City of Berkeley Repeals Gas Ban

The City of Berkeley has agreed to repeal their gas ban, and will not appeal their Ninth Circuit loss to the U.S. Supreme Court. The parties asked the court to hold the case for 6 months to allow Berkeley time to complete the repeal, but meanwhile, Berkeley has also agreed not to enforce its ban.

As we reported previously, in January 2024 the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit denied a rehearing petition filed by the City of Berkeley, CA in the landmark decision California Restaurant Association v. Berkeley. This denial means that the original Ninth Circuit ruling in Berkeley—holding that Berkeley’s gas ban was preempted by and violated federal law—will stand in Alaska, Arizona, California, Hawaii, Idaho, Montana, Nevada, Oregon, and Washington.

Sarah Jorgensen, who joined Steve Kaminski, NPGA President and CEO for a fireside chat at the NPGA Winter Board meeting in Monterey, CA was lead counsel for the supporters of energy choice in the Berkeley case and is also our counsel in the New York State gas bans litigation.

For further detail and analysis, please contact NPGA Associate General Counsel Kate Gaziano.