NY Nears Gas Stove Ban In New Construction: Report

NEW YORK — New York is reportedly closing in on the nation's first legislative ban on gas stoves in most new buildings.

The Democratic-led Empire State appears set to move forward with the plan in the state budget, Politico reported.

Not everyone is a fan of the plan, however.

The National Republican Congressional Committee called the new law a governmental "overreach to the extreme, taking away the ability for families to make decisions for how they want to cook and feed their families."

"Extreme Democrats in the House like Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries should have to answer if they would support a national ban on gas stoves," the committee said.

Also a critic of the plan: former gubernatorial candidate and former Long Island congressman Lee Zeldin.

"Other than the higher taxes, more crime, elimination of gas stoves, less freedom, lower test scores, and other doozies, life in Kathy Hochul’s New York is going just swell for her 'apostles' who haven’t left yet," he tweeted Friday.

Pat McClellan, policy director at the New York League of Conservation Voters, told Politico all eyes are on New York ahead of the potential ban.

“If we prove it can be done and we have the political will to do this, it’s going to open the floodgates for other states to take action," she said.

Notably, California and Washington both previously banned gas stoves in new construction buildings, but did so through building codes.

A recent study concluded that nearly 13 percent of current childhood asthma nationwide is attributed to gas stove use. That's similar to the childhood asthma burden attributed to secondhand smoke exposure.

In New York, that number approached 19 percent.

"Gas stove usage should be considered in multi-faceted asthma prevention approaches," the researchers said. "Given that this exposure is preventable, our study demonstrates that known mitigation strategies will lessen childhood asthma burden from gas stoves, particularly in states with elevated PAFs. Further research is needed to quantify the burden experienced at the state and county levels, as well as the impacts of implementing mitigation strategies through intervention studies."

However, a comprehensive literature review titled, "The Effects of Cooking on Residential Indoor Air Quality: A Critical Review of the Literature with an Emphasis on the Use of Natural Gas Appliances," conducted by Catalyst Environmental Solutions, found gas stoves do not cause respiratory problems.

The analysis said natural gas is, “not a significant determinant of residential indoor air quality.” It noted that the food type is more important than the fuel used to cook it.

People should use proper ventilation when cooking to protect their health and consider other factors like the type of food, the oil used to cook the food, plus the temperature and time used to cook food, the report said.

The review looked at several peer-reviewed studies and government assessments. It said many are used in California and other states to falsely claim that gas stoves harm respiratory health. The analysis was paid for by the California Restaurant Association and the California Building Industry Association and was not funded by the appliance industry.

Alex Hoehn-Saric, chair of the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission, tweeted in January that his agency was exploring new ways to address health risks, and was actively engaged in strengthening voluntary safety standards for gas stoves.

"Research indicates that emissions from gas stoves can be hazardous, and the CPSC is looking fro ways to reduce related indoor air quality hazards," he said. "But to be clear, I am not looking to ban gas stoves and the CPSC has no proceeding to do so."