by Ben Whedon
A federal court on Tuesday has overturned a citywide ban on natural gas implements in new buildings that Berkeley, Calif., had implemented in a first of its kind decision.
The appeals court took the side of Berkeley’s restauranteurs who challenged the ban on grounds that it would adversely impact their businesses, according to the Washington Times. The California Restaurant Association had brought the suit, asserting that “Cities and states cannot ignore federal law in an effort to constrain consumer choice, and it is encouraging that the 9th Circuit upheld this standard.”
The three judges on the 9th Circuit panel unanimously overturned the ban. Two of the judges were Trump appointees while the third received the nod from Ronald Reagan. Their ruling upends a lower court ruling in support of the ban. The Berkeley City Council has not indicated plans to appeal as of press time, though it could conceivably reach the Supreme Court should they opt to pursue the matter.
Their decision comes amid a nationwide push to eliminate the use of natural gas in new construction due to climate change concerns. The federal government attracted scrutiny over comments from Consumer Product Safety Commissioner Richard Trumka Jr., who in January called the appliances a “hidden hazard.”
Though the federal government has backed off somewhat from a nationwide ban, some states such as New York have attempted to embrace such policies at lower levels of government.
The panel’s ruling may have legal implications for other comparable bans.
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Ben Whedon is the night editor for the Just the News. He came to the company from Breitbart News and is a graduate of Washington and Lee University.
