Lawmakers Look to Head off All-Electric Building Codes

Lawmakers look to head off all-electric building codes
HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) — Pennsylvania’s Republican-controlled Legislature is signaling again that it wants to stop municipalities in the nation’s No. 2 natural gas state from adopting building codes that prohibit gas hookups. Legislation passed the GOP-controlled House Wednesday, 118-83, three months after the state Senate passed a similar bill. The bills prohibit municipalities from writing new building codes that restrict utility service based on the energy source. Neither bill has reached Gov. Tom Wolf’s desk. States, cities and counties elsewhere have begun looking at all-electric building codes as a way to fight climate change. In December, New York City barred most new buildings from using natural gas.