Title 6. Economic Development Tax Incentives — Subtitle 6. Maryland E-Nnovation Initiative Program

a governing board;

the governing entity of a private nonprofit institution of higher education; or

the governing entity of a regional higher education center.

“Nonprofit institution of higher education” means an institution of postsecondary education located in the State, that receives State funds in the annual operating budget and that generally limits enrollment to graduates of secondary schools and awards degrees at either the associate, baccalaureate, or graduate level.

“Nonprofit institution of higher education” includes public and private nonprofit institutions of higher education located in the State.

The Fund is a special, nonlapsing fund that is not subject to § 7–302 of the State Finance and Procurement Article.

The State Treasurer shall hold the Fund separately, and the Comptroller shall account for the Fund.

revenue distributed to the Fund under § 2–202(a)(1) of the Tax – General Article;

money appropriated in the State budget to the Fund; and

any other money from any other source accepted for the benefit of the Fund.

finance research endowments at nonprofit institutions of higher education in scientific and technical fields of study; and

pay the related administrative, legal, and actuarial expenses of the Department.

The State Treasurer shall invest the money of the Fund in the same manner as other State money may be invested.

Any investment earnings of the Fund shall be credited to the Fund.

Four members of the Authority are a quorum.

An act of the Authority shall be approved by a majority vote of the members attending a meeting at which a quorum is present.

may not receive compensation as a member of the Authority; but

is entitled to reimbursement for expenses under the Standard State Travel Regulations, as provided in the State budget.

The governing body of a nonprofit institution of higher education may invest funds deposited into the research endowment in a manner consistent with other institutional endowments managed by the institution.

Any interest or other investment earnings on the funds invested are retained by the nonprofit institution of higher education to be used for the purposes set forth in this subtitle.

the donation or pledge is expressly or specifically restricted by the donor for one or more of the eligible uses under § 6–614 of this subtitle;

the nonprofit institution of higher education accepts the donation from individuals, partnerships, associations, public or private for–profit and nonprofit corporations, or nongovernmental foundations.

any donation received by a nonprofit institution of higher education prior to October 1, 2014;

educational or general fees, auxiliary fees, or other student fees generated by the institution;

proceeds from promissory notes, bonds, loans, or other instruments evidencing an indebtedness or any other obligation of repayment by the governing body of a nonprofit institution of higher education to the maker of the instrument; or

any other funds received from the State or federal government.

The president of each nonprofit institution of higher education or the president’s designee shall make the initial determination of whether a donation constitutes a qualified donation.

The president of the nonprofit institution of higher education shall provide a report to the governing body of the institution at least once each fiscal year regarding the amount of qualified donations the institution has received.

physical sciences;

life and neuro sciences;

engineering;

mathematical and computational sciences;

regulatory science;

autonomous systems;

aeronautical and space science;

environmental sciences;

behavioral and language science;

health sciences;

agriculture; or

cybersecurity.

the payment of the base salaries of newly endowed department chairs, new professorship positions, new research scientists, or new research staff positions, including research technicians and support personnel, and to fund affiliated graduate or undergraduate student research fellowships, if the positions or fellowships are engaged in the areas of research identified in subsection (a) of this section; or

the purchase of basic infrastructure, including laboratory and scientific equipment or other essential equipment and materials, related to an area of research identified in subsection (a) of this section.

work at least 20% of the year in support of a federal laboratory or associated federal laboratory research support organization;

hold a joint appointment or secondary position at another nonprofit institution of higher education in the State; or

work at least 20% of the year in support of entrepreneurial activities with a company engaged in one or more of the research areas identified in subsection (a) of this section.

any information requested by the Authority to ensure compliance with the requirements of this subtitle; and

a demonstration of interest from qualified private donors to meet the criteria established by the Authority.

the amount requested for distribution to the nonprofit institution of higher education in accordance with subsection (a) of this section;

the amount of qualified donations designated for use in requesting the distribution of matching funds from the Fund;

an explanation of how the proposed use satisfies the criteria for eligible uses of endowment proceeds under § 6–614 of this subtitle;

an explanation of how the proposed use of the endowment proceeds furthers the purposes of this subtitle and addresses the research needs of the institution as identified in the research plan; and

a designation of the applicable research endowment into which the requested matching funds are to be deposited.

This subsection applies to a nonprofit institution of higher education that anticipates that the institution will not receive the entire amount of a qualified donation on which the institution intends to rely for purposes of requesting matching funds from the Authority before the end of the fiscal year in which the research endowment plan is approved.

Except for the type of funds set forth in § 6–613(c)(2), (3), and (4) of this subtitle, a nonprofit institution of higher education may deposit available funds from other sources within the nonprofit institution of higher education into the research endowment for purposes of satisfying the 90–day deposit requirement in subsection (a) of this section if the nonprofit institution of higher education has disclosed the following information in the research endowment plan approved by the Authority:

On or before January 1, 2016, and January 1 of each subsequent year, the Department shall submit a report on the implementation of the Program to the Governor and, in accordance with § 2–1257 of the State Government Article, the Senate Budget and Taxation Committee and the House Ways and Means Committee.

The Department shall publish the report on the Department’s website in a publicly available format.

The report published on the website may not include any proprietary or confidential information.

the name and address of the institution;

the names of the individuals making decisions on behalf of the institution regarding expenditure of the funds allocated;

the amount of funds received during the previous fiscal year;

the cumulative amount of funds received; and

the amount of funds remaining unspent at the end of the previous fiscal year.