Overview
- The Trump administration filed the case Monday in San Francisco federal court, seeking a declaration that Morgan Hill and Petaluma’s ordinances are preempted and a permanent injunction blocking their enforcement.
- Lawyers for both cities say they halted enforcement after a 2023 Ninth Circuit ruling on Berkeley’s law and continue to approve projects with natural gas infrastructure.
- Federal lawyers argue the local rules effectively ban gas appliances by cutting off gas piping and would create a burdensome patchwork of inconsistent regulations for manufacturers and distributors.
- The complaint leans on the Ninth Circuit’s Berkeley decision under the 1975 Energy Policy and Conservation Act; Berkeley repealed its ordinance in 2024 and many other California cities reportedly paused similar rules.
- Attorney General Pamela Bondi framed the policies as illegal and harmful to energy reliability and costs, while Petaluma’s mayor called the lawsuit sudden and Morgan Hill’s mayor criticized California’s push to electrify existing homes.