This bill adds a new section to chapter 36.70A RCW that requires each county legislative authority of a county planning under that chapter to create and adopt an extreme heat response plan. Counties must develop the plan in cooperation with the local health jurisdiction, the county emergency management department, and other local governments in the county. Plans must be adopted by July 1, 2027 unless a county already adopted a plan that substantially complies with the new requirements before the section’s effective date, and after adoption each county must review and, if necessary, revise the plan when the county’s comprehensive plan is updated under RCW 36.70A.130. The law sets minimum required elements for the plans, including immediate response planning and long-term adaptation strategies (with emphasis on investments to avoid brownouts or blackouts and cooling strategies beyond cooling centers); measures to mitigate harms to and prioritize protection of listed high-risk populations (examples given include persons 65 or older, outdoor workers, medically vulnerable individuals, pregnant individuals, children under six, and households at or below 80 percent of area median income); reference to Washington State Department of Labor and Industries heat exposure safety and health rules for outdoor workers; actions to establish partnerships with federally recognized tribes and urban Indian health organizations; outreach and early warning/public messaging strategies; recommendations and incentives for building and personal cooling adaptations; protocols coordinated with health care providers and emergency responders for heat-related medical emergencies; acknowledgement of cooling center limitations; and measures to collect and monitor data on heat-related illness, mortality, and intervention effectiveness. This is a new statutory planning requirement (a procedural change) rather than a criminal or penalty change. The extracted text does not provide the explicit effective date of the new section, does not define key terms such as “extreme heat,” “adequate cooling strategies,” or “substantially comply,” and contains no details about enforcement, funding, technical assistance, or penalties for noncompliance.

If enacted, counties that plan under Washington’s Growth Management Act will need to create and adopt an extreme heat response plan by July 1, 2027 (unless they already have a substantially similar plan), working with their local health department, emergency management, other local governments, tribes and health providers. Practically this means counties will have new coordination and planning responsibilities that are likely to require staff time and some spending on outreach, early warning systems, partnerships, data collection, and incentives or recommendations for building and community cooling measures, plus planning to avoid power interruptions and to protect listed high‑risk groups like older adults, outdoor workers, low‑income households, children and medically vulnerable people. The groups most directly affected are county governments, local health jurisdictions, emergency managers, health care providers, emergency responders, federally recognized tribes and urban Indian health organizations, and outdoor employers who must be considered per Labor & Industries heat rules; residents in high‑risk categories may see more targeted services and outreach. The bill does not state an effective date here, nor define key terms (like “extreme heat” or “substantially comply”) or explain funding, enforcement, or technical assistance, so counties will face some uncertainty about exact standards, funding sources, and penalties while implementing these new planning duties.