The L.A. Times editorial board lamented that California has fallen behind New York in terms of making “climate history” by restricting natural gas.Â
Institutions ranging from California’s government to the Biden Administration itself have cracked down on stoves and other appliances through regulation. In January, a member of the Consumer Product Safety Commission claimed a ban on gas stoves was “on the table” because of the health risks. This led to a debate across the country about whether state or local governments would actually crack down on these common machines used by homes and restaurants alike.Â
“Nobody is taking away your gas stove,” Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., tweeted on Feb. 3.
However, Schumer’s own state has led the way in making the ban a reality. New York state leaders led by Democratic Gov. Kathy Hochul reached an agreement in late April on the state’s 2024 budget which includes a future ban on natural gas hookups in new buildings going forward.Â
BIDEN ADMIN’S WAR ON HOUSEHOLD APPLIANCES WILL CAUSE HIGHER PRICES, DIRTIER CLOTHES AND DISHES, EXPERTS WARN
Hochul cited an environmental agenda, “We’re going to be the first state in the nation to advance zero-emission new homes and buildings beginning in 2025 for small buildings, 2028 for large buildings.”
The L.A. Times’s bittersweet response was praising the move, but noting that “here in Los Angeles, we admit feeling a tinge of jealousy that California wasn’t the first. Why not?”
The board mourned that there is not a single “legislative proposal on the table” in California’s government to catch up with New York on this issue.
“Spokespeople for state Senate leader Toni Atkins and Assembly Speaker Anthony Rendon said there are currently no bills in the California Legislature to impose a statewide ban on natural gas hookups in new construction,” the board wrote. “And Gov. Gavin Newsom’s office wouldn’t say whether California should follow New York with its own law.”
The…
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