Senate Bill 5190 would permit K‑12 school districts to request extensions to the Department of Commerce Clean Buildings energy performance standard compliance deadlines. Alex Fairfortun briefed the committee that the existing statute sets tiered deadlines (as early as June 1, 2026, for the largest buildings) and imposes penalties for noncompliance; the bill would allow districts to submit a noncompliance mitigation plan before a compliance date and obtain a single, non‑renewable 10‑year extension.

Sponsor Chair Wellman framed the bill as temporary relief while the state and districts resolve funding and operational conflicts the standard creates for schools. She told the committee she did not oppose the law’s intent but sought to prevent districts from paying fines or diverting operating funds while the legislature and agencies work on longer‑term solutions.

Multiple district witnesses supported the proposal and described the financial scale of the challenge. Martin Turney (Issaquah) said his district’s initial compliance estimate after consultant work was roughly $130 million for projects in a first phase; Issaquah’s November bond failed and the district lacks resources to meet the Clean Buildings requirements. Tacoma sustainability manager Michael Knaack said 55 of Tacoma’s 70 buildings fall into the tightest compliance tier and 30 were not in compliance during initial assessments; Tacoma had applied for grants but not all funding is guaranteed and deadlines are tight.

Representatives of school facilities and maintenance associations echoed district concerns that building health and ventilation guidance issued during the COVID‑19 pandemic sometimes requires increased outdoor air or other measures that can raise energy use — a potential conflict with the Clean Buildings energy targets. Devlin Poplick (North Shore/Mead examples) described a retrofit that lowered a building’s energy use index (EUI) from 72 to 48 at a district cost of about $600,000; he noted the district could have paid a smaller penalty instead in some scenarios and that costs to become compliant vary widely.

Witnesses urged that the extension be accompanied by funding discussions and that the extension not be treated as a permanent exemption. Some groups asked the committee to examine alignment between Department of Commerce Clean Buildings rules and Department of Health guidance on ventilation and indoor air quality.

The bill requires Commerce to adopt rules to implement extensions and prohibits Commerce from imposing administrative penalties on a district that has timely submitted an extension request. The committee did not take a vote at the hearing.