Climate Solutions v. State

The Washington Supreme Court agreed to retain for direct review an appeal by the Building Industry Association of Washington of a trial court decision that held that a 2024 ballot initiative regarding natural gas use and electrification violated the Washington Constitution’s single-subject rule and other requirements for ballot initiatives. The ballot title for the initiative stated that it “would repeal or prohibit certain laws and regulations that discourage natural gas use and/or promote electrification, and require certain utilities and local governments to provide natural gas to eligible customers.”

Three nonprofit organizations, a solar energy trade association, King County, the City of Seattle, and a Seattle resident filed a lawsuit asking a state court in Washington to declare Initiative Measure No. 2066 (I-2066) unconstitutional and prohibit its implementation. I-2066’s ballot title said it concerned “regulating energy services, including natural gas and electrification,” and that it “would repeal or prohibit certain laws and regulations that discourage natural gas use and/or promote electrification, and require certain utilities and local governments to provide natural gas to eligible customers.” Voters approved I-2066 in the November 2024 election. The plaintiffs alleged that I-2066 reversed “carefully crafted laws” to encourage development of clean energy, promote energy efficiency, and reduce greenhouse gas emissions and air pollution, and that I-2066 would jeopardize local government efforts to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and air pollution. They asserted that I-2066 violated the Washington Constitution’s “single subject” requirement by containing several provisions unrelated to each other and also violated the Washington Constitution’s “subject-in-title requirement” by not reflecting the initiative’s changes to state emissions regulation and the Clean Air Act in the title. In addition, the plaintiffs alleged that that I-2066 failed to state in full each of the state law provisions it would change. Amy Turner, the Director of the Cities Climate Law Initiative at the Sabin Center for Climate Change Law, published a <a href="https://blogs.law.columbia.edu/climatechange/2024/12/20/seattle-king-county-nonprofits-challenge-washingtons-ballot-initiative-preempting-local-efforts-to-phase-out-natural-gas/">blog post</a> about this case on December 20, 2024.