San Francisco ? Efforts by two California cities to outlaw ATM fees charged when customers use a bank other than their own have ended with the Supreme Court’s refusal to consider an appeal from San Francisco and Santa Monica.

The City Council of Santa Monica and San Francisco voters approved identical laws in 1999 banning a bank from charging an automated teller machine fee to a person who is not a customer of that bank.

But a San Francisco-based federal judge blocked the ordinances from being enforced at the request of Bank of America, Wells Fargo Bank and others.

Last October, the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals upheld that decision, saying only the federal government may create such regulations. The cities appealed to the Supreme Court which refused Tuesday to hear the case.

ATM surcharges are typically $1.50 or more per transaction and are charged on top of fees that customers pay their own bank for the transaction.