Maryland Senate Bill 901 (2021): Resilient Maryland Revolving Loan Fund
Maryland Senate Bill 901, enacted in May 2021, establishes the Resilient Maryland Revolving Loan Fund (RLF) — a special fund that provides low- or no-interest loans to local governments and nonprofit organizations for local resilience projects to mitigate hazards including natural disasters.
Notably, loans from the RLF may be used to meet non-federal match requirements of a federal hazard mitigation grant. The fund is administered through the Maryland Emergency Management Agency (MEMA), which determines projects that should receive funding based on what has the greatest impact in eliminating hazards. The RLF is founded through the Safeguarding Tomorrow Through Ongoing Risk Mitigation (STORM) Act, enacted in 2021, which authorizes capitalization grants to establish hazard mitigation revolving loan programs that mitigate natural hazards.
The RLF is funded through annual appropriations, investment and interest earnings, repayments and interest from loans made from the fund, and money from any other source accepted for the benefit of the fund.
Senate Bill 901 tasks MEMA with establishing the application procedures and eligibility criteria for receiving loans from the fund. Two of these criteria are laid out in the bill, stating that an eligible applicant must demonstrate: 1) Need for a loan to address hazard mitigation and 2) The ability to repay the loan, if required, at a later date. Since its creation, the fund has been utilized by local governments on behalf of homeowners, businesses, nonprofit organizations, and communities.
Publication Date: May 30, 2021
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- State of Maryland
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- Funding program
- Laws
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