A heavily Democratic city in California is preparing to impose a tax on large buildings that use natural gas after a federal court rejected the city's attempt to ban gas hookups and stoves, The Daily Californian reported.
On July 30, the Berkeley, California City Council voted to put a measure on the next ballot that would impose a tax on buildings over 15,000 square feet that use natural gas. According to In 2019, the city tried to impose an outright ban on new buildings with natural gas hookups, or even gas stoves, but the U.S. 9th Circuit Court of Appeals overturned the ban in April 2023 following a lawsuit filed by the California Restaurant Association challenging the policy, according to The Daily Californian.
The full name of this ballot measure is “Large-Scale Building Fossil Fuel Emissions TaxThe Daily Californian reported that the bill would impose “a new tax on the city of Berkeley” that would affect more than 600 buildings in the city if voted for by a majority of voters. Supporters of the bill call it an important step in tackling climate change, but opponents, including the food service industry, worry that the tax would place too much of a burden on businesses and force them to move commerce out of the city. (Related article: “It doesn't make sense”: Manchin slams Biden administration over gas stoves, “crazy” ESG investments)
Rep. Cori Bush: “This proposed rule is not a ban on gas stoves! We're regulating indoor air pollution.”
And then he called you paranoid for thinking your gas stove is being targeted… they’re just “regulating indoor air pollution.” pic.twitter.com/5ZkMKLSPvr
— Daily Caller (@DailyCaller) May 24, 2023
“The gas appliances I purchased are designed to last for decades, and my goal as an expanding business in Berkeley is to be here for decades to come,” Emily Winston, owner of Berkeley bagel shop Boychik Bagels, wrote in a letter to the city council, according to The Daily Californian. “However, facing nearly $500,000 in fines each year would force me to seriously consider eviction.”
Other organizations, including nonprofits, are also concerned that the new taxes could impose a significant burden on their operations, according to The Daily Californian.
of David Brauer CenterEnvironmental advocacy nonprofits wrote a letter to the City Council warning that the policy would “impose significant costs on buildings, especially given the significant costs associated with building since the pandemic began.” [it has] According to the Daily Californian, Berkeley Repertory TheatreA local performing arts venue similarly wrote a letter to the City Council expressing concern that, “while we support electrification, this well-intentioned ballot measure, if implemented immediately, would be extremely detrimental to our struggling organization.”
Berkeley voters are so-calledHealthy new buildingIf passed, the ordinance would ban the sale and installation of appliances that emit nitrogen oxides, such as gas stoves and furnaces, starting in 2027, according to The Daily Californian.
“I have not taken a position on this ballot proposition. The City Council was obligated to place this proposition on the ballot once it deemed it had enough valid signatures to be on the ballot. I am neither a supporter nor an opponent of this proposition,” Berkeley City Councilman Igor Tregub told the Daily Caller News Foundation. “A few weeks after the proposition was approved for the ballot and my own election (approved at roughly the same time), my office tried to find a middle ground between proponents and opponents to create a more balanced alternative that could be put on the ballot in a City Council bill. There was a lot of effort to build consensus among the various stakeholders, but ultimately time ran out before an agreement could be reached.”
The Biden administration is also pushing a broad building decarbonization plan that favors using electricity instead of fossil fuels for appliances and heating. The administration will ban the use of natural gas in new federal buildings starting in 2030 and will spend billions of dollars to help state and local governments develop green building codes. Defined In June, the company defined a zero-emission building as one that has “zero on-site emissions from energy use” and “runs solely on clean energy.”
Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) Commissioner Richard Trumka Jr. said Bloomberg News said in January 2023 that “all options are on the table” regarding banning gas stoves, and that “products that can't be manufactured safely could be banned,” but the Department of Energy (DOE) said: Assert The suggestion that the Government wants to ban gas stoves is “misinformation”.
Biden Department of Justice and Department of Energy officials in June 2023 Amicus Brief The 9th Circuit Court of Appeals asked the court to overturn a ruling that overturned the city of Berkeley's 2019 gas hookup ban, but the court ruled in January that it would not review that decision.
“The City of Berkeley recently had its natural gas ban struck down by the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals, and now they are seeking to tax facilities that use natural gas,” Steve Eberly, senior managing director at FTI Consulting, said at a press conference Wednesday. post Citing an article in the Daily Californian, he told X, “But remember, no one is trying to ban gas stoves.”
Berkeley Mayor Jesse Arreguin and City Council members Rashi Kesarwani, Terry Taplin, Ben Bartlett, Sophie Hahn, Susan Wengraf, Cecilia Lunapara and Mark Humbert did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
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