Maryland Code, Housing and Community Development § 8-109

(1) ensure that each designated community action agency receives at least as much federal money as the community action agency received in federal fiscal year 1994, unless the federal funding is reduced; and

(2) allocate remaining federal money to those community action agencies that received a lesser share of program federal money in federal fiscal year 1994 than they would have received based on the number of persons in the local jurisdiction with household income below the poverty line set by the federal Office of Management and Budget as a percentage of the number of persons in the State with household income below that line.

(c)(1) By regulation, the Secretary shall adopt standards for distributing financial assistance under § 8-108 of this title.

(2) The distribution standards shall include the percentage of persons in poverty, based on the most current census population information.

(3) The distribution standards may address specific problems in rural communities, minimum financing necessary to maintain program operations, and the potential for additional local and private financing.