Rural homes in WA could be safer under proposed bill
Published 5:30 am Tuesday, February 3, 2026
Entire neighborhoods could get home insulation, air pollutants and mold protection, age-in-place accessibility measures like ramps and handrails, and more under a proposed bill this legislative session.
Weatherization is funded by the state for single homes with a household income under 80% of the county median income. Right now, the weatherization program saves families $300 a year while reducing energy usage by 25%.
Under HB 2338 and companion SB 6223, that program would expand to also cover multi-unit projects, and potentially make those costs lower — a “buying in bulk” situation.
The Washington State Community Action Partnership (WSCAP) oversees the agencies doing this state-funded weatherization work, which often costs about $22,000 per home.
Agencies that provide the programs get handwritten thank-you notes from people who previously used electric blankets rather than their costly house heating units, said Jeff DeLuca, WSCAP’s executive director. “I think that that’s one of the strongest positive aspects of the weatherization program, is it helps keep people in their homes, it keeps their utilities affordable.”
John Seng is a policy manager for Spark Northwest, a regional nonprofit that partners with immigrant, low-income, rural, and indigenous communities to co-create clean energy projects. He testified in support of HB 2338 Jan. 22.
“This bill is a win for communities, families, agencies and contractors alike,” Seng said. This bill will make it cheaper and easier to complete projects in rural and remote communities all across the state, he said.
The program is limited to working on one household at a time, Seng said. It requires income eligibility paperwork and whole-home repair. This generally slows down the work and makes utility companies less inclined to sign on, he said.
Under HB 2338, local agencies and the Department of Commerce would identify areas in Washington that are majority low-income, where houses are in disrepair and people are spending more than they would with weatherization improvements, Seng said. Those would become eligible for a community-scale project, though no one is forced to participate.
DeLuca said in testimony Jan. 22 that mobile home parks and low- to moderate-income neighborhoods heavily impacted by pollution would benefit the most from this bill, which helps preserve affordable housing.
This is especially important for rural communities where the agencies providing weatherization don’t have the corporate support that homes in the Puget Sound region often do, DeLuca said. With these community projects that HB 2338 would help fund, the projects would become more feasible for high-quality utility sponsors.
HB 2338 has bipartisan support, namely from Rep. Lisa Callan, D-Issaquah, and Rep. Peter Abbarno, R-Chehalis.
On Jan. 29, HB 2338 passed out of its first committee, the House Capitol Budget, before the date that bills that have not passed will die. The costs of the program fit into the state capitol budget, though the exact numbers will be workshopped in future committees.
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