Judge won’t compel state panel to scrap building codes targeted by gas initiative

A Thurston County judge on Friday dismissed a lawsuit that sought to force the state Building Code Council to move faster in aligning energy rules for new construction with provisions in the natural gas initiative Washington voters approved in November.

But Superior Court Judge John Skinder said he hoped the legal effort launched by the Building Industry Association of Washington “does put the council on notice.”

“This type of action, it does have a purpose,” Skinder said as he granted the state’s motion to toss the case.

The Building Industry Association of Washington spearheaded the effort to pass Initiative 2066, which became law Dec. 5. It amends and repeals regulations and laws intended to move the state away from natural gas and toward technology like electric heat pumps in new construction. 

Among its targets are revisions to the residential and commercial building energy codes that took effect in March 2024. Those rules, which offer builders permitting incentives for choosing electric heat pumps instead of natural gas furnaces, are unenforceable, the group says.

Following November’s election, the homebuilding association pressed the Building Code Council to erase the rules. Council members declined. Instead, they opted to have their technical experts review those rules and initiative language and recommend any changes needed to bring everything into alignment.

The builder group sued in December to force the council to act faster than the timetable set out in its mid-November meeting. They argued for emergency rulemaking to resolve conflicts between the new law and the rules.

On Friday, July Simpson, an assistant attorney general representing the Building Code Council, said the association was seeking a way around the process with its complaint.

Sydney Phillips, representing BIAW, disagreed. She said association members sought clarity on a “consequential” issue — which codes are enforceable and which are not — to ensure they are in compliance. While the court could direct the council to undertake emergency rulemaking, it wasn’t a specific request of the association, she said.

Following Skinder’s ruling, a BIAW official said a new complaint would be filed against the Building Code Council in the coming days contending its actions violated a state law known as the Administrative Procedures Act.

A second fight continues

Meanwhile, a lawsuit to invalidate the entire voter-approved initiative is proceeding in King County Superior Court.

Opponents sued in December, contending Initiative 2066 is unconstitutional because it runs afoul of a provision limiting citizen initiatives to no more than one subject and requiring them to contain the full text of the portion of state laws they would alter. 

A judge will consider the arguments in a March 21 hearing.

Plaintiffs in this lawsuit include Climate Solutions, Washington Conservation Action, Front and Centered, King County and the city of Seattle. Washington is the sole defendant.