Committee adopts preemption limiting local bans and excise taxes on gas-powered lawn equipment

The City, County & Local Affairs Committee voted to pass a bill, as amended, that would preempt local governments from banning or imposing excise taxes specifically on lawn-care devices based on the devices' energy source. Representative David Ray presented the bill as amended, describing it as a "narrowly tailored preemption" to prohibit city- or county-level bans or special excise levies targeted at gasoline-powered push mowers, leaf blowers, weed eaters and similar equipment.

Sponsor and committee discussion focused on two clarifications adopted in amendment: the bill does not prevent municipalities from levying their regular sales and use tax per city sales-tax code, and it does not bar enforcement of local noise ordinances. Representative Joshua Bryant and Representative David Ray said they had consulted the Bureau of Legislative Research (BLR) and removed longer, potentially confusing language to ensure cities could not arbitrarily exempt or tax specific items beyond existing caps — Representative Ray noted statutory caps limit local sales-tax rates in many cases.

Committee members asked no outsized procedural questions during the amendment debate. The amendment was adopted by voice vote, and the committee subsequently passed the bill as amended by voice vote.

The committee transcript records voice votes; no roll-call tallies were given in committee for the amendment or final passage. The bill text and any fiscal or legal analyses were not read aloud during the brief hearing; those materials will be part of the official bill file.