Over the weekend, Gov. Gavin Newsom signed a law that will phase out the sale of gas-powered lawn equipment in California, starting in 2024.

AB 1346 was introduced by Assemblymembers Lorena Gonzalez and Marc Berman and will affect landscaping tools that are not battery powered or run on generators.

“This equipment is dangerous to the workers who use it, disruptive to communities, & terribly damaging to our climate,” Berman said after Newsom signed the law.

There will also be a $30 million budget for an incentive program for landscapers to replace their gas-powered tools.

“I was so proud to work with [Berman] on this bill, as a joint author,” Gonzalez said on Twitter. “We even got money in the budget to help small landscapers replace their dirty leaf blowers! Huge thank you to Marc for recognizing the impact this has on Latino workers.”

California legislator Kevin Kiley made a tongue-and-cheek comment about the law, saying, “The big problems facing California are now solved, Gov. Newsom has signed bills to ban gas-powered leaf blowers…”

Larry Elder, who ran for governor in 2021’s recall election, also made a comment in jest, saying, “The good news is that, if the blowers and mowers cost less than $950, you can walk in and steal them while they last.”

In a similar effort to reduce emissions, Newsom signed an executive order in early September of 2020, banning the sale of gas-powered cars by 2035.

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