No local governments in Louisiana will be permitted to ban natural gas utility services under a bill Gov. John Bel Edwards (D) signed Thursday.
The legislation (S.B. 492), which takes eeffect Aug. 1, comes as several states friendly to gas and oil industries approved similar measures earlier this year, including Oklahoma, Tennessee, and Arizona.
No municipalities in the state have proposed bans on natural gas so far. The bill is meant to preempt such action after Berkeley, Calif., became the first to ban natural gas hookups in new buildings last July. The Berkeley ban was put into effect ...