Building Code Council discusses delaying implementation date, flags fund and staffing limits

The Washington State Building Code Council on Nov. 14 discussed whether to keep the proposed Nov. 1, 2026 code implementation date or delay it to May 1 if the Legislature does not provide relief, and members raised concerns about staff capacity and the council’s ability to spend available fees.

Dustin (SBCC staff/director) told the council the building code council fund “sits right at the $1.31400000.0 dollars right now,” but cautioned the council is “bumping right up against our expenditure authority” after some authority was removed in the last legislative session. He said the Department of Enterprise Services is preparing a decision package to restore the council’s ability to spend those funds.

Tom and others described a growing staff workload tied to producing and publishing the new codes and suggested two primary needs: paying for external economic analysis for non‑energy codes and increasing staffing to keep code cycles on schedule. “One would be to pay for the economic analysis in a more robust way, and the other would be for…good staff that are well paid,” Tom said during the committee report.

Representatives from WABO and industry speakers indicated they would prefer any delay to final adoption and implementation to be aligned so jurisdictions and practitioners have time to access publications and training before a new code takes effect.

Council members said the legislative committee will continue discussion and is not asking the full council to take action at this meeting. The committee scheduled further discussion and public input at future legislative committee meetings.

Next steps: the legislative committee will meet again to develop a recommended direction and the council will consider potential adjustments to permit fees, staff levels, or legislative decision packages that could address capacity and implementation timing.