Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Clean Buildings Performance Standard topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Commerce-backed bill would add alternative compliance paths, exemptions and extensions to clean buildings standard
Summary
House Bill 1543 would let the state Department of Commerce adopt alternative compliance metrics, allow additional exemptions and grant timeline extensions for buildings subject to Washington’s Clean Buildings Performance Standard.
Representative Beth D’Oleo, the bill sponsor and a committee member, introduced House Bill 1543 as agency‑request legislation from the Department of Commerce to add flexibility as the Clean Buildings Performance Standard moves toward initial compliance dates.
Emily Salzberg, managing director of the Clean Buildings unit at the state energy office (Commerce), told the committee the bill would authorize Commerce to adopt alternative compliance pathways based on alternative metrics, grant additional exemptions where extenuating circumstances exist ("including but not limited to risks to national security"), and approve extensions for compliance timelines when conditions are beyond an owner’s control. "This bill will accomplish three key things," Salzberg said: create alternative paths, permit timeline extensions and provide additional exemption categories.
The Clean Buildings Performance Standard (passed in 2019) requires large commercial and multifamily buildings to benchmark energy use and meet energy‑use intensity targets; the largest tier of commercial buildings faces compliance beginning June 2026. Commerce staff briefed the committee on the program’s scope, the phased compliance schedule and current exemption categories (manufacturing, industrial, agricultural buildings). The bill would also require utilities to provide energy consumption data for all buildings covered by the standard, not only the largest buildings, to improve benchmarking and compliance support.
Representative D’Oleo said the bill reflects consensus recommendations from a state‑funded stakeholder work group and is intended to reduce avoidable penalties by giving Commerce additional tools to address compliance challenges. "We want to make it as flexible as possible for everyone to comply," she said, noting added time for district energy systems and the need for upfront capital in public buildings.
Peter Galinski of the Association of Washington Business endorsed the bill’s intent to help covered businesses manage compliance costs. Emily Salzberg said Commerce will implement rulemaking if the bill passes and that the agency is continuing to develop guidance ahead of the 2026 compliance timeline.
Ending: The bill moves the authority for alternative metrics and targeted exemptions to Commerce rulemaking and aims to reduce penalties by allowing approved extensions. The committee hearing focused on implementation details and Commerce’s plans to provide guidance and grants to help large building owners meet performance targets.
