The journey is not over for a voter initiative that took aim at Washington’s natural gas and energy policies.
Initiative 2066 was narrowly passed by voters by about 52% in November, but was struck down by a King County Superior Court judge in March. Now, the state Attorney General Nick Brown and the Building Industry Association of Washington have asked the state’s Supreme Court to weigh in.
Previously, Superior Court Judge Sandra Widlan ruled the initiative was unconstitutionally broad, violated the state’s single-subject rule and improperly changed existing laws.
I-2066 sought to explicitly protect access to natural gas in Washington and also weaken building codes that make it more difficult and costly to add natural gas heating in new construction. It also targeted legislation intended to help Puget Sound Energy, the state’s largest utility, plan its transition away from natural gas.
In her ruling, Widlan said the state’s single-subject rule is intended to protect against “logrolling,” or when a law combines several different proposals to garner support, although a voter may not individually approve of all changes.
“A voter may well want to have access to natural gas, but at the same time, want the government to regulate air pollution from natural gas. … A voter may very well want to have access to natural gas, but at the same time, want building efficiency standards that reduce reliance on fossil fuels,” she said in March.
In a statement, BIAW Executive Vice President Greg Lane denied the initiative violated the single-subject rule and reiterated that the initiative concerns preserving energy choice.
Lane also said in the statement that the BIAW is confident the court will “uphold this clearly crafted initiative so Washington can have the freedom to use natural gas as an energy choice they voted to support in November.”
If the state Supreme Court accepts a “direct review” of the case, it could be set on their calendar for the fall or winter, according to the BIAW. If the court denies the request, the Court of Appeals will review the case.
In a statement, Brown said while he “personally disagreed with I-2066, it was passed by Washington voters and is the law of the state. My job as Attorney General is to enforce and defend the laws of Washington and I will continue to vigorously do so in this case.”
The Republican-led initiative was also supported by the Washington Hospitality Association and political action committee Let’s Go Washington. The plaintiffs challenging the initiative include advocacy groups Climate Solutions, Washington Conservation Action, and Front and Centered, plus King County, the city of Seattle and other parties.
I-2066 was among a slate of initiatives on the November ballot backed by Republican megadonor Brian Heywood. He also sought to repeal the Climate Commitment Act, kill the state’s capital gains tax and make optional a payroll tax that funds the state’s long-term care insurance program.
