When you fill out your mail-in ballot for the November 2024 general elections, you’ll encounter four statewide initiatives. This section of the ballot may be slightly unfamiliar. The last time Washingtonians confronted a statewide voter initiative was four years ago. But the substance of these initiatives definitely won’t be. All four measures aim to amend or overturn recent state laws that Democratic lawmakers have hailed as landmark advancements against climate change, health inequality, and tax inequity.

The variance and slightly prosaic phrasing of the four initiatives bely their common origins as well as their hotly contested nature. Though one campaign, that for I-2066, is led by a group called “Main Street Matters to Washington,” all four are backed by Let’s Go Washington, a group founded and funded largely by Brian Heywood, a hedge fund CEO who has donated $6 million to these initiatives and has previously told the Seattle Times that his “intent was to fix stupid things” through this campaign. Of course, stupid is subjective.

A who’s-who of grassroots groups and unions under the banner of Defend Washington is fighting the initiatives through four separate “No” campaigns; elected officials, Native tribal governments, and environmental organizations have also joined some of these campaigns. One of them, No on 2117, which has received more than $14 million in contributions, is partially bankrolled by local billionaires Steve Ballmer and Bill Gates.

Here’s what you need to know about the four initiatives as they will appear on your ballot:

Initiative Measure No. 2066

Initiative Measure No. 2066 concerns regulating energy services, including natural gas and electrification. This measure would repeal or prohibit certain laws and regulations that discourage natural gas use and/or promote electrification, and require certain utilities and local governments to provide natural gas to eligible customers.

I-2006 asks voters to overturn a handful of decarbonization and grid electrification laws. This initiative, sponsored by the Building Industry Association of Washington (BIAW), would ban State Building Council Code restrictions on the use of natural gas in new and renovated commercial buildings. But natural gas is by no means currently banned: It’s still allowed for use for cooking and fireplaces, and even in commercial settings to support water and space heaters.

I-2066 would also overturn House Bill 1589, which was signed into law in March 2024. These regulations encourage Washington’s largest utilities—like Puget Sound Energy—to reduce emissions and build customer incentives for decarbonization. The bill also tells utilities to look into the cost to electrify the Washington power grid.

Heywood of Let’s Go Washington claims that this initiative is a “preemptive strike” that prevents a gas ban, even if one is not currently in place. Citing “misinformation about HB 1589,” Puget Sound Energy has clarified that “HB 1589 does not include a ban on natural gas, and it does not change PSE’s obligation to serve natural gas to our customers.”

Opponents say the measure “jeopardizes federal funding” that the state could give to residents and businesses who want to make efficiency upgrades to their buildings; inefficient buildings can drive up energy demand in the long run, ultimately increasing costs for everyone. Natural gas consumption also causes greenhouse gas emissions and negatively impacts the environment and our health.

Initiative Measure No. 2109

Initiative Measure No. 2109 concerns taxes. This measure would repeal an excise tax imposed on the sale or exchange of certain long-term capital assets by individuals who have annual capital gains of over $250,000. This measure would decrease funding for K–12 education, higher education, school construction, early learning and childcare.

I-2109 proposes overturning taxes for Washington’s ultrawealthy and losing $2.2 billion in education funding over five years. Similar to I-2066, advocates claim that this initiative prevents further state encroachment in the form of taxation.

“This capital gains income tax is clearly intended to expand and pave the way for a statewide income tax,” they say, even though the Washington State Supreme Court has repeatedly said that income taxes are unconstitutional. Opponents to I-2109 emphasize that retirement funds, real estate, small family-owned businesses, and farms are exempt from this tax. Only 4,000 people qualified for the tax last year—it did not affect 99.8 percent of taxpayers—but it generated $900 million for education.

The state Office of Financial Management estimated that passing I-2109 would “result in an estimated state revenue loss of $2.2 billion over five state fiscal years” that funds education and childcare.

Initiative Measure No. 2117

Initiative Measure No. 2117 concerns carbon tax credit trading. This measure would prohibit state agencies from imposing any type of carbon tax credit trading, and repeal legislation establishing a cap and invest program to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. This measure would decrease funding for investments in transportation, clean air, renewable energy, conservation and emissions-reduction.

Initiative 2117, if passed, would overturn the 2021 Washington Climate Commitment Act (CCA), which, through its emissions allowance auctions, aim to reduce greenhouse gas emissions in the state by 95 percent by 2050.

Supporters of I-2117 claim that the CCA has increased gas prices for consumers, as gas companies have passed the cost of compliance. They say increased gas prices disproportionately affect low-income households. (This measure is sponsored by Let’s Go Washington, which also advocates for I-2109, the tax cut for 4,000 of Washington’s wealthiest residents.)

Opponents say I-2117 is misleadingly concerned with energy inflation; Let’s Go Washington’s initiative could have cut the current gas tax, or forced energy companies to show how compliance costs affect their products’ prices. I-2117 may also be environmentally disastrous. The Office of Financial Management says the initiative would decrease state revenue by $3.8 billion and reduce state funding for a slate of environmentally oriented programs—like public transit, clean energy development, fire prevention, and salmon habitat restoration.

Initiative Measure No. 2124

Initiative Measure No. 2124 concerns state long term care insurance. This measure would provide that employees and self-employed people must elect to keep coverage under RCW 50B.04 and could opt-out any time. It would also repeal a law governing an exemption for employees. This measure would decrease funding for Washington’s public insurance program providing long-term care benefits and services.

I-2124 would nix a payroll tax and potentially condemn WA Cares state insurance to insolvency. WA Cares provides up to $36,500 in long-term health services benefits to qualifying residents and is funded through a payroll tax of $0.58 per $100 of earnings. Many workers can already opt out of the program, including out-of-state Washington employees, military spouses, some veterans with disabilities, and workers on non-immigrant visas; self-employed people must opt into WA Cares coverage and taxation. Over 480,000 Washingtonians opted out of the program in 2022.

Proponents say the measure grants residents the freedom to choose their state benefits and to mitigate the financial burden of a payroll tax. Opponents have said the initiative would collapse the WA Cares program through an exodus of workers who think they don’t need its benefits, and “would force workers to choose between depleting their savings to qualify for Medicaid, or betting on long-term care insurance only the wealthiest can afford.”

According to the State Actuary, “Changing the WA Cares Fund from near-universal coverage to a fully voluntary program while retaining guaranteed coverage may have unintended consequences on the fund’s solvency… that could ultimately lead to an unsustainable program.”