City of Dallas staff are altering their plan to prohibit the use of gas-powered lawn equipment within city limits following a new state law that blocks municipalities from enacting such prohibitions.
As previously reported by The Dallas Express, controversy erupted last year when City officials introduced a ban on gas-powered lawn care and landscaping equipment. However, the plan was thwarted by new state legislation that prevents municipalities from adopting an ordinance that limits access to an energy source or restricts the use, sale, or lease of an engine based on its fuel source.
Gov. Greg Abbott signed SB 1017 on May 13. The law will take effect on September 1.
“No city or county in the state can pass an ordinance that would deny your ability to use things like a gasoline lawn mower, to go to a gasoline station, or to access natural gas for your home or appliances,” Abbott said in a video posted to Twitter, claiming the law was necessary to “protect energy choice in Texas.”
Carlos Evans, director of the City’s Office of Environmental Quality & Sustainability, previously said SB 1017 “significantly impacts the [City’s] landscape equipment transition plan” and poses “significant [legal] risk.”
“Initially, our plan included a potential ordinance but it doesn’t anymore,” Evans recently told The Dallas Morning News, later noting that the City thinks “the best business decision at this point is just to move forward with the other two components.”
The other two components of the City’s proposed ban include “offering incentives like rebates and vouchers” to those who begin using non-gas-powered equipment and making sure City-owned equipment is powered by non-fossil fuel sources.
“I think the best thing to do is to stick to the overall goal, which is to bring down emissions,” said Council Member Paula Blackmon, according to DMN. “What we’ve been concerned about all along is what comes out of these machines and how they can harm communities. I think it’s still worth looking at what we can do to get there, even if we can’t focus on energy source.”
Local lawn care businesses and workers have said the prohibition initially proposed by City staff would be a heavy financial burden and could cost them thousands of dollars if enacted.
“We’d have to get rid of all of it,” said Juan Arroyo, who does lawn care service in Dallas with his father.
“That would be the case for a lot of people,” he said, per DMN.
The Dallas Express contacted the City of Dallas for more information but received no response by press time.