OLYMPIA—The Secretary of State’s Office on Wednesday, July 24, announced that the signature verification process is completed and certified for Initiative 2066 (I-2066), concerning access to natural gas for Washington homes and businesses. The initiative will be on the November 5, General Election ballot.
The Building Industry Association of Washington (BIAW), Let’s Go Washington, the Washington Hospitality Association (WHA) and others celebrated the news, thrilled at the opportunity to protect natural gas as an energy choice at the ballot box.
“When we launched this initiative with only 50 days to collect signatures, we knew the people of Washington opposed the idea of banning natural gas, but the support for this initiative shows just how strongly they feel about protecting natural gas for heating and cooking in their homes and businesses,” said Greg Lane, BIAW Executive Vice President. “Now voters have the chance to protect their natural gas and avoid costly conversions to all-electric by voting Yes on I-2066 in November.”
By state law, supporters needed 324,516 valid signatures from registered Washington voters by July 5 to qualify for the November General Election ballot. Supporters submitted more than 546,000 signatures on July 5.
The signatures have been verified by the Office of the Secretary of State Elections Division using a state-mandated process of examining a 3% random sample of submitted signatures. Sponsors of I-2066 submitted 533,005 signatures in support of the initiative. A review of the random sample of 15,991 signatures found that 12,960 of the sampled signatures were valid.
Initiatives to the Legislature 2117, 2109, 2124, will also appear on the 2024 November General Election ballot. Under state law RCW 29A.72.290, I-2066 will be listed first on the ballot.
About Initiative 2066
I-2066 protects natural gas as an energy choice, ensures energy stability and security, and prohibits natural gas bans in Washington.
Signing Initiative 2066 gives voters the power to:
- Stop the state from limiting natural gas service to homes and businesses, like restaurants and breweries.
- Protect natural gas for heating, cooking and more.
- Stop state and local governments, and their agencies, from banning, restricting, or discouraging gas and gas appliances in homes and businesses, like restaurants.
- Make sure gas utilities will continue to provide natural gas to customers who want it.
- Protect people from having to switch to only electric energy.
- Keep the power on when our energy grid is at capacity in super cold or hot weather.
Signing Initiative 2066 does not:
- Force anyone to use natural gas or natural gas appliances.
- Take away energy incentives and rebates for those who choose them.
- Reduce the state’s commitment to addressing climate change.
Author: Mario Lotmore
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