‘A total insult:’ WA Building Industry Association lambasts judge’s ‘absurd’ ruling on natural gas initiative

King County Superior Judge Sandra Widlan struck down Initiative 2066 (I-2066), and the Building Industry Association of Washington (BIAW) is not happy.

U-2066 repeals sections of a state law accelerating Puget Sound Energy’s transition away from natural gas. It was the only one of four initiatives on the November general election ballot to pass, winning by approximately 3.4%. But Widlan ruled that I-2066 violates the Washington state constitution—agreeing with a group of public interest advocates and local governments who sued the State of Washington. The group claimed the initiative makes broad changes, hidden in what was supposed to be a single subject.

Greg Lane, executive vice president of the BIAW, called the ruling “absurd” in an interview with “The John Curley Show” on KIRO Newsradio.

“It was a total insult—as you say to the 550,000 people who signed the initiative to get it qualified and the 1.9 million who voted in favor to make it law in November. This judge ignored every Supreme Court precedent. What she pulled out of thin air to argue that this was a two subject violation was not in the initiative or the new law whatsoever,” Lane said.

Greg Lane: Judge’s ruling on natural gas initiative was ‘condescending’

He said the judge agreed with critics that the title of I-2066 was confusing to voters and was “disrespectful and condescending” to everyone who voted for it.

“They clearly understood what this initiative was about,” Lane added. “And, oh, by the way, the ballot title—which had been challenged by the same people who filed this constitutionality challenge previously, last spring—they agreed to the ballot title that ended up being on the ballot. So for them to come back and say it was confusing to voters is also just, out of the blue.”

Widlan also argued that the initiative violated the single subject rule. But Greg is calling that out, too.

“What she said was that the first subject was that it would permit the use of natural gas, of course, that’s what the whole initiative was about,” Greg responded. “The second subject, she said, would restrict the state’s ability to address air pollution. There was nothing in the initiative that talked about that. So for her to just pull that out of the air, being the second subject, is completely incorrect and not an accurate reading of the new law.”

Listen to the full conversation below.

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