The Trump administration is suing two California cities over laws banning the use of natural gas pipes and appliances in new buildings, despite both cities saying they haven’t implemented the ban in several years.
In a lawsuit filed on January 5 in the US District Court for the Northern District of California, the Department of Justice said that natural gas bans in the Bay Area cities of Petaluma and Morgan Hill are “draconian measures” that increase costs for consumers and conflict with federal energy policy.
Natural gas, or methane, is a major cause of climate change when it leaks without burning. When burned in stoves, the emissions are a major source of smoke and air pollution in the home and have been linked to health issues such as respiratory diseases and an increase in asthma in children.
Morgan Hill, in Santa Clara County, banned natural gas from new construction in 2019. Petaluma, in Sonoma County, followed suit with a similar ordinance in 2021.
“This ban on natural gas is hurting American families and is completely illegal,” Atty. General Pam Bondi said in a statement. “Alongside the Department of Energy, the Department of Justice is working around the clock to end tough environmental policies, restore common sense, and free America’s power.”
The lawsuit stems from a 2025 executive order issued on President Trump’s first day in office titled “Unleashing American Energy,” which seeks to eliminate “Biden-era tough and ideologically motivated regulations” and increase domestic resource development — especially fossil fuels such as oil, gas and coal. It vows to “protect the American people’s freedom of choice in goods and services” and orders Bondi to take action to stop any measures it deems illegal.
Natural gas bans have become a political hot button in California, as cities like Berkeley move to phase out fossil fuels in favor of electrification. Buildings are responsible for about a quarter of the state’s greenhouse gas emissions, according to the California Energy Commission.
The complaint asks the court to rule that the federal law overrides the ban on natural gas in cities, and permanently bans its use.
But officials in both cities said they have not enforced their ordinances since the 9th U.S. Circuit Court overturned Berkeley’s ban for the first time in the country in 2023, though neither has been formally repealed. “Based on our initial review, this lawsuit appears to be an unnecessary attempt to force the city to comply with a federal law it already complies with,” Eric Danly, Petaluma’s city attorney, said in an email.
“In fact, the city has not rejected any project requests or permits based on its electrification regulations, and it approves and processes development projects that include gas infrastructure,” Danly said. “In any case, the city has recognized that developers have voluntarily chosen to install electronic equipment.”
Officials in Morgan Hill similarly said the city “follows federal law, and will continue to do so.”
“The city has never denied any gas infrastructure permits based on the 2019 ordinance since the courts overturned a similar ordinance in Berkeley,” said City Atty. Donald Larkin. “In fact, the city has approved projects with gas infrastructure. Although we are still considering the appeal, this case seems to be an unnecessary attempt for the city to follow the rules that the city already complies with.”
At the time, White House officials said such a ban “denies consumers reliable, robust and affordable energy.”
“When states and cities pick winners and losers, consumers pay the price,” read a statement from Adam Gustafson, principal deputy attorney general of the Justice Department’s Environmental Division. “Our appeal aims to restore consumer choice so that people and businesses can build in a way that suits their needs.”
This is not the first time the Trump administration has targeted California’s progressive policies that favor the oil and gas industry. The president last year moved to kill California’s auto emission standards and a goal to phase out gas-powered cars; canceled subsidies for wind, solar and hydrogen projects; and opened the Pacific coast to offshore drilling, among many other efforts.
But natural gas regulations have also proved controversial for the government. In June, air regulators in Southern California rejected a proposal that would have taxed natural gas water heaters and furnaces — a move supporters said would have reduced pollution and improved air quality in the nation’s most polluted air zone.
