Senate Bill 6168 (S-3764.1), introduced in the 69th Legislature, 2026 Regular Session by Senators Boehnke and Dozier, adds a new section to chapter 70A.65 RCW that temporarily suspends RCW 70A.65.060 through 70A.65.210, RCW 70A.65.310, RCW 70A.65.320, and any department rules adopted to implement the program created under those sections. The suspension runs from the section’s effective date through December 31, 2027, and the act includes an emergency clause declaring it necessary for the immediate preservation of public peace, health, or safety so it takes effect immediately. The bill frames the change with legislative findings that Washington households face higher costs for gasoline, diesel, utilities, groceries, and other essentials and that costs of compliance with the climate commitment act are being passed on to Washingtonians. Procedurally, this is a statutory suspension of existing law and related agency rules; it does not create a new crime or change criminal penalties in the extracted text. The extracted material does not name the specific department referenced, does not provide the text or specifics of the suspended RCW sections, and does not describe the name or details of the program being suspended. It is also not clear from the provided facts how the cited RCW sections correspond to the broader "climate commitment act" without consulting those statutes. The bill was read for the first time on 01/15/26 and referred to the Committee on Environment, Energy & Technology.

If enacted, the bill would halt operation and enforcement of a state climate-related program and its implementing rules immediately and through December 31, 2027. In practical terms that likely reduces or delays compliance costs that were being passed on to households, working families, people on fixed incomes, rural residents, small businesses, and other vulnerable groups, and it would temporarily cut the work those implementing agencies are required to do under the suspended program. Who feels that change most: households and small businesses may see lower or delayed price pressures tied to the program, and the unnamed department that adopted the rules would have fewer enforcement and administrative duties while the pause lasts. Important details are missing, though: the bill text here does not name the department or describe the specific program provisions being paused, so the precise impacts on agency budgets, state revenues, emissions outcomes, or legal obligations are unclear.