Pacifica and its clients secured an important victory in the Washington Supreme Court today in a case with significant implications for Washington clean air and climate progress, and for the integrity of the state’s initiative system.
In a 6-3 decision, the Court affirmed the trial court ruling striking down Initiative 2066 (I-2066) as unconstitutional. The Court held that the initiative violated Washington’s single-subject rule, which prohibits legislation and ballot measures from combining a narrow and seemingly popular proposal with sweeping and unrelated policy changes, a practice known as “logrolling.”
Pacifica represented a broad coalition of public interest advocates, business interests, and local governments in challenging I-2066, a 2024 ballot initiative presented to voters under the guise of preserving access to natural gas. The initiative went far beyond that narrow framing, however, substantially and silently altering an array of clean air and climate laws, including the Clean Air Act, state and local energy efficient building codes, and provisions of the Decarbonization Act, among others.
“I-2066 violates this single-subject rule because it includes several provisions with markedly distinct purposes and regulatory effects, embracing four distinct subjects,” the Court wrote in its decision. In declaring I-2066 “unconstitutional in its entirety,” the Court concluded “it is impossible to determine which of I-2066’s distinct subjects, if any, the voters would have passed standing on their own merits.”
“The Washington Supreme Court reaffirmed the basic constitutional requirement that a law—whether enacted by the Legislature or by initiative—cannot bundle distinct and unrelated policy changes into a single measure. I-2066 paired provisions regarding consumer access to natural gas with broader changes to the Clean Air Act, state building codes, and Washington’s climate policies. There is no way to know whether voters who wanted to preserve access to natural gas also supported all of those broader changes. The Court properly struck down I-2066 in its entirety,” said Paul Lawrence and Kai Smith, who led the Pacifica litigation team.
The coalition that challenged I-2066 consists of Climate Solutions, Washington Conservation Action, Washington Solar Energy Industries Association, Front and Centered, Sierra Club, Washington Physicians for Social Responsibility, King County, the City of Seattle, Dwell Development, and local sustainable builder Anthony Maschmedt.
The Pacifica litigation team representing the coalition also includes Sarah Washburn and Noe Merfeld, with support from Mendy Graves, Sydney Henderson, and Erica Knerr.
Related Media Coverage
WA top court deals death blow to natural gas initiative, The Seattle Times
WA high court tosses natural gas measure approved by voters, Washington State Standard
Natural gas initiative ruled unconstitutional by Washington state Supreme Court, KUOW
