The bill adds a new section to chapter 19.27A RCW and amends RCW 19.27.060. It directs the State Building Code Council (SBCC) to control cost escalation when updating the state energy code by prohibiting the SBCC, during the 2026 and 2029 code cycles, from imposing requirements that would increase the total cost to build a residential building or unit of "1,700 foot or smaller" beyond the cost to build under the state energy code in effect on January 1, 2026. The new section lets a code official approve designs that do not fully conform to the state energy code when full compliance is physically impossible or "economically impractical" (defined to include situations where the added cost cannot be recovered through operational savings or reduced energy usage within 10 years). The bill also allows a code official to approve the use of less costly options from a prior state energy code if the current code would exceed the cost limitation, and explicitly permits using prior, less costly provisions for projects intended to provide affordable housing residences. Legally, this is a mix of a new statutory provision and an amendment to existing law that creates exceptions and procedural authority for code officials, imposes a statutory cost cap on SBCC rulemaking for specified code cycles, and restates and retains authorities and limitations on local government amendments under RCW 19.27.060. It defines "code official" and sets the January 1, 2026 code as the cost baseline and a ten-year recovery period for the "economically impractical" standard. Some details are unclear from the provided text: the precise section number added to chapter 19.27A is not given, the phrase "1,700 foot or smaller" is ambiguous as to whether it means square feet, and text referenced by cross-citations (for example to RCW 19.27.031 and specified subsections) is not included, so the full scope of those interactions and any implementing rules are not shown. The bill was read in the House on January 14, 2026 and referred to the Committee on Local Government.

If enacted, updates to the state energy code during the 2026 and 2029 cycles will be constrained so they do not raise the total construction cost for small residential buildings or units (described as "1,700 foot or smaller") above the cost under the energy code in effect on January 1, 2026. That means builders and developers of those small units are likely to avoid new code-driven upfront construction cost increases during those cycles, and projects intended to provide affordable housing will more often be allowed to use less costly provisions from earlier codes. Local code officials will have new discretion to approve designs that don’t fully meet the current energy code when full compliance is physically impossible or is "economically impractical" (defined to include measures that can’t pay back through energy savings within ten years), so those officials will take on more responsibility and decision-making power and may approve older, cheaper options to keep projects viable. Important implementation details are missing from the extracted text, so it’s unclear how "1,700 foot" is measured, how the State Building Code Council will calculate and enforce the January 1, 2026 cost baseline, and how consistent application across jurisdictions will be ensured. Those uncertainties mean the practical reach of the limits on code changes, and the potential for uneven approvals or shifts in long-term energy costs, are not fully defined in the available material.