The City of Dallas’ plan to ban the use of gas-powered lawn equipment has been thwarted by legislation recently passed by the Texas Legislature.
City leaders caused controversy last year when they introduced a potential prohibition on gas-powered lawn care and landscape equipment, as previously reported by The Dallas Express.
However, state legislation recently signed by the governor prohibits 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.
SB 1017, authored by Texas Sen. Brian Birdwell (R-Granbury), was passed by both chambers of the state legislature last month and signed by Gov. Greg Abbott on May 13.
While the City can no longer restrict private citizens and businesses from using gas-powered lawn equipment, staff intend to move forward with a plan to transition City-owned equipment to electric tools and “incentivize” private enterprises to do the same.
Multiple bills pertaining specifically to gas-powered lawn equipment were filed during the regular session, as previously reported by The Dallas Express, but they did not pass.
Still, SB 1017 “significantly impacts the [City’s] landscape equipment transition plan,” according to Carlos Evans, director of the Office of Environmental Quality and Sustainability.
“There is now significant [legal] risk … if we move forward with an ordinance because that may be an effective prohibition on gas-powered equipment regardless of if [we] focus that ordinance on air pollution or noise pollution,” he told council members during a Tuesday meeting of the City Council’s Environment and Sustainability Committee.
Evans said he recommends a plan that involves “offering incentives like rebates and vouchers” to those who begin using non-gas-powered equipment rather than instituting an ordinance.
He added that the City can still “lead by example” and transition its own equipment to be powered by a non-fossil fuel source, an ability now explicitly protected in SB 1017.
The legislation is clear that it does not limit a political subdivision from adopting a measure to “encourage, promote, or provide rebates for engines and fuel sources from alternative sources such as electricity, hydrogen, gas, or biofuels and that does not directly or effectively ban, restrict, or prohibit the use, sale, or lease of an engine based on the engine’s fuel source.”
When Gov. Abbott signed the bill, he said it would “protect energy choice in Texas.”
“No City or County in the state can pass an ordinance that would deny your ability to use things like a gasoline lawnmower, to go to a gasoline station, or to access natural gas for your home or appliances,” he said.
SB 1017 will take effect on September 1.