The Washington State Department of Ecology has established the Washington Refrigerant Task Force, created under House Bill 1462, and selected Heating, Air-conditioning & Refrigeration Distributors International as one of its voting industry representatives. The Refrigerant Task Force will develop recommendations for the state legislature on how, or whether, Washington should transition to ultra-low global warming potential refrigerants by 2035.
How the Refrigerant Task Force Was Created
Governor Bob Ferguson signed HB 1462 into law on May 17, 2026, and the bill directs Ecology to convene the task force and appoint its members by July 1, 2026. The group will begin meeting in July 2026 and continue meeting monthly through 2027, with a final report due to the legislature for consideration during the 2028 legislative session.
What the Refrigerant Task Force Will Study
The task force will evaluate transition strategies while accounting for the wide range of refrigerant-containing equipment in use across industries, and will examine whether different market segments need different implementation timelines. Its scope includes barriers to adopting climate-friendly refrigerants and ways to strengthen refrigerant recovery, recycling, reclamation, and destruction infrastructure in the state.
HARDI's Role as a Voting Member
Todd Titus, HARDI's director of state government affairs, was selected to represent the association on the task force, giving the HVACR distribution industry a direct, voting role in shaping the recommendations. The voting membership also includes representatives from HVACR manufacturing, contracting, refrigeration, labor, environmental organizations, supermarkets, agriculture, public safety, and government, including AHRI senior vice president of government affairs Samantha Slater and Trane Technologies director of policy and advocacy Helen Walter-Terrioni.
Full Voting and Auxiliary Membership of the Refrigerant Task Force
Other voting members include A-Gas president and managing director Mike Armstrong, Johnson Controls branch service manager Jennifer Dennerline, Rosauers Supermarkets CMMS analyst Lillianna Garibaldi, Refrigerant Emissions Elimination Forum executive director Aleisha Khan, AgriNorthwest general manager Blain Meek, Hudson Technologies senior director of governance Ruth Ivory-Moore, Environmental Investigation Agency senior climate policy analyst Beth Porter, UA Local 32 representative Zachary Smith, ASHRAE Refrigeration Committee chair Alexander Thorson, Natural Resources Defense Council senior fellow Jeremy Arling, and Kittitas County fire marshal Dan Young. Auxiliary members providing technical expertise include National Refrigerants executive vice president Maureen Beatty, Polaris Public Safety Solutions managing member Jim Dominik, Washington Department of Commerce senior energy policy specialist Nick Manning, Gensco performance builder and utility specialist Ken Morgan, and Zero Waste Washington executive director Heather Trim.
How the Task Force Fits Washington's Broader HFC Rules
HB 1462 builds on Washington's existing hydrofluorocarbon-reduction regulations, which already restrict the sale and use of certain high-GWP refrigerants under the state's earlier HFC statute. The new task force process effectively asks whether the state should go further than the federal AIM Act phasedown schedule already in effect, positioning Washington among a small number of states actively studying a state-level natural-refrigerant mandate rather than relying solely on federal timelines.
Why the Refrigerant Task Force Matters to HVAC and Refrigeration Distributors
The task force's recommendations, due to lawmakers in 2028, could shape whether Washington becomes the first state to formally weigh a natural-refrigerant mandate on top of the federal phasedown already underway. Because the group includes voting seats for manufacturers, distributors, and contractors alongside environmental and labor groups, its process gives the HVACR supply chain an early, direct channel to influence a refrigerant policy framework other states may look to as a model. Distributors that stock and service refrigeration equipment for supermarkets and food processors have a particular stake in the outcome, since a shift toward ultra-low GWP natural refrigerants such as CO2 or ammonia can require different handling, storage, and technician certification than the HFC and HFO refrigerants currently in wide use. Manufacturers with national footprints, including Johnson Controls and Trane Technologies, hold voting seats specifically because any Washington-specific transition timeline could inform how those companies plan equipment offerings and refrigerant charge decisions for products sold into the state, and potentially into other states considering similar legislation. Contractors installing and servicing commercial refrigeration and air-conditioning equipment in Washington will also be watching the process closely, since any eventual mandate could affect training requirements, tooling, and the refrigerant recovery and reclamation infrastructure they rely on day to day. With the first meetings scheduled for July 2026 and monthly sessions running through 2027, the task force's early agenda-setting work could offer the clearest signal yet of which transition timelines and equipment categories Washington regulators view as most feasible ahead of the 2028 legislative session, and other states weighing similar legislation are likely to track its early meetings closely for a preview of how the debate plays out in practice.
