H-3134.1
SUBSTITUTE HOUSE BILL 2273
State of Washington 68th Legislature 2024 Regular Session
By House Appropriations (originally sponsored by Representatives
Donaghy, Ryu, Ramel, and Timmons)
READ FIRST TIME 02/05/24.
1 AN ACT Relating to conducting a study of functional recovery
2 building code standards; and creating new sections.
3 BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF WASHINGTON:
4 NEW SECTION. Sec. 1. The legislature notes that Washington has
5 the second highest earthquake risk in the United States. The 700 mile
6 long Cascadia subduction zone represents an extreme threat to the
7 Pacific Northwest, capable of generating a 9.0 or higher earthquake
8 and tsunami. The most recent studies estimate tens of thousands of
9 fatalities and direct economic losses of more than $80,000,000,000
10 combined for Washington and Oregon. Crustal fault zones along the
11 Puget Sound also pose a major risk to infrastructure and life safety.
12 The legislature finds that preparing the state for such impending
13 natural disasters will significantly mitigate the damage that they
14 can cause to the people, property, and economy of the state.
15 Important to this preparation effort is the concept of functional
16 recovery of buildings and infrastructure, which relates to a
17 building's or structure's ability to support its intended use or
18 occupancy directly following an earthquake. Functional recovery
19 ensures that in the event of seismic disaster, emergency crews will
20 be able to immediately respond to crises, critical facilities will be
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1 immediately functional, and people will have a place to seek shelter
2 and refuge.
3 NEW SECTION. Sec. 2. (1) Subject to the availability of amounts
4 appropriated for this specific purpose, the military department must
5 conduct a study regarding statewide building code and construction
6 standards pertaining to earthquake and tsunami resilience as well as
7 recommendations for functional recovery of buildings and critical
8 infrastructure directly following an earthquake.
9 (2) The study conducted by the military department must, at a
10 minimum, include an assessment of:
11 (a) Functional recovery building code standards that are being
12 developed at the federal level or have been proposed or adopted in
13 other countries, states, or local jurisdictions with a high risk of
14 earthquakes or by public or private organizations with expertise in
15 earthquake performance standards and safety;
16 (b) The levels of functional recovery supported by current state
17 and local building and construction codes;
18 (c) The objectives, feasibility, necessary measures, and
19 estimated costs of adopting and implementing statewide functional
20 recovery building code standards, and how this assessment is impacted
21 by whether the standards:
22 (i) Are mandatory or voluntary;
23 (ii) Apply to only certain types of structures and infrastructure
24 or prioritize certain types of structures and infrastructure;
25 (iii) Apply to existing structures and infrastructure in addition
26 to new construction;
27 (iv) Are intended to apply to only specific seismic hazard
28 levels; or
29 (v) Include nonstructural components as well as structural
30 systems;
31 (d) How statewide standards for functional recovery would fit
32 into an all hazards approach for state emergency response and
33 recovery;
34 (e) Funding opportunities that provide for the coordination of
35 state and federal funds for the purposes of improving the state's
36 preparedness for functional recovery following a significant
37 earthquake or tsunami; and
38 (f) Equity considerations for the development of statewide
39 building code standards for functional recovery.
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 1 (3) In conducting the study pursuant to this section, the
2 military department must request input from the state building code
3 council and representatives of appropriate public and private sector
4 entities.
5 (4) The military department must submit a preliminary report on
6 the outcomes of the completed study to the appropriate committees of
7 the legislature by December 1, 2025, and a final report must be
8 submitted by May 1, 2026. The report must also include policy
9 recommendations relating to statewide building code standards for
10 functional recovery.
11 (5) The military department may contract for all or a portion of
12 the study required in this section.
13 NEW SECTION. Sec. 3. If specific funding for the purposes of
14 this act, referencing this act by bill or chapter number, is not
15 provided by June 30, 2024, in the omnibus appropriations act, this
16 act is null and void.
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