Except as provided in subsection (b) of this section or in other law, a contract to spend the proceeds of a general obligation loan that has been authorized by any act of the General Assembly may not be executed until the Board of Public Works approves the contract. Approval by the Board of Public Works is not required if the act merely authorizes a county or municipal corporation to borrow money and no State funds are involved. Approval by the Board of Public Works is not required for a contract or other authorization to spend the proceeds of a general obligation loan for public school construction projects.

In this section, “bond” means an obligation of the State or of any of its units or instrumentalities. If a bond otherwise complies with the requirements of the Commercial Law Article for investment securities, the bond shall be considered to be an investment security notwithstanding that: the resolution or other authority under which the bond is issued subjects the bond to an indenture or agreement that is separate from the resolution or authority; the resolution or other authority under which the bond is issued limits payment of principal and interest to: the proceeds of limited sources of revenue; or a special fund established for that purpose; any law limits payment of principal and interest to a certain amount or rate of tax that may be imposed; or principal or interest are registrable. A bond that is considered to be an investment security under subsection (b) of this section has all the attributes of an investment security that are possessed by a bond that is: issued on the full faith and credit of the issuer; payable to bearer; and secured as to the payment of principal and interest by the unlimited taxing power of the issuer.

In this section, “enabling act” has the meaning stated in § 8–101 of this title. Unless otherwise prohibited by law and subject to paragraph (2) of this subsection, an appropriation authorized by an enabling act may be used to reimburse a grant recipient for an expenditure incurred on or before the effective date of the enabling act. An appropriation may not be used to reimburse a grant recipient for an expenditure if the expenditure is not consistent with the public purpose of the appropriation.

In this section the following words have the meanings indicated. “Convention facility” has the meaning stated in § 10–601 of the Economic Development Article. “Institution of higher education” has the meaning stated in § 10–101 of the Education Article. This section applies to a convention facility and a facility at an institution of higher education that receives State capital funding totaling at least $2,000,000 in the operating or capital budget bills in the prior fiscal year. Subject to subsection (d) of this section, on or before October 1 each year, the entity responsible for facilities maintenance for a facility specified in subsection (b) of this section shall submit a report in accordance with § 2–1257 of the State Government Article to the Senate Budget and Taxation Committee and the House Appropriations Committee on the entity’s deferred maintenance plan. The report required under subsection (c) of this section shall include: the dollar amount that the entity spends per square foot on deferred maintenance; the total dollar value of the backlog for deferred maintenance; the process for facility condition assessment, including the process for rating and assessing deferred maintenance projects; the number of staff hours devoted to inspecting and analyzing the need for facility repair and maintenance; and the entity’s plan to address all deferred maintenance projects.