Dustin Curb, managing director of the State Building Code Council (SBCC), briefed the House Local Government Committee on the council’s membership, rulemaking process and current rulemaking timelines, and updated members on work to implement Senate Bill 5491 (single stairway residential buildings) and related multiplex housing discussions.

Curb described the SBCC as a state agency that develops and amends minimum statewide building, mechanical, plumbing, fire and energy code requirements. "We establish the minimum building, mechanical, fire, plumbing, and energy code requirements to promote the health, safety, and wellness of the folks of the state of Washington," Curb said. He said the council operates a three‑year model‑code adoption cycle, with standing committees, technical advisory groups (tags) and a public rulemaking process that includes CR 102 filing, public hearings in Eastern and Western Washington, and a December adoption deadline for most codes. The council said the 2024 code cycle aims for final adoption by December and an effective date of Nov. 1, 2026, with publication of code books by July 2026.

SBCC Chair Todd Byreuther and tag chairs described how the council balances prescriptive code language and performance pathways. "The legislature sets the targets, and we try very hard to remain in the technical sphere, call balls and strikes and develop good code that implements," Byreuther said, explaining the interface between legislative policy goals and technical rulemaking. Roger Heringa, chair of the single‑exit and multiplex housing tag, gave an example to distinguish approaches: "Prescriptive is this is how you can do it. And performance is you have to meet these goals. There's more latitude, but also more requirements to prove that it works." Heringa said the multiplex/single‑stair work requires reconciling residential code provisions and commercial/code thresholds and that the tag is evaluating water supply and fire‑response considerations specified in statute.

On Senate Bill 5491, Dustin Curb said the SBCC convened a technical advisory group and held its first meeting April 7. The SBCC opened a public proposals window March 24–May 19 and reviewed additional proposals June 9. Curb said the SBCC is working the single‑stair/multiplex topic on a somewhat accelerated, parallel path to its normal three‑year cycle, targeting completed filings in January 2026 so the changes can be reflected in published code materials.

Committee members asked how the legislature and SBCC can coordinate earlier in the drafting process so that statutory intent is clearer to technical drafters. Multiple council members and legislators urged early consultation; Tom Handy, SBCC legislative committee chair, said the SBCC’s legislative committee intends to meet outside of session to review bills that affect the SBCC and that council members are available to provide technical input. Several legislators raised energy‑code questions — including how the SBCC handles site‑based versus source‑based energy policy — and how regional differences (climate zones, grid reliability) might be accounted for in statewide code targets. Byreuther noted that performance pathways exist and said they create opportunities to address such regional differences.

SBCC staff also reviewed procedural points: the council is composed of 15 governor‑appointed voting members and five ex‑officio members (legislators and L&I); standing committees include building/fire/residential/WUI and mechanical/ventilation/plumbing/energy; technical advisory groups supply subject matter review; and rulemaking follows the Administrative Procedure Act, including normal, expedited and emergency rulemaking tracks. The council emphasized that formal opinions and interpretations are available to local code officials but are not legally binding; opinions can, however, generate future rulemaking proposals.

Ending: Committee members thanked SBCC staff and chairs and expressed interest in closer, earlier engagement on legislation with technical implications. SBCC members offered to make legislative committee contacts and technical advisory groups available for consultation as bills move through drafting and hearings; no formal committee action was taken during the briefing.