This chapter describes the policies and procedures for providing financing for vehicle parking facilities in priority funding areas. The Maryland Transportation Authority is authorized to finance, construct, operate, maintain, and repair vehicle parking facilities. A vehicle parking facility financed under this chapter shall be located in a priority funding area and support Smart Growth efforts. Priority shall be given to transit-oriented development vehicle parking facility projects financed under this chapter. Revenues from a vehicle parking facility financed pursuant to this chapter shall be sufficient to pay all operating and maintenance costs and debt service for each year that the debt is unpaid. Maryland Transportation Authority Fund moneys may not be used as a cash investment for any vehicle parking facility financed under this chapter. In this chapter, the following terms have the meanings indicated. Terms Defined. “Act” means Transportation Article, Title 4, Annotated Code of Maryland. "Authority" means the Maryland Transportation Authority. “Chairman” means the Secretary of the Maryland Department of Transportation. “Executive Director” means the Executive Director of the Maryland Transportation Authority. “Minority business enterprise” means a certified minority business enterprise under State Finance and Procurement Article, §14-301, Annotated Code of Maryland. “Nonprofit organization” means a not-for-profit corporation, foundation, or other legal entity that is exempt from federal income tax under §501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986. “Priority funding area” means a priority funding area under State Finance and Procurement Article, §5-7B-02, Annotated Code of Maryland. “Proposer” means a government agency, county, municipality, nonprofit organization, or private entity submitting a proposal to the Authority under this chapter. “Resolution” means a resolution adopted by the affirmative vote of a majority of the appointed members of the Authority and concurred in by the Chairman. “Smart Growth” means the State Economic Growth, Resource Protection, and Planning Policy under State Finance and Procurement Article, Title 5, Subtitle 7B, Annotated Code of Maryland. “Successful proposer” means a proposer whose proposal for a vehicle parking facility project has been evaluated, and approved for financing by, the Authority. “Transit-oriented development” means a place of high population density that includes a mixture of residential, employment, shopping, and civic uses located near a bus or rail transit center. “Vehicle parking facility” means a controlled entrance and exit building, structure, surface lot, and other facility for parking vehicles, for which fees or charges are established for the use of the facility. A vehicle parking facility project financing proposal shall be submitted for approval by the Authority. In order to be eligible for financing by the Authority, a vehicle parking facility project shall satisfy the following requirements: Be located in a designated priority funding area; and Generate sufficient revenue to: Recover all financing costs associated with bond issuance; Service all debt for each year the debt is outstanding and unpaid; and Meet the acquisition, construction, maintenance, and operation costs of the vehicle parking facility. The Authority is not liable for and may not reimburse any costs incurred by a proposer, regardless of whether the proposer's vehicle parking facility project proposal is selected. Any information the Authority makes available to a proposer shall be as a convenience to the proposer without representation or warranty of any kind. A proposer may not rely upon oral responses to inquiries. If a proposer has a question regarding this chapter, the proposer shall submit the question in writing to the Executive Director and the Authority shall provide written answers. The Authority reserves the right, at any time, to: Reject any vehicle parking facility project proposal; Terminate evaluation of any vehicle parking facility project proposal; Suspend, discontinue, or terminate vehicle parking facility project agreement negotiations with a proposer; Request or obtain additional information about a vehicle parking facility project proposal; Decline to return any fees required of proposers under this chapter; or Complete a proposed vehicle parking facility project as a public project, using a plan or financial structure different from that proposed by a private entity. The Authority may establish, from time to time, detailed guidelines containing underwriting standards, architectural and engineering review, and other requirements or matters relating to the financing of vehicle parking facility projects. The Authority shall accept unsolicited vehicle parking facility project proposals from government agencies, counties, municipalities, nonprofit organizations, and private entities that demonstrate the feasibility and demand for the facilities within priority funding areas. Proposals to the Authority for vehicle parking facility projects shall include the following information: A conceptual overview of the proposed vehicle parking facility project that details the need for the project and compliance with local and State land use, Smart Growth, and transportation planning objectives; An independent feasibility report that includes an analysis of market demand, operational and maintenance costs, and revenue estimates; An engineering analysis of the project, including architecture and design proposal, and construction costs and time frame; A financing plan that illustrates all sources of funding, including: The extent of financial participation by the proposer and other entities as applicable; The extent of the Authority's ownership interest in the vehicle parking facility; Compensation for Authority administrative overhead costs; and A revenue structure that supports all operating and maintenance costs and debt service; Minority Business Enterprise participation plans, as applicable; A description of the operation, maintenance, enforcement, and security of the vehicle parking facility, provisions for project management during construction of the vehicle parking facility, provisions for audit of the vehicle parking facility revenues, and a plan for regular and ongoing reporting to the Authority on the vehicle parking facility project status; A proposed schedule for financing and construction of the vehicle parking facility; and Any other additional information, drawings, plans, reports, or estimates that the Authority requires. A proposer shall identify those portions of a proposal that the proposer considers to be confidential, proprietary information, or trade secrets, and shall provide any justification as to why these materials, upon request, should not be disclosed by the Authority under State Government Article, §§10-611—10-623, Annotated Code of Maryland. A proposal for a vehicle parking facility project is subject to an initial review by the Authority to determine the eligibility of a project in accordance with this chapter and the Act. If a proposal is eligible under this chapter and the Act, the Authority shall review the proposal and determine whether the Authority will finance the vehicle parking facility project. In making a determination as to whether to finance a vehicle parking facility project, the Authority shall base the financing decision on the following criteria: The financing plan is allowable under any trust agreement between the Authority and a corporate trustee or the Act, or both, and provides for access to the necessary capital to finance the vehicle parking facility; Market demand and the amount of project debt can be supported by the projected revenue stream; Consistency with local and State planning, transportation, and Smart Growth plans; Integrity of engineering architectural and design specifications and accuracy of construction, operational, and maintenance costs; and Any other factor that the Authority considers relevant. Authority approval of the financing of the vehicle parking facility shall by evidenced by a signed resolution of the Authority, and represents the final approval for the vehicle parking facility project. The Authority may charge an application fee or other fees reasonably related to the expenses it incurs in processing a proposal and in issuing the bonds. A successful proposer shall comply with all applicable federal, State, and local laws regarding discrimination and equal employment opportunity including: Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, as amended; Article 49B, Annotated Code of Maryland; and The provisions of the Governor's Code of Fair Employment Practices, as amended. A successful proposer shall comply, and remain in compliance, with the State's policy concerning drug-free and alcohol-free workplaces, as set forth in COMAR 01.01.1989.18, and shall make a good faith effort to eliminate illegal drug use and alcohol and drug abuse from places at which work is performed in accordance with this chapter and the Act. The Authority may delegate to the Executive Director the authority to execute or approve any documents related to a vehicle parking facility project under this chapter or the Act. The Authority may waive or vary provisions of this chapter: To the extent that the waiver or variance is consistent with the Act; and If, in the written determination of the Chairman, the application of a regulation in a specific case or in an emergency situation would be inequitable or contrary to the purposes of the Act. A proposer may not knowingly make or cause to be made any material misstatement of fact, whether in the nature of an understatement or overstatement of financial condition or any other fact material to the Authority's action in any statement or report in or regarding a proposal for financing of a vehicle parking facility project. The Authority may reject any proposal for financing of a vehicle parking facility project that contains any material misstatement of fact. Transportation Article, §§4-205 and 4-311.1, Annotated Code of Maryland Effective date: February 18, 2002 (29:3 Md. R. 222) Regulation .03B amended effective October 27, 2014 (41:21 Md. R. 1260) Regulation .05C amended effective October 27, 2014 (41:21 Md. R. 1260) Regulation .12 amended effective October 27, 2014 (41:21 Md. R. 1260)