House Bill 2141 reenacts and amends state building code law and amends the state energy code statutes. It reenacts and revises RCW 19.27.031 (the list of model codes adopted by reference), amends RCW 19.27.032 (procedures and limits for adopting or amending codes), amends RCW 19.27A.015 (energy code adoption timing), amends RCW 19.27A.020 (the Washington state energy code), and repeals RCW 19.27A.160. The bill was prefiled 12/15/25, read first time 01/12/26, and referred to the Committee on Local Government. The bill imposes procedural limits and timelines on the State Building Code Council (SBCC): beginning with the effective date of the 2024 adoptions the council may not initiate, adopt, or implement further editions, revisions, or updates to building or energy codes for 10 years; starting with the 2036 edition substantive updates are limited to no more than every six years. The council must review and act on recent model code editions within 30 months of their publication, may initiate an interim adoption cycle only in a narrowly defined window, must complete published corrections to errors within 12 months of implementation, and must follow specified petition, notice, voting, and rulemaking procedures (including emergency amendment rules requiring a two-thirds finding of emergency and a majority vote to adopt). The council must solicit input from first responders on firefighter safety and may issue opinions on code interpretation at the request of local officials. On the energy code, the bill requires the SBCC to adopt rules known as the Washington state energy code, lists design objectives (including allowing flexibility in design and permitting heating equipment efficiency to offset envelope performance), and specifies that the energy code may not prohibit, penalize, or discourage the use of gas for heating or appliances. It establishes two climate zones defined by county and makes the 2006 edition of the Washington state energy code the residential and minimum nonresidential energy code unless amended by council rule, preempts most local residential energy codes with a narrow exception for local codes that exceeded the state code and were adopted prior to March 1, 1990, and directs SBCC to consult with the Department of Enterprise Services and to evaluate the International Energy Conservation Code as a possible alternative. The bill also repeals RCW 19.27A.160. Important details are missing from the extracted text: the full revised language of RCW 19.27A.020, the content of the repealed RCW 19.27A.160, any effective date for the amendments and repeal, and portions of RCW 19.27A.015 that were not included.

If enacted, the bill would freeze state building and energy code changes for a decade after the 2024 adoption and set the statewide energy code baseline at the 2006 edition (unless the council amends it by rule), while also banning state rules that would prohibit or discourage the use of gas for heating or appliances. Practically, builders and developers will face a long period of regulatory stability and likely lower near-term compliance costs because they will not have to meet newer statewide code updates, while cities and counties will lose the ability to adopt stronger residential energy requirements (except for a narrow group with pre-1990 stricter codes), reducing local policy options on energy efficiency. The State Building Code Council and the Department of Enterprise Services keep rulemaking and consultation duties and must solicit firefighter input and follow specified procedures, but key details are missing here: the text of the repeal of RCW 19.27A.160, the full amendment language to RCW 19.27A.020, and any effective dates. The likely trade-offs are lower immediate construction costs and regulatory predictability for industry versus potential longer-term higher energy use and operating costs for building owners and constrained local authority to pursue stricter efficiency or decarbonization policies.