“It’s time to stop playing legal games and respect the will of the nearly 2 million people who voted to support [the initiative],” Ashli Penner, attorney for the Building Industry Association of Washington, said in a press release. The group, which pushed for Initiative 2066 with the help of political group Let’s Go Washington, filed a lawsuit on Dec. 6 to ensure that the law goes into effect, after opponents tried to block it administratively. “Those who want to ban natural gas have been clear that they’ll use every avenue available to undermine Washington’s democracy and the people of Washington’s right to initiative.”
The second lawsuit was filed this week to block the initiative, claiming it violated the state’s constitutional requirement that ballot initiatives cover just a single subject. The lawsuit was filed by a group that includes King County and the city of Seattle, as well as the groups Climate Solutions, Washington Conservation Action, Front and Centered and Washington Solar Energy Industries Association.
“[The initiative] threatens our ability to advance clean energy goals, uphold strong energy codes, and reduce our reliance on fossil fuels in buildings,” said King County Executive Dow Constantine in a press release.
On Nov. 5, Washingtonians approved I-2066 51.7% to 48.3%. The Building Industry Association of Washington led the I-2066 push with help from the conservative initiative organization Let’s Go Washington. It was the only one of four Let’s Go Washington-backed initiatives that passed.
The BIAW and the Washington Hospitality Association filed I-2066 as a reaction to House Bill 1589, which was signed into law last spring, plus a 2021 regulatory update by the state’s Building Code Council to comply with an updated national energy code.
House Bill 1589 created a roadmap for Puget Sound Energy, the state’s largest utility, to plan the future of how it provides energy to its 870,000 natural gas and 1.2 million electric customers. PSE has said it does not intend to forbid any customers from using natural gas.
The bill doesn’t affect any other utility, though it does call for seeking alternatives to consumer use of natural gas as well exploring alternatives to gas infrastructure, including through rebates and incentives.
The Building Code Council’s 2021 update also did not forbid installation of gas appliances in new buildings, nor did it call for them to be removed in retrofits of older buildings. However, when gas appliances are chosen, the new or updated buildings must still show the same energy savings as a building using electric heat pump, water or space heating. In the past, the Council said the code changes won’t force anyone to phase out natural gas.
The BIAW, the hospitality association, Let’s Go Washington and state GOP party chairman Jim Walsh have argued in the past that Democrats and the state government are pushing to phase out the use of natural gas. They also say that the Building Code Council’s 2021 updates will make installing natural gas in new buildings prohibitively expensive.
Since I-2066 passed, the state attorney general’s office said it will support keeping it on the books.
As soon as I-2066 passed, opponents have so far unsuccessfully tried administrative ways to block it. The BIAW’s lawsuit, filed Dec. 6 in Thurston County Superior Court, seeks a judicial ruling that I-2066 is established state law.
“Every single section of 2066 addresses protecting the choice to access and use natural gas,” Penner said. “There are many parts of state law to be changed to ensure that customers continue to have an energy choice. And that’s what 2066 does. It ensures Washington residents and businesses can access natural gas if they want it.”
The other lawsuit, represented by the Pacifica Law Group for King County, Seattle and the other groups, argues that I-2066 includes several short-term measures that make immediate changes, while calling for broad long-term changes — which violates the Washington Constitution’s requirement that an initiative has a single subject.
Wednesday’s lawsuit also alleged that the initiative violated constitutional requirements for a separate subject-in-title, and that the measure must list each state law provision it would change.
“I-2066’s backers misled voters by failing to mention it would threaten multiple programs across multiple agencies and jurisdictions. We must fight to restore what belongs to Washington families and protect our state from industry meddling and chaos,” said Christina Wong, vice president of programs for Washington Conservation Action, in a press release.
“Let’s be clear: this initiative is unconstitutional and will affect regulations that protect our air, protect public health, ensure building safety, and respond to the realities of climate change. We need to plan for an equitable and timely transition to clean energy now — the consequences of waiting are far too great,” said Seattle Mayor Bruce Harrell in the same release.
