Dallas city council is planning to ban the use of all gas-powered landscape equipment as soon as 2027. 

The council will soon consider a vote to make the use of gas-powered equipment illegal inside the city limits, with “large” landscape firms required to begin the transition as early as 2024. City staff has indicated the rule will target mowers, blowers, weed eaters, trimmers, chainsaws, and other gas-powered equipment.

Now other local governments in North Texas are discussing adopting a similar ban.  

TNLA is supporting several pieces of legislation to stop cities from creating these bans. HB 2374 by Rep. Landgraf and SB 1017 by Sen. Birdwell protects a business's ability to choose the equipment that works for them and removes the possibility of patchwork engine regulations. 

Issues:  

Our association does not oppose private industry using battery-powered equipment or its continued improvement to commercial-grade standards.  Data from equipment manufacturers demonstrate electric equipment sales are steadily increasing, certainly with homeowners managing a single lawn.  However, a government mandate on commercial entities to use battery-powered equipment is premature based on current technology as well as the practical and logistical issues.  

Power- Data demonstrates that electric equipment does not function at similar power settings for as long as its gas-powered counterparts.  Commercial use of equipment requires machines that can function for a full day, which would require multiple battery packs per employee.  In addition, electric or battery-powered equipment is not as strong, meaning it takes longer or more equipment to do the same work. 

Cost- The city's data demonstrates that electric equipment can cost as much as 4x the amount of gas-powered equipment.  Without massive rebates, these costs are forced onto all businesses regardless of the lifespan of their current equipment.  This means not only the requirement to purchase new equipment but the lost investment in current equipment.  In addition, shops and trucks will have to retrofit to accommodate charging stations. 

Supply Chain: Recent supply chain issues and shortages of key electric components will draw out the timeline needed for a single industry to secure enough equipment for its crews.  This is compounded by every company that provides service inside Dallas needing the same equipment. 

Environmental Impact: Little consideration has been given to where all of the current gas-powered equipment used in Dallas will or must go.  In addition, little to no infrastructure is in place for mass disposal of commercial-grade batteries at their end-of-life. 

Take Action: 

Send an email directly to your legislator to support HB 2374 & SB 1017 from this site with the click of a button.  Messages should come from more than one person at the company - this is a sharable tool. Please have your colleagues participate as well. 

Take the time to share this initiative with co-workers and colleagues in the industry.   Share "Industry Alert One Pager"