Louisiana Attorney General Liz Murrill
NEW ORLEANS – A federal appeals court has struck down a Biden administration-era rule setting efficiency standards for gas and electric stoves and ovens, saying the agency improperly bypassed public comment procedures.
In a 3-0 decision August 11, the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled in favor of seven Republican-led states – Louisiana, Mississippi, Montana, Nebraska, Tennessee, Texas and Utah – that challenged the Department of Energy’s direct final rule for consumer-grade stoves and ovens.
The August 2024 rule was meant to limit how much energy consumers use in kitchen appliances as well as ban older technology known as linear power supplies.
“Joe Biden’s attack on consumers had no boundaries, proposing massive regulations on home appliances like stoves and ovens that would make them more expensive and less useful,” Louisiana Attorney General Liz Murrill said after Tuesday’s ruling. “The Fifth Circuit got this right. Louisiana was proud to stand with Mississippi and our fellow attorneys general to hold the Biden administration accountable and protect consumers from Washington bureaucrats’ overreach.”
Circuit Judge Andrew Oldham said the Energy Department should not have fast-tracked the rule because numerous states opposed a 2023 attempt to enact similar efficiency standards.
Oldham, a Trump appointee, said the Energy Department relied on support for the proposed rule from several industry groups, “environmental activists,” California, Massachusetts and New York. Oldham said “it cannot be contended with a straight face” that those Democratic-led states fairly represented the entire country.
“The previous administration’s gas-stove measures were among its most controversial energy proposals,” Oldham wrote. “The idea that all that controversy could be elided using the DFR – a mechanism designed for consensus rulemaking – is untenable.”
Circuit Judges Catharina Haynes and James Ho joined Oldham’s decision. Haynes was appointed by President George W. Bush, and Ho was appointed by Trump.
After the Biden Administration issued the rule, Nebraska Attorney General Mike Hilgers led a formal objection on behalf of 23 states warning the administration had ignored earlier criticism of the same gas-stove standards and had failed to hear from States that opposed them.
“This is a major victory for Nebraska families and for common sense,” Hilgers said. “The Biden Administration tried to force through its gas stove agenda while shutting States like Nebraska out of the room. We fought back.
“Today, the Fifth Circuit overturned the rule and made clear that federal agencies cannot ignore the law just because they do not like what the public has to say. Nebraska will continue to fight federal overreach and protect the freedom of families to make their own choices.”
The lawsuit was led by Mississippi Attorney General Lynn Fitch and joined by Louisiana, Montana, Nebraska, Tennessee, Texas and Utah. The Fifth Circuit remanded the case to the Department of Energy for further proceedings consistent with the court’s ruling.
