Committee hears bill to transfer Janie Lawton loan to Maryland Clean Energy Center and refocus MEA reporting

Delegate and committee members heard testimony on HB 245 from the Maryland Energy Administration and the Maryland Clean Energy Center. Landon Farrag, legislative liaison for MEA, told the panel the bill would transfer the statutory Janie Lawton Conservation Loan Program to the Maryland Clean Energy Center (MCEC) to align loan administration with MCEC’s existing lending programs. MEA offered a technical amendment allowing MCEC to invest the funds in customary ways, Farrag said.

Farrag also described proposed changes to MEA’s annual Strategic Energy Investment Fund reporting. Under current law the report includes hundreds of pages of appendices; HB 245 would require MEA to report only on individual grants above $10,000, which the agency said would still capture about 90% of annual spending while producing a shorter, clearer report. Finally, MEA proposed replacing the statute’s single performance metric—energy savings—with greenhouse‑gas reductions to reflect increasing electrification.

Kathy McGruder, executive director of the Maryland Clean Energy Center, told the committee MCEC manages and reinvests public funds as a revolving loan provider and is positioned to administer the Janie Lawton loan program. McGruder asked the committee for a favorable report with the technical amendment MEA proposed.

The committee asked no substantive questions before concluding the presentation.