Lawsuit for summary judgment filed against Washington’s 2030 gas car ban

Two Washington legislators have filed a motion for summary judgment in a lawsuit against the state’s ban on the sale of new gasoline vehicles by 2030, alleging that it constitutes an illegal delegation of lawmaking authority to California.

The ban was enacted by the state Legislature in 2020 via Senate Bill 5811. The bill directs the state Department of Ecology to adopt rules regarding motor vehicle emission based on California’s standards. Ecology eventually adopted those standards, which the lawsuit argues did “not even bother to include the regulations it was copying, but instead merely enumerates (with helpful links) those sections of California regulations that would become enforceable against Washington citizens.”

Filed by Sen. Mike Padden, R-Spokane Valley, and Rep. Chris Corry, R-Yakima, in Thurston County Superior Court, the lawsuit claims that it’s “an unconstitutional delegation of legislative power. In addition, Ecology’s rule fails to comply with the Legislature’s directive and is therefore void.”

In a news release statement, Padden said that “We must protect the sovereignty of the state of Washington. Washington state’s elected legislators must make laws in Washington State not legislators from the state of California. Senate Bill 5811 weakens our sovereignty as a state. That is why this lawsuit is so vitally important.”

In an email to The Center Square, Ecology wrote that “the Department of Ecology followed the direction given by the Legislature in adopting emissions standards to support the transition to zero emission vehicles, and we believe our rulemaking process followed both the Washington constitution and the Administrative Procedure Act.”