BILL REQ. #:  S-3417.1 

Read first time 01/11/10.   Referred to Committee on Environment, Water & Energy.

     AN ACT Relating to defining a green home and an energy efficient home; adding new sections to chapter 19.27 RCW; adding a new section to chapter 64.06 RCW; and prescribing penalties.

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

NEW SECTION.  Sec. 1   A new section is added to chapter 19.27 RCW to read as follows:
     To be labeled, sold, or represented as a green home or energy efficient home, a group R-2 single-family or duplex residential unit or group R-3 multifamily residential building, as defined in section 310 of the 2009 international building code, must be constructed under standards established under section 2 of this act. A builder, construction company, real estate agent, or owner of a residential unit or multifamily residential building may not represent, sell, or offer for sale a residential unit or multifamily residential building with the representation that it is a green home or energy efficient home if the builder, construction company, real estate agent, or owner of a home knows, or has reason to know, that the residential unit or multifamily residential building has not been constructed to meet the definitions established under section 2 of this act.

NEW SECTION.  Sec. 2   A new section is added to chapter 19.27 RCW to read as follows:
     (1) By July 1, 2010, the state building code council shall adopt rules to define green home and energy efficient home for group R-2 single-family and duplex residential units and multifamily residential buildings, as defined in section 310 of the 2009 international building code, in conformity with chapter 34.05 RCW. The rules must be developed in collaboration with interested stakeholders including the department of commerce, the Washington State University energy extension office, the Washington association of realtors, and the home builders association. The state building code council shall develop rules that provide a definition for:
     (a) "Green home" that requires certification by a local or national program using criteria for energy efficiency, indoor air quality, environmental responsibility, and resource efficiency, or an evaluation by a multistakeholder group consisting of representatives from within the region or housing market area, and provides for varying levels of certified green homes; and
     (b) "Energy efficient home" that requires the home to use fifteen percent less energy than a similar building constructed to the most recent edition of the Washington state energy code.
     (2) The state building code council must:
     (a) Publish an appendix of the requirements for an energy efficient home for each revised edition of the Washington state energy code;
     (b) Provide energy efficient home compliance methods that are consistent with the mandatory sections of the Washington state energy code, including a method to show compliance using the prescriptive, the component performance, and the systems analysis approaches, and prescribe labels for an energy efficient home that are consistent with energy efficiency labeling required by the energy code; and
     (c) Review the rules every three years coinciding with the reviews and updates to the Washington state energy code. The rules must be revised to reflect changes in the energy code and meet the requirement that the energy efficient home use fifteen percent less energy than a similar building constructed to the revised edition of the energy code.
     (3) A local building department or a third-party inspector approved by a local building department may provide plan review and inspections for energy efficient homes. A local building department may establish reasonable fees that are consistent with any additional plan review and inspections services that are above and beyond the mandatory energy code inspections.

NEW SECTION.  Sec. 3   A new section is added to chapter 64.06 RCW to read as follows:
     (1) It is unlawful for any person to sell, offer for sale, or process any residential unit within this state as a green home or energy efficient home unless the home meets the definition of a green home or energy efficient home as developed under section 2 of this act.
     (2) The legislature finds that the practices covered by this section are matters vitally affecting the public interest for the purpose of applying the consumer protection act, chapter 19.86 RCW. A violation of this section is not reasonable in relation to the development and preservation of business and is an unfair or deceptive act in trade or commerce and an unfair method of competition for the purpose of applying the consumer protection act, chapter 19.86 RCW. Remedies available under chapter 19.86 RCW do not affect any other remedy the injured party may have.