This bill amends multiple sections of chapter 70.90 RCW to revise regulation of water recreation and aquatic facilities. It directs the state board of health to adopt rules under the Administrative Procedure Act covering safety, sanitation, water quality, design and operation, injury and illness reporting, contamination standards, monitoring, inspection, permitting, and enforcement, and requires the board to review the most recent U.S. CDC Model Aquatic Health Code when adopting rules. The Department of Health is given enforcement authority and may develop joint administration plans with local health jurisdictions; local health officers may also enforce provisions and collect fees to cover costs. The department may collect fees and must deposit those fees in the state general fund, and a person may not be charged duplicate fees at both state and local levels for the same services. The bill changes permitting, plan review, and definition provisions. It requires a permit for any modification to or construction of a water recreation facility and allows plans and specifications to be submitted either to the applicable local health jurisdiction or to the Department of Health but not to both; the reviewer must approve, reject, or impose conditions and respond within 30 days, and must issue a construction permit within 30 days of plan approval. It updates definitions to list covered aquatic venues (including many types of pools, spas, slides, cold plunges, float tanks, and other interactive water venues), clarifies that the chapter applies regardless of ownership with specified exemptions, and preserves a grandfathering rule allowing certain facilities existing as of July 26, 1987 to operate without modification so long as water quality, sanitation, and lifesaving equipment comply. The bill adds regulatory obligations and liability coverage and seller duties. Owners or operators must maintain at least $1,000,000 in liability insurance (or an unspecified equivalent form of coverage). Sellers of aquatic venues must provide purchasers with a complete set of operating instructions addressing safe use and proper water treatment, including information about health risks associated with hot and cold water and a specific caution about pregnancy. Important details are not included in the extracted text: the bill does not provide the full rule language the board must adopt, does not define what constitutes an "equivalent form of liability coverage," and the precise scope of some exemptions and prior wording changes cannot be fully determined from the provided facts.

If enacted, the law would make the state board of health set uniform rules for safety, sanitation, and water quality at virtually all public and private water recreation sites, while the Department of Health and local health jurisdictions would be responsible for enforcing those rules, reviewing plans, issuing permits, and collecting fees. Owners and operators would likely face new recurring and one-time costs — permit fees, compliance work when modifying facilities, and a requirement to carry at least $1,000,000 in liability coverage or an equivalent — and sellers of aquatic venues would need to provide detailed operating and health-risk instructions to buyers; plan reviews and construction permits would be bound by 30-day response timelines, which could speed up or constrain project timing. The groups most affected are owners/operators of pools, spas, water parks, and similar venues (who will bear insurance, compliance, and permitting costs), local health jurisdictions and the Department of Health (who will take on formal rulemaking, plan review, enforcement, and fee collection duties), and sellers of aquatic equipment or venues (who must supply safety and pregnancy-related warnings). Key details that remain unclear from the provided text include what counts as an “equivalent” form of liability coverage and the specific content of the rules the board will adopt, so some cost and compliance impacts will depend on those missing rule definitions and exemption clarifications.