Building Codes Assistance Project

[Updated May 12, 2009]

On April 21, the Washington state House and Senate passed the final version of two companion bills originally agreed to in March that will require all new buildings and retrofits to consume significantly less energy.  The legislation will mandate that construction permitted under the 2031 edition of the state's building code use 70 percent less energy than those permitted under the 2006 Washington State Energy Code (WSEC). Upon the bill's signing by Gov. Christine Gregoire on May 8, Washington became the first state to legislatively adopt the Architecture 2030 Challenge into its building code.

The measures also will require utilities to track and disclose energy use data in large commercial and public buildings they serve through the ENERGY STAR Portfolio Manager. The requirements will be phased in to include buildings larger than 50,000 square feet starting January 1, 2011 and buildings larger than 10,000 square feet starting January 1, 2012.

For more details, please view the following resources from the Washington State Legislature website:

• SB 5854: Bill Home | Text (2nd Engrossed Version) | Final Bill Report
• HB 1747: Bill Home | Text (2nd Engrossed Version) | Bill Report | Initial House Analysis

****

BCAP Washington State Code Status page.