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Preemption SB 1017 + HB 2127 — fuel-source and "Death Star" preemption Enacted: 2023-05-27 Effective: 2023-09-01
Two 88th-session (2023) bills legally stripped Texas cities of authority to adopt GLB ordinances. SB 1017 (Birdwell / Landgraf, signed May 27, 2023; effective September 1, 2023) added Ch. 247 to the Local Government Code prohibiting any political subdivision from regulating engines "based on its fuel source" — explicitly targeted at Dallas's pending phase-out plan. HB 2127, the Texas Regulatory Consistency Act ("Death Star"), creates field preemption across eight state codes with a private trade-association right of action; the Third Court of Appeals reversed a lower-court injunction July 18, 2025. Only decibel-cap workarounds (West University Place) and incentive programs (Austin Energy rebates) remain available.
Research & citations
- Everyone hates gas-powered leaf blowers. So why is it so hard to ban them? — Grist
— Grist, 2025-11-26
Kate Yoder surveys the national landscape of gas-powered leaf blower restrictions and the implementation gap behind them: Westport, CT fought for a seasonal restriction and then found local officials weren't enforcing it; in Evanston, IL landscape workers allege harassment from residents reporting violations; Texas and Georgia have preempted local regulation; California's sales ban took effect January 2025, with the Western States Petroleum Association running a Latino-focused campaign against electrification; Colorado offers a 30% rebate on electric equipment; Portland and Baltimore are phasing out use; Wilmette, IL is coordinating with other greater-Chicago towns toward consistent regional policy. Article notes more than 200 local governments now have some form of restriction.
- The Movement to 'Make America Rake Again' — Reasons to be Cheerful
— Reasons to be Cheerful, 2024-01-18
Hannah Wallace profiles the national push to ban gas-powered leaf blowers, opening with Quiet Clean PDX co-chair Michael Hall (Portland, OR) and noting more than 100 US cities have enacted bans alongside 45+ Quiet Clean Alliance member groups. Calls Washington D.C.'s 2022 phase-out the "gold standard" — three-year ramp-up, citizen-affidavit enforcement via DLCP, fines up to $500. Surveys California's CARB AB-1346 zero-emission rule (effective Jan 2024) plus the state's $30M CORE voucher program; cites bans in Burlington VT, Evanston IL, Oakland, Beverly Hills, Santa Barbara, and Montgomery County MD; flags rebate/discount programs in Colorado (30% statewide point-of-sale discount, eff. Jan 2024) and Dallas. Quotes Seagraves Landscaping (West Linn, OR — a Lake Oswego Parks contractor) on crews preferring electric blowers. Closes by linking the movement to the Xerces Society's Leave the Leaves campaign.
- HB 2127 — Texas Regulatory Consistency Act
- SB 1017 — Texas Legislature
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