Maryland Attorney General Anthony G. Brown announced a legal victory after the U.S. District Court for the District of Oregon ruled that the U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE) cap on state energy program funding is illegal. Judge Mustafa Kasubhai granted a motion for partial summary judgment, concluding that the DOE policy violated the Administrative Procedure Act.
The policy would have limited reimbursements for staffing and administrative costs to 10 percent of a project’s budget, which could have reduced millions in funding for Maryland energy programs.
Last month, Brown joined 18 other attorneys general and the governors of Kentucky and Pennsylvania in a lawsuit to block the policy. The coalition argued the cap disregarded states’ negotiated cost rates and would undermine staffing and operations for state energy agencies. Judge Kasubhai ruled in favor of the states, finding the DOE funding cap unlawful.
Joining Maryland in the lawsuit were the attorneys general of New York, Minnesota, Colorado, California, Connecticut, Delaware, Hawai‛i, Illinois, Maine, Michigan, New Mexico, North Carolina, Oregon, Washington, and Wisconsin.
