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By an affirmative vote of 7 Councilmembers, the Council, after holding a public hearing, reviewing relevant economic indicators, and seeking the recommendation of the Executive, may transfer any amount from the Fund to the General Fund to support appropriations which have become unfunded. (1993 L.M.C., ch. 41, § 1; 2010 L.M.C., ch. 33, § 1; 2022 L.M.C., ch. 40
, § 1.)
(a) The Director of the Department of Finance must create an Economic Development Fund. This Fund is continuing and non-lapsing.
(b) The Fund consists of:
(1) all funds appropriated to it by the County Council;
(2) all payments on any loan from the Fund;
(3) all interest earned on funds in the Fund; and
(4) all funds received from any other public or private entity. (1995 L.M.C., ch. 29, § 1.)
Editor’s note—See County Attorney Opinion dated 12/21/99 indicating that the Maryland Economic Development Corporation (MEDCO) may be appointed as the agent of the County Department of Economic Development to carry out a variety of tasks, but loan payments must be made to the Economic Development Fund.
(a) The purpose of the Fund is to aid the economic development of the County by assisting private employers who are located or plan to locate or substantially expand operations in the County.
(b) Assistance to a private employer from this Fund may take the form of:
(1) loans or grants of public funds as otherwise authorized by law;
(2) transfers of real or personal property as otherwise authorized by law;
(3) provision of services, when otherwise authorized, by a County agency;
(4) plans, studies, or other technical assistance; or
(5) an equity investment as authorized by Section 20-75A.
(c) As used in this Article, "private employer" means any for-profit or nonprofit corporation or firm that is not owned, primarily funded, or controlled by a government agency. "Private employer" includes a lessor or supplier of real or personal property or services to a government agency. (1994 L.M.C., ch. 29, § 1; 2013 L.M.C., ch. 10, § 1.)
Editor’s note—See County Attorney Opinion dated 12/21/99 indicating that the Maryland Economic Development Corporation (MEDCO) may be appointed as the agent of the County Department of Economic Development to carry out a variety of tasks, but loan payments must be made to the Economic Development Fund.
(a) The Director may spend or allocate funds from this Fund consistent with the economic development strategic plan approved under Section 15A-4A, including the following criteria:
(1) the proposed assistance will materially improve the County’s economy and advance County economic development objectives and strategies; or
(2) the assistance is necessary to:
(A) bring a significant number of new jobs to the County;
(B) add a significant number of new jobs to an existing operation in the County;
(C) retain a significant number of jobs at an existing operation in the County or
(D) respond to other economic development objectives.
(b) The Director must provide the Council with all fiscal analyses and other supporting documents for any proposed offer of assistance to a private employer valued at more than $100,000. The supporting documents must include:
(1) the name, industry, location, employee compensation profile, and estimated current and future taxes paid by the prospective recipient;
(2) the estimated employment and tax revenue gains resulting from the proposed assistance;
(3) each assumption, variable, and model used to generate estimates of employment and tax revenue gains;
(4) the number of new residents estimated to move into the County resulting from gains in employment by the proposed recipient;
(5) the number and cost of new students estimated to enroll in County public schools;
(6) an analysis of how the proposed assistance supports the overall goals of the economic development strategy; and
(7) offers, if any, made by or expected from other competing jurisdictions.
(c) The Executive must notify the Council at least 5 working days before the Executive tentatively offers assistance valued at more than $100,000 to a private employer, including all fiscal analyses and other supporting documents described in subsection (b). During a Council recess of one week or longer, the Executive must notify the Council at least 10 working days before the Executive tentatively offers assistance valued at more than $100,000 to a private employer. If during either notice period the Council President notifies the Executive that more time is necessary for the Council to review the tentative offer, the Executive must wait an additional 5 working days (or 10 working days during a Council recess) before making a tentative offer of assistance to the private employer.
(d) The Executive must not provide assistance to a private employer valued at more than $500,000 unless the grant, loan, or equity investment is approved by the Council in a special or supplemental appropriation. The amount of any discount from market value in the sale of County property offered as part of the assistance must be included in the value of assistance. The Executive must submit an economic development agreement to the Council within 60 days after all parties to the agreement execute it.
(e) The notice required under subsection (c) must also specify the proposed terms of any assistance offered, including any repayment provisions.
(f) Except as provided in subsection (h), the terms and conditions of any assistance from the Fund:
(1) must be specified in a written agreement between the County and the recipient; and
(2) except to the extent expressly inconsistent with any other federal, state, or County law, must:
(A) require the recipient to meet certain eligibility criteria and, if applicable, performance criteria specified in the offer of assistance;
(B) grant the Director the right to audit or monitor the recipient’s compliance with the terms and conditions of assistance;
(C) require periodic reports, if applicable, from the recipient;
(D) prohibit the use of assistance from the Fund for unauthorized purposes; and
(E) provide remedies for the County, including the repayment of assistance, if the recipient:
(i) uses the assistance for an unauthorized purpose;
(ii) fails to meet eligibility criteria and, if applicable, performance criteria specified in the written agreement; or
(iii) otherwise breaches the written agreement.
(g) Each recipient of assistance from the fund, or of any other economic development financial assistance provided by the County, that cumulatively exceeds $500,000 and is designated for construction, must meet the prevailing wage requirements of Section 11B-33C for each employee (including an employee of a contractor or subcontractor) performing direct and measurable work on the construction for which the assistance is received. In addition to any repayment requirement under this Section, the enforcement provisions of Section 11B-33C(i) apply to noncompliance with this requirement by a recipient of economic development assistance.
(h) The requirements of subsection (f) do not apply to assistance from the Fund if the Director determines that the assistance program does not require program recipients to comply with any terms or conditions after receipt of the assistance. (1995 L.M.C., ch. 29, § 1; 2008 L.M.C., ch. 31, § 2; 2012 L.M.C., ch. 17, § 1; 2013 L.M.C., ch. 10, § 1; 2021 L.M.C., ch. 5, § 1; 2021 L.M.C., ch. 12, § 1.)
Editor’s note—See County Attorney Opinion dated 12/21/99 indicating that the Maryland Economic Development Corporation (MEDCO) may be appointed as the agent of the County Department of Economic Development to carry out a variety of tasks, but loan payments must be made to the Economic Development Fund.
2008 L.M.C., ch. 31, § 3, states: Effective Date. This Act applies to any County financed construction contract that takes effect on or after July 1, 2009, but does not apply to any renewal or extension of a contract that took effect before July 1, 2009.
(a) Subject to Section 20-75, the County may make and equity investment through the Economic Development Fund in a company that is located in the County or that agrees to relocate its business to the County.
(b) The proceeds of an equity investment made under subsection (a) may be used for:
(1) working capital;
(2) salaries;
(3) marketing materials;
(4) acquisition of inventory, equipment, or real property;
(5) construction;
(6) renovation;
(7) leasehold improvements; or
(8) research and development.
(c) The County may not acquire an ownership interest exceeding 25% of any company.
(d) The terms of an equity investment must be set forth in a funding agreement that prohibits the County from:
(1) participating in the selection of the management of the company;
(2) overseeing the operation of the company; and
(3) assuming any present or future liability of the company.
(e) A funding agreement may be:
(1) an investment agreement;
(2) a limited partnership agreement;
(3) a preferred stock purchase agreement; or
(4) other documents that the County may require.
(f) The Director of Finance must:
(1) record the value of the equity investment in the County’s Financial Statements consistent with Generally Accepted Accounting Principles;
(2) manage all equity investments acquired in accordance with the funding agreement and State and County law; and
(3) post notice of each equity investment made under this Section in a readily accessible and clearly identified location on the County website within 5 days after the date on which the County initiates the equity investment transaction.
(g) If an equity investment is liquidated through a sale or other disposition, the proceeds must be deposited in the County’s general fund. (2013 L.M.C., ch. 10, § 1.)
(a) The Executive may adopt Regulations under method (1) to administer the Economic Development Fund.
(b) The Executive must report by March 15 each year on the status and use of the Fund. This report can be included in the Executive’s proposed operating budget. The annual report must:
(1) describe the success of each award of financial assistance in satisfying the economic development goals supporting the assistance;
(2) identify any assistance agreement where the recipient did not satisfy the performance criteria in the agreement; and
(3) track the progress of the Fund in satisfying the overall goals of the approved economic development strategic plan. (1995 L.M.C., ch. 29, § 1; 2012 L.M.C., ch. 17, § 1; 2015 L.M.C., ch. 27, § 1; 2015 L.M.C., ch. 36, § 1; 2021 L.M.C., ch. 12, § 1.)
Editor’s note—2015 L.M.C., ch. 36, § 8 also states, in part: All other provisions of this Act take effect 180 days after the Montgomery County Economic Development Corporation is designated under Section 30B-2.
2012 L.M.C., ch. 17, § 2, states: Transition. The County Executive must submit the initial method 1 regulation containing an economic development strategic plan to the Council for approval not later than 180 days after this Act becomes law [September 20, 2012]. In addition to the requirements of 20-76(a), the initial proposed economic development strategic plan must:
(a) analyze the County’s economic development structure;
(b) compare the County’s structure with peer jurisdictions;
(c) identify and analyze different alternative government and non-government entities that could perform each core function of economic development;
(d) determine the total amount of public and private money spent in each peer jurisdiction to achieve current levels of service; and
(e) recommend changes, if appropriate, to the County’s structure.
(a) The Director of Finance must pay, subject to appropriation, a Biotechnology Investment Incentive Tax Credit Supplement to each applicant who meets certain eligibility standards.
(b) An applicant, who need not be a County resident, is eligible to receive the Supplement if:
(1) the applicant has been designated as a qualified investor under state law and has received a final tax credit certificate for the Maryland biotechnology investment incentive tax credit for the preceding calendar year; and
(2) the tax credit received by the applicant was generated by an investment in a qualified Maryland biotechnology company, as defined in state law, that has its headquarters and base of operations in the County.
(c) The County Executive, by regulations issued under Method (1), may impose other eligibility standards. However, those standards must not make any person ineligible to receive the Supplement who would be eligible under subsection (b).
(d) (1) The Supplement paid to each eligible applicant must equal the product of:
(A) the amount of the credit received by the applicant under the State Biotechnology Investment Tax Credit Program, divided by the total amount of credits received by all Montgomery County biotechnology companies under the State Biotechnology Investment Tax Credit Program during the preceding calendar year; and
(B) the total amount of funds appropriated to the Supplement Program for that fiscal year.
(2) The Supplement paid to any recipient must not exceed:
(A) 50% of the State tax credit that recipient receives from the Maryland Biotechnology Investment Tax Credit Program in the preceding calendar year; or
(B) 15% of the total annual appropriation for the Supplement program.
(e) The Director must request from the Comptroller of the Treasury and Department of Business and Economic Development, by January 15 of each year, a list of each qualified investor for a qualified Maryland biotechnology company that was issued a final credit certificate during the preceding calendar year in order to calculate the Supplement paid under subsection (d), and may take any other action necessary to administer the Supplement. The Executive may issue regulations under Method (1) to implement this Section.
(f) If the Comptroller of the Treasury agrees, the Director may arrange for the Comptroller to pay the Supplement on behalf of the County. To the extent that the Comptroller does not pay the supplement, the Director must pay it directly to each recipient.
(g) A person who submits a false or fraudulent application, or withholds material information, to obtain a payment under this Section has committed a Class A violation. In addition, the person must repay the County for all amounts improperly paid and all accrued interest and penalties that would apply to those amounts as if they were overdue taxes. A person who violates this Section is liable for all court costs and expenses of the County in any civil action brought by the County to recover any payment, interest, or penalty. The County may collect any amount due, and otherwise enforce this Section, by any appropriate legal action.
(h) If all or part of the allowed state tax credit is recaptured under the applicable state law, the recipient must repay the County within 60 days the portion of any Supplement paid by the County that was based on the recaptured credit. (2010 L.M.C., ch. 9, § 1; 2011 L.M.C., ch. 23, § 1; 2015 L.M.C., ch. 36, § 1.)
Editor’s note—2015 L.M.C., ch. 36, § 8 also states, in part: All other provisions of this Act take effect 180 days after the Montgomery County Economic Development Corporation is designated under Section 30B-2.
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