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Leaf Blower Regulation Amendment Act of 2018 prohibits the use and sale of gasoline-powered leaf blowers throughout the District of Columbia, except on Federal land. Three-year phase-out culminated in full prohibition on 2022-01-01. Enforcement: DC Department of Licensing and Consumer Protection (DLCP), with civil fines up to $500 per violation. Retailers must conspicuously notify customers that gas blowers may not be used in DC.
Enacted: 2018-12-04 In effect since: 2022-01-01
Sources: DC Council bill B22-0234 (https://legiscan.com/DC/text/B22-0234/id/1583911); DLCP enforcement page (https://dlcp.dc.gov/page/leaf-blower-regulations); Quiet Clean D.C. advocacy (https://www.quietcleandc.com/). DC is modeled as the state row directly because the District is its own state-equivalent jurisdiction.
Last updated: Jun 2, 2026
Timeline
- 2026-04-27 15:55:21 Adopted — How Washington, D.C. Banned Gas-Powered Leaf Blowers (The Atlantic, April 2019)
- 2022-01-01 Effective date reached — effective
- 2018-12 Signed by executive — Leaf Blower Regulation Amendment Act of 2018 signed by Mayor Bowser
State statutes
In force Districtwide gas blower prohibition Enacted: 2018-12 Effective: 2022-01-01
Full districtwide ban on the sale and use of gas-powered leaf blowers under the Leaf Blower Regulation Amendment Act of 2018. Passed unanimously by the DC Council; signed by Mayor Bowser; effective January 1, 2022. Exempts federal land only. Violations carry fines up to $500, enforceable by citizen report. Among the earliest U.S. jurisdictions with a binding, comprehensive use ban.
Research & citations
- How Washington, D.C. Banned Gas-Powered Leaf Blowers (The Atlantic, April 2019)
James Fallows recounts the multi-year grassroots campaign that led Washington, D.C. to unanimously pass—and Mayor Muriel Bowser to sign—a ban on gas-powered leaf blowers, effective January 1, 2022. The piece covers the health and pollution case against two-stroke engines, the ANC coalition-building process, and the role of council member Mary Cheh in shepherding the legislation.
- The Movement to 'Make America Rake Again' — Reasons to be Cheerful
— Reasons to be Cheerful, 2024-01-18
Hannah Wallace profiles the national push to ban gas-powered leaf blowers, opening with Quiet Clean PDX co-chair Michael Hall (Portland, OR) and noting more than 100 US cities have enacted bans alongside 45+ Quiet Clean Alliance member groups. Calls Washington D.C.'s 2022 phase-out the "gold standard" — three-year ramp-up, citizen-affidavit enforcement via DLCP, fines up to $500. Surveys California's CARB AB-1346 zero-emission rule (effective Jan 2024) plus the state's $30M CORE voucher program; cites bans in Burlington VT, Evanston IL, Oakland, Beverly Hills, Santa Barbara, and Montgomery County MD; flags rebate/discount programs in Colorado (30% statewide point-of-sale discount, eff. Jan 2024) and Dallas. Quotes Seagraves Landscaping (West Linn, OR — a Lake Oswego Parks contractor) on crews preferring electric blowers. Closes by linking the movement to the Xerces Society's Leave the Leaves campaign.
- Committee report — Bill 22-234 (Leaf Blower Regulation Amendment Act of 2018)
— DC Council Committee of the Whole, 2018-10-16
Committee report: bill prohibits sale/use of gas leaf blowers by January 1, 2022.
- D.C. Gas-Powered Leaf Blower Ban Blows Through Council Committee
— DCist, 2018-10-16
Committee approval Oct 16, 2018; final passage reported Dec 4, 2018.
- DC Council — Leaf Blower Regulation Amendment Act of 2018 (B22-0234, LegiScan)
— Council of the District of Columbia, 2018
Full text of the DC Council bill establishing the gas leaf blower phase-out (effective 2022-01-01).
- Leaf Blower Regulations — DC DLCP
- Petition: Phase out gas leaf blowers in Washington, DC (B22-0234)
— Change.org
DC petition urging hearing on Bill B22-0234 to phase out gas leaf blowers. Addressed to DC Council Chair Phil Mendelson. The DC ban took effect 2022-01-01. Victory.
- Quiet Clean D.C.
Peer Quiet Clean–branded advocacy site (Washington, D.C.).
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