During its last meeting of the session, the Montgomery County Council unanimously passed a bill that will ban many new buildings from using gas, beginning in 2027.

The Comprehensive Building Decarbonization bill, introduced by outgoing At-Large Councilmember Hans Riemer, will require the County Executive to issue all-electric building standards for most new construction in the county. It describes decarbonization as “the process of powering building appliances and systems with electricity instead of fossil fuels.” 

County Exec. Marc Elrich appeared with Riemer at Silver Spring’s Hillandale Gateway in June to voice his support for the bill and his spokesperson confirmed to DCist/WAMU that he plans to sign the bill now that it has been passed.

Under the bill’s parameters, most new buildings constructed in the county will need electricity or another clean energy source to be responsible for their power. Certain buildings will be exempt from the requirements, including commercial kitchens, crematories, and buildings used for manufacturing.

The bill, originally introduced in June of this year, was amended during the meeting to exempt “major renovations and additions,” from the requirements, and to delay the plan’s implementation from January 1, 2024, to January 1, 2025. Both private and public schools, income-restricted residential units, and residential buildings with 4 or more stories will have an additional year (until the end of 2027) to implement the changes. An additional amendment excluding gas-powered fireplaces and outdoor grills from the requirements was also passed.

Private and public schools, income-restricted residential units, and residential buildings with 4 or more stories will have an additional year (until the end of 2027) to implement the changes.

The bill, which was co-sponsored by Councilmember Will Jawando, is not just a matter of preserving the health of the natural environment, said Reimer, it’s also about the health of residents.

“There are so many people living in housing that has harmful health impacts from outdated equipment that is creating emissions inside the home,” Riemer said. “So at least now, we know that new housing will not contribute to that challenge in the future.”

Riemer also said that the legislation “aligns to a growing regional strategy,” noting that a similar bill was passed by the D.C. Council over the summer.

In July, the D.C. Council unanimously approved a bill that bans the use of most natural gas in new buildings. The bill will also require all new buildings and substantial renovations in the city to be net-zero construction. Typically, this means making buildings more energy efficient (such as with insulation) while also building them to produce clean energy (such as with solar panels), so that their total carbon emissions are zero.

In 2017, Montgomery County declared a climate emergency and, in the years since, the council has passed a number of bills focused on combating climate change. 

In June 2021, Montgomery County released a comprehensive Climate Action Plan, detailing how it intends to meet a goal of reducing greenhouse gas emissions by 80% by 2027 and 100% by 2025. In April of this year, the council unanimously passed the Building Energy Performance Standards, which set minimum energy performance standards for buildings within the county.

This story was corrected to include changes made in amendments to the bill before it passed.