This bill amends RCW 70A.65.080 and updates which entities are treated as "covered entities" for the state greenhouse gas program. It establishes criteria based on reported emissions or provided emissions data (including a common 25,000 metric ton CO2e threshold) for facilities, first jurisdictional deliverers of electricity, fossil fuel suppliers (other than natural gas), natural gas suppliers, certain waste-to-energy facilities used by county and city solid waste programs, and railroad companies. It is a statutory modification that creates new procedural rules and coverage criteria, clarifies exemptions, and sets compliance obligations; it does not, in the extracted text, create a new criminal offense or change criminal penalties. The amendment lists several exemptions (including aviation fuels, certain watercraft fuels, certain coal-fired electric generation, combustion of biomass or biofuels, motor vehicle or special fuel used exclusively for agricultural purposes with an exemption certificate, certain national security facilities, and municipal solid waste landfills in compliance with chapter 70A.540 RCW). It directs the department, in consultation with the department of commerce, the utilities and transportation commission, and linked jurisdictions, to adopt by rule a methodology for addressing imported electricity associated with a centralized electricity market by October 1, 2026. The bill prohibits assigning more than one covered-entity compliance obligation to the same emissions, allows by rule parties (refineries, fuel suppliers, natural gas facilities and utilities) to enter agreements to assume compliance obligations provided the department is notified at least 12 months before the applicable compliance period, and specifies procedures for when entities continue or cease to be covered during and after a compliance period. As a procedural change affecting permitting and mitigation, the bill says nothing in the subsection requires a lead or permitting agency to approve a permit, but a lead or permitting agency must let a new or expanded facility that is a covered or opt-in entity satisfy mitigation requirements by submitting compliance instruments equivalent to its covered emissions during a compliance period. The legislature also expresses intent to provide payments to support farm fuel users and transporters who purchased fuel for agricultural purposes that is exempt under subsection (7)(e). Lead agencies under chapter 43.21C RCW are required to consider life-cycle analyses and compare potential net cumulative greenhouse gas emissions as part of siting and permitting review, and the department may adopt rules to set thresholds for that analysis. Important context is missing from the extracted text: the specific agency referred to as "the department" is not identified, many defined terms (for example "first jurisdictional deliverer," "opt-in entity," "compliance period," and "first transfer deadline") are not provided here, the sentence about covered emissions not being a basis for permit denial is truncated, and details about the proposed payments to farm fuel users and transporters (eligibility, amounts, administering agency, and timeline) are not included.

If enacted, companies and organizations that emit large amounts of greenhouse gases—industrial facilities, electricity generators and importers, fossil fuel and natural gas suppliers, some waste-to-energy plants, and railroad companies—will be treated as "covered entities" based on reported emissions and therefore will likely need to cover their emissions by obtaining and submitting compliance instruments equal to their covered emissions. Those entities will generally remain responsible for compliance through an entire compliance period even if their reported emissions dip below the threshold, but they can enter agreements (for example between refineries and fuel suppliers or between gas users and utilities) to shift who holds the obligation if they notify the department at least 12 months ahead. The department must also set a rule by October 1, 2026 for how imported electricity from centralized markets is counted, and lead agencies must weigh life‑cycle greenhouse gas impacts when reviewing new or expanded facilities; certain fuels and sources (like some agricultural fuels, specified aviation and watercraft fuels, certain biomass, some coal-fired generation, and compliant municipal landfills) are carved out as exempt, and the legislature intends to provide payments to farm fuel users and transporters who bought exempt agricultural fuel. Practically, affected businesses can expect new compliance costs (buying or otherwise securing compliance instruments), ongoing administrative steps (reporting, notices, and any required agreements), and some new flexibility to allocate obligations among partners, but also continued obligations across compliance periods even after emissions fall. Farmers and fuel transporters may see relief through an expanded agricultural fuel exemption and promised payments, but the bill text here does not specify who will administer those payments, how much they will be, or the exact rules and definitions (the identity of "the department," the length of compliance periods, and several key terms are not provided), so those implementation details and the timing of financial support remain unclear.