This June 2020 report from Harvard’s Environmental and Energy Law Program explores recent actions to electrify buildings, breaking down the legal mechanics of local laws and the role of state laws in facilitating or constraining local policies, particularly natural gas bans in California and Massachusetts.
The report sets the stage for the understanding how local and state laws interact based on how the state shares its authority with local governments. It discuss local action in California, and explains the features of California’s building energy code and laws that allow for more stringent local standards. The report describes the standards local governments in California have adopted limiting natural gas use to date (through June 2020). The report also discusses Massachusetts law and the Brookline, MA by-law that seeks to end the use of natural gas in new and remodeled buildings.
From there, the report explores cities that are taking advantage of a less legally complex option for local action—electrifying publicly-owned buildings.