This bill amends and reenacts RCW 43.22.450 and amends RCW 43.22.455, 43.22.470, and 43.22.480 to change how factory built housing and factory built commercial structures are regulated. After the effective date of regulations adopted under RCW 43.22.480, no such structure may be installed on a building site unless it is approved by the Washington State Department of Labor and Industries and bears the department’s insignia of approval. Structures bearing the insignia are deemed to comply with applicable city, county, or local enforcement agency laws governing their manufacture and construction, and manufacturers or installers may not modify approved structures prior to or during installation without prior department approval. The bill makes procedural changes to inspection, approval, and oversight authority. The department must adopt and enforce rules assuring structural soundness and reasonable safety of plumbing, heating, electrical, and other components, and in doing so must consider national consensus standards such as International Code Council codes, the National Electrical Code, NFPA rules, the Washington energy code, and, where applicable, the temporary worker building code. The department may delegate inspection duties to local enforcement agencies and may allow inspections by qualified inspection agencies meeting specified objectivity, competence, independence, equipment, and personnel certification requirements; International Code Council certification is recognized. The director may adopt rules allowing approval of plans certified as meeting state requirements by professionals licensed in other states whose standards meet or exceed Washington’s. The bill also requires the department to set a fee schedule to cover administration and enforcement costs and authorizes the governor, during a state of emergency declared under RCW 43.06.010(12), to waive or suspend fee collection and issue orders to facilitate government operations or protect the population. Affected entities include the Department of Labor and Industries, local enforcement agencies, qualified inspection agencies, the state building code council, and electric utilities (which are exempted from department approval for certain prefabricated enclosures). The extracted text does not specify the effective date of the new regulations, the appearance or formal definition of the insignia of approval, fee amounts or categories, or the detailed process and criteria for approving qualified inspection agencies.

If enacted, manufacturers and installers of factory built housing and commercial structures will generally have to get state approval and display the Department of Labor & Industries’ insignia before putting units on site, and they cannot change approved units during installation without further department sign-off. Approved units will be treated as meeting local building rules, the department can delegate or allow qualified private inspection agencies to do inspections, and electric utilities won’t need department approval for certain locked, unoccupied equipment enclosures. The department will adopt technical rules based on national codes and set fees to cover its administration and enforcement. This shifts more upfront administrative responsibility and likely costs onto manufacturers/installer firms and could create new business for qualified inspection agencies, while giving the department and local agencies roles in oversight and fee collection; professionals licensed in other states may be allowed to certify plans if their standards match Washington’s, potentially speeding some reviews. Important details that affect timing and cost — the effective date of the new approval requirement, the fee levels, what the insignia looks like, and the exact criteria and process for approving qualified inspection agencies — are not specified in the provided text.