(a) Any money received by the State or otherwise subject to the direction or control of a State official, as a result of a settlement, judgment, or consent decree made or entered into after January 1, 2012: (1) shall be deposited in the State treasury; and (2) except for funds designated as restitution: (i) shall be expended only as authorized in the State budget bill as enacted; and (ii) may be transferred by budget amendment. (b) In negotiating any State payment under any national or multistate settlement, judgment, or consent decree, a State official may recommend restrictions on the use of that State payment but shall also request that the settlement, judgment, or consent decree also provide that the funds may be used for any public purpose, to the extent that doing so is not inconsistent with the State or its citizens securing the maximum benefit from the settlement, judgment, or consent decree.
Maryland Legal Code