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(a) A building owner must not knowingly provide false information required under this Article to the Department. The Director may revoke or modify an extension, adjustment, building performance improvement plan, or compliance with benchmarking or the interim or final performance standards in response to any false information provided by the building owner.
(b) Any violation of this Article is a Class A violation. (2022 L.M.C., ch. 13, §1.)
ARTICLE 7. MONTGOMERY COUNTY GREEN BANK.
The County Government supports the formation of a Montgomery County Green Bank to promote and support investment in climate change mitigation and adaptation activities and provide financing for climate change mitigation and adaptation activities in the County. These activities include clean energy technologies and resiliency, sustainability, or climate adaptive projects. The Green Bank must be able to:
(a) serve and support climate change mitigation and adaptation activities in all sectors, including residential single-family homes and multifamily, commercial, industrial, non-profit, municipal governments, universities and colleges, schools, and hospitals;
(b) offer a range of financing structures, forms and techniques, such as senior loans, subordinate loans, credit enhancements, guarantees, warehousing, securitization, and other techniques that can both lower the cost of financing and increase private investment in climate change mitigation and adaptation activities;
(c) leverage private investment in climate change mitigation and adaptation activities through financing mechanisms that support, enhance, or complement private investment;
(d) consider improvements ancillary to the primary climate change mitigation and adaptation project or related to environmental health or building safety or durability;
(e) accept capital from the county, the state, the federal government, non-profits, foundations, and any other capital source that the Green Bank governance deems to be attractive and useful;
(f) recapitalize its funds through market means, including by selling whole or portions of assets (loans) through private placement or other securitization;
(g) stimulate the demand for climate change mitigation and adaptation activities that serve end-use customers;
(h) before making a loan, loan guarantee, or other form of financing support for climate change mitigation and adaptation activities, develop rules, policies, and procedures to specify borrower eligibility and any other term or condition of financial support;
(i) provide by resolution for the issuance of revenue bonds to finance climate change mitigation and adaptation activities;
(j) provide information regarding best practices for overseeing climate change mitigation and adaptation activity projects and other appropriate consumer education;
(k) recognize that equity investments carry more risk and may require longer term commitment to a project, justifying compliance with strict investment guidelines to be established by the Board of Directors;
(l) assess reasonable fees and charges on its financing activities to cover its reasonable costs and expenses, as determined by the Board of Directors appointed under Section 18A-47;
(m) make information regarding rates, terms, and conditions for all of its financing support transactions available to the public for inspection, including any formal annual reviews by both a private auditor and the Director of Finance, and provide details to the public on the Internet unless such disclosure includes a trade secret, confidential commercial information, or confidential financial information;
(n) provide leadership on environmental issues at both the County and State levels;
(o) maintain close liaison with government agencies and elected representatives at both the County and State levels to achieve the goals of the Green Bank; and
(p) undertake any other activities deemed by the Board of Directors to support the mission of the Green Bank. (2015 L.M.C., ch. 35, §1; 2023 L.M.C., ch. 8, §1.)
In this Article, the following words have the meanings indicated:
Clean energy technologies means measures addressing energy resources and emerging energy technologies, including renewable energy systems and sources, renewable energy projects, energy efficiency projects, alternative fuels used for electricity generation, alternative fuel vehicles and related infrastructure such as electric vehicle charging station infrastructure, and smart grid and battery storage.
Climate change mitigation and adaptation activities means activities that include clean energy technologies or resiliency, sustainability, or climate adaptive projects.
Energy efficiency project means an improvement made to an existing property that reduces consumption of energy.
Green Bank means the Green Bank that the County has designated to promote and support investment in climate change mitigation and adaptation activities in the County, including clean energy technologies; resiliency, sustainability, and climate adaptive projects; and other related risk reduction activities..
Maryland Open Meetings Act means the Maryland Open Meetings Act, codified at Sections 3-101 through 3-501 of the General Provisions Article of the Maryland Code.
Renewable energy project means a permanent improvement made to an existing property that creates, converts, stores, or actively uses renewable energy.
Resiliency, sustainability, or climate adaptive projects mean measures designed to support property or community resilience, reliability, and environmental sustainability; property or community environmental health and environmental safety; property or community water conservation and on-site management; sustainable waste treatment; sustainable agricultural activities; and adaption of systems to manage changes to the climate, such as activities responding to extreme weather events. (2015 L.M.C., ch. 35, § 1; 2023 L.M.C., ch. 8
, §1.)
(a) The County Council must designate, by resolution approved by the County Executive, a single nonprofit corporation which complies with all requirements and criteria of this Article as the County’s Green Bank. If the Executive disapproves the resolution within 10 days after receiving it, the Council may readopt the resolution with at least 6 affirmative votes.
(b) (1) Except as provided in (b)(2), any designation under this Section expires at the end of the fifth full fiscal year after the resolution is adopted unless the Council extends the designation by adopting another resolution under this Section.
(2) If the Council President does not notify the Chair of the designated Bank’s Board of Directors, not later than June 30 of the fourth full fiscal year of the designation term, that the Council may allow the current designation to expire, the designation is automatically extended for another 5-year term.
(c) The Council at any time may suspend or revoke the designation of a corporation as the County’s Green Bank by resolution, adopted after at least 15 days public notice, that is approved by the Executive, or, if the Executive disapproves the resolution within 10 days after receiving it, is readopted by a vote of at least 6 Councilmembers.
(d) To continue to qualify as the County’s Green Bank, a corporation’s articles of incorporation and bylaws must comply with all requirements of this Article.
(e) This Section may not be construed to prevent the corporation designated as the County’s Green Bank from:
(1) undertaking, during its designation, the following activities that may mature after the designation expires:
(A) assuming liability as guarantor, endorser, or acceptor of obligations; and
(B) issuing for purchase its notes, debentures, bonds, or other obligations; or
(2) continuing as a corporation and exercising any of its functions after expiration of its designation for purposes of orderly liquidation, including the administration of its assets and the collection of any obligations held by the corporation in its capacity as the County’s Green Bank. (2015 L.M.C., ch. 35, § 1; 2016 L.M.C., ch. 28, §1.)
(a) To qualify as the County’s Green Bank, a corporation’s Board of Directors must have no more than 15 voting members. The corporation’s bylaws should specify that the County Executive may appoint up to 5 board members, including the Directors of Environmental Protection and Finance, subject to confirmation by the County Council.
(b) Each voting member should be a resident of the County. The members of the Board of Directors should include:
(1) representatives of residential groups;
(2) representatives of low-income groups;
(3) representatives of environmental organizations;
(4) representatives of business organizations;
(5) persons with experience in investment or fund management;
(6) persons with banking and lending experience;
(7) persons with experience in the finance or deployment of renewable energy or energy efficiency;
(8) the Director of the Montgomery County Department of Environmental Protection or the Director’s designee; and
(9) the Director of the Montgomery County Department of Finance or the Director’s designee.
(c) A member must not be paid for service on the Board but may be reimbursed for necessary travel expenses.
(d) A member is not subject to Chapter 19A because of serving on the Board. The Bank’s bylaws must include provisions defining and regulating conflicts of interest by Board members and Bank staff.
(e) Notwithstanding any inconsistent provision of Section 19A-21, a member of the Board of Directors who engages in legislative or administrative advocacy as part of that member’s duties on the Board is not required to register as a lobbyist under Article V of Chapter 19A because of that advocacy.
(f) The Board must direct the program, management, and finances of the corporation.
(g) The Bank’s bylaws must provide that upon dissolution of the Green Bank, all assets must be transferred within 30 days from dissolution to either its successor Green Bank as authorized by Resolution or to the County for use permitted by the Green Bank legislation. (2015 L.M.C., ch. 35, § 1; 2016 L.M.C., ch. 28, §1; 2023 L.M.C., ch. 8, §1.)
(a) To qualify as the County’s Green Bank, a corporation’s articles of incorporation must provide that the corporation is:
(1) a tax-exempt nonprofit corporation;
(2) not an instrumentality of the County; and
(3) incorporated for the sole purpose of serving as the County’s Green Bank.
(b) The Green Bank’s bylaws may contain any provision, not inconsistent with law or the articles of incorporation, necessary to govern and manage the Bank. The Green Bank may exercise all powers and is subject to all applicable provisions of the Financial Institutions Article of the Maryland Code.
(c) The Board must adopt and may amend the Green Bank’s bylaws. The Board must submit any proposed amendment to the articles of incorporation or bylaws to the Executive and Council for review and comment at least 60 days before the Board takes final action on the amendment. The Board must submit a copy of each adopted amendment to the Executive and Council within 5 days after adoption.
(d) The bylaws must require the Green Bank to comply with the Maryland Open Meetings Act and provide that all meetings of the Board of Directors must be open to the public except when closed on a recorded vote of the Board for a reason expressly listed in the state law. (2015 L.M.C., ch. 35, § 1.)
(a) The Board of Directors must adopt a work program each year to advance the policy objectives and perform the activities listed in Section 18A-44.
(b) The Green Bank’s work program may include a plan for sponsorship of private investment, marketing, and advocacy initiatives.
(c) The Board must meet with the Executive and the Committee of the Council that oversees environmental sustainability, at least annually.
(d) The Department of Environmental Protection may, if the Board of Directors requests, provide incidental administrative support for the Green Bank, including contracts, grants, or services in kind, subject to appropriation.
(e) Funding sources for the Green Bank may include:
(1) federal or State funds provided to it;
(2) County funds, including a portion of the fuel-energy tax revenue received by the County, provided that any funds given to the Green Bank under Chapter 52, Sec. 52-14 must only be used to promote the investment in clean energy technologies and to provide financing for clean energy technologies, including renewable energy and energy efficiency projects and must not be used for resiliency activities
(3) charitable gifts, grants, or contributions, investments, and loans from individuals, corporations, university endowments, and philanthropic foundations; and
(4) earnings and interest derived from its investments and financing support for climate change mitigation and adaptation activities backed by the Green Bank.
The Green Bank may also raise private funds and may accept services from any source consistent with its purpose.
(f) Restrictions on County funding. After July 1, 2023, the Green Bank must not use the annual direct appropriations from the County to fund new mechanical energy equipment that uses fossil fuels or the equipment that upgrades the efficiency of existing mechanical energy equipment that uses fossil fuels. The Green Bank must use the annual direct appropriations from the County as follows:
(1) 20% of the funds must be used to support the Bank’s activities in Equity Emphasis Areas in the County as defined by the Metropolitan Washington Council of Governments; and
(2) 15% of the funds must be used to reduce the cost of energy projects undertaken by property owners by a loan subsidy, interest rate buydown, technical assistance, pre-development, blended capital, or other similar tools. (2015 L.M.C., ch. 35, § 1; 2022 L.M.C., ch. 2, §1; 2023 L.M.C., ch. 8, §1.)
Editor’s note—2022 L.M.C., ch. 2, §2, states: Sec. 2. Effective date; report. The amendments in Section 1 take effect on July 1, 2022. The Director of the Department of Environmental Protection must submit a report to the Council and the Executive on or before May 1, 2023 estimating the cost of converting fossil fuel mechanical energy equipment to electric power.
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