§ 4-403. Amount and distribution of State aid

   (a) Definitions. -- As used in this subtitle:

   (1) "Subdivision" means any county of Maryland but does not include Baltimore City; or where the context requires, the governing body thereof.

   (2) "Municipality" means any incorporated city or town, except Baltimore City, within Maryland; or where the context requires, the governing body thereof.

   (3) "Expenditures for police protection" shall be those for the fiscal year immediately preceding the fiscal year for which the calculation of State aid is to be made. Thus, State aid for the first year of this grant (1968-1969) shall be based on "expenditures for police protection" in the fiscal year ending June 30, 1968; State aid for the second year of this grant (1969-1970) shall be based on expenditures in the fiscal year ending June 30, 1969, and so forth. "Expenditures for police protection" means salaries and wages, other operating expenses, capital outlays from current operating funds, and properly identifiable debt service, paid for police protection. Expenditures for sheriffs and constables are included only to the extent that such officers perform police protection functions. Expenditures for traffic control, park police, and a share of the cost of a central alarm system proportionate to its police use, are included. No part of expenditures for collecting from or servicing parking meters, nor of constructing or operating jails, is included.

   (4) "Adjusted assessed valuation of real property" means 100% of the assessed valuation of the operating real property of public utilities, plus 40% of the assessed valuation of all other real property for State purposes, as reported by the State Department of Assessments and Taxation as of July 1 of the second fiscal year preceding the fiscal year for which the calculation of State aid is to be made, plus 20% of new property assessed between July 1 and December 31 of the second preceding fiscal year. "Real property" means all property classified as real property under § 8-101(b) of the Tax - Property Article.

   (5) "Net taxable income" shall be the taxable income of individuals under Title 10 of the Tax - General Article, as certified by the Comptroller of the Treasury for the third completed calendar year preceding the fiscal year for which the calculation of State aid is to be made. Thus, State aid for the first year of this grant shall be based on taxable income in calendar year 1965, and State aid in succeeding years on taxable income in corresponding succeeding calendar years.

   (6) Population figures for total number of people in a subdivision, i.e. figures used in per capita and density determinations, shall be those estimated by the State Department of Health and Mental Hygiene, as of July 1 of each year. Percentage of population residing in municipalities shall be determined from time to time by the most recently published federal decennial census data.

   (7) "Executive director" means the executive director of the Governor's Office of Crime Control and Prevention.

   (8) "Qualifying municipality" means a municipality:

      (i) 1. Whose "expenditures for police protection", as defined above, exceed $ 5,000; and

         2. That employs at least one qualified full-time police officer, as determined by the executive director; or

      (ii) 1. Whose "expenditures for police protection", as defined above, exceed $ 80,000; and

         2. That employs at least two qualified part-time police officers, as determined by the executive director, from a county police department or county sheriff's department.

   (9) "Wealth base" of a subdivision means the sum of the "adjusted assessed valuation of real property" and "net taxable income".

   (10) "Aggregate expenditures for police protection" for a subdivision means the sum of "expenditures for police protection", as defined above, of that subdivision and of every qualifying municipality in that subdivision.

   (11) "Equivalent of X dollars per capita" means an amount of money equal to the product of X times the number of people in the particular subdivision.

   (12) "Sworn officer" means:

      (i) A law enforcement officer certified by the Police Training Commission; or

      (ii) A full-time probationary employee of a local government who:

         1. Is hired to attend a police training academy to become a certified law enforcement officer; and

         2. Is in training or is functioning as a law enforcement officer pending training.

(b) Amount of grant. -- Subject to subsection (d) of this section, for the fiscal year beginning July 1, 2004, and thereafter, the State shall pay to each subdivision, and to each qualifying municipality, each year in the manner and subject to the limitations and requirements hereinafter provided, an amount determined as follows:

   (1) Share in Basic Expenditure. If the aggregate expenditures for police protection in a subdivision equal or exceed $ 6.00 per capita, the State shall pay to the subdivision the amount, if any, by which the equivalent of $ 6.00 per capita exceeds 0.09% of the wealth base. If the aggregate expenditures for police protection in a subdivision are less than $ 6.00 per capita, the State shall pay to the subdivision the amount, if any, by which aggregate expenditures for police protection exceed that proportion of 0.09 percent of the wealth base which aggregate expenditures for police protection bear to the equivalent of $ 6.00 per capita.

   (2) Share Over the Basic Expenditure. In addition to the amount, if any, payable under paragraph (1) of this subsection, the State shall pay to each subdivision an amount equal to 25% of the amount, if any, by which aggregate expenditures for police protection exceed the equivalent of $ 6.00 per capita. Provided however:

      (i) For subdivisions with a population density less than 100 per square mile, and less than 30% of total population residing in municipalities, there shall be no payment under this paragraph.

      (ii) For subdivisions with population density 100 or more but less than 500 per square mile, and for subdivisions with population density less than 100 per square mile but with 30% or more of total population residing in municipalities, payment under this paragraph shall not exceed the equivalent of $ 3.50 per capita.

      (iii) For subdivisions with population density 500 or more but less than 900 per square mile, payment under this paragraph shall not exceed the equivalent of $ 7.50 per capita.

      (iv) For subdivisions with population density 900 or more but less than 1,100 per square mile, payment under this paragraph shall not exceed the equivalent of $ 8.00 per capita.

      (v) For subdivisions with population density 1,100 or more but less than 1,300 per square mile, payment under this paragraph shall not exceed the equivalent of $ 9.25 per capita.

      (vi) For subdivisions with population density 1,300 or more but less than 8,000 per square mile, payment under this paragraph shall be 25% of the amount by which aggregate expenditures for police protection exceed the equivalent of $ 6.00 per capita but do not exceed the equivalent of $ 36.00 per capita and 50% of the amount by which aggregate expenditures for police protection exceed the equivalent of $ 36.00 per capita but do not exceed the equivalent of $ 45.50 per capita.

      (vii) For subdivisions with population density 8,000 or more per square mile, payment under this paragraph shall be 25% of the amount by which aggregate expenditures for police protection exceed the equivalent of $ 6.00 per capita but do not exceed the equivalent of $ 36.00 per capita and 50% of the amount by which aggregate expenditures for police protection exceed the equivalent of $ 36.00 per capita but do not exceed the equivalent of $ 101.50 per capita.

   (3) Minimum Grant. The State shall pay to each subdivision the amount, if any, by which the equivalent of $ 2.50 per capita exceeds the total payments determined under paragraphs (1) and (2) of this subsection. No subdivision for which the population estimate is less than the population estimated for the first year of this grant shall receive in any year a smaller amount of State aid for police protection than it received in any previous year, provided it has not reduced the level of expenditure for police protection which entitled it to the amount of that previous year's grant.

   (4) Incentive Grant. In addition to the payments made under paragraphs (1), (2), and (3) of this subsection, the State shall pay to each subdivision with a population density of less than 500 per square mile, an amount the equivalent of $ 2.00 per capita.

   (5) Supplemental Grant.

      (i) In addition to the payments made under paragraphs (1), (2), (3), and (4) of this subsection, the State shall pay:

         1. To each subdivision, subject to subparagraph (ii) of this paragraph, an amount the equivalent of $ 2.50 per capita;

         2. To Baltimore City, an amount the equivalent of fifty cents per capita; and

         3. To each subdivision that borders the District of Columbia, in addition to the amount required under item 1 of this subparagraph, an amount the equivalent of fifty cents per capita living in this State within 1 mile of the border.

      (ii) The State shall allocate and distribute the supplemental grant to each subdivision among the subdivisions and the qualifying municipalities in those subdivisions on a per capita basis.

   (6) Additional Grant. For the fiscal year ending June 30, 1981, and for each fiscal year thereafter, an additional grant equal to 10 percent of the total of the payments determined under paragraphs (1), (2), (3) and (4) of this subsection, or an amount which shall not exceed the equivalent of $ 1 per capita, whichever is the larger, shall be paid to the subdivisions.

   (7) Minimum Payment in Certain Years. Each subdivision shall be paid that amount, if any, by which the grant paid to the subdivision in the fiscal year ending June 30, 1984 exceeds the total payments determined under paragraphs (1), (2), (3), (4), (5) and (6) of this subsection.

   (8) Municipal Sworn Officer Allocation. For fiscal year 2009 and each fiscal year thereafter, the State shall pay to each qualifying municipality, in addition to the payments made under paragraphs (1) through (7) of this subsection an amount equal to $ 1,950 for each sworn police officer actually employed on a full-time basis by the qualifying municipality, as determined by the executive director.

(c) Distribution of payments received. -- The payment received by each subdivision under subsection (b)(1), (2), (3), (4), (6) and (7) of this section shall be paid to each subdivision and qualifying municipality, in the exact proportion which the expenditures for police protection of the subdivision and of each qualifying municipality bear to aggregate expenditures for police protection.

(d) Definitions; reduction of payments. --

   (1) (i) In this subsection the following words have the meanings indicated.

      (ii) "Crime assessment" means an amount obtained for each subdivision or Baltimore City by multiplying the percent of total Part I Crimes in the State that were committed in the subdivision or Baltimore City by 10% of the costs for the crime laboratory of the State Police as provided in the State budget for the fiscal year of the assessment.

      (iii) "Part I Crimes" means the crimes reported by the State Police as Part I Crimes in the annual uniform crime report for the second completed calendar year preceding the fiscal year of the crime assessment.

      (iv) "Wealth assessment" means an amount obtained for each subdivision or Baltimore City by multiplying the percent of the total wealth base of the State that is attributable to the wealth base of the subdivision or Baltimore City by 20% of the costs for the crime laboratory of the State Police as provided in the State budget for the fiscal year of the assessment.

   (2) For the fiscal year beginning July 1, 2004, and for each fiscal year thereafter, the amount determined under subsection (b) of this section for each subdivision or Baltimore City shall be reduced by the sum of the crime assessment and the wealth assessment for the subdivision or Baltimore City.

HISTORY: An. Code 1957, art. 88B, § 66; 1967, ch. 142, § 1; 1968, ch. 452, § 1; 1969, ch. 566; 1971, ch. 591; 1975, ch. 549; 1975, Sp. Sess., ch. 2, § 1; 1976, ch. 192; 1977, ch. 499; 1978, chs. 178, 179; ch. 537, § 2; 1980, ch. 520; 1981, ch. 651; 1982, ch. 471; ch. 770, § 4; 1985, ch. 313; 1988, ch. 110, § 1; 1989, ch. 758; 1990, ch. 6, § 6; ch. 591; 1991, ch. 59, § 4; 1994, ch. 165, § 3; ch. 166, § 3; 1995, ch. 3, § 2; 1996, ch. 10, § 1; chs. 587, 588; 1999, ch. 444; 2000, ch. 80, § 2; ch. 267; 2002, ch. 121, § 1; 2003, ch. 5, § 4; ch. 203, § 2; 2004, ch. 430, § 1; 2006, ch. 265; 2007, chs. 5, 492, 493; 2008, ch. 515.