WA homeowners could face $40,000 conversion costs after Supreme Court strikes down voter-approved natural gas protections

KVI ^ | 9/18/26

[CFW]

Washington homeowners could face tens of thousands of dollars in costs to convert natural-gas homes to electric after the Washington Supreme Court struck down the voter-approved initiative designed to protect natural gas as an energy option.

The Building Industry Association of Washington has estimated that converting an existing natural-gas home to all-electric can cost approximately $40,000, depending on the home and upgrades required. Conversion can involve replacing gas furnaces and water heaters, installing electric appliances, and upgrading electrical panels and wiring.

The court’s ruling does not itself require homeowners to convert to electricity. Rather, it eliminates Initiative 2066, which restricted state and local governments from prohibiting, penalizing, or discouraging natural-gas use and sought to roll back policies promoting electrification.

In a 6-3 decision, the state’s highest court ruled that I-2066 violated the Washington Constitution’s single-subject requirement and invalidated the initiative in its entirety.

The majority concluded that the measure contained constitutionally distinct subjects involving natural-gas access and utility obligations, local air-quality regulations, statewide building and energy codes, and the state’s Decarbonization Act.

The ruling did not find that protecting access to natural gas is itself unconstitutional.

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TOPICS: Business/Economy; Government; US: Washington
KEYWORDS: cautionleftardjudges; decarbonization; electricity; gas; gettingitgoodandhard; leftists; savingtheplanetlol; washingtonst

[CFW]

The crazies are getting crazier.

[Uncle Miltie]

The Single Subject rule is used only to force leftism. No leftist project has ever been rescinded for this reason to my knowledge. Lots of conservative ones have.

[for-q-clinton]

Sounds like they can put it back on the ballot though but keep it to one subject (I guess). Then the loony left will just make something else up.

[Zathras]

This is what the Biden Admin had planned for the entire USA.
All under the fake Global Warming umbrella.

[Uncle Miltie]

Confirming my recollection:

Under Washington’s Single Subject rule, how many leftist versus conservative initiatives or other projects have been held in violation of that rule by the WA Supreme Court?
ChatGPT said:
As of Sept. 20, 2026, I find at least 4 clearly conservative/right-leaning statewide initiatives invalidated by the Washington Supreme Court under the single-subject rule, versus 0 clearly left-leaning initiatives:
I-695 (2000) — $30 car tabs + tax-approval provisions; invalidated 2000.
I-722 (2000) — property-tax limits plus tax/fee rollbacks; invalidated 2001.
I-1366 (2015) — sales-tax reduction tied to a supermajority constitutional amendment; invalidated 2016.
J
Justia Law
I-2066 (2024) — natural-gas protections; invalidated Sept. 17, 2026.
J
Justia Law
The Court has also struck down older legislative enactments under the rule, including Power, Inc. v. Huntley (1951), so the count changes depending on whether you mean initiatives only or all legislation.
J
Justia Law
So, for statewide voter initiatives specifically: 4 conservative vs. 0 left-leaning, based on the cases I can identify.

[bigdaddy45]

So where exactly does all this new electricity come from?

[rktman]

Guess “voter approved” doesn’t really mean much.

[Gay State Conservative]

It’s obviously time for the Federal courts to step in.

[FreedomPoster]

Correct.

This would be a good time to remind everyone that you cannot power modern civilization with wind, solar, and unicorn flatulence. And that CO2 is a plant growth stimulant, not a dangerous atmospheric poison.

[griswold3]

the Washington Supreme Court struck down the voter-approved initiative designed to protect natural gas as an energy option.
I thought this is what ‘social ownership’ of the means of production is. The majority vote for proposals and they are implemented. ?????

[ComputerGuy]

It’s time for voters to strike down the state Supreme Court.
Just sayin’

[Carry_Okie]

Legally, to me this resembles when the California Supreme Court struck down the Proposition 8 ballot Constitutional amendment to protect traditional heterosexual marriage; i.e., What legal power does a State Supreme Court have to reject a duly passed Constitutional Amendment? Answer: It depends upon how it is enforced. In other words, it seems there is no law to restrain Democrats from doing whatever the hell they want to do as long as they’ve got police power.

[thinden]

what are you getting yourself into?

[MeneMeneTekelUpharsin]

Yeah, it is, isn’t it?

[VTenigma]

I can’t wait to watch the grid collapse.

[iontheball]

So now what energy one decides to use in their own home is a ‘constitutional issue’ in Washington State. Commies micro controlling every aspect of a citizen’s life. It’s an indirect means of seizing citizen property.

[Seaplaner]

...the Washington Supreme Court struck down the voter-approved initiative

This should surprise nobody.

Leftists/Marxists and the incongruously-named "Democratic" Party just HATE free and fair elections, especially including voter initiatives that might interfere with their absolute lust for power and control.

[ClearCase_guy]

The voters want it.
The state-wide initiative was written improperly, allowing the court to step in and say “has to be a single topic”.

The state legislature can pass a law and the law can cover more than one topic.
The state legislature can vote this state-wide initiative into law.

But the state legislature does not want to give the voters what the voters want.

No one can tell me that our elections are honest. The people we elect (all over the world) hate the voters and refuse to give the voters what the voters want. We don’t have Representatives. We have Oligarchs who pretend that they got voted into power.

[HereInTheHeartland]

“ So where exactly does all this new electricity come from?”

Electric lines, where else?

Hah, good question that the communists don’t think through.
Plus the fact that natural gas is very clean .
They are hateful destructive people.

[central_va]

From NG fired plants.