Legal/Law/Criminal Justice and Reform

Washington State’s Supreme Court Just Struck Down A Voter-Backed Pro-Natural Gas Measure

Wikimedia Commons/Public/Joe Gratz

Washington’s highest court struck down a voter-approved measure protecting natural gas access Thursday, dealing a blow to an effort to preserve consumer energy choice as similar battles over building electrification play out across the country.

The Washington Supreme Court ruled 6-3 that Initiative 2066 — which the state’s voters passed by a 52% to 48% margin in 2024 —violated the state constitution’s single-subject requirement. The court affirmed a lower court ruling and declared the measure “unconstitutional in its entirety.”

“Washington state and the Pacific Northwest are facing a serious and growing shortage of electricity to meet growing demand. That is before any significant data center growth,” Todd Myers, Vice President for Research of Washington Policy Center, told Daily Caller News Foundation.

“The court’s decision, while not based on policy, makes that situation worse by reducing the flexibility the Pacific Northwest will need to meet demand for electrification and home heating,” Myers said.

The decision comes as natural gas and consumer energy choice have become part of a broader national fight over the cost and pace of electrifying American homes and businesses.

President Donald Trump directed federal agencies in March to target state and local policies that his administration argues increase the cost of housing, including “green-energy building requirements” and “energy-choice restrictions,” according to his executive order at the time.

“Today’s decision represents a direct rejection of the clearly expressed will of Washington voters,” Building Industry Association of Washington Executive Vice President Greg Lane said following the ruling, according to KUOW. “Nearly 2 million citizens voted in favor of Initiative 2066 because they believed families and businesses should retain the freedom to choose the energy source that best meets their needs.”

The litigation against I-2066 was brought in part by environmental organizations that opposed the initiative’s attempt to reverse Washington’s building and decarbonization policies, according to court records. The coalition challenging I-2066 included Climate Solutions, Washington Conservation Action, Front and Centered, the Washington Solar Energy Industries Association, Sierra Club, King County and the city of Seattle, the records show.

The initiative contained “four constitutionally distinct subjects” and that the court could not determine which portions voters would have approved had they appeared separately on the ballot, Chief Justice Debra Stephens, appointed to the court in December 2007 by then-Democratic Washington Gov. Christine Gregoire, wrote in the ruling.

“Because the provisions that introduce distinct subjects are not severable, I-2066 is unconstitutional in its entirety,” Stephens wrote.

The chief justice has also worked at the intersection of the judiciary, science and natural-resource law. She serves on the founding executive committee of the National Courts and Sciences Institute and helps convene the National Judicial College’s “Dividing the Waters” program, which provides judges with education on water law and related “scientific issues.”

“Climate change has led to extreme drought in much of the West and, in some cases, extreme floods,” the Dividing the Waters program describes on its website. “Courts see more complex water cases on their dockets. Several states created water judge systems of various designs, which require education for judges on water law and science. That’s where the 2025 Dividing the Waters Conference comes in.”

Three Justices dissented, arguing the court could have struck several problematic sections while preserving the remainder of the voter-approved initiative, according to court records.

“Ultimately, the blame falls on the legislature and previous governor for this irresponsible law but by ignoring the will of the voters, the Supreme Court has ignored the very families who will end up paying the price for Washington’s energy shortage,” Myers said.