Red states fight back against local, Democrat-led climate policies

While the Biden administration discusses plans to drastically reduce the use of fossil fuels in order to combat climate change through the Inflation Reduction Act, Republican-controlled states have signed legislation that prevents liberal cities from enacting their own radical climate policies.

During the legislative session this year, Montana, Idaho, North Dakota, and South Dakota recently passed laws that prohibit cities from banning natural gas hookups, Washington Post reports.



These four states joined the twenty other Republican-governed states that have already enacted "preemption laws" which prohibit cities and municipalities from banning natural gas in new buildings, according to data from the Natural Resources Defense Council.

The state of Idaho recently passed a measure that will bar local governments from placing further restrictions on energy efficiency codes, and in the Republican state of Texas, lawmakers passed a law that will block cities from adopting their own climate policies, according to the Post.

Republican legislators say that it's crucial to adopt laws that fight back against so-called progressive "climate change" policies to prevent any future harm that could be done to both businesses and consumers.

The passing of the preemption laws comes as cities in Democrat-controlled cities and states, like Seattle, New York, and Los Angeles, passed recent laws that place limits on natural gas used in new residential homes, as means of fighting back against climate change.

As for the state of New York, legislators passed a law that bans gas and fossil fuels in most new buildings, Washington Post reports.

Environmentalists are not too thrilled about the state's preemption laws and say that they take away the voice of the people that voted for candidates that ran on taking action against climate change.

Joe O’Brien-Applegate, equitable building decarbonization advocate at NRDC, told the Post, "It's taking away power from residents who voted for a local government that may not align politically with the broader state."

However, Republican legislators praised the passing of these "necessary" preemptive laws, saying that they benefit the free market by protecting "individual choices."

North Dakota state Rep. Glenn Bosch (R) said during a legislative session in February that this bill "protects the right of individuals and businesses to choose which energy source works best for them," according to the outlet.

In August of 2022, the United States Senate passed the Inflation Reduction Act which is a 755-page, $739 billion spending plan passed that Democrats say tackles climate change. The bill passed the Senate along party lines with Vice President Kamala Harris having to cast the tie-breaking vote.

The massive spending package raises taxes for everyone except those making between $10,000 and $30,000 per year, despite Joe Biden saying he would not raise taxes on those making less than $400,000. The Inflation Reduction Act also significantly increase the size of the IRS and create positions for tens of thousands of new IRS agents.