The Senate passed HB 2071 and the House concurred, sending the bill to the Governor’s desk. The bill, sponsored by Rep. Davina Duerr (D-Bothell), ends up with some helpful direction to the State Building Code Council (SBCC) to consider the building codes associated with multiplexes and minimum room sizes.
The bill does the following:
- Directs the SBCC to convene a technical committee to make recommendations to apply the International Residential Code to multiplexes (think middle housing). This could have the effect of reducing costs for the construction of those housing forms, if the SBCC can find ways to do so while preserving life safety protections.
- Directs the SBCC to convene a technical committee to make recommendations on minimum room sizes that are smaller than the International Building Code.
- Directs the Office of Regulatory Innovation and Assistance to develop a “standard energy code plan set” that demonstrates a compliance pathway for the energy code. This may be voluntarily used by local governments or the building industry.