Building Industry Association of Washington v. Washington State Building Code Council

After Washington voters approved a ballot initiative regarding natural gas access (I-2066), Building Industry Association of Washington (BIAW) filed a lawsuit in Washington Superior Court seeking an order declaring that the State Building Code Council must comply with the statute as amended by the ballot initiative and that it would be appropriate for the Council to conduct emergency rulemaking “to ensure that natural gas equipment and appliances are not penalized in the home building process.” BIAW described I-2066 as “end[ing] natural gas bans or restrictions for new and existing natural gas customers, repeal[ing] laws requiring energy companies to remove natural gas as an energy option, and protect[ing] Washingtonians’ ability to rely on clean natural gas for cooking, heating their homes, and warming their water.” BIAW alleged that it would suffer immediate damage and harm if the Council refused to acknowledge that changes to the Washington State Energy Code were necessary to make the code consistent with state laws.