2023 Maryland Statutes › Tax - Property › Title 13 - Transfer Taxes › Subtitle 3 - Agricultural Land Transfer Tax › Section 13-306 - Distribution of Revenue

(a)    (1)    Except in Montgomery County and except as provided in subsection (b)(1) of this section for a certified county, each county collector shall remit from a special account to the Comptroller, as the Comptroller specifies:
(i)    the revenue from:
1.    the agricultural transfer tax that is attributable to the taxation of instruments of writing that transfer title to parcels of land that are entirely woodland; and
2.    the surcharge imposed under § 13–303(d) of this subtitle; and
(ii)    two–thirds of the balance of revenue from the agricultural land transfer tax that remains after the remittance under item (i) of this paragraph.
(2)    In Montgomery County, if § 52–21(d) (1979) of the Montgomery County Code is in effect or a transfer tax substantially similar to that provision is in effect, the collector for Montgomery County shall remit to the Comptroller:
(i)    the revenue from:
1.    the agricultural transfer tax that is attributable to the taxation of instruments of writing that transfer title to parcels of land that are entirely woodland; and
2.    the surcharge imposed under § 13–303(d) of this subtitle; and
(ii)    one–third of the balance of revenue from the agricultural transfer tax that remains after the remittance under item (i) of this paragraph.
(3)    The Comptroller shall deposit:
(i)    up to $200,000 annually of the revenue remitted under paragraphs (1)(i) and (2)(i) of this subsection or subsection (b) of this section into the Mel Noland Woodland Incentives Fund established in § 5–307 of the Natural Resources Article; and
(ii)    of the revenue in excess of $200,000 annually remitted under paragraphs (1)(i) and (2)(i) of this subsection or subsection (b)(1) of this section and the revenue remitted under paragraphs (1)(ii) and (2)(ii) of this subsection or subsection (b)(2) of this section:
1.    subject to paragraph (4) of this subsection, for fiscal year 2011 and each fiscal year thereafter, $2,756,250 into the Maryland Agricultural Land Preservation Fund to be used for the purposes stated in § 2–505 of the Agriculture Article;
2.    after the distribution made under item 1 of this item, 37.5% of the agricultural land transfer tax revenue remitted to the Comptroller, up to a maximum of $4,000,000 annually, into a special fund to be used by the Maryland Agricultural and Resource–Based Industry Development Corporation for the Next Generation Farmland Acquisition Program; and
3.    after the distributions made under items 1 and 2 of this item, the remainder into the Maryland Agricultural Land Preservation Fund to be used for the purposes stated in § 2–505 of the Agriculture Article.
(4)    For each fiscal year after 2011, the amount distributed into the Maryland Agricultural Land Preservation Fund under paragraph (3)(ii)1 of this subsection shall be increased by 5% over the amount distributed for the preceding fiscal year.
(5)    The revenues required to be distributed to the Maryland Agricultural and Resource–Based Industry Development Corporation under paragraph (3) of this subsection shall be distributed on a quarterly basis on or about the first day of the month in July, October, January, and April.
(b)    If a county is certified by the Department of Planning and the Maryland Agricultural Land Preservation Foundation under § 5–408 of the State Finance and Procurement Article as having established an effective county agricultural land preservation program, the collector for the county shall remit to the Comptroller:
(1)    the revenue from:
(i)    the agricultural land transfer tax that is attributable to the taxation of instruments of writing that transfer title to parcels of land that are entirely woodland; and
(ii)    the surcharge imposed under § 13–303(d) of this subtitle; and
(2)    25% of the balance of revenue from the agricultural land transfer tax that remains after the remittance under item (1) of this subsection.
(c)    (1)    In this subsection, “development rights” means the potential for improvement of a parcel of real property that is measured in dwelling units or units of commercial or industrial space and that exist because of the zoning classification of the parcel.
(2)    Each county collector shall hold the remainder of the revenue in a special county account for 6 years to be used for an approved agricultural land preservation program that meets the requirements of this subsection, including use for bond annuity funds or matching funds.
(3)    For purposes of this subsection, an approved agricultural land preservation program is a program to purchase development rights, guarantee loans that are collateralized by development rights or provide financial enhancements related to purchase of development rights, for agricultural land that, except as provided in paragraph (4) of this subsection, meets the minimum standards set by the Maryland Agricultural Land Preservation Foundation under § 2–509(d) of the Agriculture Article.
(4)    In lieu of any acreage requirement set by the Foundation under § 2–509(d) of the Agriculture Article, development rights purchased by or collateralizing loans guaranteed by a county or financial enhancements related to purchase of development rights under this subsection shall be for agricultural land of significant size to promote an agricultural operation.
(5)    (i)    Subject to the limitation under subparagraph (ii) of this paragraph, the funds described in paragraph (2) of this subsection may be used to pay administrative expenses.
(ii)    The costs of the administrative expenses may not exceed 10% of the funds or $30,000, whichever is the greater.
(6)    This subsection does not prohibit any county from accepting funds from private sources and using those private funds to purchase development rights, guarantee loans that are collateralized by development rights, or provide financial enhancements related to purchase of development rights.
(d)    If any revenue in the special county account has not been expended or committed on or before 6 years from the date of deposit into the county account, the county collector shall remit that revenue to the Comptroller for deposit in the Maryland Agricultural Land Preservation Fund.
(e)    From the agricultural land transfer tax collected by it, the Department shall remit the county part of the revenue to the collector for the county in which the land is located for distribution under this section.