Great Lakes Wire

Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel has announced a court decision that blocks a federal policy limiting funding for state energy programs. The U.S. District Court for the District of Oregon ruled that the U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE) cap on reimbursements for staffing and administrative costs is illegal. Judge Mustafa Kasubhai granted summary judgment in favor of a coalition led by 19 attorneys general and two governors, determining that the DOE’s policy violated the Administrative Procedure Act.

“I am relieved that another Court has rejected the Trump Administration’s unlawful attempt to rewrite the rules on already allocated federal funding,” Nessel said. “Michigan and other states rely on these funds to keep vital programs running, and this decision reaffirms that the White House cannot arbitrarily strip away resources for renewable energy and energy efficiency initiatives.”

Earlier this year, Nessel joined with 18 other attorneys general and two governors in filing a lawsuit against the DOE. The suit challenged an attempt to cap reimbursement of indirect (administrative) and fringe (employee benefit) costs at 10 percent of project budgets. The coalition argued that this cap violated federal law, ignored states’ negotiated cost rates, and would harm staffing and operations for state energy agencies. Judge Kasubhai agreed with these arguments, ruling that the funding cap was both illegal and contrary to DOE grant regulations.

The lawsuit included participation from attorneys general representing California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, the District of Columbia, Hawai‘i, Illinois, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Minnesota, Nevada, New Mexico, New York, North Carolina, Oregon, Washington, Wisconsin as well as governors from Kentucky and Pennsylvania.