The California Restaurant Association has been doing a slow burn since the city of Berkeley cooked up a scheme in 2019 to ban natural gas hookups to new buildings.
This from westernjournal.com.
USA Today reported:
[T]he Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals put chefs’ favorite appliance back on the menu—at least for now—when they overturned the ban Monday.
Berkeley’s ordinance went into effect in 2020, making the San Francisco Bay Area community the first municipality to take such a step. Many others have since enacted similar laws.
The Associated Press reported:
The measure, which took effect in 2020 to cheers from environmentalists, was intended to reduce emissions of greenhouse gasses that contribute to global warming.
But restaurant owners were not among those cheering.
California Restaurant Association President and CEO Jot Condie said in a statement published on the organization’s website:
Natural gas appliances are crucial for restaurants to operate effectively and efficiently, as they allow for a wide variety of cuisines and innovations in the restaurant industry.
Condie argued that cities and states:
Are not equipped to regulate the energy use or energy efficiency of appliances that businesses and homeowners have chosen; energy policy and conservation is an issue with national scope and national security implications.
This ordinance, as well as the solution it seeks, is an overreaching measure beyond the scope of any city.
That’s the stance the organization’s lawyers argued before the court, and the Ninth Circuit agreed.
Bloomberg Law reported:
The court ruled that Berkeley’s ordinance was preempted by the federal Energy Policy and Conservation Act.
According to the outlet:
The court ruled that Berkeley’s ban on natural gas infrastructure in new buildings is ‘clearly outside the preemption provision of the EPCA.’
Judge Patrick Bumatay, an appointee of former President Donald Trump, wrote in an opinion that Berkeley’s action was not permissible in light of the language in the EPCA.
He wrote:
Put simply, by enacting EPCA, Congress ensured that States and localities could not prevent consumers from using covered products in their homes, kitchens and businesses.
Sarah O. Jorgensen, attorney for the restaurant association, said in a statement:
The Ninth Circuit’s ruling today underscores the importance of a consistent national energy policy, which was Congress’ intent the whole time.
Cities and states should not be permitted to overrule energy decisions that affect the country as a whole.
The panel’s unanimous decision that Berkeley’s ban on natural gas piping is preempted by EPCA sets an important precedent for future cases, especially with other cities considering similar bans or restrictions on the use of natural gas.
According to USA Today:
Despite the victory, gas-stove proponents still face a heated battle to continue using their appliance of choice.
The outlet reported:
The Berkeley ordinance was not a building code requirement, so the appeals court ruling will only affect other municipalities that used the same type of ordinance and only in Alaska, Arizona, California, Hawaii, Idaho, Montana, Nevada, Oregon and Washington state.
Most municipalities that have such bans in place use building energy codes, which the appeals court specifically said was allowable.
Final thoughts: The actions of the Left must be stopped. Everything they do seems to be unconstitutional but still questionably on the edge. Lawsuit after lawsuit is required to undo their evil. And then only if the judge is not a Left appointee. Soon this will come to a head. Something will be done to them for their repeated violations of their oaths of office.
God speed to Conservatism and God speed to the Take Back of our Constitutional Republic.
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