon or related to the validity or invalidity 8
of the obligations so refunded. The powers herein granted with respect to the issuance of 9
bonds shall be applicable to the issuance of refunding bonds. Such refunding bonds may be 10
issued by the County for the purpose of providing it with funds to pay any of its outstanding 11
bonds issued hereunder at maturity, for the purpose of providing it with funds to purchase 12
in the open market any of its outstanding bonds issued hereunder, prior to the maturity 13
thereof, or for the purpose of providing it with funds for the redemption prior to maturity 14
of any outstanding bonds issued hereunder which are, by their terms, redeemable, for the 15
purpose of pr oviding it with funds to pay interest on any outstanding bonds issued 16
hereunder prior to their payment at maturity of purchase or redemption in advance of 17
maturity, or for the purpose of providing it with funds to pay any redemption or purchase 18
premium in connection with the refunding of any of its outstanding bonds issued 19
hereunder. The proceeds of the sale of any such refunding bonds shall be segregated and 20
set apart by the County as a separate trust fund to be used solely for the purpose of paying 21
the purchase or redemption prices of the bonds to be refunded. 22

SECTION 7. AND BE IT FURTHER ENACTED, That the County may, prior to the 23
preparation of definitive bonds, issue interim certificates or temporary bonds, exchangeable 24
for definitive bonds when such b onds have been executed and are available for such 25
delivery, provided, however, that any such interim certificates or temporary bonds shall be 26
issued in all respects subject to the restrictions and requirements set forth in this Act. The 27
County may, by app ropriate resolution, provide for the replacement of any bonds issued 28
hereunder which shall have become mutilated or lost or destroyed upon such conditions 29
and after receiving such indemnity as the County may require. 30

SECTION 8. AND BE IT FURTHER ENACTED, That any and all obligations issued 31
pursuant to the authority of this Act, their transfer, the interest payable thereon, and any 32
income derived therefrom in the hands of the holders thereof from time to time (including 33
any profit made in the sale thereof) shall be and are hereby declared to be at all times 34
exempt from State, County, municipal, or other taxation of every kind and nature 35
whatsoever within the State of Maryland. Nothing in this Act shall prevent the County 36
from authorizing the issuance and sa le of bonds the interest on which is not excludable 37
from gross income for federal income tax purposes. 38

SECTION 9. AND BE IT FURTHER ENACTED, That the authority to borrow 39
money and issue bonds conferred on the County by this Act shall be deemed to provide an 40
additional and alternative authority for borrowing money and shall be regarded as 41
supplemental and additional to powers conferred upon the County by other laws and shall 42
not be regarded as in derogation of any power now existing; and all Acts of the Ge neral 43
6 HOUSE BILL 927

Assembly of Maryland heretofore passed authorizing the County to borrow money are 1
hereby continued to the extent that the powers contained in such Acts have not been 2
exercised, and nothing contained in this Act may be construed to impair, in any way, the 3
validity of any bonds that may have been issued by the County under the authority of any 4
said Acts, and the validity of the bonds is hereby ratified, confirmed, and approved. This 5
Act, being necessary for the welfare of the inhabitants of Carroll County, shall be liberally 6
construed to effect the purposes hereof. All Acts and parts of Acts inconsistent with the 7
provisions of this Act are hereby repealed to the extent of such inconsistency. 8

SECTION 10. AND BE IT FURTHER ENACTED, That this Act shall ta ke effect 9
June 1, 2026. 10

Approved:
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Governor.
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Speaker of the House of Delegates.
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President of the Senate.