Passed by the Senate April 20, 2009 YEAS 38 NAYS 10 BRAD OWEN ________________________________________ President of the Senate Passed by the House April 7, 2009 YEAS 95 NAYS 3 FRANK CHOPP ________________________________________ Speaker of the House of Representatives		CERTIFICATE I, Thomas Hoemann, Secretary of the Senate of the State of Washington, do hereby certify that the attached is SUBSTITUTE SENATE BILL 5561 as passed by the Senate and the House of Representatives on the dates hereon set forth. THOMAS HOEMANN ________________________________________ Secretary
Approved April 30, 2009, 11:42 a.m. CHRISTINE GREGOIRE ________________________________________ Governor of the State of Washington		FILED May 1, 2009 Secretary of State State of Washington

AN ACT Relating to the installation of carbon monoxide alarms in dwelling units; adding a new section to chapter 19.27 RCW; and creating a new section.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 1 The legislature recognizes that carbon monoxide poses a serious threat. According to national statistics from the centers for disease control, carbon monoxide kills more than five hundred people and accounts for an estimated twenty thousand emergency department visits annually. Specifically, Washington state has experienced the dire effects of carbon monoxide poisoning. In the storms that struck Washington in December 2006, it was estimated that over one thousand people in the state were seen at hospital emergency rooms with symptoms of carbon monoxide poisoning, and eight people reportedly died of carbon monoxide exposure. It is the intent of the legislature to implement policies to prevent similar tragedies from occurring in the future.

NEW SECTION.  Sec. 2   A new section is added to chapter 19.27 RCW to read as follows:
     (1) By July 1, 2010, the building code council shall adopt rules requiring that all buildings classified as residential occupancies, as defined in the state building code in chapter 51-54 WAC, but excluding owner-occupied single-family residences legally occupied before the effective date of this act, be equipped with carbon monoxide alarms.
     (2)(a) The building code council may phase in the carbon monoxide alarm requirements on a schedule that it determines reasonable, provided that the rules require that by January 1, 2011, all newly constructed buildings classified as residential occupancies will be equipped with carbon monoxide alarms, and all other buildings classified as residential occupancies will be equipped with carbon monoxide alarms by January 1, 2013.
     (b) Owner-occupied single-family residences legally occupied before the effective date of this act are exempt from the requirements of this subsection (2). However, for any owner-occupied single-family residence that is sold on or after the effective date of this act, the seller must equip the residence with carbon monoxide alarms in accordance with the requirements of the state building code before the buyer or any other person may legally occupy the residence following such sale.
     (3) The building code council may exempt categories of buildings classified as residential occupancies if it determines that requiring carbon monoxide alarms are unnecessary to protect the health and welfare of the occupants.
     (4) The rules adopted by the building code council under this section must (a) consider applicable nationally accepted standards and (b) require that the maintenance of a carbon monoxide alarm in a building where a tenancy exists, including the replacement of batteries, is the responsibility of the tenant, who shall maintain the alarm as specified by the manufacturer.