2025 Legislation that Advances Sustainability in Washington Communities
This blog includes summaries of six bills related to sustainability and climate action that were passed during the most recent Washington State legislative session and signed into law by the governor. Please consult with your agency’s attorney for a full review and interpretation. All bills take effect on July 27, 2025, unless noted otherwise.
SB 5595 - Shared Streets
Prioritizing active transportation modes like biking and walking provide a whole host of community benefits, including improved mental and physical health, better air quality from fewer vehicle emissions, and safety for users. Recognizing these benefits, the legislature passed SB 5595, which allows cities and counties to designate nonarterial highways as shared streets. Nonarterial highways that are state highways may not be designated as shared streets unless they are the primary roads through a central business district.
Specific features of these types of streets include allowing pedestrians to occupy any part of the street (not just at intersections) and setting maximum speed limits of 10 miles per hour to facilitate their safe travel. Cars are allowed, but pedestrians have priority access over cars, bicycles, and micromobility devices (i.e., personal or shared nonmotorized scooters, “motorized foot scooters,” and “electric personal assistive mobility devices”).
While design enhancements are not required in the bill, jurisdictions will want to accompany lower speed limits and pedestrian access with features like street furniture and signs that clearly communicate pedestrians have priority. For more information, see guidance from National Association of City Traffic Officials (NACTO) and the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA).
According to the state department of transportation, while Washington has not previously had the statutory framework for shared streets, there are some good examples of streets with related design features, including Park Lane in Kirkland and Seattle’s Pike Place, Bell Street, and South Lander Street (next to a light rail station). Austin, Texas, also has a Shared Streets Program that could serve as a guide for local communities.
HB 1543 - Clean Building Standards
The Washington State Department of Ecology's statewide inventory of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions shows buildings as the second largest contributor of GHG emissions in the state. Accordingly, the legislature passed the Clean Buildings Act in 2019, which introduced Clean Buildings Performance Standard and required the Washington State Department of Commerce (Commerce) to set energy performance standards for commercial buildings larger than 50,000 square foot (Sq Ft), known as tier 1 buildings (see Chapter 194-50 WAC). In 2021, the law evolved to include tier 2 buildings, or smaller commercial buildings (20,001–50,000 Sq Ft) and multifamily buildings greater than 20,000 Sq Ft. Phased compliance deadlines begin June 1, 2026.
The Clean Buildings Act also included incentives and requirements to encourage energy efficiency in new and existing buildings (e.g., energy efficiency standards, retrofit incentives, utility programs, and building codes) and reporting requirements to benchmark and calculate building energy use intensity (EUI).
New this year, HB 1543 creates flexibility in the Clean Buildings Performance Standard by allowing Commerce to develop alternative measures consistent with national energy efficiency standards and grant extensions for building owners who need more time to meet the standards.
The bill also provides new exemptions, including for schools facing financial hardship, public hospitals that lack the debt capacity to cover the compliance costs, and situations where meeting the standard would compromise the historic integrity of a building or national security interests.
HB 1183 - Energy Efficient and Affordable Housing
Many local governments require multifamily buildings to incorporate facade modulation, like projections across the front of the building and upper-level setbacks (i.e., top floors recessed from the main building). While design standards can enhance the aesthetics of a building, they also have the potential to increase building costs and reduce the potential number of units.
According to Sightline Institute, HB 1183 is the first state bill in the country to reform rules for facade modulation and upper-level setbacks. It prohibits cities, code cities, and counties planning under the Growth Management Act (GMA) from requiring either one for passive house, mass timber, modular construction, conversions of existing buildings to affordable housing, and new affordable housing development. It also eliminates off-street parking requirements for affordable housing, passive housing, and modular or mass timber construction, unless a parking study demonstrates safety concerns or certain conditions along county roads.
A few additional key provisions include:
- Updated minimum parking requirements in RCW 36.70A.620 must be met, unless the community is over 30,000 residents, in which case, the statute is repealed. (Note that SB 5184 also addresses parking and includes a full repeal of RCW 36.70A.620. This bill was covered in the context of childcare facilities in a recent MRSC blog, 2025 Legislation Promotes the Development of Childcare Facilities, and will be covered in more detail in an upcoming blog on planning legislation.)
- Affordable units must not be required to be larger than as described in the bill, unless developed under RCW 36.70A.540.
Most sections of the bill must be implemented by cities, code cities, and counties planning under the GMA within six months after their next periodic update or implementation report, whichever is sooner.
SB 5445 – Distributed Energy Resources
According to Commerce’s Energy Independence Act (EIA) webpage, this act requires electric utilities serving at least 25,000 retail customers to use renewable energy and energy conservation.
SB 5445 builds greater incentives into the EIA for utilities that invest in distributed energy priority (DEP) projects, including expedited installation of small-scale wind energy developments, solar energy projects on landfills and other developed lands, and the placement of solar panels on agricultural lands that ensure the continued viability of agriculture alongside energy production.
Utilities that develop projects or engage in “accelerated energy conservation” are eligible for renewable energy credits (RECs) equivalent to four times the facility’s output under the EIA. The bill also creates new State Environmental Policy Act (SEPA) exemptions for some DEP project types.
SB 5317 – Energy Facility Siting
When the Energy Facility Siting Evaluation Council (EFSEC) issues a siting approval for a clean energy project and construction or operation begins, they typically work with local governments on inspections, reviews, and other parts of the approval process. However, local governments may face liability risks from violating their own regulations if these projects don’t conform to local development codes.
To address this issue and provide for a more streamlined approval process, SB 5317 provides local governments with liability protections from appeals and claims related to state law and local development code violations when providing services during the construction and operational phases of EFSEC-approved projects.
SB 5284 – Solid Waste Management
With SB 5284, Washington becomes the seventh state in the country to enact extended producer responsibility (EPR) for packaging and paper.
Also known as the Recycling Reform Act, SB 5284 is intended to increase access to recycling to approximately 500,000 more homes, many in rural areas and multifamily buildings, by shifting the financial burden to product manufacturers who become responsible for designing, financing, and managing recycling programs for their products. According to Eco Cycle, “(b)ecause producers now have a financial stake in the success of local recycling programs, they are incentivized to design products to be more recyclable.”
EPR systems also reduce costs for local governments and the public because producers pay for the costs to collect and recycle their materials, either by managing collection systems or paying another entity to collect, transport, and recycle materials.
The bill includes elements typical of EPR programs in other states, including needs assessments, convenience standards, eco-modulation of fees (charges imposed on producers based on the environmental impact of their products and packaging), education and outreach requirements, and the mandate that materials go to responsible end markets.
By January 1, 2026, each producer must appoint a producer responsibility organization (PRO) to address its covered materials. The PRO may be:
- a nonprofit organization that is designated by a producer (or group of producers),
- a producer that registers with the state as a PRO, or
- an organization as defined by the state.
The bill also notes that if and when Washington creates a deposit return system (DRS) for beverage containers, it should be harmonized with the packaging and paper return system, and any DRS implementation must:
include a two-year transition period before the expiration of the currently approved plan and be conducted in a manner that does not create sudden and significant operational or financial disruption.
HB 1497 – Organics Collection and Solid Waste Cart Colors
HB 1497 includes phased requirements related to solid waste collection and management for jurisdictions and solid waste collection companies.
Beginning January 1, 2028, solid waste collection containers that are smaller than 101 gallons and are provided to customers for collection services must meet certain color-coding requirements to reduce contamination. These requirements do not apply to solid waste collection containers purchased prior to August 1, 2025.
Additionally, each curbside, commercial, or public place waste collection container must include container labels and lids to specify the categories of materials for each container by January 1, 2028. Labeling requirements don’t apply to containers planned for removal from service prior to 2030.
Conclusion and Resources
This blog covered a handful of bills that contribute to a healthier environment and other community goals, like pedestrian safety. MRSC consultants will cover other bills that help create more sustainable communities, including HB 1491 (transit-oriented development), so be on the lookout for these in the next few weeks.
For more information on the topics discussed in this blog, see these MRSC webpages:
MRSC is a private nonprofit organization serving local governments in Washington State. Eligible government agencies in Washington State may use our free, one-on-one Ask MRSC service to get answers to legal, policy, or financial questions.
About Lisa Pool
Lisa Pool joined MRSC in June 2021. Most recently, she served as a senior planner for Bellingham. In this role, she primarily focused on long-range planning projects, including the city’s comprehensive plan and new housing regulations. Prior to moving to Bellingham, she worked on regional sustainability and transportation issues for a metropolitan planning organization and conducted development review for cities and counties in the Midwest.
Lisa holds a Bachelor of Arts in environmental policy and a Master of Urban Planning, both from the University of Kansas in Lawrence. She has been a member of the American Institute of Certified Planners since 2009.
