A Republican-led initiative approved by Washington voters in November to protect access to natural gas cannot stand, a King County Superior Court judge ruled Friday.
Initiative 2066, which voters narrowly approved by about 52%, is unconstitutional, Judge Sandra Widlan ruled. Put simply, the initiative is too broad and covers too much ground, so it violates the state’s single-subject rule meant to keep initiatives simple enough for voters to understand.
“The reason for the single subject requirement is to prevent ‘log rolling,’ or pushing through undesirable legislation by attaching it to desirable legislation,” Widlan said. “This is a difficult task in the present case, because the body of the initiative is so broad and free ranging that it makes it hard to say with any precision what the general topic is.”
Not only did Initiative 2066 seek to protect access to natural gas but it also weakened building codes that make it more difficult and costly to add natural gas heating in new construction. The topic brought on strong opposition from those hoping to reduce Washington’s planet-warming greenhouse gas emissions.
In all, 2066 was one of a slate of initiatives on the November ballot backed by Republican mega donor Brian Heywood. He also sought to repeal the Climate Commitment Act, kill its capital gains tax and make optional a payroll tax that funds the state’s long-term care insurance program.
Voters roundly rejected the other initiatives, but 2066 squeaked by. And in December, climate advocates, joined by King County and the city of Seattle, sued the state to try to quash the natural gas initiative.
That lawsuit’s success Friday marks yet another defeat for Heywood in his first real foray into Washington politics. Widlan’s decision sparked a round of celebration for city and county officials alongside environmental groups.
“Initiative 2066 was rushed onto the ballot and backed by millions of dollars from corporations and out-of-state interests who attempted to mislead voters with language that was confusing, harmful and unconstitutional,” Seattle Mayor Bruce Harrell said in a release published by the environmental group Climate Solutions, one of the plaintiffs in the lawsuit.
This is a developing story and will be updated.
