HARDI Files Amicus Supporting Washington Voters’ Efforts to Protect Consumer Energy Choice

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Contact: Madison Romero, Public Affairs Associate
Email: mromero@hardinet.org
Direct: 614.345.4328

HARDI Files Amicus Supporting Washington Voters’ Efforts to Protect Consumer Energy Choice

Olympia, WA – Heating, Air-conditioning & Refrigeration Distributors International (HARDI) has filed an amicus brief urging the Court to uphold Washington Ballot Initiative 2066 (I-2066), supporting the measure’s protection of consumer choice in home and commercial energy systems.

In 2024, Washington voters approved I-2066 in response to the state’s ongoing efforts to restrict the use of natural gas in buildings. Under current energy codes, natural gas systems are already banned through many compliance pathways. Future regulatory plans would further restrict and ultimately eliminate fossil fuel options for consumers. I-2066 repealed those restrictions and protected consumers’ energy choices from future regulations.

This filing allows HARDI to provide additional context for the court to use in making a final decision. This case follows recent legal challenges claiming the Initiative violates a technical requirement of ballot initiatives, including a ruling that overturned the initiative earlier this year. HARDI asserts in its filing that these policies significantly limit consumers’ ability to choose the heating solutions that best meet their needs and that I-2066 meets the single-issue standard by protecting consumer choice.

“Ballot Initiative 2066 focuses on protecting the right of Washington’s homeowners and businesses to choose the HVAC systems that work for them,” said Todd Titus, HARDI’s Director of State and Public Affairs. “Our members serve customers who depend on natural gas, electric, and hybrid systems. When regulations effectively remove one of those options, consumers lose. HARDI supports I-2066 because it protects long-term access to both natural gas and electric HVAC solutions.”

HARDI members distribute and sell electric and natural gas HVACR equipment across Washington. As Washington’s regulatory framework increasingly favors electric-only pathways, HARDI members face limits on the distribution of systems that many Washington residents still require for their geographic, economic, or building-specific circumstances.

I-2066 is intentionally comprehensive, designed to address current and future state-level barriers that would remove natural gas as an option in utilities, construction, appliance availability, or HVAC system installation. By countering these restrictions, the initiative ensures that the choice between natural gas and electric systems remains with the consumer, not with prescriptive state policy.

In its amicus brief, HARDI asks the Court to uphold I-2066 to preserve long-term consumer choice, maintain a competitive and functional HVAC marketplace, and prevent undue economic impacts on the thousands of businesses and customers who rely on a full range of energy options.

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