INDUSTRY ADVOCACY REPORT – January 13, 2025
New Issues Alert!
Legislative Session Begins Today! – The 2025 Legislative Session begins today with opening ceremonies in both houses at noon. You can find all the action live on TVW at https://tvw.org/schedule/. BIAW has put out the first round of requests in a call to action on the following bills (click on bill number for bill analysis/full text):
HB 1217 – Rent Stabilization: This bill places specific limits on annual rent increases and provides for various tenant protections intended to preserve the ability of tenants to maintain adequate housing/shelter.
Scheduled for public hearing in the House Committee on Housing at 1:30 PM, January 13, 2025.
Recommended sign in con.
HB 1184 – Overtime Exemptions: Provides for exemptions for certain non-profits and small businesses from the minimum salary rule for salaried employees. Scheduled for public hearing in the House Committee on Labor & Workplace Standards at 8:00 AM, January 15, 2025.
Recommended Sign In Pro.
HB 1160 – Design Review: Minimizes the impact and amount of required design review meetings. Ensures expedited approval of plans and eliminates “bring another rock” process. Scheduled for public hearing in the House Committee on Housing at 8:00 AM in anticipation of other legislative action, January 16, 2025.
Recommended Sign In Pro.
SB 5088 – Public Utility Tax: Authorizes counties to impose an excise tax on public utilities (PUD, etc.) not to exceed 3% in increases. The tax can be proposed on the first business day of any given quarter. The bill does authorize the utility to include said tax in their rates. Scheduled for public hearing in the Senate Committee on Local Government at 1:30 PM, January 16, 2025.
Recommended Sign In Con.
HB 1015 – Energy Labeling/Residential: Cities and counties may require that the owner of a single2 family residence obtain and make available a home energy performance 3 report before the residence may be publicly advertised for sale. Scheduled for public hearing in the House Committee on Local Government at 10:30 AM, January 17, 2025.
Recommended Sign In Con.
SB 5175 – Photovoltaic Modules: Concerning disposal of PV (solar) panels. Each manufacturer must prepare and submit a PV module stewardship plan to Ecology by January 31, 2028, or within 30 days of its first sale of a PV module in or into the state, whichever is later. Scheduled for public hearing in the Senate Committee on Environment, Energy & Technology at 8:00 AM, January 15, 2025.
Recommended Sign In Con.
Quarterly Building Officials Meeting – Scheduled for January 23rd, at noon. We at OMB urge you not to miss this upcoming meeting. Local Building Officials will be present and host a roundtable discussion with participating members. Thurston County representatives will discuss the changes and process improvements they have made, and other jurisdictions will provide input on the building climate in their area as well. We will be hosting this meeting at the OMB office at 1211 State Ave NE. We hope you will bring your lunch and join the conversation.
Industry Advocacy Special Presentation – City of Olympia will provide OMB members with a special [presentation on the ins and outs of the newly required climate chapter of their comprehensive plan. They will be seeking feedback and ideas from members, and you are highly encouraged to participate. This meeting is scheduled for 4pm on January 23rd. OMB will host the meeting at 1211 State Ave NE.
Housing Instability Forum – The League of Women Voters will be hosting a Housing Instability Forum on January 15, 2025. The Forum is set to begin at 6:30 pm and will likely run until 8pm. OMB Government Affairs Director will be participating as a panelist along with Senator Jessica Bateman, Craig Chance of the Housing Authority of Thurston County, and Dave Toler from Olympia for All. The discussion will be centered around what is causing housing instability and what are some suggested solutions. The forum will be hosted at the Capitol Event Center at 6005 Tyee Dr, SW, Tumwater, WA.
Ongoing Topics:
The Switch Is On – (Heat Pump Rebates!) The City of Olympia, and several others, are joining “The Switch Is On” campaign. This means savings through incentives and rebates on heat pumps for homeowners and contractors. For example, jurisdictions may offer rebates on heat pump technology for our home appliances including HVAC systems and dryers. The City of Olympia is asking for help from our members by signing up for this program and connecting clients with these incentives and rebates.
To sign up/explore options you may be able to provide go to https://www.switchison.org/wa
Comprehensive Plans – In case you haven’t heard it enough already, please be sure to provide input on comprehensive plans throughout the jurisdictions you conduct business or live in. It cannot be stressed enough that this is your opportunity to tell the cities and counties across the South Sound that redundant and unnecessary regulations and restrictions are driving up the cost of housing. You do business in this industry. You are the expert. You know what is helping/hurting your ability to do business in your community. Now is the time for you to provide input and direction for the local housing economy.
WHY THIS MATTERS TO YOU – Comprehensive Planning at jurisdictions will impact your ability to do business and build housing for the next 20 years. They include policy around economy, land use, zoning, housing and more. The overarching goal of the comprehensive plan is to place local control over local priorities. Make time to be part of the “locals” that are giving input! These plans are only available to update and edit every 10 years, and now is your time to determine what you want your community to look like shifting toward 2045, and to ensure that affordable housing for all economic segments of society is a priority!
You can search your local jurisdiction online, but we’ve also provided some of the major ones below:
Industry Advocacy Report – December 17, 2024
Energize Thurston Request For Proposals (RFP) – Thurston County is seeking qualified HVAC and plumbing contractors for the 2025
Energize Thurston heat pump group purchase campaign in collaboration with South Puget Sound Habitat for Humanity and the cities of Lacey, Olympia, Tumwater, and Tenino. Energize Thurston builds on the successful
Energize Olympia program, expanding its benefits to provide installations of heat pump space conditioning and heat pump water heaters (HPWH) for residents throughout the County.
Our goals for the program are to educate at least 600 residents on the benefits of heat pumps via our community workshop series, and complete at least 170 heat pump installations and at least 120 HPWH installations. These totals will be divided between subsidized installations for low- to moderate-income households (administered by Habitat for Humanity) and self-funded installations available to any household.
The Request for Proposals (RFP) can be downloaded at the link below under “RFP_Energize Thurston 2025 Heat Pump and HPWH Installation Services”:
Proposals shall be submitted to Rebecca Harvey, RFP Coordinator, at
rebecca.harvey@co.thurston.wa.us. Only emailed submissions will be accepted. The deadline for submission of proposals is
January 10, 2025 at 11:00 a.m. Pacific Time (PDT).
All pre-proposal inquiries (PPIs) regarding this RFP shall be directed to the RFP Coordinator via e-mail at
rebecca.harvey@co.thurston.wa.us. All PPIs must clearly identify the name of the inquiring company or person and the RFP number, title, and section/page number. Questions via telephone will not be accepted. All questions to this proposal must be sent to the RFP Coordinator via email by
December 18, 2024 at 4:00 p.m. PDT. Questions received after this date may not be answered. All questions will be answered via an addendum posted on the Thurston County website.
I – 2066 Enforcement Update – Jurisdictions around the state are adapting to the new legal changes implemented by I-2066 officially becoming state law on December 5, 2024. Several jurisdictions, including Clark County, have decided to utilize local discretion when applying Energy Equalization Credits under the 2021 Energy Code. They’ve decided to weigh gas the same as other energy sources as to not unfairly disincentivize or unintentionally eliminate it as a choice in building. This is a preliminary measure to provide some relief until further directed by rulemaking from the State Building Codes Council. This step is one option and may not apply to all local jurisdictions. OMB and BIAW invite feedback from members, as they turn in projects across multiple jurisdictions, around what their own experience has been.
Lewis County Fee Increases – FYI, we were informed at the Lewis County meeting earlier this year that the county was in dire need of revenue and could possibly double their fees. This is coming to fruition on January 1. Your GA director submitted a letter to the county laying out the potential negative impacts on the housing markets. Our members suggested, at the time, that they understood the need to raise some fees and that the county did not raise fees since 2017. So, relatively, Lewis County is in line with much of the state. In fact, they remain a lower cost place to build than Thurston. Your GA Director is working with the county on efficiency processes that may help mitigate these costs.
Tumwater Committees Recommend to Council Permitting Efficiency Measures – Tumwater’s General Government Committee met on Wednesday, November 13th, and discussed amendments to Title 14 of the Tumwater Municipal Code. Title 14 contains the rules, codes, and policies in the Tumwater Development Code. Development staff spoke about the need to create efficiencies around recommendations from the industry (OMB) and due to SB 5290. Some of the changes discussed would be to the timelines for permitting, and some expansion of the Multi-Family Tax Exemption. On permitting timelines, the committee recommends being more explicit in the city code and ensuring that developers/builders understand the characterization “procedurally complete.” On the MFTE, the committee recommended administrative approval by the development manager themselves as a common practice going forward (OMB supported this measure, but council has pushed back). Finally, the GGC also recommended more flexibility for staff to interpret the land use code and find better ways to get to yes.
City of Olympia Climate Chapter Project – Talks are beginning around Olympia’s climate chapter of their comp plan. Your GA Director is a stakeholder and having preliminary meetings with staff this week. Look to future reports for further updates.
Ongoing Topics:
The Switch Is On – (Heat Pump Rebates!) The City of Olympia, and several others, are joining “The Switch Is On” campaign. This means savings through incentives and rebates on heat pumps for homeowners and contractors. For example, jurisdictions may offer rebates on heat pump technology for our home appliances including HVAC systems and dryers. The City of Olympia is asking for help from our members by signing up for this program and connecting clients with these incentives and rebates.
Comprehensive Plans – In case you haven’t heard it enough already, please be sure to provide input on comprehensive plans throughout the jurisdictions you conduct business or live in. It cannot be stressed enough that this is your opportunity to tell the cities and counties across the South Sound that redundant and unnecessary regulations and restrictions are driving up the cost of housing. You do business in this industry. You are the expert. You know what is helping/hurting your ability to do business in your community. Now is the time for you to provide input and direction for the local housing economy.
WHY THIS MATTERS TO YOU – Comprehensive Planning at jurisdictions will impact your ability to do business and build housing for the next 20 years. They include policy around economy, land use, zoning, housing and more. The overarching goal of the comprehensive plan is to place local control over local priorities. Make time to be part of the “locals” that are giving input! These plans are only available to update and edit every 10 years, and now is your time to determine what you want your community to look like shifting toward 2045, and to ensure that affordable housing for all economic segments of society is a priority!
You can search your local jurisdiction online, but we’ve also provided some of the major ones below:
Olympia Fee Increases – As the City of Olympia works to balance their 2025-26 biennium budget proposal, our members should be aware that impact fees are on the table. Olympia City officials have proposed increasing utility rates, permit, and impact fees as part of the 2025 budget, aimed at supporting critical infrastructure and other municipal services. For 2025, the proposed changes include a 4% overall increase in permit fees to account for labor costs. “This 4% increase, we believe, gives a buffer. Not only does it help match the 76% cost recovery, but it also provides a buffer for any changes from the classification and compensation study. So, we believe the 4% increase is a reasonable and appropriate adjustment,” the city’s finance director has stated. OMB staff sent out updates previously on the potential for these increases, and the general feeling was that these were acceptable increases to cover increased costs and potential staffing and operations of the permit center. However, don’t feel the need to agree. We will field and relay all concerns on this that you may have to city staff.
For more information on any of these items, or something else, please reach out.
Jessie W Simmons
Government Affairs Director
Olympia Master Builders
C: (360) 525-4142
O: (360) 754-0912 ext. 102
