This bill amends existing law (RCW 18.106.270) to change how infractions under RCW 18.106.020 are penalized and enforced. It sets minimum monetary penalties for a first infraction at $100 for a person and $500 for a contractor, caps the maximum penalty for a second or subsequent infraction at $5,000, requires the responsible department to adopt a rulemaking schedule of penalties, and directs that collected penalties be deposited into the plumbing certificate fund. The bill also prohibits an administrative law judge from waiving, reducing, or suspending the monetary penalty, while allowing the director to waive or reduce collection for good cause. The act becomes effective January 1, 2027. The bill creates a new suspension procedure for certificates, licenses, endorsements, or registrations: the department may suspend an individual’s or plumbing contractor’s credential for up to two years by final order if the holder is determined to have committed five or more infractions within a five-year period. The suspension order must list each infraction, the suspension period is measured from the date of the department’s final order, and multiple infractions or violations found in a single inspection or audit count as one infraction for the five-in-five calculation. The department must provide regular updates on enforcement actions under this section to the advisory board of plumbers. The measure is an amendment to existing statutory enforcement and penalty provisions rather than creating a new crime. The extracted text does not identify which agency is meant by “the department” or which “director” is referenced, does not define terms such as “infraction,” “contractor,” or “plumbing certificate fund,” and does not include the text of RCW 18.106.020 that describes the specific infraction being penalized.

If enacted, people who commit the specified plumbing infractions would face a guaranteed minimum fine ($100 for individuals, $500 for contractors) on a first offense, with repeat infractions subject to higher penalties up to $5,000; five or more infractions within five years could lead the department to suspend a person’s or contractor’s plumbing certificate or license for up to two years, increasing the risk of lost work and business interruption for contractors and individuals who perform plumbing work. Administrative law judges would no longer be able to reduce or suspend those monetary penalties, though the agency director could choose to waive or reduce collection for good cause, and all collected fines would go into the plumbing certificate fund, likely increasing that fund’s revenue while the department must adopt a penalty schedule and report enforcement activity to the advisory board of plumbers. Key implementation details are unclear from the provided text, including which specific agency or director is responsible, how “infraction” is defined under RCW 18.106.020, and how the department will apply the five-infractions rule in practice, so some operational impacts and appeal options remain uncertain.