At a Feb. 14 meeting of the Local Government Committee, lawmakers heard House Bill 19-35, a technical change that would clarify that building permits are not “project permits” for the purposes of chapter 36.70B RCW, the statute that governs local government processing of project permit applications under the Growth Management Act.

Committee staffer Kellen Wright summarized the bill: “The bill before you is House Bill 19-35, an act relating to the definition of project permit and project permit application,” and explained it would explicitly provide that building permits are not project permits under chapter 36.70B RCW.

The nut graf: the change responds to confusion following 2023’s Senate Bill 5290, which established timelines for processing project permits. Supporters said 5290 intended to target discretionary land-use and civil permits that often drive development schedules, not building permits that typically focus on life-safety code checks and are processed more quickly.

Bill sponsor (Representative) told the committee the language is a “simple technical cleanup” requested by stakeholders who helped negotiate SB 5290. The sponsor said the legislature intended to exclude building permits from the project-permit definition because building permits are “less discretionary and typically are only a small portion of the approval process.” Representative Hunt asked whether the bill would change how building permits are processed; Kellen Wright and the sponsor said the bill is intended to clarify existing practice and that building permits “already typically meet the 120 day deadline.”

Industry and local-government groups testified in support. Andrea Smiley of the Building Industry Association of Washington said, “it is our experience and our members’ experience that it's the land use and civil permits … that take the longest,” and that excluding building permits aligns the statute with the law’s intent. Curtis Steinhauer, representing the State Association of Counties and regional planning directors, called it “a technical fix” and a “timing clarification.” Carl Schrader of the Association of Washington Cities said the change reflects what negotiators intended last year and noted the many different permit types handled under a building-permit process. Tim Woodward of the Washington Association of Building Officials said WABO “strongly supports this bill” and warned the lack of clarity could prompt undesirable triage of small building permits.

No committee action or final vote on HB 19-35 was recorded at the meeting; the item was presented as a public hearing with testimony and then the committee moved on to other bill briefings.