Bill would let local officials set occupancy for childcare in part‑use buildings to ease rural openings

Senate Bill 5,655 would direct building officials to calculate a childcare center’s occupancy load using only the space the childcare occupies when a center operates in an existing building with more than one use.

Sponsor Senator Deb Krishadossen told the Senate Education Committee the change is meant to make it financially feasible to open childcare centers in community spaces such as churches and other civic buildings, especially in rural areas with few available options. “Families struggle not only with the cost, but the availability for safe, reliable childcare facilities,” Krishadossen said. She said current occupancy calculations that treat the entire building as the center’s footprint can make required sprinkler systems and other upgrades prohibitively expensive.

Kimberly Shaw, director of the childcare provider discussed in the hearing, described receiving a CCNI grant and securing a church building only to learn a sprinkler and water infrastructure retrofit would cost roughly $500,000, a price the grant could not cover. “We have never had a childcare in the past 40 years,” Shaw said of her rural Key Peninsula community. She said the center’s forest‑school option cannot serve infants and toddlers, leaving the youngest children without care.

Local officials who inspect and permit buildings testified in support and described how the change would operate in practice. Tricia Bennett, a local building official, said occupant load is only one factor in life‑safety determinations and that child‑care‑specific requirements would still apply to spaces the center uses. Ken Rice, Pierce County Fire Marshal, said local officials already have code authority to set occupant loads and conduct annual inspections; the bill would clarify the legal responsibility and reduce inconsistent interpretations across jurisdictions. “We’re not gonna bypass those [safety] requirements,” Rice said. “We just want ... it goes into law that we can set that occupant load.”

Representatives of local providers and regional partnerships, including Maria Tobin of the South Sound Military and Communities Partnership and Christine Luna of Kupeninsula Preschool, said the bill would remove an identified municipal barrier to opening new childcare slots. Testimony emphasized rural families’ reliance on state subsidy slots and the long local waits for infant and toddler care.

Bill language does not change other childcare regulatory standards — restroom fixtures, staff‑to‑child ratios, and DCYF program licensing and inspections would still apply, staff and witnesses said. Committee members asked whether the bill would cover temporary or movable classroom setups; sponsors said occupancy would be determined by the specific areas the center will use and that other building and life safety requirements remain in force.

Committee staff noted they are working on minor technical amendments with the Washington State Association of Fire Marshals to ensure the statutory changes align with adopted fire and building codes.