Attorney General Bonta Sues Trump Administration to Defend State Law Prohibiting the Sale of Non-Reusable Propane Cylinders

California Attorney General Xavier Becerra - Press Releases · October 29, 2026

October 29, 2026 Contact: (916) 210-6000, agpressoffice@doj.ca.gov OAKLAND — California Attorney General Rob Bonta today filed a lawsuit challenging the Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration’s (PHMSA) administrative determination that California Senate Bill (SB) 1280 is preempted by the Hazardous Materials Transportation Act (HMTA). SB 1280, authored by Senator John Laird (D–Santa Cruz), prohibits, with limited exceptions, the sale in California of certain non-reusable and non-fillable propane cylinders beginning on January 1, 2028. Propane cylinders are single-use, generally one-pound containers used in applications like camping stoves, portable heaters, and lanterns. When disposed into the waste stream, they pose a significant explosion and fire risk, environmental and health impacts, and a costly burden on local governments to safely manage. The purpose of California’s law is to reduce the volume of propane cylinders that are being improperly disposed of in the municipal waste stream and that threaten environmental harm and the safety of waste pickup, landfill, and recycling workers. In today’s lawsuit, Attorney General Bonta is petitioning for judicial review in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit to vacate the administrative determination. “ Once again, the Trump Administration is trying to overrule California’s laws aimed at protecting public safety, health, and the environment,” said Attorney General Rob Bonta . “Let’s be clear about what this law does: It will protect workers and the environment from residual propane explosions and save local governments millions of tax dollars in waste management costs. We’ll continue to fight against the Administration’s federal overreach armed with the law and facts on our side.” “I thank Attorney General Bonta for taking on the Trump Administration’s federal overreach. I authored SB 1280 to save taxpayers the cost of disposing of used propane canisters, and to protect workers and communities from the fire and explosion risks posed by propane cylinders thrown away in our parks and beaches,” said Senator John Laird (D–Santa Cruz). “Let’s be clear: this law doesn’t ban propane. It simply replaces dangerous single-use cylinders with refillable alternatives. Yet the Trump Administration would rather protect a company’s business model than the safety of California workers and taxpayers. Our responsibility is to protect Californians and our environment.” The federal HMTA establishes a national regulatory scheme for the safe transportation of hazardous materials and authorizes the Department of Transportation to adopt regulations designating hazardous materials and specifying the design of hazardous materials packaging and containers. The Department of Transportation, through PHMSA, has adopted the Hazardous Materials Regulations (HMR), which designate propane as a hazardous material and prescribe design specifications for compressed-gas cylinders. Although propane cylinders are required to be disposed of as hazardous waste, an estimated 3 million of the estimated 4 million one-pound, single-use propane cylinders sold in California each year are placed into municipal waste streams. These cylinders often contain residual gas of which the user is unaware. When damaged or crushed in a waste hauling truck, sorting facility, landfill, or recycling facility, residual gas may explode or catch fire, causing injury. On January 9, 2026, PHMSA published a notice that Worthington Enterprises, Inc., an Ohio-based manufacturer of disposable propane cylinders, had asked PHMSA to determine that HMTA preempts SB 1280. The Attorney General submitted a comment letter defending SB 1280 . On September 10, 2026, PHMSA published its determination on Worthington’s preemption application. PHMSA determined that SB 1280 is preempted because it imposes requirements that are “not substantively the same” as cylinder designs prescribed by HMR and because it stands as an obstacle to HMTA’s purposes. However, SB 1280 is not preempted under HMTA because HMR authorizes refillable propane cylinders and refillable cylinders, which are widely available for sale, and SB 1280 does not regulate the transportation of disposable propane cylinders. Today’s suit asks the Court to recognize that HMTA and HMR do not preempt SB 1280 and strike down PHMSA’s preemption determination. Tags: Environment

Источник: California Attorney General Xavier Becerra - Press Releases