The Trump administration sued two California cities on Monday, seeking to overturn local legislation limiting natural gas infrastructure and appliances in new construction.
The lawsuit is the administration’s recent attack on energy policies that intend to aim to curb the use of fossil fuels to combat climate change. California is a stronghold of democrats and has one of the most aggressive policies on climate change globally.
Therefore, the Republicans, including Donald Trump, for years have attacked local Democrats in efforts to restrict gas-powered appliances.
According to the complaint filed in the US district court in the Northern District of California, Justice Department attorneys claimed that the ordinances adopted by the cities in the San Francisco region, since 2019, Morgan Hill and Petaluma, were a violation of a 1975 law that prohibits states and cities from regulating the energy use of products with a federal standard.
The complaint indicated that “The natural gas bans not only impose crushing costs on California residents but are also unlawful.”
Meanwhile, dozens of US cities and municipalities have approved ordinances limiting natural gas connections since 2019. A federal appeals court in 2023 ruled that the city of Berkeley might not implement its 2019 natural gas ban.
However, the city manager of Petaluma, Peggy Flynn, stated in an email that the city had no immediate comment. Morgan Hill officials did not respond immediately to a request for comment. California Governor Gavin Newsom and state Attorney General Rob Bonta have not responded to the lawsuit.
The city joined a list of other counties, including Santa Clara County, in July, where Morgan Hill is located, in a lawsuit against the Trump administration over funding restrictions that would disqualify applicants the Trump administration believes are out of step with their stances on matters such as DEI and reproductive rights.
The same month, the two locations became part of another lawsuit, along with over 30 other cities and counties in the Bay Area, to take action against Trump regarding his moves on sanctuary jurisdictions.
