The bill creates a statewide boiler operator certification system by adding new sections and amending chapter 70.79 RCW, repeals RCW 70.79.050, and directs the board of boiler rules to adopt rules and standards (consistent with national/international codes) to implement certification, examinations, experience requirements, continuing education, and enforcement. Initial certification rules must take effect January 1, 2028; the board's code amendments and interpretations are enforceable immediately upon adoption but must comply with the Administrative Procedure Act. The department of labor and industries, with the board’s consent, must prepare or contract for examinations, approve training courses, certify applicants, and may issue temporary permits for out‑of‑state operators pending examination. The bill establishes eligibility standards for grades I through IV certification with specified combinations of experience and education (detailed alternatives are provided for grades I–III; the third alternative for Grade IV is incomplete in the extracted text). It requires continuing education of at least eight hours every four years for renewal, allows cities with equal or stricter local programs to continue and makes qualifying city certificates equivalent to the state certificate statewide until January 1, 2029, subject to board rules for removal of nonconforming city programs. A no‑exam pathway is provided for persons who on December 31, 2027 were engaged in boiler operation and held a valid political subdivision certificate, if they apply by October 1, 2028. The bill makes it unlawful to operate a covered boiler without a valid boiler operator certification and creates civil enforcement procedures: the department may assess penalties up to $500 per violation with each day of continued violation treated as a separate violation, but may not assess penalties until the board adopts rules for penalty calculation. The department may suspend or revoke certifications obtained by fraud, for incompetence, or for rule violations, and must provide a trackable written notice allowing 20 days to request a hearing before the board; renewal denials and suspensions have specified notice and appeal procedures under chapter 34.05 RCW. The extracted text also lists multiple exemptions (for example, certain farm boilers, small residential boilers, some unfired vessels, specified refinery and qualified biomass electric facility equipment), and other details and several referenced sections and penalty-rule provisions are not included or are incomplete in the provided excerpts.

If enacted, the bill makes certified boiler operators mandatory statewide with the board required to adopt the certification rules so the program is in place by January 1, 2028, and certifications will require continuing education of at least eight hours every four years. Employers and anyone operating covered boilers must use certified operators or face penalties (up to $500 per day once the board adopts penalty-calculation rules), the department will prepare and score exams (fees set to cover exam costs), may issue temporary permits to out‑of‑state operators during processing, and can suspend or revoke certifications for fraud, incompetence, or rule violations. Cities that already certify operators can keep equivalent programs and their certificates will be recognized statewide until January 1, 2029, and operators who held a valid city-issued certificate on December 31, 2027, can get state certification without taking the exam if they apply by October 1, 2028. Most affected are boiler operators and the owners/operators who must employ them: operators will need to meet the board’s experience or education pathways for Grades I–IV (the bill lists alternatives for each grade but the third alternative for Grade IV is incomplete in the provided text), training providers and testing agencies will see new demand because the department approves courses and may contract testing, and cities must keep their ordinances at least as strict or risk removal. Important implementation details are missing from the provided text—including the rest of the Grade IV criteria, the exact board rules for penalties, and several sections referenced but not included—so the timing, exact costs, and precise enforcement procedures remain uncertain.