Posted on 09/17/24
| News Source: WBAL
Baltimore, MD - Sept. 17, 2024 - A bill to ban gas-powered leaf blowers in Baltimore City is moving toward a final vote from the city council.
The council will get one more chance to debate the bill before making a final vote.
Council members agreeing with the ban say it’s a quality-of-life issue, while those against it are worried about the burden on middle-class families and small businesses.
On Monday, the city council voted 10 to 5 to move that legislation forward under the bill.
Under the bill, contractors, residents and even the city itself will be forced to switch from gas-powered leaf blowers to electric ones.
Council members like Ryan Dorsey, who introduced the bill, say this effort follows a national trend of addressing public health and pollution.
“This is the kind of best practice at this point,” Dorsey said. “We have a climate crisis on our hands. If you’re not aware of the data on this, 5% of all of the toxic emissions that we face in the country come from small to two-stroke engines, like our used in gas-powered leaf blowers.”
Council members against the ban think unfunded mandates are problematic and have unintended consequences, especially for businesses and families already struggling.
Councilman Robert Stokes said the city has much more pressing issues at hand. “I think my colleague talked about the climate crisis. We should be talking about a craft crisis in this city,” Stokes said. “People dying in the street every day. Just the conversation should be here right now. And I talk to small businesses in my district. They can’t just switch over with the equipment that they have. They have very few employees. And we sit here, put another burden on small business in this city.”
If the bill passes, violators would face civil or environmental penalties.