This bill adds a new section to chapter 19.27A RCW and amends RCW 19.27.195 and RCW 19.27A.020. It requires the State Building Code Council (SBCC) to amend the Washington state energy code by January 1, 2027 to exempt certain small school districts from the current requirement to include a renewable energy generation system in each new school building or addition larger than 10,000 square feet of gross conditioned floor area. The exemption applies to “eligible school districts,” defined here as districts with enrollment of 500 students or fewer located in the counties listed as one climate zone, and the SBCC is prohibited from requiring those districts to earn additional efficiency package credits to qualify for the exemption. The bill cross-references the term “renewable energy generation system” to the definition of “renewable energy system” in RCW 82.16.110. The bill also requires the SBCC, in consultation with the Department of Commerce and local governments, to conduct a study of the state building code and adopt changes to encourage greater use of renewable energy systems (amending RCW 19.27.195). It amends RCW 19.27A.020 to restate legislative standards for the energy code, to list the counties comprising one climate zone, to clarify preemption and consultation requirements (including consultation with the Department of Enterprise Services under RCW 34.05.310), and to state that, except as provided in the new section, the council may adopt the same rules for each climate zone. The statute also retains a direction that the Washington state energy code achieve increasingly energy efficient homes and buildings by 2031 and preserves a 1990 preemption rule for local residential codes adopted before March 1, 1990. Legally, the measure creates a new statutory exemption (a substantive change) and modifies existing statutes governing the state energy code and SBCC procedures (procedural changes), including directing a study and specifying consultation duties. Affected entities include the State Building Code Council, the Department of Commerce, local governments, the Department of Enterprise Services, and the eligible school districts. The text provided omits the full definitions of “renewable energy system” (RCW 82.16.110) and certain definitions referenced in RCW 19.27A.140, does not give an explicit section number for the new provision, and does not show whether other bill provisions or related statutes further affect implementation.

Small rural school districts that meet the bill’s definition (500 students or fewer and located in the listed counties) would not have to include on-site renewable energy systems in any new school building or addition over 10,000 square feet, and they would not have to earn extra energy-efficiency package credits to qualify for that exemption. In practice this likely reduces upfront construction costs, procurement complexity, and ongoing maintenance obligations for those districts and may speed project timelines, but it also makes it less likely those schools will gain on-site renewable energy benefits like reduced future energy bills or increased resilience. The State Building Code Council must revise the energy code by January 1, 2027 and run a study, in consultation with the Department of Commerce, local governments, and the Department of Enterprise Services, to encourage wider use of renewables, so agencies will need to allocate staff time and coordination for rulemaking and the study. Important implementation details are missing here: the exact statutory text for the new section, the full definition of “renewable energy generation system,” and possible interactions with other provisions are not included, so some costs and compliance questions remain unclear.