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

Building Industry Association of Washington (BIAW) filed a new lawsuit that sought judicial review of the State Building Code Council's (SBCC's) February 15, 2025 written denial of the petition for emergency rulemaking submitted by BIAW on December 17, 2024. The denial came one day after a court dismissed another lawsuit filed by BIAW to compel an emergency rulemaking. In the new lawsuit, BIAW contended that due to the passage of I-2066, a 2024 ballot initiative regarding natural gas access, a Washington statutory provision had been amended to remove language regarding a “broader goal of building zero fossil fuel greenhouse emission homes and buildings” and to provide that the Energy Code “may not in any way prohibit, penalize, or discourage the use of gas for any form of heating, or for uses related to any appliance or equipment, in any building.” BIAW alleged that the current Energy Code did not comply with the amended statute and that the denial of the emergency rulemaking petition was arbitrary and capricious.