Washington State Building Code Council Public Hearings on Energy Code Changes

 The Washington State SBCC has published a set of over 170 code changes to the residential and non-residential energy codes in the state. The SBCC is taking public testimony in meetings in Seattle and Spokane (as well as comments in writing) with the full Council slated to make a final decision at their meeting in November of this year. The code changes represent an approximate 20% increase in stringency over the current edition of the code with the residential portion of the code likely carrying the majority of that stringency increase. Homebuilder and other interest group opposition appears intent of derailing many of the proposed changes. These code proposals fell short of Governor Chris Gregoire’s call for a 30% ratchet in this code cycle, but are largely consistent with the successful legislation in last year’s session (HB 5848) that requires the state to adopt a progressively more stringent code consistent with attaining the climate goals of the 2030 Challenge. Public hearings are scheduled on;