AN ACT Relating to the adoption of a state energy code equivalent to the northwest energy code; amending RCW 19.27.040; adding new sections to chapter 19.27 RCW; adding new sections to chapter 19.27A RCW; adding a new section to chapter 80.04 RCW; creating a new section; repealing RCW 19.27A.010, 19.27A.020, 19.27A.030, and 19.27A.040; providing an effective date; and declaring an emergency.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF WASHINGTON:

NEW SECTION. Sec. 1. The legislature finds that the electricity surplus in the Northwest is dwindling as the population increases and the economy expands. It will soon be necessary to decide where to obtain additional energy resources to fuel the economy and meet consumer demand. Using energy efficiently is one of the lowest-cost ways to meet the consumer demand for power. Conservation will stretch our current, clean, efficient, and low- cost hydroelectric resources into the future. Efficiency also means that less power will need to be imported from outside the region. Energy efficiency will reduce the pressure for future rate increases. By keeping the cost of energy low, this region will maintain an important economic advantage. This will provide the basis for economic stability and the well-being of this state and our region.

The legislature also finds that the northwest power planning council has developed an energy code for new residential construction which enhances energy efficiency and is cost-effective for the consumer. It is the intent of the legislature, therefore, that a state energy code should be adopted based on the model conservation standards adopted by the northwest power planning council.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 2. The state energy code consists of:

(1) The Washington state energy code for new residential construction adopted by the state building code council which is in effect on the effective date of this section;

(2) The state energy code for new residential construction adopted by the state building code council pursuant to section 4 of this act and any amendments adopted by the council pursuant to section 6 of this act; and

(3) The state energy code for new nonresidential buildings, June 1986 edition, and any amendments adopted by the state building code council.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 3. Unless prior to the effective date of this section it has adopted an energy code for new residential construction which exceeds the requirements of the state energy code for new residential construction, a city, town, or county shall enforce the state energy code. After the effective date of this section, a city, town, or county shall not adopt an energy code for new residential construction which exceeds or reduces the requirements of the state energy code for new residential construction.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 4. (1) Not later than January 1, 1991, the state building code council shall by rule adopt a state energy code for new residential buildings. The state energy code shall be in a recognized code format that implements and incorporates the requirements of this section. Those requirements specify a certain level of energy efficiency in new residential buildings, but allow flexibility in building design, construction, and heating plant efficiencies. The state energy code for new residential buildings shall take into account regional climatic conditions. Climate zone 1 shall include all counties not included in climate zone 2. Climate zone 2 shall include the following counties: Adams, Chelan, Douglas, Ferry, Grant, Kittitas, Lincoln, Okanogan, Pend Oreille, Spokane, Stevens, and Whitman.

(2) The state energy code for new residential buildings heated by electric resistance heat shall be designed to conform to the model conservation standards as published by the Bonneville power administration in the northwest energy code, June 1987 edition, which is hereby adopted by reference.

(3) The state energy code for new residential buildings heated by means other than electric resistance space-heat shall be designed according to the following guidelines:

(a) Ceilings insulated to a level of R-30 in zone 1 and R-38 in zone 2 (R value includes insulation only);

(b) Walls insulated to a level of R-19, or constructed with two by four members, R-13 insulation batts, R-3.2 sheathing, and other normal assembly components;

(c) Below grade walls, insulated on the interior side, to a level of R-19 or, if insulated on the exterior side, to a level of R-10 in zone 1 and R-12 in zone 2;

(d) Floors over unheated spaces insulated to a level of R-19 in zone 1 and R-25 in zone 2 (R value includes insulation only);

(e) Slab on grade floors insulated to a level of R-10 at the perimeter;

(f) Heat pumps or furnaces with the maximum efficiency which may be imposed pursuant to P.L. 100-12;

(g) Double glazed windows with values not more than U-0.65 in zone 1 and U-0.60 in zone 2; and

(h) In zone 1, the maximum glazing area shall be twenty-one percent of the floor area. In zone 2 the maximum glazing area shall be seventeen percent of the floor area. Throughout the state for the purposes of determining equivalent thermal performance, the maximum glazing area shall be fifteen percent of the floor area.

(4) The state energy code adopted by the council pursuant to this section shall take effect for new residential buildings for which construction is begun on or after July 1, 1991.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 5. The state building code council shall consult with the state energy office as provided in RCW 34.05.310 prior to publication of proposed rules for the adoption of the state energy code. The state energy office shall review the proposed rules for consistency with the standards set forth in section 4 of this act. The director of the state energy office shall recommend to the state building code council any changes necessary to conform the proposed rules to the state energy code provided for in section 4 of this act.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 6. The state building code council, beginning in 1996, shall review the state energy code every three years. The council may amend any provisions of the state energy code to increase the energy efficiency of newly constructed residential buildings. The council shall consider amendments which are cost-effective for home owners and renters. The council shall also consider any amendments to the model conservation standards adopted by the northwest power planning council. Amendments to the state energy code for new residential construction shall be made by rule adopted in accordance with chapter 34.05 RCW. The rules shall be adopted prior to December 1 of any year and shall not take effect before the end of the regular legislative session in the next year.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 7. (1) Electric utilities shall make payments to the owner at the time of construction of a newly constructed residential building with electric resistance space-heat built in compliance with the requirements of the state energy code adopted pursuant to section 4 of this act. All or a portion of the funds for payments may be accepted from federal agencies or other sources. Payments are required for residential buildings on which construction has begun on or after July 1, 1991, and prior to July 1, 1996. Payments are required for single family residences having one thousand eight hundred square feet or less of finished floor area and for all other residential units having one thousand two hundred seventy-five square feet or less of finished floor area. The payment shall be at least forty cents per square foot of finished or unfinished heated floor area. Payment is required only for the first one thousand eight hundred square feet of heated floor area in a single family residence. For purposes of this section, a zero lot line home, each unit in a duplex, and each attached housing unit in a planned unit development shall each be considered a single family residence.

(2) Nothing in this section shall prohibit an electric utility from providing incentives in excess of the payments required by this section or from providing additional incentives for energy efficiency measures in excess of those required under section 4 of this act.

(3) The utilities and transportation commission shall provide an appropriate regulatory mechanism which allows a utility regulated by the commission to recover expenses incurred by the utility in making payments under this section.

(4) Subsections (1) and (2) of this section shall expire July 1, 1997.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 8. A new section is added to chapter 19.27 RCW to read as follows:

(1) Until final ventilation standards are adopted by the state building code council as provided in section 9 of this act, all new residential structures shall be built to include installation of a mechanical ventilation system complying with standards No. 25 and No. 26 of the northwest energy code, and to meet the ventilation design and source control standards of section 502 of the northwest energy code. If the overall whole house rate of ventilation for new residential buildings using mechanical ventilation to exhaust indoor air and to introduce outdoor air exceeds 0.35 air changes per hour (ACH), the whole house ventilation system shall be designed and installed in compliance with sections (4) and (5) of standard No. 25.

(2) No later than January 1, 1991, the state building code council shall adopt rules pursuant to chapter 34.05 RCW for the purpose of implementing the interim ventilation requirements of subsection (1) of this section.

(3) The requirements of subsection (1) of this section constitute an interim standard for ventilation and are not intended to be a substitute for pollution source control strategies or building materials safety standards. For the purposes of this interim standard, the requirement of the northwest energy code for spot ventilation rates of fifty cubic feet per minute (cfm) for each bathroom and one hundred cfm for each kitchen shall mean an effective fifty or one hundred cfm. Effective installed capacity means a ventilation system capable of delivering these rates of spot ventilation under the actual design conditions of the house or ventilation system as if actually measured at the point the duct work carrying the ventilation system's exhaust air stream exits or is vented from the building envelope. An operable window does not constitute an exception to the exhaust ventilation requirements or the fresh outdoor air inlet requirements of section 502.1.8 of the northwest energy code.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 9. A new section is added to chapter 19.27 RCW to read as follows:

Not later than January 1, 1993, the state building code council shall adopt rules for the maintenance of indoor air quality in newly constructed residences to be in effect beginning July 1, 1993. These requirements shall maintain indoor air quality equivalent to that provided by the mechanical ventilation and indoor air pollutant source control requirements included in the February 7, 1989, Bonneville power administration record of decision for the environmental impact statement on new energy efficient homes programs (DOE/EIS-0127F) built with electric space-heating.

Sec. 10. Section 4, chapter 96, Laws of 1974 ex. sess. as last amended by section 8, chapter 360, Laws of 1985 and RCW 19.27.040 are each amended to read as follows:

The governing body of each county or city is authorized to amend the state building code as it applies within the jurisdiction of the county or city. The minimum performance standards of the codes and the objectives enumerated in RCW 19.27.020 shall not be diminished by any county or city amendments. ((~~Amendments to RCW 19.27A.010 shall not result in structures that exceed the overall structural heat loss characteristics that would have resulted from conforming to RCW 19.27A.010.~~))

Nothing in this chapter shall authorize any modifications of the requirements of chapter 70.92 RCW.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 11. A new section is added to chapter 80.04 RCW to read as follows:

The commission shall adopt policies which will encourage gas and electric companies regulated by this chapter to meet or reduce energy demand through measures which improve the efficiency of energy end use. The commission shall also adopt policies which encourage new projects, when needed, that produce or generate energy from renewable resources. These policies shall be designed to make the decision to meet energy demand through efficiency to be as desirable to the company as meeting energy demand through new generation.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 12. Sections 2 through 7 of this act are each added to chapter 19.27A RCW.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 13. The following acts or parts of acts are each repealed:

(1) Section 3, chapter 96, Laws of 1974 ex. sess., section 8, chapter 110, Laws of 1975 1st ex. sess., section 11, chapter 14, Laws of 1977 ex. sess., section 1, chapter 76, Laws of 1979 ex. sess., section 1, chapter 8, Laws of 1980, section 1, chapter 101, Laws of 1984, section 1, chapter 144, Laws of 1985 and RCW 19.27A.010;

(2) Section 3, chapter 76, Laws of 1979 ex. sess., section 2, chapter 144, Laws of 1985 andRCW 19.27A.020;

(3) Section 3, chapter 144, Laws of 1985, section 1, chapter 204, Laws of 1988 andRCW 19.27A.030; and

(4) Section 4, chapter 144, Laws of 1985, section 2, chapter 204, Laws of 1988 and RCW 19.27A.040.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 14. If any provision of this act or its application to any person or circumstance is held invalid, the remainder of the act or the application of the provision to other persons or circumstances is not affected.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 15. (1) Sections 1 through 11 of this act are necessary for the immediate preservation of the public peace, health, or safety, or support of the state government and its existing public institutions, and shall take effect immediately.

(2) Section 13 of this act shall take effect January 1, 1991.