LANSING, Mich. (Michigan News Source) — Michigan is taking Washington to court again, and this time over a federal cap that Attorney General Dana Nessel says could gut state energy programs. 

Nessel has teamed up with 18 Democratic-led states and the District of Columbia to block a new U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) rule that caps how much federal funding states can use for “administrative and staffing costs” tied to energy programs, her office announced Aug. 18. The coalition argues the cap will starve states of resources needed to keep programs afloat.

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“Each one of these attempts has put critical programs at risk,” Nessel said. “Thankfully, we’ve successfully stopped these illegal actions before and plan to do so again.”

The DOE rule, announced May 8, limits indirect and employee benefit costs to 10% of a project’s budget. 

According to Nessel’s statement, the multistate coalition argued the policy breaks with decades of practice and could force states to trim staff, slow projects, or plug budget holes with state dollars. The lawsuit asks the court to invalidate the rule entirely, calling it “unlawful, unjustified, and disruptive.”

Joining Nessel are attorneys general from California, New York, Illinois, Oregon, Washington, and a host of other blue states, along with the governors of Kentucky and Pennsylvania.