NPGA Announces Oral Arguments Held on New York Gas Ban Cases

(Feb. 5, 2026) — On Jan. 30, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit heard oral arguments for New York gas ban cases. A state-level gas ban was set to go into effect Jan. 1, but on Nov. 12, 2025, New York gas bans were officially put on pause by the state, pending the resolution of all legal challenges and appeals. The gas ban pause now puts all focus on the legal battles taking place in court.

Mulhern Gas, along with the National Propane Gas Association (NPGA), the New York State Builders Association and other partners, filed suit in 2025 (Mulhern v. Rodriguez), arguing that New York’s fossil fuel equipment ban violates the United States Constitution. The U.S. District Court dismissed the case in August without prejudice, allowing plaintiffs to appeal. Ahead of the planned Jan. 1 implementation, the plaintiff group was able to convince the state to pause the ban until litigation had been fully resolved.

NPGA President and CEO Steve Kaminski, as well as NPGA Associate General Counsel Kate Gaziano, were in attendance for the oral arguments and helped prep the legal counsel for the case. NPGA and the New York Propane Gas Association are both among the plaintiffs.

NPGA shared this statement regarding the case: “The judges stressed a commitment to interpreting the text of the statute and what it meant, with Judge Perez telling Intervenors’ counsel that she was not interested in ‘policy arguments.’ The argument spanned from questions on how to properly test appliances, whether a zero limit on an appliance would be preempted, and to a careful analysis of the text of the statute. The judges also seemed to seriously weigh the Ninth Circuit’s decision in CRA v. Berkeley, which struck down Berkeley, [California]’s gas ban. NPGA will continue to post updates and update membership whenever a decision comes out, which could be a few to several months in the future.”