Governor Gavin Newsom signed a bill that will soon ban the sale of new gas-powered leaf blowers and lawn mowers in California.
The legislation, AB 1346, was introduced by by Assemblymember Marc Berman (D-Menlo Park) and Lorena Gonzalez (D-San Diego), which will phase out the sale of new gas-powered small off-road engines in California. Small off-road engines, primarily found in outdoor power equipment, emit smog-forming pollutants at levels projected to outpace those from passenger cars this year.
“Leaf blowers, lawn mowers, and other equipment with small gas-powered engines emit staggering levels of air pollution,” said Assemblymember Marc Berman. “These noisy machines are terribly disruptive to communities across California, and the workers who breathe in exhaust from this equipment day in and day out face disproportionate health risks, including asthma, cardiovascular disease, and cancer. To ensure an equitable transition to safer, cleaner equipment, we secured $30 million in the state budget to help small businesses purchase zero-emission replacements.”
AB 1346 would require the California Air Resources Board (CARB) to set emissions requirements for small off-road engines to zero by 2024 or whenever CARB determines is feasible. Small off-road engines emit high levels of oxides of nitrogen (NOx), reactive organic gases (ROG), and particulate matter (PM), which adversely affect air quality and human health. By 2031, NOx and ROG emissions from SORE are projected to be twice those from passenger
There is nothing in the bill that prevents people from buying these types of engines online or purchasing them from another state and bringing them to California.
