Policy No..: MDTA 7009 Effective: August 16, 2005
behalf of the Maryland Office of the Attorney General and procure competitive proposals from outside law firms. ii. If necessary, the MDTA Principal Counsel shall form a review committee to evaluate written proposals and to conduct oral interviews of the proposers. iii. After the review committee completes its evaluation, the MDTA Principal Counsel shall make recommendations to the Maryland Attorney General regarding the selection of one of more firms to serve as bond counsel. iv. The solicitation and selection process for such services will be accomplished according to the legally appropriate procurement process utilized by the Maryland Attorney General. The Maryland Attorney General’s Office shall make such selection, and the MDTA Principal Counsel shall notify the MDTA Board of the selection. The contract(s) shall be awarded, subject to available funding for the contract(s). c. Policy Statement 29. The MDTA Division of Finance shall be responsible for qualifying underwriting firms to provide services for debt issued in a negotiated sale. i. Underwriters will be required to demonstrate sufficient capitalization, experience, and competitive pricing in order to qualify to underwrite debt. ii. A review committee will be formed to evaluate written proposals and to conduct oral interviews if necessary. iii. The formal selection of the qualified underwriting firms for all negotiated bond sales (except direct bank loans) will be presented to the MDTA Board for approval upon recommendation by the review committee. d. Policy Statement 30 . The MDTA Division of Finance, in conjunction with the MDTA Office of the Attorney General, will approve the selection of the underwriter’s counsel, in the event of a negotiated bond sale. The cost of the underwriter’s counsel will be payable from bond proceeds of each specific issue and allocated to underwriter’s costs. e. Policy Statement 31 . The CFO shall have the authority to periodically select other service providers (e.g., trustees, arbitrage consultants, etc.) as necessary to meet legal requirements and to minimize net debt costs. f. Policy Statement 32 . Compensation for bond counsel, underwriter’s counsel, municipal advisors, and other financial services will be as low as possible (through the competitive and any legally required procurement process), given desired qualification levels, and consistent with industry standards. IX. Credit Ratings a. Policy Statement 33. The MDTA seeks to maintain the highest possible investment grade credit ratings for revenue bonds, notes and other
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